enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Aug4garden3 Aug4garden2 Aug4garden Aug4garden4 Aug4garden5 Aug4garden6 Aug4garden1

And as a reminder, this is what the garden looked like at the end of June :

29junegarden

June 29.

The love affair continues.

We are slowly, but surely getting produce out of this garden. Every afternoon there is at least a handful of sungold tomatoes (much to Ellerie's joy – she gets to eat them ALL). And every few days I get a big red tomato to turn into a salad. We've had a few purple peppers (but I wasn't a fan! They were so bitter!). And a few small zucchinis (that we douse in olive oil, salt and pepper and throw on the grill…so good).

I planted some green onion (purchased from the grocery story) and we'll see how they do, so far, I have just been trimming the tops when we need some for meals. My cucumbers are not too impressive and my butternut squash and pumpkin plants have lots of flowers, but no successful fruit. Things are looking a little yellow which I am learning means not enough nutrients. I think I need to make another trip to pick up worm tea

My herbs have all died. They never really took off to begin with and are in full sun in the old fountain. Next year (or maybe this fall) I'll move them so they are shaded.

My compost bin is doing well! It's sort of addicting, saving kitchen scraps and leaves for the bin. I hope we get some really great dirt to use next season.

I'm still out there, fussing a few times a day. And I just love it.

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24 responses to “in the garden : august 4.”

  1. andi r Avatar
    andi r

    We have found that if things kinda “stall” that we need to add some fertilizer. We usually mix up some mircale grow, water at night, and usually by the next day/evening there is visible improvement in the plants. Good luck! As always keep up the good work, I read you every day 🙂

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  2. Kelsey, Esp. Avatar

    I’m so in love with all the space you have to garden! We rent an end-unit townhome so our yard is bigger than most, but it’s still pretty tiny and we just don’t have the space to grow as much as I’d like.
    I built and planted our first backyard raised-bed garden last summer and it did really well…up until we went on vacation for a week and forgot to have a neighbor water it. I planted a new garden again this year but completely spaced when buying seeds and planted vine-y pole beans instead of bush-y green beans — they took over EVERYTHING almost immediately and pretty much swallowed our entire harvest…without producing a single bean. Better luck next time…and until then I’m living vicariously through your family’s garden!

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  3. Susan M Avatar

    Growing up my dad had a garden that he took lots of pride in. I never realized how much work it actually took to care for until I have read your posts. We live in an apartment so we don’t have a yard of “our own” to do anything with. I have tried growing some herbs, but they have never turned into anything…keep posting about the garden though because I can totally live vicariously through your experience 🙂

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  4. Misti Avatar

    You should try fish emulsion in addition to the worm tea. You can buy a bottle at any local garden center, sometimes at big box garden/tool centers. Then get yourself a sprayer dedicated to that, dilute it, and then foliar feed every few weeks. You can also pour it directly into the soil too, but foliar feeding works well. We like the Ladybug brand but there are many out there on the market.
    Also, you might have to hand pollinate your squash and pumpkin plants. I’m going to have to get out there and do mine since they aren’t getting pollinated.

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  5. Helemark.wordpress.com Avatar

    I love this! I was just looking at my dad’s garden last week and was amazed at how many plants there were. It reminded me of your garden. It’s such an amazing thing to realize that you can create something not only beautiful–but edible, as well! Great photos!

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  6. Jess Avatar
    Jess

    Pumpkins take a long time, and they’re pretty resilient. They’ll probably start popping up like crazy at the end of the month or September.

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  7. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    I love that you’re being real about it. There is such a learning curve. My little tomato plants are really struggling this year, but I’m learning

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  8. michelle t Avatar
    michelle t

    That’s what happened with my cucumbers. Still hoping. Michelle t

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  9. Shana Avatar
    Shana

    Please do a post about the composting. I have been given 2 composters in the past few months (which is awesome because I’ve ALWAYS wanted to compost) but I don’t think I’m doing it right.. I’ve just been throwing banana peels and vege debris in there but I read the other day that it needs 1 part ‘green waste’ (vege debris, etc) to 3 parts ‘brown waste’ (toilet paper rolls and shredded paper) – I haven’t been doing this at all! I appreciate your approach to explaining things and would love to know your process.

