Veggies Growing Great

When the weather warms up, you just can't stop things in the garden. Yep, there's damage left over from the oddly wet and long spring (peonies with disease spots, a pineapple lily dead in a too soggy spot, tomatoes still green, etc.), but lots of other things look good!

I had a spiral tomato support that didn't work for me a few years back. After our visit from the Clackamas Tomato Master and her advice to get those tomatoes off the ground, I got it out again. This time I was more diligent in pruning off the suckers - and it looks great!!

Tying the cucumber up the bamboo trellis saves space, and gets the cukes out of the dirt. The beans are on their way up another bamboo trellis.

The Bright Lights Swiss Chard makes a colorful border, but the leaf miners have found it. The easy answer is to protect it with the floating row cover. It sure would spoil the decorative effect, though.

I started some of the alpine strawberries from seed and put them in place of the regular everbearing variety in the rock garden. They are tiny berries - about the size of the tip of your index finger - but with a really creamy taste. That is - if I get them before the slugs!!