Moving fast... quick updates

OK- so alot going on as I am leaving for a two week vacation and working hard to get the garden all shored up!  This past week I have:

• Ripped out all the sunberry's
• Cut back the swiss chard and continued battle with blister beetles (I HATE THEM!)
• Took some of smaller potatoes and am attempting to have a second crop this year
• Planted a second crop of beets, and carrots
• Moved the 'melon' plant to the sunberry patch
• Ripped out crappy soaker hose and strung a new one in the beds I just planted
• cleaned up potatoes and onions and put them in my new storage bin

I am taking  a risk on not watering my tomatoes and melons and beans.  Since my soaker hoses snapped, I am only going to water the super important things in my garden. I think the beans will be fine.......and the tomatoes ....I think they will be fine too!

Anyhow- got alot done by cleaning up the beds, getting seeds in, and getting the soaker hoses ready.  Wonder what I will find when I return!

Updated photos - topsy turvy experiment

So my topsy turvy experiment is in full swing.  I planted these hanging grow bags for a mix of veggies: eggplant, peppers, strawberries, butternut squash, and delicata squash.  At first I thought it was the best invention ever, then as the season progressed, I rethought this statement.  I am not at the end of the experiment- but I am in the middle.  Overall they dry out WAY TOO QUICKLY, even with watering every day.  The size of the plants are much smaller than in the garden due to the small soil space. With that said, I have had:

• Wonderful strawberry harvest and love keeping these plants contained. When they send out runners I just put them in a new topsy turvy!
• Eggplants are forming now and I am so excited. Due to bugs I never get eggplants, but this year I did, sans bugs!
• Getting LOTS OF PEPPERS!  Like I said, plant size is smaller, but still getting a great harvest!
• Squash's not doing so well......they dry out too quickly. I do have one butternut squash formed though!

Eggplant and Holy Thai Basil

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4 Kinds of Hot Peppers

Delicata squash 

My first butternut squash!

View of full butternut plant

my first eggplant ever!

another view of peppers

What a year..... Mid Summer Update

Wow - I haven't written for awhile since life has been so crazy.  Between the garden, kids, work, the house....where does time go? Anyhow- I gotta update this year's 'garden good times' to remind me how each year is SO DIFFERENT.

First the highlights:

•  Landscaper fabric is working famously. It has been a very dry season and I feel like it is helping keep moisture in.
• Early tomatoes! Everything is early this year!  I have been canning for the last two days!
• Beans doing great
• Amazing cabbage
• Lots of garlic
• Nice and 'clean garden'
• News beds formed with sheet composting is working FAMOUSLY
• Topsy turvy peppers and egglplants working GREAT, squash not so great, dries out too much
• Most amazing BEETS!
• So far new pumpkin patch looks good!
• Growing basil on the porch in containers working great

Garden Pitfalls:

• Put in soaker hoses too late and they also split.....
• BUGS......I will dedicate another post just to this.   All I can say is BLISTER BEETLES.
• Because of bugs, lost alot of 'food'
• Squash in topsy turvy dries out way too quickly
• Too many squash?? Is that a problem?

Pics of topsy turvy and bug story to follow!