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  10. Andrea Avatar

    I currently only have a small version of a garden on the balcony where tomatoes and herbs grow quite successfully. My dad always used to plant the pumpkin plants directly on the compost to ensure that they get enough nutrients. It always worked and by fall out whole garden area was covered by pumpkins… I guess it’s not a solution for this year, but something to try with the next gardening season…

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  11. Technopapa Avatar

    helloo i actually enjoy what you guys are usually up too. This sort of clever work and reporting!
    Keep up the wonderful works guys I’ve added you guys to blogroll.
    looking forward to read more from your site 🙂

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  12. Anna Avatar

    Always love these posts. My squash also have lots of yellow flowers that aren’t turning into squash. Still trying to figure that one out.
    Maybe this is only interesting to me, but would be fun to hear your tips on taking good garden photos! I take a ton (and occasionally throw them up on my blog), but so often it ends up just looking like a tangled green mass.

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  13. Welcome Home Taylor Avatar

    I love reading about the garden updates. So cool! I’d love to hear more about your adventures in composting and what it is that you save for scraps, etc. It’s so interesting to me!
    xoxo
    Taylor

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  14. Margaret Avatar

    Our cucumbers aren’t doing well this year, either. Cherry tomatoes in any variety eaten just picked after they have been warmed by the sun might just be one of the best things ever!

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  15. andrea Avatar

    Garden updates are something I really love to read. I also have a garden (on my balcony) and some things really grow and others not. My herbs are dying as well. I have no idea why. What I love about gardening is that you have to deal with errors since they are always coming 🙂

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  16. Maureen Avatar

    Almost all herbs are full sun lovers and can handle dry more than wet. Think of that Mediterranean climate and soil of their origins. I suspect the fail was something else. Bugs?

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  17. Libbi M. (Ashland, Oregon) Avatar
    Libbi M. (Ashland, Oregon)

    question…? in the past i’ve been able to go back into your archives and click on a certain month. i’ve enjoyed reading from when you first started blogging. do you know if you are going to add that back into your archives? i do love the clean look of your archives. you did an awesome job. hoping this all makes sense.

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  18. Lindsay Avatar

    I have killed all my herbs this year too! Each one had a slow, painful death out on our porch in the Hawaiian sun. I tried moving them inside, a shadier area, and they were just not so happy:( I’ll be sticking to loving on my succulents and our mango tree out back until I learn how to cultivate my green thumb in this heat!

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  19. Lauren Avatar

    I lost all my gardening space when we moved to Korea this month! But Im slowly accumulating tons of super cool, never before seen, cant speak korean so I cant ask the name of them, new succulents!
    When we did compost though we just couldnt produce enough kitchen scraps (there are only 2 of us) and it takes so long to get started (and turning is a must must must). So it was a year or 2 before we saw really good compost! So keep going and be patient with it (because it is so exciting for some reason to see all that gross stuff become beautiful dirt)! My husband always tells people how I was spreading it one time and there was a whole apple core in my flower garden…
    Also, I can NEVER get those grocery store herbs to grow…no matter what. sigh.
    Happy gardening!!

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  20. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    I’m new to commenting on your blog but I very bed reading it for a long time and enjoy it very much.
    I suddenly thought I remembered you being a coffee lover right? Or am I totally off base here?
    If you are those used coffee grounds are excellent food/supplements for your garden. Coffee grounds contain nitrogen and veggies love that, here’s a link but I’m sure you can find a ton more.
    http://www.nwedible.com/2013/02/5-ways-to-use-coffee-grounds-in-the-garden.html

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  21. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    Arrrrgggg iPhone ! * been not bed. Sorry!

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  22. JC Avatar

    Funny that I am reading this today, after the hail storm that hit us last night. I’m scared to see my garden today. I did get the few ripe tomatoes off the vine yesterday, and froze 4-5 lbs of beans this weekend,so at least we got something. Damn summer storms! The second this year!

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  23. Jess Avatar
    Jess

    Something to grow next time, snap peas! They are pretty when they vine and they’re delicious raw. I remember as a kid loving to go and and pick some to eat

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  24. kelsey williams Avatar

    We got a few HUGE cucumbers this year. Like, 14 inches long! But our herbs and beets were a total fail.

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