The May Garden

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The zone 9 May garden is full of green and blooms. We're starting to harvest the warm loving vegetables like summer squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. Goodness have we had rain! I’ve only watered twice so far this spring which is a huge time saver for me and the plants love the rain water. It’s been wonderful! Everything in our May garden is so green, such a contrast from previous years. 

IMG_6457 Our lemon tree is doing great! It’s even blooming again since we’ve had some extra rain. That’s a funny thing about citrus, they don’t really have a dormant season. We should have plenty of lemons this year and quite a few cara cara oranges. 

IMG_6460 One of our grape vines has a cluster of grapes. It’s so exciting. A friend rooted two more vines for us so we now have six. 

IMG_6480 We have one plum. But since we just planted this tree last year, it’s still pretty exciting. 

IMG_6474 And we have peaches for the first time. We planted four peach trees in 2012 and three of them have peaches this year. 

IMG_6507 Our beans are doing great. Were harvesting enough every other day for dinner. The squash vine is a volunteer and I just have a hard time pulling plants that are thriving ;-). So I just left it to run all over the walk ways to see what it would produce. 

IMG_5905-001 Well, this is what it’s producing. I do believe that these are wild gourds that Esther used for her Christmas presents last year. Man, are they prolific! 

IMG_5919-001 Our summer squash is doing well, although I’ve noticed a few vine bore moths flying around, so we’re keeping a close eye on the squash. 

IMG_5879-001 We’re having summer squash in some form daily. 

IMG_5875-001 Our big tomatoes aren’t ready just yet. But we’re supposed to get 90° temps this week, so it won’t take long for them to ripen. 

IMG_6491 You know how I just let stuff go to seed for the bees. Well, sometimes it replants itself. So, I have several chinese cabbages growing in a walkway. I think I’ll make pancit this week and add them to it. 

IMG_6506 We have seven beds that each have two tomato cages in them with four tomato plants each. We use strips of old t-shirts to tie the plants to the cage. These cages are industrial tote cages, they use them to hold plastic totes that have chemicals in them. The cages were free and they are super sturdy. 

IMG_5856-001 We’re collecting a handful of cherry tomatoes each day, both yellow and red.

IMG_5910-001 Our okra got planted a little late, but it’s doing well and it won’t be long before we can add fried okra to our weekly menu. 

IMG_6511 The moringa is about four feet tall. I’m going to just let it grow and see how tall it gets and see if it produces pods. Homestead Lady is giving away 4 small trees and 10 seeds, be sure to enter. 

IMG_6473 We’ve been seeding the back around the orchard with wildflower seeds. So many have come this year because of the rain. It’s been so wonderful to see! Our hope is that one day it will be covered with flowers for the bees. IMG_5846-001 I found this guy hanging out on my bean plants. Any idea of what it might be? I caught it but it promptly poked me hard in my finger, so I let it go. IMG_5935-001 An evening harvest from last week. I know this amazing weather won’t last. We have about 6 more weeks of temperatures under 100°. Then we’ll be struggling to harvest anything other than okra and peppers so I’m trying to enjoy every moment in the garden. The Ultimate Gardening Tool

Don’t forget to keep notes in your gardening notebook. You’ll be happy you did. 

What’s going on in your May garden? (If you blog feel free to leave a link to your garden update in the comments. If you want to post a photo of your garden on our facebook page, I’d love to see it.)

The zone 9 May garden is full of green and blooms. We're starting to harvest the warm loving vegetables like summer squash, tomatoes and cucumbers.

This post is shared at Tuesday Garden Party

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14 thoughts on “The May Garden”

  1. I love seeing your garden updates! Since we’re moving, we aren’t planting this month and it feels so weird. We’ll have to skip tomatoes altogether this year which is extra weird. That’s ok, that’s what farmers markets are for, right?

    Reply
    • I bet that does feel weird but it will be so nice once you are settled. And you are right, that is what farmer’s markets are for.

      Reply
  2. That may be an aasasin bug. You really Dont want to get bit by one of those!! Trust me! The are killers of bad bugs which we all want but after one bite – the sight of one would send me running for a blowtorch!

    Reply
    • After some discussion on my fb page, I think he’s a wheel bug in the nymph stage, which is an assassin bug. I won’t be catching anymore, that is for sure.

      Reply
  3. I loved seeing your garden and how much room you have. I don’t have nearly enough veggie space, but I have designs on another spot. I had to stop at the lemon tree and was a little envious that you can grow them there. Now living in the Pacific Northwest, I miss the fragrance of lemon and orange blooms.

    Yael from Home Garden Diggers

    Reply
    • Yes, the spring bloom fragrance is just amazing. But we can’t grow cherries like you can in the PNW. I loved the tour of the iris farm on your blog. So inspiring!

      Reply
  4. I love those little heirloom yellow pear tomatoes. They produce so well and are delicious. I am still waiting on the first ripe one in my garden.

    Reply
    • Aren’t they the best! This plant was actually a volunteer that popped up in our front flower bed last fall. We transplanted it into the garden this spring and it was our first to produce.

      Reply
  5. I just found you, from the Attainable Sustainable page on Facebook.
    I love your blog!

    What type of beans are you using to climb so beautifully in your garden?

    Blessings!

    Reply
    • Thanks for stopping by! Those beans are Kentucky Wonder beans. We like them but they do have the string, just so you know.

      Reply

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