Peppers, Beans, Herbs, Squash

We had another wet weekend ... third one in a row.  About 5/8-inch of rain fell before the sun broke through the clouds.  Before and in between the showers I managed to clean up quite a bit in the garden and get some new plants and seeds in the ground.

The feed and seed stores in Pittsboro both offer a good selection of locally grown transplants.  Between the two of them I was able to find everything on my list. I don't have a good place to start plants from seed in the winter.  Since I typically plant only a few tomatoes, a few peppers, etc, I'd rather let someone else do that work.  After loading up on the next round of plants, I headed for the garden.

I added three curly leafed parsley plants to the herb garden and three dill plants next to the cherry tomatoes.  On the other side of the dill, I planted three pepper plants, each, of the varieties sweet banana and anaheim, plus, two cubanella peppers. The rest of that bed contains cucumbers and sweet basil.  I pulled up the bolting Red Cardinal spinach.  The stems were such a pretty pink I brought a bouquet into the house!  The Spargo spinach is still producing its large, dark green leaves.

Moving on to another bed, I put in three plants each, hot banana, jalapena, and red cayenne peppers between the rows of tender young kale and arugula.  At the other end of that bed, I cut the Toscano kale.  I'll probably get one more good cutting from that.

I had one bed sitting empty.  I direct seeded it.  It's now half-full of Jade bush beans.  I tried this variety for the first time last year.  It gives good yield and is delicious!  If I can find room in the garden, I'll plant more.  The other half  of the bed is full of early prolific straightneck yellow squash.  I really packed them in ... 8 hills!

I planted a single row of long beans right down the center of the pea bed.  The peas will play out before the long beans hit their growth spurt. The beans will then take their turn climbing up the same string trellis the sugar snaps are currently using. When the weather turns from warm to hot, I'll plant two rows of edamame on the outside edges of this bed.

More to come ... zucchini, pole beans, okra, butternut squash, field peas... Will there be room for all this deliciousness?!