May is one of my favorite times in the garden — we’re harvesting our early season crops, and our mid-season crops are being sown. Everything is green, lush and growing beautifully, and the intense heat of summer hasn’t taken its toll on the crops yet. It is truly miraculous to watch the garden transform before our eyes — nature continues to amaze me, even after all this time.
Here’s a look at what’s happening in our urban farm this May:
Pole beans have sprouted at the base of our teepee trellis, okra is sprouting along the back fence, and squash & zucchini are filling the front border of our raised bed. Herbs are thriving in our row of containers.
Baby cauliflower heads are just starting to peek out.
Basil sprouts are tiny, but just as fragrant as full grown plants.
Hard to believe, but in one month these okra plants will be five fee tall.
Carrots will be harvested soon.
Our grape vines are thriving, and we’re training them to grow horizontally along wires.
We’ve been harvesting our Salad Bowl Bed all month, and still have another month of leafy greens ahead of us. We won’t buy salad greens this entire spring, saving our family hundreds of dollars that we would have spent to buy organic greens.
Our peas are pushing upward. In another few weeks they’ll become long vines, and we’ll use a trellis to support them as they stretch.
Our squash have begun producing flowers. The male flowers come first, but soon there will be female flowers, which will produce fruit. We often hand pollinate to ensure the fruit ripens.
Peppers are growing well. We’ve got four different varieties of sweet peppers growing this summer, including a new one — Chocolate Peppers. Looking forward to trying that!
We’re growing raspberries for the first time, and happy to see bunches of fruit on the vines.
So that’s what’s sprouting in our garden this May. The months of preparation, sowing, fertilizing, watering and waiting are beginning to pay off, and we’re enjoying every minute of it! Happy (urban) farming!