Garden 2024 Update #9

The garden is in full swing this first week of July, and with that also comes loads and loads of mosquitoes, and a spot or two of powdery mildew on my cucumbers and bee balm.  I use the baking soda, dish soap & water recipe to keep it at bay, and it seems to work rather well.  Here's some pics I've snapped over the last couple of weeks in and around the garden.

I transplanted my raspberries this year and they're not producing nearly as well as I'd hoped, so this lovely batch of raspberry jam comes from berries I picked up at the local farmer's market.

This delightful jar of magic potion is a Wild Young Country Cherry wine. This is a new adventure for me, and if you'd like to try it as well, the recipe is here:  Wild Fermented Young Country Wine

A wee harvest of Yukon Gold potatoes, garlic, chocolate mint, holy basil & pickling cucumbers. All of my garlic gets dehydrated then turned into garlic powder for my own seasoning blends (eliminating the need to ever buy it at the store, for the last several years).

Some lovely Sugarbaby Cherry tomatoes

I picked up a couple of Elderberry bushes from the local greenhouse.  This one is called a York Elderberry, and the other one is called a Scotia Elderberry. I've never grown elderberry before so I'm doing a lot of homework on these beautiful berry bushes, and very much looking forward to some homemade elderberry syrup and maybe even an elderberry pie.

Last year I had 9 berry clusters on my one year old Chester Thornless blackberry bushes. This year I have more than 50 clusters!  I'm really looking forward to them ripening next month and a big, beautiful blackberry harvest.

Beefsteak tomatoes doing well

Small batch of Heal All for drying.  If you have this growing in your back yard (and odds are, you do) don't waste it, use it up! Here's a great article on how to ID it, process it and use it: Foraging and Using Self Heal 

While this is not my back garden, it is just a 5 minute walk away, and where I try to get at least several walks in a week, in my ongoing effort to stay as active as I can.  It's a beautiful path along the Thames River here in southern Ontario, lined with lush foliage that includes numerous cherry trees and wild raspberries. 

Whoever said plants can't talk, never met these 3 amigos. 😁 

My raspberry bush on the left, peony in the center, and hibiscus on the right are all desperately leaning into the eastern side of the yard where the sun is unobstructed by the giant maple tree canopy.  What these plants are saying is basically, transplant me, or get that Maple tree trimmed back.  Both will be happening at the end of the season. The peonies will be moved and the maple tree is getting a long overdue trimming to pull the shade canopy back & allow more sun into the garden.

The Scarlet Runner beans all the way to the top of the 7.5 foot trellis

I've had several volunteers show up this year, and this Purslane in the spring onion pot is just the latest.  It joins the volunteer tomato also in the same pot 😊 Most people consider this a weed but did you know it's actually a food?  Here's a good article on the health benefits of Purslane, or what Chinese folklore calls "the vegetable for long life". 

In my ongoing attempt this season to beautify my space, I've addeed these window boxes and these pretty solar lanterns on both the north and south sides of the cottage.  The cut out pattern on the metal lanterns casts a most lovely light along the wall of the cottage at night.  The window boxes contain Mojito Mint I picked up for half price since they were mostly dead.  I've been able to thankfully bring them back to life! (The next beautifying my space project will be to build a wee front porch deck for the cottage, and get rid of those paver stones.)

My volunteer tomato plant. It's always a fun surprise to see volunteers show up.  Last year, I had so many volunteer beets growing in the compost, I harvest them all & canned a batch of pickled beets.  Free food! 😁

Another volunteer this year.  Google lens tells me this is a Black Mulberry.  Funny thing is, I almost bought a Black Mulberry bush earlier this season, then changed my mind and thought I'd pick one up later.  When I went back, they were sold out.  A week later, this showed up in the raised bed where my butternut squash are planted. 

Thanks for stopping by and going on this fun stroll through the garden with me. 😊