June 17 Garden Notes

June 17

We’ve had cool, rainy weather for the past week or so, but by tomorrow it will careen up into the high 80s.  That’s got to be stressful.  Especially for the heat lovers on the one hand (peppers, beans and melons) and the cool lovers , on the other (favas, greens, lettuces).  The peppers are setting their blossoms unevenly–many of the varieties I am trying for the first time, so I don’t know if they are behaving normally or not.  The cumin sits and sulks.  The beans are stunned into place, shivering.  The lettuce is happy, the radicchio delighted, the peas just chirping away–for the moment.  Crazy crazy fluctuations.

I’ve lost a couple of crops to the rabbits–all of the fenugreek, most of the fennel (do they prefer vegetables that begin with “F”? Now they’re making some inroads on the carrot tops. Right now I’m okay with sharing. In another week I might hanker after rabbit stew.

Some things are going to seed: the rapini (since the honeybees seem to love it, I’m leaving it for a while), mustard (that’s good), first sowing of arugula. Some lettuces show signs of bolting, as did the dill before I cut it for drying.  We’ve eaten through the first crop of radishes.  I’ve planted more spinach, romano, filet and borlotti beans, lettuces, arugula, calendula, basil, sunflowers and chamomile.  There isn’t another free inch of planting space until more crops are pulled (though I have my eye on a couple of spots that might just take a plant or two).

What we’re picking:

• carrots
• chamomile for drying
• edible flowers
• favas
• garlic scapes
• greens
• herbs of all sorts (for fresh, freezing and drying)
• lettuce mixes
• onions (young)
• peas
• potatoes
• radishes
• potatoes
• spinach