Hope your garden is doing well!

by Daniel
(Spring Grove, IL.)

I hope your veggie garden is doing well this season. We have had a lot of rain this spring and now early summer. The farmer's corn in this part of northern Illinois is above waist high but the local saying is "knee high by the 4th of July".

I haven't had to do too much watering this year from my water barrels, and they have been flowing over. But the garden has been doing really well.

Had more spinach than we could use or give away; we were using spinach in our salads. The onions bulbs I planted in March have now grown and tops have fallen over and are starting to turn brown. Yesterday I pulled 2 onions out and I am now having them dry for about a week.

I can't keep the birds out of my strawberries, so I think we have had 2 berries harvested this year. So next year I am planning on planting some potatoes.

We have harvested the first batch of peas and had them for dinner that night about 3 weeks ago and now hoping for more soon. The romaine lettuce I planted in the backyard bed have not been doing well mostly because I did not prepare the beds, so I have learned another important lesson. I will plant them in the raised beds next year after they have been prepared.

The beans haven't produced, and I am starting to get worried. I can't wait until later this season when the zucchini and winter squash start producing because right now they are HUGE. Well my garden has been a success so far this year with a few disappointments. I hope that your garden has fared well...have fun!