Straw Mulch

Two bales of straw were special-delivered to us this week. My thoughtful gardening partner decided to put the straw around the rows as shown above. His reasoning is that the raised beds lose moisture around  the sides of the beds. He then purchased some acidified composted cotton burr to go right on the rows.

The tomato plants pictured above are the smallest in the garden right now. Remember the tomato from last fall which sat in the windowsill until the seeds sprouted inside? These plants are some of those sprouts! 

There's Nothing Like Rain

to ripen the tomatoes!

We loved 2.1" of rain on our tomatoes on the first day of Summer!

Beak Prints

I have yet to identify the culprits, but I believe these beak prints belong to some Mockingbirds. Our wildlife neighbors are suffering from the heat and lack of food. That doesn't mean they can have my tomatoes! I go to the garden every morning and pick the tomatoes which are pink and ripening. The green ones don't seem to attract the birds.

Onions and Garlic

After hanging in a well ventilated room to dry, the onions and garlic are stored in our pantry room. I cook with them every day! 

Alliums

It took me a whole day to pick the rest of the alliums and process them. Pictured are the red onions, small white (mild and delicious) onions, garlic, leeks, and elephant garlic.