A Rohlk Farm: Images from my garden (July 1st)

Once the weather started to get good and hot--AND we received TONS of rain-- my garden took off like crazy! The following pictures were taken roughly two weeks ago. (Around July 1st) I had put the Bone Meal around my plants a few weeks prior to these pictures and then we got a lot of rain. The rain (or your watering) is the only way your plants can absorb the nutrients in the soil. I wound a soaker hose into my garden when I planted it because plants prefer to have water come slowly and for a long time, then to have to have it fast and last a short while. They also do not tend to like their leaves getting wet--unless it's very early in the AM. Then they have time to get it evaporated before the heat of the day hits them. A good rule of thumb for tomatoes? Hot Heads and Wet Feet! They love the heat from the sun and they need their water.

Here is a picture of my Yellow Summer Squash Plant! He is VERY happy! :)

Here is a picture of my Basil. I have some on my deck by the house as well. I just checked my Basil in the garden yesterday, and the Japanese Beetles have nearly ruined it :( I'm trying to salvage them, but I may have to cut my losses on them. I was able to harvest the Basil on my deck. I put the fresh Basil leaves between sheets of paper towels and let them sit in a dark location.

For the best tasting Basil, there are a few rules of thumb you should follow. 1) Harvest your Basil often. If you look at the stem of your Basil, there will be a branch coming off of it, and three leaves. One leaf will be quite large and the other two will be smaller and close to the stem. Pick the large leaf. This will encourage the rest of the leaves to grow and branch. 2) Pick your Basil BEFORE it flowers! Once the plant has flowered, you lose most of the wonderful flavor! If it starts to flower (which I made the mistake on one of mine), simply pull the flowering head off. If you don't, the energy will begin to work on the flowers of the plant and not the leaves. 3) If you want to use fresh Basil to cook with, it is best to pick it off of the plant and use it. Do Not put it in the refrigerator unless you have a method to package the Basil with no air. The coolness of the fridge and the dampness is not something that Basil likes. It will tend to turn black, shrivel and will release the oils -- which leaves you with bland tasting Basil!

Here is an up close and personal shot of my cucumbers! Look at all of those flowers!

My cucumber is so happy it's trying to expand into my yard! I have tucked him back inside of the fence so that a friendly rabbit doesn't start to eat it when this flower turns into a cucumber!

Here is a vertical picture of the cucumbers. There are four plants here.

Here is an up close picture of some of the flowers that I am getting on my tomato plants! Flowers = tomatoes and I can't wait!

A few of the tomato plants are really ready to fruit... here is a picture of some very small, green tomatoes... they have a ways to go until they will be ready to pick. But at least we are heading in the right direction!

Here is a picture of my Sweet Bell Pepper plants. There are roughly 20 plants in my garden and they are a mixture of colors. I'm excited to learn what colored peppers we will have!

Here is a picture of some of my yellow onions. I have a few spots in the garden where I planted the onions--again I thought I was being strategic in keeping rabbits out!

Here is a full length picture of my garden. On the far end there are two planters. The one on the left is my Yellow Summer Squash and the one on the right is a pot full of Basil!

Next there are some tomato plants that a friend gave me...(I know, I had enough..I didn't need to take his too... but I was curious to see what they were, how they tasted etc. and I had some room.)

Next are my Cucumbers, then my Roma Tomatoes, my Sweet Bell Peppers and then my Beefsteak Tomatoes! It's a race to see which plant will fruit first! But it was a close tie with the tomatoes and the Summer Squash!