Rain is coming here this weekend. The only problem is that we just clean the splash of mud near the water fountain, don’t want it to get dirty again,
I have strawberries now, I wonder what took it so long. I picked yellow wax bean for dinner and they were delicious. I also picked my first artichoke. It’s on the smallish but if I didn’t pick it would turn into purple flower. My campanula bell flowers are growing nicely. I believe this is a biennial like foxglove. I started them from seed last year and only got one surviving to this year.
There was a lot of rain yesterday and today. I picked about 3 lbs of green and wax beans. I have to freeze some.
Planted about 1/2 of my raised bed in square foot altered-style this week. Onions look like they are doing great. First round of lettuce seeds were a flop - not sure why! Replanted lettuce seeds, thinned radishes, put down my pea climbing apparatus and planted beets, carrots (my assigned food bank crop), peppers and a couple tomato plants.
Finally found some grape and sugar sweet orange small tomato plants yesterday. A favorite summer snack!
I want to try and grow some summer squash vertically - has anyone tried this??? Thinking of using either a tomato cage or one of the corkscrew metal thingys. Any tips appreciated.
Yeah. I think it’s easy to train them up something. I’ve used florist ties or soft string to loosely tie zucchini to the support. You need to know if you have the bush variety, which doesn’t grow so tall. I’ve used thin bamboo to make a 3 leg teepee sort of support, tied at the top.
Reminds me to go replant yellow squash.
Yes, maybe I’ll do the teepee - I hate the look of tomato cages in my raised bed! The teepee is cooler. 
I have teepee as tomato cage because tomato cage doesn’t work really well. All my squash plants are growing nicely, the problem I have is with pollination, I have been doing the pollination on one big plant. I leave the rest for the bees but they have not been doing it, I don’t know why. I have tons of bees in front of my yard, I guess I need to plan more flowers that the bees like in the back.
Ok, color me dumb. I have not planted squash before. Do I need to worry about pollination? Does it need a special neighboring plant? A flower? I planted some zinnias but they are being planted from seed. My raised bed is in a community garden setting so lots of other garden plots, beds, plants and nature.
You need the bees, but the ones interested in your particular plants. Some weeks, I spend more time googling than gardening.
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/squash/pollinate-squash-by-hand.htm
Anyone grow beets? Right now I’m confused whether I need to thin the seedlings I got in a 4-pack from WF.
Ps. Some use a small art paintbrush to get enough pollen onto the female squash. Its not that hard. But be aware the males and females don’t always bloom together. It’s a waiting game. Some will save some pollen in a covered jar. No idea how long you can save it.
^^^Did you plant each a few inches apart?
I am waiting for spring to return. 
So true emilybee! I was just saying we either get 85 or 55 (w/clouds, gloom and rain) - nothing inbetween! It’s been 55 all week!
Abasket is correct. Beets need to be spaced a couple of inches apart. Otherwise, the roots will be too cramped and crowded.
I haven’t planted the beets yet but they’ll be up to 9 in one sq foot cell.
As for the cool, great for lawns.
I planted beets for the first time in my square foot garden last year. I have found that the blueprints for SFG’ing can leave things a little too cramped! Might have been something else, but my beets remained very small and I think they just didn’t have room to grow bigger (still delicious tiny, but not enough bounty!) So this year I am planting them again, but I am reducing the # of plants per “square” - same with my tomatoes and peppers - it was a JUNGLE last year with all the growth in that little area! And hampered some of the shorter production (peppers vs. the tall tomatoes).
I plant beets where I have a tiny space. I’m into maximize my garden space. I need to maximize my space plus keep the weeds away. If something is there, less space for weeds. After the rain, weeds are coming out like weeds. Duh!
I’ve only got the black cherry tomatoes now and they’re in a big container. You know that Mel’s first book erred on tomato spacing? Now suggests 3sf per tomato.
I only have a 4 pack of beets. For “small” beets some say 16 per sf. For larger, 9. What are you going to?
I saw a video about transplanting beets and his looked less bushy. If each of my “plants” is really 2+ seeds, would it hurt not to thin? Are they like carrots where they can’t butt each other?
Peppers I see as 1/sf. Mines also in a big pot.
@DrGoogle - bees seem to prefer other flowers to squash, it can be quite frustrating! If you are growing something large, like pumpkins, you can easily tell the female flowers because they have a bulb shaped bump between the flower and the main stem. Those are the only potential pumpkins. You go from male flowers to female with a paintbrush, toothbrush, Q-tip, or something to move the pollen around. Some of those squash flowers are picky and only open in morning sun and are so big that only bumblebees can pollinate them well. Give them a little help and hopefully you’ll see some progress.
I once grew cantaloupes, or just the vine really, because every single flower was male.
I don’t know about beet spacing but some people grow them quite close because they are mainly growing them for the tender greens which they cut off over and over for several weeks.
I LOVE beet greens!!!
I love lightly fried squash blossoms and sauteed beet greens!