Mid-Summer Garden Update

New Balcony Containers —

With all the rain we have had in the Midwest, I have seen a tremendous amount of early growth in my test-garden vegetables. While I usually have to water my container gardens several times a week, this year I am testing out three Garden Well™ Self-Watering Planters and so far they have survived well — I have only had to fill the containers once the entire season due to all the rain. Definitely a time-saver! I’ll do a whole report on how you use the containers in the future. Meanwhile, check out the balcony garden “look” this summer (photo above).

Swiss Chard is Beautiful —

If you have ever needed an excuse to grow something both ornamental, edible, and downright gorgeous – I’ve finally figured out the most beautiful ornamental edible EVER.  Swiss Chard ‘Bright lights’  from Jung Seed is simply magnificent. Seeing it here on the balcony as I walk past my sliding windows gives me a smile every time I see the plants. What a statement, plus the taste and nutritional value of Swiss Chard in a salad is darned near off the charts. There is still time for you to order Swiss chard seeds and get them in the ground for a nice fall harvest if you want to give them a try.

Tomatoes are Turning —

Growing tomatoes the last couple of seasons in the Midwest has been beyond challenging due to the cooler weather and heavy rain. Last year my tomatoes landed a bad case of the blight. This year I’ve put a couple patio tomatoes up on the balcony in order to practice a bit of crop rotation in order to avoid the former blighted area in the ground. I waited and waited — thought they’d never turn red, but finally this week we have successfully given birth to some beautiful red babies. I think planting them in the self-watering containers with Espoma Tomato Tone organic fertilizer has kept them consistently moist and strong. They got so heavy I had to put supports on them and they have no blossom end-rot since the plants have been evenly moist and fertilized and taste delicious.

There you have it – my mid-summer garden update; everything’s coming up herbs and vegetables (and mosquitoes and weeds) in the test garden and I am a happy gardener. How is your garden growing?