Container Garden Week 12 Update

We finally got a much needed break in the temperatures after having a couple of big storms blow in from the north and north-west this last week. We got 1 1/2 inches of rain here, so we only had to water once.

Anyway, not a lot has changed from last week, except the tomatoes are getting bigger and starting to turn red and I picked my first mini cantaloupe. We are still getting plenty of other fresh vegetables from the garden. If you are thinking of starting a container garden, or know someone who would benefit, I want you to see how easy it is.

Greenhouse Area

Here’s an overview of the greenhouse area. Plants are all still growing well!

Sweet Potatoes

The vines are growing up the net nicely.

Tomatoes in Buckets

The Beef Steak and Better Boy tomatoes in the white buckets are looking great, but have Leaf Spot like all of the other tomatoes. They are already starting to bloom.  The cherry tomatoes are pretty leggy. I just couldn’t bring myself to compost them.

Zucchini & Squash

I’m still finding squash eggs or a few squash bugs every day when I check the garden. But so far, so good…and the plants are still living. The two zucchini containers in the greenhouse area got so big, they had to be turned to keep the leaves off the electric fence.

Beans

I was planning on pulling the beans this week, but they sure look so much better and have lots of little beans and lots of blooms. So they got a reprieve. I’ll find some place else to plant fall sugar snap peas.

Minnesota Midget Cantaloupes

There are 8 -10 plants in each of the two cantaloupe containers. One container is pictured below on the left. The plants don’t get very big, but bloom profusely and put out a lot of mini melons about the size of softballs. I harvested one today. The other one in the picture below wasn’t quite ready yet.

Hot Peppers

I’ll take a picture from another angle next week so you can see them better. That’s tomatoes back behind the peppers. There are a total of seven Pablanos and five jalapenos. More than we probably needed, but they freeze well for future stuffing.

This link has some wonderful information on the health benefits of hot pepper. One of the main benefits that I am interested in, is that the capsaicin is good for asthma relief.

I’m not really a hot pepper aficionado, but we love chile rellenos and jalapeno poppers. Hopefully we can  put enough in the freezer to last us for awhile.

Cucumbers & Red Cherry Tomatoes

The cucumber plants are looking pretty rough. I’ve not seen any bugs, and no signs of disease. Thinking it might be the heat.

Although the cherry tomato in the fourth pot has Leaf Spot, it has a lot of blooms and several big clusters of tomatoes.

Squash & Cherry Tomatoes

These summer squashes are pretty steady producing. The yellow cherry tomato plant has a lot of little green tomatoes.

Bell Peppers

Oh, yeah! We use a LOT of  bell peppers! I cut them diced and in strips for the freezer. We then add them to many main dishes for dinner, and in omelets, egg scrambles or breakfast potatoes. I also freeze a bunch de-seeded and whole for stuffed peppers.

Bell peppers are loaded with Vitamin C, being more concentrated in red peppers.  I found this link that indicates that once picked, green bell peppers that are allowed to ripen for a few days, will become even more Vitamin C – rich.

Ladder & Shade Garden

Can’t see them here, but there is two tiny red trumpet flowers on the cypress vine on the ladder.

See that potted plant at the bottom right of the ladder? I actually kind of thought it was a weed. I’ve been pulling it up whenever I see it around the yard for years. I thought it smelled familiar though. Well, apparently I never let it grow long enough to discover it was actually a marigold. And obviously missed one somewhere for it to re-seed itself! It has one bloom now and several buds.

This Week’s Harvest

I always have vegetables sitting on the counter at this time of year, like many gardeners. To keep track of what we harvest to share here each week, I take a picture of everything we pick. I didn’t realize how much was actually picked this week until I put this picture together.

Not too bad for so little effort! I’m anxious to see what the rest of summer produces!

Happy Gardening!

Robin

PS: I would love for you to share this post on Pinterest. 🙂