Actually it was a very productive weekend, planting the remaining pumpkin seeds, soybeans, hot peppers, and new rows of veggies. But literally, my t-shirt was blowing up the back and I have a lumbar sunburn to show for this weekend’s work.

Some surprise notes from a dry season – flowers. I scattered a pollinator flower mix and they are making their way up through the tall grasses. Duly noted to plant in rows so it can be weeded, then mow the weed grasses in between.

The borage plants are growing into huge masses of prickly oddball plants. I knew they spread and will self-sow liberally, but did not account for the spread. Somewhere below the leaves are hapless strawberry transplants that need a new home.

Next up, chamomile tea. They took forever to germinate, then went through a sudden growth spurt. In the background, you can see wild purslane with red stems cropping up.

Peas without trellis support. This is a garnish pea that puts out a lot of tendrils and I’m trying it without trellis support.

Sugar snap peas with trellis support. Normally by mid Jun the plants are about 4 feet tall, but we have at least 3 more weeks to go. Setting up a trellis is a time-consuming task. Weeding the base of it is even harder. I don’t particularly like plastic netting, but its weight and the 250 foot length is why I keep buying it each season.

Finally the piece de resistance, the garlic scape. When garlic sends up a flower stalk, we remove it and wait a few weeks for the bulb to size up. About 2-3 weeks after cutting the scapes, the top 2 leaves yellow and die back, and then it’s garlic harvest! Hardneck garlic planst send up a single stalk, which curls upon itself once or twice. As it matures, the fibers in the stalk get tough and it straightens out. This is the first time I’ve seen a multi-stalk garlic.