This is a ripening tomato.  For the past few weeks I thought it looked like it was starting to change color- sure enough, when I went out after a storm today, I found it very vibrant- and definitely not green.  It will turn red eventually.  At first thought, I was a bit alarmed.  We are just 10 days out from a week away, and I really don’t want my tomatoes going gonzo while we’re gone.  Fortunately though, these are the early tomatoes, so I should be safe from an explosion happening while we are gone.  For the most part, the tomatoes are looking great.  We had to add to the trellis, because they reached the top, and show no signs of stopping.

I have a lot of pictures to share today- and a few thoughts to go with most of them.

This is an okra plant below.  I didn’t know if I could even grow okra here in NE Wisconsin.  It seems I can, however… when I read about how large okra plants tend to get, I read that they tend to get quite tall- 5 or 6 feet tall in the south, and loaded with blossoms and okra.

Umm, clearly, these little 12 inch plants are not functioning at full capacity.  However, there are a few okra worth picking- I just don’t know what to do with just 2 or 3 okra pods.  I’ll have to do some research in my vegetarian cookbooks.  I haven’t given up on them yet though.  I have plans to try them again next year, but since they’re so prolific in the south, I may have just started them too early, and subsequently put them in the ground too early.  I’m going to try again next year with a much later start date, and see what happens.

Next, here is a peek at my cucumber plants- blossoming and climbing, I can’t wait- they’re all slicing cukes, and I’m so eager for a non-hothouse cucumber!

And then this is one of my sweet pepper plants.  I decided to try planting mini-peppers this year.  It may not give us much more than a smattering of peppers- but right now, the plants are looking fantastic and loaded with blossoms- some peppers are forming, I can’t wait to see how big they actually are going to get.

This next photo is one vegetable I will not be growing in my gardens again. These are kohlrabi- and they really sprawl as they grow- meaning the leaves have a large wingspan.  They’ve been shading other plants, and for what?  A little knobby vegetable in the end.  While I have small raised beds, these are so not worth the space to grow.  I’ll be buying these at the farmers market- although I’ve never seen the purple variety there.

Here are some newly forming blossoms on my green pole beans.  I planted two varieties- Fortex and Kentucky Wonder Poles.  The kids are so eager for these blossoms to turn into beans.  I expect that we’ll maybe get a few beans before our vacation, but that when we return we’ll be picking like crazy. 

These are my yellow pole beans- these ones are growing like gangbusters, but no blossoms here yet.  These went into the ground well after the green ones, so we’ll see.

And then here are the three garden beds from a distance.  The lettuces are still doing well in the first bed- we’ve been eating from them for a while, and no bolting.  It’s been wonderful, and we’re really enjoying them.  I finally pulled out all the peas, and the garden looks naked without them.  However, I planted that space with more lettuces, so that when the current pickings do bolt, we’ll have more to replace them with.  I also planted more fennel seed.  I had read that July is the perfect time to sow fennel seeds, so we’ll see how they do.  I would love to have more than my one bulb that’s currently growing.

The carrots are taking their time developing, but the beets have been slowly trickling in and have been incredibly sweet and delicious.  Most of the herbs are doing great- except for the basil.  Oh, the basil is doing terrible!  That’s the only one I started from seed, and next year I’ll be buying plants. The sage is gorgeous, as is the thyme, parsley and chives.  The eggplants are taking their time, and I’m trying to decide if I should harvest some of the kale.

I’ve had many of the neighbors asking what I’m doing to my garden this year- it’s just doing so well! It’s funny, because I haven’t added anything, I don’t spray with chemicals or anything, and I haven’t even added fertilizers or added nutrients.  Except for one thing.  Fish water.  That seems to be the secret.  We have two fish tanks in the house- a 10 gallon one upstairs, and a 28 gallon one downstairs. About every 10 days I do a 25% water change in both tanks, and I water the garden with the fish waste water.  It’s loaded with fish manure and nitrogen, and apparently, my gardens love it.  I get the added bonus of not having to water in-between rainstorms with the hose- which is not free in my neighborhood.

I’m still eating the chard- which I have been for at least a month now, and it shows no signs of bolting.  I wonder if it bolts at all?  The second crop of spinach wasted no time in beginning to bolt, so we’ll be eating that this week and then I’ll be waiting a while before planting more seeds.  The patty pan squash is starting to look a little large, but still no blossoms- they’re starting to peek out, but no flowers yet.  I walk the gardens every day, and every single day I seem to find something new.  I love my vegetable garden!