The Kitchen Garden in June...yes, June...

I posted my June flower garden pics, now it’s time for June veggie garden pics.

The kitchen garden as seen from the right back corner of the yard.

There were successes and there were failures, as always, however, I am still so happy I made this area of raised beds for my veggies (and some herbs). Starting from seed using row covers in this area has been very successful.

The kitchen garden as seen from the left back corner of the yard.

I only wish the neighbor would finish the gosh-darn fence so I wouldn’t have to look at his broken-down boat that sits there all the time.

The kitchen garden.

The greens have done especially well this year because we’ve had rain/thunderstorms almost every day for the past several weeks. I always wondered why my greens tasted bitter, then I read that they require a certain amount of water per week to keep them from being bitter. They must have gotten plenty of water because they have tasted great. I haven’t even had to put the sprinklers on for weeks.

Gourmet leaf mix, Bibb lettuce, and Romaine.

Squash and cilantro. This was taken before the cilantro bolted. No squash yet, but I’m sure there will be plenty soon.

Squash and cilantro.

Turnips, turnips, turnips! First year I ever planted them and they went to town!

Turnips and nasturtium.

We had lots of radishes in June. The cucumbers started to show up the end of June and they have been really delicious. Great addition to salads.

Cucumbers, nasturtium, radishes and tomato.

This bed was and still is looking pretty sad. My beets barely did much at all this year. My Gomphrena seeds didn’t do anything and even the nasturtium weren’t too happy in this bed. Come to think of it, the pole lima beans, sweet peppers, and Fairy Tale Eggplant aren’t looking very productive here either. I’m wondering if this bed is getting too much shade or maybe I need to add more compost to boost the soil.

Where are the beets????

Some cilantro reseeded itself in this bed from last year.  My Rainbow Swiss Chard isn’t doing as well as it did last year, but it’s ok. The Summer Savory is kinda weak here and the Table Queen Acorn Squash I planted is non-existent now. The Chervil seems to be doing ok, and so are the pole green beans.

Cilantro, Swiss Chard, Pole Green Beans and Chervil.

This bed has parsley, hot peppers, radishes, nasturtium, a tomato, and the turnips (which you can’t see in this shot.)

Parley, Hot Peppers, Radishes, Nasturtium, and Tomato.

I have three lavender bushes in the kitchen garden (used to have four, but one died due to too much shade). The lavender looked great in June, but now it’s not looking as healthy. I think it may be due to all the rain we have had.

Lavender.

The two u-shaped beds have the lavender, cosmos, sweet basil, garlic chives and sorrel. I never had sorrel before and I LOVE it in salads. It adds a nice “bite” to the salad.

Lavender, Cosmos, Sorrel, Sweet Basil and Garlic Chives.

A favorite plant that edges the kitchen garden – Heliopsis Summer Nights. Started to bloom in June and is a powerhouse of flowers right now. I don’t remember noticing the hairy bits on the stems before – check that out!

Heliopsis Summer Nights.

We planted this blackberry bush several years ago, before the kitchen garden was even there. It’s looking so healthy this year and has TONS of little berries forming. I hope this actually forms mature berries and we can eat them before the birds do. How exciting!

Blackberry bush.