Again, this is a true hillbilly garden! I use items from around the farm to make the perimeter structure, for the tomato stakes, and to hold down the black weed barrier. And of course, the old TV antenna "scarecrow" is in the corner, along with the large plaster owl, to keep the birds away. Pop cans and small muffin tins rattle in the breeze to keep the critters away, and the garlic and habanero pepper mixture that I spray around the perimeter keeps the deer and raccoons away (so far!!!!)
I used some broken wooden stepladders to hang the old cane pole which will serve as the pole bean trellis. I also have Alaska peas and Fordhook Lima beans growing in the corners. Along with tomatoes, hot Hungarian and sweet banana and Jalapeno peppers, broccoli and spinach, new to the garden this year are cucumbers, radishes, small watermelons, okra, white onions and lettuce.
The side of the Morton building will (hopefully) produce zucchini, yellow squash, acorn squash and butternut squash.
Also beside the Morton building is the spearmint patch. I transplanted a small bunch from my Mom's house several years ago, and now I'm trying to keep it contained! I continue to share starts of it with my friends and neighbors. After all, how can you make a decent Mojito without the spearmint ???
I've already harvested some spinach, lettuce, green onions and three little radishes for a delicious salad over the weekend. I can't wait for everything to come in!! I plan to can some hot peppers, Grandma Margie's sweet pickle chips (the recipe also works for a yellow squash and zucchini sweet chip recipe) and maybe a bit of salsa.
I still need to figure when to plant cilantro and dill to coincide with canning, but other than that, I only need to give this year's garden some TLC.
Here's hoping the weather suits the veggies this year as well as it did last year!!!
Sue
