Give a Hoot -- a Garden update

The weather this year has been pretty strange planting a spring garden, wet and hot, enough to make apple trees bloom in February. You really have to care (give a hoot) and be persistent to grow the vegetables you love and although some of our earlier crops like carrots, beets and potatoes didn't propagate so well, it gave us an opportunity to plant some of the favorite crops we each love best. Above is our garden owl that watches over the garden spot everyday.

Green beans are one of our favorite. In years past, we always planted "Kentucky Wonder" but this year we tried "Rattlesnake" green beans." They look good just hope the name doesn't attract snakes.

This is the first year we've planted sweet potatoes. Bake'em, mash'em, fry'em, make some pies and casseroles what a treat and better for you than regular potatoes.

We all agree garlic is a must in the garden. These look good and healthy and we add in most dishes for added flavor and health value.

One of my "give a hoot" plants in the garden this year is strawberries named "Sequoia."  Produces   spring through fall.

Another is sugar snap peas, however this year they haven't grown up the fence like last spring, probably a product of our crazy spring.

Jerry likes hot peppers. This year he bought and planted "Mammoth Jalapenos."  Also, he finished his row with cayenne, regular jalapenos and hot bananas.

Watermelon is Jerry's give a hoot plant this year. This variety will yield dark red fruit.

Deberah loves eggplant. This is one of her favorite plants to care about in the garden this year.

And of course above is another of Deberah's favorite vegetable, kale. She sautes it, uses it in salads but likes to add it to a healthy shake of fruit, nuts and other tasty ingredients.

Above is our row of sweet peppers.

And this is a sweet cherry tomato variety. We haven't planted the majority of our tomatoes, as they are not big enough yet. Deberah planted heirloom tomatoes this year from seed and we are hoping to save plenty of seed for next year.

Above is an overview of the garden. I will keep you posted with updates as everything grows. We still have more to plant and even more mulching to finish.

Really, Tia and Todd don't give a hoot about the garden. They just like to play and watch us work.

So, until the next update.....

Happy Gardening 2012!

posted by Wilma  Smith