The Latest Dirt - July 2023

News From Our Garden

By Janet Miller

Even though we just passed over the summer solstice, ushering in our warmest season, it feels like Spring has just begun.  With the record–breaking rainfall, which we are grateful for, our garden beds were way too soggy to work at the normal time. 

We were almost a month late transitioning all our beds from hoop houses to growing plots.  With the unseasonably cool temperatures, our seedlings, once planted in the ground, seemed to sit and pout, showing no signs of growth.  Fortunately, in the past few weeks, our plants have thrived as temps have come up, perhaps making up for lost time.  We have already begun harvesting squash and beans, the tomatoes and peppers are starting to set fruit, and the sunflowers are about to burst into their full glory. 

We’ve been happy to harvest and deliver to our friends at Monument Crisis Center a truckload of the onions we planted in February, along with crates and crates of citrus and apricots.

We have dozens of flats of garlic drying in the greenhouses waiting for its turn to go.  It’s going to be a good year, despite the late start!

 The other project of note is the Family Bed, the single 100–square–foot–bed we plant to demonstrate what is possible in a small family garden.  Shelley Christianson, Suzanne Miller and the team are doing an amazing job using interplanting and vertical planting to squeeze in dozens of varieties of vegetables.  We have many visitors to the garden who are inspired to get more from their own gardens when they see what is possible in our Family Bed!