Let the 2013 summer season officially begin!

The seeds have sprouted and flowers are beginning to show themselves to the world. I am very excited for the Morrison Victory Garden's 2013 summer season. We have the following planted and growing in various sections of the MVG.

IN THE FIELD

Illini Xtra Sweet Corn

corn is almost as tall as Solo

IN THE MAIN GARDEN

Supremo Cucumbers

Pic-N-Pic Summer Squash

French Filet Stringless Beans

SuperSauce Tomatoes

Fairytale Eggplant

Purple Rain Eggplant

Crescent Moon Eggplant

Cherry Stuffer Peppers (sweet)

Block Party Peppers (sweet)

Big Daddy Peppers (sweet)
Lady Bell Peppers (sweet)

Cheyenne Peppers (spicy)

Biker Billy Peppers (spicy)

Habanero Peppers (spicy)

Tabasco Peppers (spicy)

Chile D'Arbol Peppers (spicy)

Yatsuifusa Peppers (spicy)

Thai Chili Peppers (spicy)

Okra

Champion Radish

Bitter Melon

Thai Basil

Sequoia Strawberries

English Lavender

Lemon Grass

cherry stuffer pepper plant flower bulbs

IN THE FRONT GARDEN

Super Sugar Snap Peas

Asparagus Beans

Dark Green Zucchini Squash

Space Master Cucumbers

Crimson Sweet Watermelon

Early Yellow Crookneck Squash

French Filet Stringless Beans

lemon grass

IN THE HERB GARDEN

Garden Sage

Oregano

Rosemary

Thyme

 

strawberries are eaten faster than we can pick them

IN THE TREES

Plum

Fuyu Persimmon

lady bugs in the plum tree

All items listed in green were grown from seed. All items listed in orange are perennials.  All other items were bought as plants. I purchased my seeds from Burpee and Lake Valley Seed. I purchased my plants from Burpee and local nurseries.

Typical July Harvest

The victory garden is in full swing.  We have daily harvests of zucchini, yellow squash, beans, peppers, a variety of herbs, and cucumbers.  As expected, the harvests are increasing in size.  Today's harvest  (pictured below) produced a sink full of vegetables, strainer full of beans, and one lonely pepper.

I have some good news from the eggplant patch.  We officially have a SECOND GENERATION EGGPLANT growing in the garden! Woo hoo!  Remember my post, Transplanting and Mulch, about the eggplant that survived winter?  That eggplant has grown exponentially and is now giving birth to three eggplants.  There are over ten flowers on the plant and I hope to see everyone turn into a delicious eggplant by the end of the summer.

Second generation eggplant

All of the eggplants grown, from seed this season, have begun to push out flowers or fruit.  I envision lots of BBQ eggplants and eggplant lasagnas filling my table and tummy later this season. YUM!

eggplants are growing bigger each day

The strawberry pot is doing very well.  Each day I pick two to four large strawberries, rinse and freeze them.  So far I have 1 1/2 quarts of frozen MVG strawberries.  These frozen berries taste great in homemade slushy drinks or strawberry jam. I hope to have the second quart bag filled by the end of July.

daily harvest of strawberries

Do you Fuyu?

We have a new permanent member to the victory garden.  Say hello to Fuyu.  She is a persimmon tree.

Fuyu is staked into the ground.

Fuyu was planted on March 8th. Since that time, she have seen much growth.  Green buds grew.

Then, light magic, the buds pushed out green branches and leaves.  She is growing to be a big part of the victory garden.

Strawberries are showing their colors.

The rest of the victory garden is growing nicely in the sun.  The tomato plants have have been transplanted.  They are still small but will grow quickly in the next month.

Cucumber sprouts

The battle with the evil gastropods continues.  The gastropods devoured the cucumber plants.  I replanted.  We now have a nice row of cucumber seedlings.  I have swept the garden and destroyed most of the intruders. But they will be back.  Gastropods are persistent.

(L to R) Burgundy, Scarlet emperor, & Blue lake beans

The Scarlet Emperor beans are growing quickly.  They have reached the netting and are now beginning to crawl.

Lettuce is coming along...

Sunshine, check.  Water, check.  Now cross your roots and hope for more growth.