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You are here: Home / GROW / Growth Explosion in the Garden

Growth Explosion in the Garden

July 10, 2014 //  by Annie Bernauer//  Leave a Comment

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This last week, we had a growth explosion in the garden! It is hard to believe that just about a month ago I wrote about all the death in the garden due to the spring drought. The two major things that changed over the last month in our garden are mulching and drip irrigation. We’ve been busy spreading straw mulch around all the plants and still have a few to go. As I write this, my husband is installing the last of the drip irrigation on the strawberry and raspberry beds. 

About two weeks ago our weather jumped from nice 70 degree days to a long string of hot 90+ degree temperatures.  Since the plants are mulched and getting a good amount of water, they had a growth explosion. The squash had the most noticeable growth. I planted out the starts about two weeks ago. They drooped for the first week. Then they literally grew overnight. It was amazing to see such a noticeable growth spurt like that! The plants went from two or three small leaves to this:

Squash plant growth explosion in the garden

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The cabbage also had a growth explosion. I’m already dreaming of the homemade sauerkraut we’ll make with this homegrown cabbage!

growing cabbage in an organic garden in Montana

 The broccoli and cabbage beds are filling out nicely. I’m amazed when I think back to how small and spindly these plants looked when I planted them out in the garden after starting them in the greenhouse. 

growing organic broccoli on the Montana homestead

 

We love Sungold tomatoes so I planted multiple seed pots in the greenhouse. Six of the plants germinated and are thriving in the garden. This is the first Sungold tomato of the season and we can’t wait for it to ripen to a lovely golden orange color. 

growing sungold tomatoes from seed in an organic garden in montana

 We have two 120 foot beds filled with tomato plants. Come harvest time we will be busy making and canning tomato sauce, salsa and stewed tomatoes. The heirloom tomatillos are thriving but still need to be tied up to the fence trellis since they just want to branch out and lay on the ground. 

growing heirloom  tomatoes and tomatillos in the organic garden Our tomatillo plants are covered in flower blossoms. Soon they should be covered in tomatillos that we use to make salsa verde. 

heirloom tomatillo flowers in montanaThe heirloom beets also had a growth explosion. I thinned the beds and spread out the seedlings two weeks ago. Soon we will be making and canning my favorite pickled beets!

growing heirloom red beets in the organic garden in montana

 My mom is visiting and helped with some much needed weeding in the garden. She also helped tackle the big job of straw mulching the beds. 

growing organic strawberries and raspberries in montanaOur strawberry plants struggled during the spring drought. They’re supposed to be an early season variety but last year they provided juicy strawberries all summer long and even into September. Now that the plants are mulched and getting water regularly, they are all covered in flowers. And you now what that means: strawberries!

strawberry flowers in an organic garden in montanaThe 50+ raspberry canes we planted this year were supposed to be second year canes. We were told they would produce berries this year. When I spotted flowers on some of the raspberry canes, I was thrilled! 
growing organic raspberries in montana

 The pole beans finally sprouted along with a bunch of weeds. This is the last section of the garden to be mulched. Once it is weeded, the beds will be mulched with straw. There is also a small section of sunflowers to the left of this bed that are growing well. 

growing pole beans in the garden in montana

 The moon has been visible in the evening sky and looks so beautiful. When we sit down to eat dinner at the table on our back porch each evening, little A loves to point out the moon in the sky “Look mama, I see the moon!” I love heading out to work in the garden in the evening with this beautiful scene in the sky.

summer moon in the evening sky in montana

It has been so hot lately that our time to work in the garden is limited. I’ve been trying to get up around 5 am. When I wake up this early, it gives me time to walk around the property. This is my favorite time of day. It is so peaceful outside. Watching the sunrise is such a wonderful way to start the day. After I go for a walk, I work in the gardens before the day heats up. It feels so wonderful to have accomplished so much work by 8am!  

How’s your garden growing? 

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Hello I'm Annie and welcome to our blog!

I was raised in an old farmhouse in the country and taught by three generations of women in my family to cook from scratch, can and preserve food, nurture plants to grow, craft with my hands, and live a simple, meaningful life. Now I'm teaching my own children these skills on our little homestead in Montana. I'm sharing these vintage skills here so you too can live a simple, more connected homemade life- one canning jar at a time! Read more...

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