An Early July Vegetable Garden Update

It's been about 6 weeks since I planted our veggie garden and it finally feels like the plants are starting to take off! While the weather's been somewhat uncooperative (bouncing back and forth between hot and humid and cool and rainy), the garden has managed to hold its own for the most part.

This is what the ground cherry plant looks like now:

 As you might recall, this is the first year I've ever grown ground cherry, so I haven't been too sure what to expect from it! The fruits will form inside the light green orbs that look like paper lanterns. I have no idea how to tell when they're ready to harvest - I need to do a bit of research on that I think! It's definitely a plant that adds some texture and interest to the vegetable garden; I hope we'll enjoy eating the fruit, too.

The cherry tomatoes are starting to get close to full size, although it'll be a while before they turn ripe unless we get a decent burst of warm sunny weather:

The sweet peppers are starting to come out; this Gypsy variety starts out pale yellow then ripens to a deep red - they are some of the sweetest peppers I've ever tasted! It's hard to be patient waiting for them to ripen :) I have some jalapeno plants too, but they don't have any peppers growing on them yet.

Over in this little corner of the garden, things are coming along nicely. There are a few re-grown green onions and an abundance of herbs (oregano, purple basil, garlic chives, lemon thyme) plus the nicest crop of lettuce I've had in just about forever.

And to the left of these herbs and lettuce is my parsley patch! Can you tell I love parsley? I've gotten pretty addicted to quinoa tabbouleh this spring so I need lots and lots of parsley. I think it's one of the most underrated herbs and I like to toss it in everything from omelettes to grain salads to salad dressings. I also like to have some to dry at the end of the season to add to winter soups and stews.

Finally, here are my scraggly-looking green beans. This is usually my most vigorous, productive crop, so I have no idea why they are doing so pathetically this year. I'm hoping they will start to perk up if we get some warmer weather - they are absolutely my favourite fresh-from-the-garden vegetable! And the variety I grow (Slenderette) is so superior to anything you'll get at the grocery store that it doesn't even seem like the same vegetable. Come on green beans, get it together, please.

I also realized as I was writing this post that I'd forgotten to snap a pic of the raspberries on the other side of the yard, which have started to ripen. It doesn't look like we'll be getting quite as much of a yield as we did last year, but there are still enough for us all to do some decent nibbling while we're out in the garden and sprinkle a few on some yogurt or granola.

How are things growing in your garden so far this year?