I’m back today with part 2 of the update on the vegetable garden here at Happy Acres. One of the last things I always get planted are the sweet potatoes, and this year I got them in on June 4th. I set out the usual varieties – 29 slips in all, planted in a ridge I made of loose soil. I grow the slips myself from the the previous year’s harvest, and pot them up so they get off to a good start in the garden. I’m mulching them with cardboard and shredded pepper, which helps keep down the weeds and conserve soil moisture.
row of sweet potatoes
sweet potato plant
One of the first things I got planted outside this year were the container eggplants. I’m growing Fairy Tale, Gretel and Icicle again this year, and all are AAS Winners that do quite well for me in containers. I sow these seeds earlier than the main crop varieties, and potted them up outside in mid-April when danger of frost had passed.
container eggplants
blooms on Fairy Tale eggplant
Those plants have already rewarded us with the first eggplants, and should keep us well supplied until the main crop varieties start producing.
Fairy Tale eggplants
I’ve also got a few hot peppers growing in containers, mostly test varieties but also a few tried and true favorites. Like the eggplants, they give me a jump on the season until the in-ground plantings begin bearing.
container peppers
One of the latest things I planted was some heat-tolerant lettuce in the cold frame bed behind our greenhouse. So far I have Cherokee and Tehama planted, and I have seedlings of a few others to go in when space is available. Last year we had lettuce throughout much of the summer months and I hope to repeat that again this year.
heat tolerant lettuce plants
And in another bed behind the greenhouse the kohlrabi I set out in late April is sizing up and ready for harvest. I set out 30 plants, so that should keep us supplied for quite a bit!
kohlrabi plants
kohlrabi harvest
I hope you have enjoyed this tour of the garden here in June, and I will be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!
