Friday Night Photos: 2009 Garden Update #4 – Little Tomatoes, Veggies, and Herbs
I believe there are lessons everywhere you turn in life, and right now perhaps my garden is trying to teach me that the cycle of life continues no matter what, because the garden is thriving, even though I’ve been doing a lot of house organizing and cleaning and not much gardening. Not only that, the weather in Utah has been rainy for days on end, but the plants seem to be loving it. Above are my first tomatoes of the year, baby Celebrity tomatoes about as big as a small grape. They aren’t heirlooms, but year after year Celebrity has been a good producing tomato for me.
I also have tiny little spaghetti squash, which I’m growing inside a tomato cage in one of my raised beds this year. I love to grow spaghetti squash so I can pick them when they’re still green and cook the spaghetti squash like a summer squash. If you have spaghetti squash growing, give this a try; everyone in my family loves it cooked this way.
No sign of any zucchini yet, but the yellow straightneck squash is starting to produce some squash like the one you see peeking out in this photo.
This is my first time growing red cabbage, which I started from baby plants I got at the garden center. I love cabbage, so I figure how can home-grown cabbage not be a complete winner?
These are the methi plants, from the seeds Padma sent me last fall. Methi is the Indian name for the plant that produces the seeds called fenugreek when they’re used as a spice. I haven’t cooked the leaves before, but I’m looking forward to trying them, and I’ve bookmarked a few recipes I’ve seen on other blogs.
My beans are growing like crazy. These are a type of bush bean that supposedly is easy to pick because the beans grow at the top of the plant. Another experiment, so we’ll see how they do. I haven’t had good luck keeping up on the picking with vine-type green beans, so I’m hoping these will work out.
The basil I planted from seed is thriving, and I finally found enough time to divide and thin the plants. I have such a hard time pulling out healthy basil plants, so some of these clumps might need to be thinned again, but at least I have them spaced out a lot more so the plants can grow.
And finally, I was lamenting the fact that my dill didn’t seem to sprout, so I broke down and bought four dill plants. Of course you know what happened next, and if you look closely you can see some tiny little dill plants in this photo, so I should have plenty of dill this summer. The plant in the front is a gorgeous golden oregano which has been coming back for three winters now.
If you’re growing a garden at your house, I’d love to hear in the comments about what baby veggies and herbs are starting to appear.
This is the fourth garden update for 2009. You can see all the updates in order by clicking the label 2009 Garden Updates
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21 Comments on “Friday Night Photos: 2009 Garden Update #4 – Little Tomatoes, Veggies, and Herbs”
I'm jealous! We're nearing 100 degree temps and little garden is trying to stay alive. I started it too late so it didn't produce much. Learning experience though.
Lovely, lovely garden! And so much tidier looking than mine LOL. Though my husband and I are fortunate that our "strategy" of carpet bombing seems to have produced some results anyway – we're eating very well what with (almost) daily harvests of chard, kale, spinach, peas, chives, etc from our front yard!
Sounds like there are a lot of great gardens!
Pam, I think the golden oregano tastes very much like Greek Oregano, maybe a bit milder.
Elizabeth, the baby spaghetti squash does have strands, wetter than the riper squash, but very tasty.
Your garden looks stunning, as usual, Kalyn!
Luckily, you can never have enough dill – dill and tomato salad is the best. I too bought a dill plant this year and as I was transplanting it, I saw the tiniest little dill sproutlet already growing in the window-pot I use! How thrilling is that? I think it's the first time I've had dill come up from last year's seeds scattering in the fall.
-Elizabeth
P.S. Spaghetti squash!! Lucky you to have the space for it. I love spaghetti squash – but I have never had it young and green. Does it have any of its threads yet?
Everything looks good. I'm so curious about that golden oregano, I've never seen it before. Does it have the same flavor as regular old oregano?
Kalyn's your tomatoes are so Beautiful and your Photos.
Thanks for Posting!
how exciting to see your little babies! here's to a good season and big crop.
Here in IL I have tiny tomatoes, and even tinier jalapenos. I have a bumper crop of sweet peas that I planted in pots (the bunnies can't reach the pots!) The peas are going to be ready in mere days. We got nearly 6 inches of rain yesterday and my little garden almost washed away! Thankfully everything drained pretty well and is looking great today.
Ooops, just read all the other comments properly and realise everyone else has problems with cilantro too. Maybe someone will come along and tell us the secret?
Everything in your garden looks very tidy and healthy Kalyn – you've obviously got the green fingered touch!
Our tomatoes aren't even on to flowering stage yet but we've had lots of lovely leafy things and the french purple beans are nearly ready to eat and there is the tiniest yellow zucchini growing.
The herbs are all looking good except the coriander which has bolted horribly already (if anyone has ace coriander/cilantro growing tips then do tell please!)
like the new look~
This year I learned about the winter sowing method. I had only a little luck but I got spinach, turnips and cilantro started. I did get some good cilantro for the first time. It got me going in April, which is new for me. New for me this year: spinach, turnips, sugar snap peas, leeks, onions, and broccoli. Also growing zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, and carrots. Something is eating my flowers, broccoli and cantaloupe leaves. I have to make a cage out of chicken wire. I saw one zucchini flower the other day. I have lots of tomato volunteers. I dug them up and gave them away. This year I also put in 2 flower beds with native plants from community plant sales. I put in purple coneflower, purple milkweed (for the monarch butterflies), joe pye weed, coreopsis, new jersey tea, prairie dropseed, black eyed susans, cream false indigo, blue false indigo, and a few things I have no idea what they are but they are assuredly native flowering plants.
I do love hearing what other people are growing. Sounds like a lot of places has been having too much rain. We had a nice day yesterday and today it looks cloudy again. The rain is great for the weeds, but luckily the damp ground makes it easier to pull them too!
Wow, am I jealous to hear that Tanna has eggplant already, and that some people get two crops of tomatoes. And I've never had any luck at all growing cilantro either.
Everything does look like it is doing very well given the neglect and late cold snaps you had. Over on the East Coast we have had rain, rain, a little more rain and that was followed up by some mizzle.
Surprisingly in the garden my garlic is sending up scapes, I found a cardamom plant this year and it is actually thriving. The local bunny decimated my cucumbers, but on a bright note, my tomatoes which I grow out of the raised beds in Earthgrow boxes and a large upside down grower are doing amazingly well. I even have a few green tomatoes the size of a nice grape! I had thought that my self sexing zucchini plants had both chosen the wrong one, but I peeked under a leaf the other morning and there is actually a zucchini growing – I already have big plans for it. But the weeds, OH THE WEEDS, I think I know where I am spending my Sunday.
We had a long period of drenching rain – every day for a couple of weeks, I think. And of course, it's summer here (south Florida), so we get a short rainy period just about every afternoon. After the drenching rains, my garden revived itself and took off! I thought my tomato plants had just about given up the ghost for the season, but now they're bushy and green and ready to give me more tomatoes! (I planted them from seed last October, and they've already given me one crop.)
I love cilantro, but, here in NW Ohio, I never have any luck with it. As soon as I plant it, it "bolts" and doesn't produce anything other than what looks like a cross between dill and cilantro. Those beautiful flat-looking/Italian parsley-like leaves don't grow for me, just feathery stuff! My basil, my sage, my dill, my thyme, my oregano, all my other herbs are growing like gangbusters. I live in a condo, so one portion of my tiny garden is dedicated to herbs, and the rest: perennials and annuals!
You have a wonderful garden you should be proud!
What a goreous garden you have going. The rain has been a blessing since the years of drought. We are in SW Idaho. Mine is actually doing well too. The only things I had a problem with was scallions and sweet peas. But the beans and corn are going crazy, the roma tomatoes took off. Lettuce is slow going. Carrots and cabbage are doing great. The cucumbers and honey dew are off to a very slow start. During the dry hot summers prior, they grew crazy. I just purchased some herbs and an acorn sqaush, zucchini and baby sweet watermelon, and I think a canteloupe. Oh yeah, there is also an eggplant. Our strawberries after being moved are doing awesome! But they are done for now. 🙁 Hope your garden continues to thrive! Sure hope I have as much luck with the oregano as you have.
Your garden is looking a lot like mine. Isn't it just wonderful! I go out each morning to see what has happened during the night with it! :0)
I'm awe struck that I have a little egg plant starting.
Gorgeous golden oregano!
Send us the rain! Yikes…a drought almost and here I live on the rainy west coast! I love your garden…and seeing the shoots growing as they are. Wish I had a garden but my tiny potted herbs will do me just fine this year with my lack of time to garden much. I even have a very hearty tomato plant…here's hoping it produces!