Growing, Growing, Growing

Here we are one month into summer and WOW it is amazing to see how much everything is growing!!! Most of the plants have a life cycle from 3-5 months- so, you could say that they are in the prime of their lives, living it up, reproducing like mad and beind quite prolific.

The corn which was planted only two months ago is already 7 feet tall.

The broccoli and squash plants fill our bellies with daily nutrition and tastiness.

The melons have exploded with growth, crawling this way and that claiming space for their fruit- which almost doubles in size by the day. It is such a pleasure to watch the bounty of life.

Currently in the garden, our main job is care taking- making sure the weeds are under control (ha, ha) and providing extra nutrition for the plants. During the growth (leaf) phase of the plant we feed them fish emulsion or composted steer manure, which are high in nitrogen. During the flower and fruit phase of the plants we have been feeding them either vegan compost tea or handfuls of our own compost which are high in potassium, phosphorus and many other minerals. This provides an added boost for our producing plants. Keeping the soil and the plants happy. Also, when the plants and soil are in super health it helps deter molds and bugs and dieases from the plants.

We are proud to say that we have just had our largest harvest for the farmer's market- kale, chard, broccoli, summer squash, red cabbage, red and yellow potatoes, beets carrots, basil and cilantro. Yum! So much great food.

In the cool shade behind the Gro-Dome we are growing lettuce in individual pots. We ran out of room to plant in the garden and also, the summer heat can be a bit oppressive for tender greens such as lettuce. We did have the deer like our lettuce just as much as ourselves, but we moved them higher and now they are safe. So much to learn. Tony's next project is placing a fence around our start area to assure maximum safety of our young plants.

With the help of our friends Erin and Sam, we bagan the starts for the fall/ winter garden. We've got cauliflower, kale, cabbage, arugula, boccoli and spinach on the way.

It hasn't been all work. While the veggies grow, grow, grow we have been having fun baking with Jaxson and exploring our Northern Coast surroundings.

It has been such a good time out here discovering and observing our natural world. We feel so blessed to be so close to the cycle of life and all of it's bounty! Love to all!!!