GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING

On June 10^th, I spread the compost that’s been cooking in the bin since the early spring.  It was rich and dark and I top dressed most of the garden, giving a little extra to the giant tomato plants.  The compost bin works well and I turn it every week.  I lift the bin and move to the next spot and fork the ingredients back into it, thereby giving it a good mixing.  The weather has been good with nice sunny hot days mixed with periods of rain, so I’ve had to do very little watering.  Once again, the stars of the garden are the tomato plants.  They are 6’ tall and require a hair cut every now and again.  They are full of blooms and green tomatoes.  I found a beefsteak today that is as big as my fist and still green.  I can already taste it in my sandwich!  No sign of hornworms, but I keep looking for the tell tale signs of eaten leaves and little black poops.  The hot weather crops are starting to take off with the cukes already climbing the fence.  The cabbage looks great and is forming heads.  Hopefully those cabbage moths will stay away (not!).  I’ve been picking the snow peas every day although I don’t have enough yet except to use in salads.  We are still enjoying salad, but I think that the lettuce will be finished very soon, just in time for Swiss Chard salads!  The bush beans and pole beans are doing very well and I think that we will have a bumper crop of beans.  It surprises me at this time of year how little work the vegetable garden requires.  Yes, there is the occasional composting and ripping out the spent vegetables, but all in all, not much work to do.  I generally plant my seeds close together and that seems to inhibit any week growth.  I checked my garden chart and realized that I could probably start seeding my fall crop already (broccoli and cabbage).  I guess I have to determine which bed is going to have the hoophouse over it this winter.  Last  year’s fall crop was planted too late since the garden was producing well into the fall and there was no room to start any plants.  It’s a dilemma with a small garden.  Maybe I’ll put a few broccoli seeds in today and see what happens, problem is, I've used up all the broccoli seeds.  At this time, it might be difficult to buy seeds at the local Agway.  I guess the alternative is to order them online.