The Ornamental Vegetable Garden: The Heat Is On

Last year when June arrived, it came with August's oppressive heat. And it lasted the entire summer. We've had a beautiful spring this year, and I was hoping we would gradually work our way into summer. But yesterday, June 2, was especially hot (over 90 degrees), and the forecast for the next week doesn't look any better.

Plants often seem to grow very slowly from seed to the first two sets of true leaves. But once they have enough leaf surface to feed the roots well, and the weather turns sunny and warm (or hot), as long as they have a little water, it seems like they grow so fast you could almost sit and watch the change.

Or maybe I'm just old.

The bell and jalapeño peppers finally got big enough to transplant. And I had enough grass clippings to mulch their bed.

The "shady" end of the garden is in full swing. This is where I plant things that could use a little less heat, and experiment with things that like full sun to see how well they do with a little shade. I found out last year that okra doesn't respond well to it at all.

Suddenly, the 'Jersey Wakefield' cabbages are forming heads and have filled out the row, and the interplanted marigolds are bursting out.

The row of zinnias I planted alongside the onions isn't what I was aiming for. Another Amazon seed order that wasn't what it claimed to be. I was trying for something called "Lime", which I have found a reliable source for next year. What I ended up with is a lovely variety of colors. What I was wanting was closer to this one that has bloomed, only in the opposite color proportions - with mostly green, and a hint of lavender.

The lettuce has about gotten out of hand. Fortunately, I've been able to find people to give it to. I've finally pulled the older, first planting to give the second planting a better chance to come on, and then make a decision as to when to plant another round.

The sorrel has really filled in and is mostly just serving as an ornamental at this point.

Red veined sorrel and 'Rocky Top' lettuce mix before thinning (above)
after thinning (below)

I also forced myself to thin the Chinese cabbage. It doesn't seem to be heading. I had the same issue last year, even though I'd started the seeds indoors and transplanted them at a good spacing. If I don't figure out what's wrong, I won't be trying to grow it any more (although it does make a pretty stand).

Chinese cabbage 'Hilton'

The tatsoi is already bolting.

The beets have been in about a month. I've narrowed my beet varieties down to two: 'Golden' and some variety of red, looking for my favorite. Previous red varieties I've planted are 'Detroit', 'Detroit Dark', 'Cylindra', 'Boltardy', and 'Red Ace'. This year, I'm trying 'Shiraz Tall Top'. I haven't yet had a really good beet crop for either the root or the tops. Fingers crossed for this year to be the first.

I planted them May 5, and I'm able to harvest lucious baby greens from them now, taking no more than one leaf from each plant. They seem to be amazingly bug and disease free so far. The first year I planted beets, they were riddled with leaf spot. That could have been due to one or more differences from this year - but I don't know which. That year (2014), there may have still been a larger presence of disease organisms from the yard that was previously growing in this area. Also, I planted them much earlier - in mid April, as opposed to May 5 this year, so they were growing during a cooler period. But I planted them in a full sun area, as opposed to the partial shade this year, so you might think that would offset that factor a bit. I don't know what the issue is, so next year, I'll try planting them back in full sun, but around May 5 and see what happens.

'Shiraz Tall Top' in the outer arc; 'Golden' in the central triangle

'Shiraz Tall Top' - makes the most delicious steamed greens!
(also good raw in salads)

Both okra beds are at the same developmental stage, and I had about the same germination rate with the 'Jing Orange' seed I ordered and the 'Red Burgundy' seed I saved from last year.

Okra beds with Egyptian walking onions (aka bunch onions) in the centers

The 'Red Burgundy' bed has a large volunteer (weed) crop of purslane - normally considered a weed. It's perfectly edible, though, and I have a recipe for cucumber and purslane salad I want to try, so I'm letting it grow. One previous year I tried to let it grow, and it just got lots of insect damage. If that happens again, I'll give up on it.

Okra bed infested with purslane

I've tried a green cowhorn variety of okra in the past and didn't like it. The pods were too large, and less like a cowhorn than a ram's. Too curly to slice into rounds, and a bit tough. I may be judging too quickly since one year I had a very poor showing of 'Red Burgundy', but last year it gave me a bumper crop. Still, I won't likely be trying any more green varieties since the red are long and tender, and the mature plants are so pretty.

My tomatoes are growing rapidly, and I just got them caged yesterday. A beautiful bluebird couple made a nest in the birdhouse that's hanging there, and every time I did any weeding, I would get swooped for discouragement. I couldn't see well into the house to tell if there were more than one baby, but yesterday, whoever had been there was gone. I hope and assume that all went well with the first flight.

The peas are finished producing. I'm hoping for a little cooler weather after this week in which to pull them up and save them for seed next year. Or maybe I'll try planting them later for a fall crop. Not sure how that would work using fresh peas. Otherwise, I want to get some limas planted in their place.

I'm beginning to think maybe the tomato cage for the golden zucchini might just work out okay. They haven't started leading off in any one direction yet, though, so it still remains to be seen whether they go up or go through the wire and out, or whether the leaves get too crowded in the center of the cage.

The cucumbers have gotten a very good start. I hope it doesn't rain buckets and rot them like last year.

Somebody had a feast on one of my rhubarb plants. I think I saw a tiny baby grasshopper the other day, and this looks like it could be possibly be grasshopper feeding, but it could be somebody else, too. I haven't seen the culprit.

As for the flower beds...

These lilies made a good showing last year - the first year after I planted them - but they are screaming awesome this year.

The "Black Dahlias" I ordered from Amazon turned out to be a variety of colors: mostly yellow and fuschia. They're growing well in my new cut flower garden, and they'll be fine. But this really is the last year I'm going to order seeds off Amazon.

The rose garden and cut flower gardens are going to be favorite places. I was concerned I might have bitten off more than I could chew, but now I'm glad I made room for them.

The rose garden is still pretty bare, but I'm looking forward to future blooms and next year when I can purchase the rose 'Earth Angel'. So far, 'Pink Enchantment' and 'Shazam!' are blooming, and 'Pat Austin' has a bud. In the meantime, a volunteer poppy ('Lauren's Grape', I believe) is showing them up. The red Nemesia (var. 'Blood Orange') adds some color, but up close it's looking rather weatherbeaten.

My 'Julia Child' rose in a bed next to the house is especially prolific this year. This is it's second year in that same place, so it's more established than those in the new rose garden.

The new poppy bed in the wildflower garden is gorgeous, as are the volunteer poppies that came up amongst the large tarragon plant. They're all 'Hungarian Blue' and/or 'Lauren's Grape'. Sadly, I don't see any 'Tangerine Gem' or 'Black Peony' poppies. Amazon orders.

I needed a replacement pair of garden gloves this year, and having bought a nicer pair than I usually spring for last year and hung on a hook in the cellar until I needed them, I went to fetch them: