The goldenrod is particularly stunning this year. The gardeners planted it several years ago in their quest to provide more food for pollinators. This year, the plants must be large enough to be considered a worthy dining destination because they are humming with tiny insects feeding to their hearts’ content.
Lettuce
The gardeners are in-between the plantings of lettuce. They harvested everything right before the heat wave but held off planting more until after it! Anna Ashby, Allison’s master gardener and beekeeper, expects to be able to continue harvesting next week.
Basil
The garden has plenty of basil, but the gardeners wait until the JORY kitchen needs it before harvesting, simply because it doesn’t hold well in the walk-in refrigerator.
Tomatoes
The gardeners harvested the first few ripe tomatoes for a photo shoot on Friday. They will only increase in number until every available space in the kitchen is covered in tomatoes.
Zucchini
Most summer vegetables have settled down from transplanting or seed sowing to the serious business of producing fruits. The zucchini is a prime example. The first of the zucchini will be harvested this next week. If the gardeners wait a week to harvest, the squash will be the size of an arm!
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are off to a slower start. The gardeners had to replant as several did not germinate. However, they are on to their malingering ways and are coddling them with extra watering and liquid fertilizer, hand-delivered, no less! The gardeners are hopeful that they will respond accordingly.
Honey
The bees are busy storing away nectar and turning it into honey. The Allison will have a good honey harvest this year, which will happen later this month. One of the bee’s favorite flowers is this Koosh-ball-looking thistle flower on the cardoon plant. There can easily be a dozen bees burrowing around gathering nectar.
Come out to the garden to see what else we have growing.
-The Allison
