June! June! June! by Sue@Lmu

Pumpkin planters last week. Thanks to some overdue rain they are popping up.<img src="https://growappalachia.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IMG_1847pumkin-planter-300×225.jpg"
Canning college last week with our wonderful extension agent Carol Brandon. They learned how to can beans, tomatoes, peaches, pickles, jams and jellies. Watering and weeding. These kids have taken to gardening like ducks to water. They help with everything and know their weeds from veggies. I wish I’d gotten a picture of them digging their first potatoes this week. Sooooo Fun!!!!

Oh my such a busy time June. Still busily planting things, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and squashes, flowers, herbs, beans. I think we finished planting last night. Whew. Erecting bean netting. We had an awesome team pounding posts stretching netting tying it on it was done before we knew it. This week many beans have reached the top of the netting. Weeding, weeding, weeding. Watering and watering- down here we’ve been having a drought. It’s amazing though how well everythings growing in spite of so little rain. Pulling out the end of the spring crops and popping something else in. We’ve begun harvesting potatoes, onions, blackberries, raspberries and tomatoes. The garlic is all out of the ground too, 83 lbs. Yesterday Chris McKenzie visited to check on us. We enjoyed showing him all our gardens and taking him out to see four different families home gardens. We have such a great group of hard workers this year we are delighted to accomplish so much. It’s such a joy to be able to share gardening with so many people. My heart melts as I see everyone working together to grow food, and watch and listen to their joy as they pick and eat their first peas and dig their first potatoes and say “Wow I never did that before” and “Ummm that’s so good!”.
The challenge in July will be keeping the weeds and bugs at bay. The bugs are starting to arrive and we’ve had to start using our neem and Monterey Insect spray on flea beetles, Japanese beetles and harlequin beetles. And I’ve seen a couple of the dreaded bean beetles.