The June Garden is full of promise and rewards. Everything is green, disease and pests have yet to take center stage, and plants are yearning to grow and fruit. My job is to keep up on the weeds (always the weeds!) and harvest daily. It is this time of year when there is enough substance in the garden to begin planning meals around the daily harvest, and the kids and I begin our morning harvest walks.
In early June my garden rewards are mesclun mix, beets, new potatoes, mulberries, kale, Chinese cabbage, golden purslane, and the last of the snap peas and lettuce. In another week or so, the broccoli, carrots, and kohlrabi will be ready to harvest.
In an effort to smother weeds and hold in moisture, I’ve begun a mulch-everything-in-sight project. My goal is to have every single soil surface covered in straw, as you can see from this (slightly distorted) panoramic shot of the lower garden. As I look at this photo, it appears that I’ve hardly planted anything. In reality, every single available inch of garden has been planted, to the point where I probably spaced things too closely (although if you have followed this blog for a while, you’re probably saying, “Well, that’s nothing new!”).
As I walk through the gardens, I see promise everywhere.
The promise of a healthy crop of tomatoes and abundant salsa.
The promise of freshly picked bouquets of flowers.
The promise of cups of delicious, sweet, and juicy berries from our thornless blackberry canes.
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I have a very special treat for you today, which is a virtual garden tour of eleven other gardens! I always love seeing what other people are growing, and how they are growing food, herbs and flowers. Plus, on this tour you will visit gardens in USDA gardening zones 3 through 9a. That means that some of the gardens are just beginning their season, while others (zone 9a!) are wrapping up their harvests. Join the virtual tour by clicking through to the other sites on the list below. Have fun!
Homestead Garden Tour
Joybilee Farm (British Columbia, Zone 3)
Homespun Seasonal Living (Montana, Zone 4b)
Family Food Garden (British Columbia, Zone 5b)
Learning and Yearning (Pennsylvania, Zone 5b)
Homestead Honey (NE Missouri, Zone 5b)
Reformation Acres (Ohio, Zone 5b)
Homestead Lady (SW Missouri, Zone 6)
Timber Creek Farm (Maryland, Zone 7b)
Grow Forage Cook Ferment (Oregon, Zone 8a)
A Farm Girl in the Making (Washington, Zone 8a)
Preparedness Mama (Texas, Zone 8b)
Schneiderpeeps (Texas, Zone 9a)
The Grow it! Eat it! Bundle will help you maximize your garden productivity, make best use of your harvests, and create delicious local, seasonal meals, treats, and preserves. This amazing resource is only available until June 30 at the amazing price of $17.47.
Click here to visit Grow it! Eat it!.
Angi @ SchneiderPeeps says
Those blackberries look great! We forage dewberries (wild blackberries) every year but goodness, they tear up our hands and they’re brambles. So this year we planted a few thornless blackberry bushes. I can’t wait until they are full like yours.
Teri Page says
These are only two years old, Angi, so you don’t have long to wait! Last year they did well, but got too bushy and it was hard to find the berries. This year we did a very thorough job of pruning the canes and they are rewarding us with so much fruit!
Thelma Day says
Nice garden. I’ve never hear of thornless blackberries. I must look for some. I have the thorny one. Straw is a nice idea to keep down the weeds. Happy summer.
Teri Page says
Thank you Thelma! Yes, the lack of thorns is very nice. They are not quite as flavorful as the Himalayan blackberries we ate in Oregon, but the picking is much easier!
Shelle Wells says
Love, love, love those blackberries! I wish I could grow them here in 8b.
Teri Page says
I know! They are so delicious! Can you grow mulberries there? I like them almost as much as blackberries.
Isis Loran- Family Food Garden says
I love your mulching and cattle panel trellis 🙂
Linda says
Looking lovely! I love seeing your gardens while mine sleeps. Thank you for the links too! Will check out as many as I can 🙂