July was a busy month weather wise. Heat, hail, cold, and storm – we had it all. But thankfully a lot of good days too. Even though we got an heavy hail right at the beginning, the garden has come back nicely. Others, who got the hail later and more severely, were not so lucky.
We ate the first strawberries before the hail. The plants got hit badly but are coming back. Since it is a ever bearing variety, they will soon produce again.
We are enjoying zucchini, all kinds of greens, and some tomatoes.
Also the raspberries and saskatoons, lots of yummy berries.
Nanking cherries were a good surprise. Somehow we did not recognize the bush and missed the flowers in spring. So we were planning on getting rid of this useless bush. And then one day I discovered ripe and yummy cherries on it :).
The greenhouse tomatoes are not doing as well. This is our first year and we are still on a learning curve. We got some blossom end rot. I have given them compost tea, Epsom salt, eggshells, and bone meal fertilizer. So hopefully that will get rid of the problem.
We added some chickens to our garden. They are eating our kitchen scraps and those plants that haven’t done so well or we have too much of ;), make compost and manure, and today (August 4th) we had our first egg!
The fall crop is up and growing, I plan to plant some more.
There is still lots blooming in the garden.
And more yummy goodies to come!
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Alli says
What a hail storm! I enjoy seeing all of your plants and veggies and the cherries look yummy. Congrats on your first egg!
Anna says
Thank you! The egg was supper yummy (I fried it), but somehow strange to eat it right from the chicken. Have to get used to it.
Shirley Wood says
Great garden tour. Your garden looks great! Y’all do a fabulous job with it. That was some kind of hail storm, Wow! You have really had a variety of weather up there! Is it always like that in the summer!
Love the flowers, my fav!
Anna says
Our weather tends to be a bit on a crazy side. There is a saying that if you do not like the weather, wait 15 minutes, it will change ;). The flowers are gorgeous. I have never had so many flowers in my garden, very happy!
Kristen from The Road to Domestication says
WOW! Everything looks amazing! And I’m glad those strawberries are coming back from the storm!
Anna says
Yes, me too. It was sad to see them being destroyed by the hail. But that is the wonder of creation, things want to grow!
Zan says
So many fruits you got this year. I do not know what a Saskatoon is; in fact, I just heard the word 2 weeks ago in church when a missionary said he was going to a place up Canada called Saskatoon! Is that where you are? And is that fruit named after that place?
Anna says
Yes, there is a city in Canada named Saskatoon, and there is a berry bush that has the same name. I did not know saskatoon berries before moving to Canada, but we are making friends quickly, so yummy! No, we are not in Saskatoon.
tessa - Homestead Lady says
Congrats on the chickens, bummer about the hail and thanks for sharing that about the Nanking cherries since I’ve often wondered if I should try planting those.
Anna says
Thank you! Nanking cherries grow great here. I am glad to have them, however I would suggest you try them first before planting. They aren’t as sweet or big as other cherries would be.
tessa says
Do the worms eat them, though? There’s no point growing cherries for me if the worms are going to eat them so if these ones are less likely to be devoured, then I’m happy to try them…
Anna says
I did not see any worms. Sure, go for it, it is a nice bush. Some plant them as a hedge, too.
lisa M says
Wow! Your garden is doing amazing! I’m so jealous of your grapes, we hardly got any this year.
Thanks for joining us at Green Thumb Thursday, We’d love to have you link up again!
~Lisa M
Anna says
Thank you! Not sure yet how they will taste, its our first year, so everything is a surprise.