I don't know why I haven't made any blog posts this year until now. I suppose I've been busy with wedding planning... but the garden does grow on! I do have some things to brag about, such as lots of strawberries and snap peas - much more than last year already and they're still producing.
A lot of the strawberries are getting bug eaten, however, which is so disappointing after giving them lots of care and even mulching them, which I didn't do last year. Turns out that while in theory mulching = good, it is not as simple as I thought. Mulching with composting leaves from the fall may introduce bugs, which is fine for many plants and good for the soil, but not ideal for the ground-dwelling strawberries. STRAW-berries. Mulch with straw, that has no bugs. Brilliant! I'll have to try that next year.
So to get up to speed on the garden, we have a new, sunnier, 4x16 raised bed that is full of the sun-loving plants that we had in pots last year, and more. Six varieties of heritage tomatoes, pole beans, parsley, basil, cucumber, hot peppers, bush beans, cabbage, watermelon (a just-another-weed-patch experiment), and butternut squash. Oh, and sunflowers and marigolds.
I am particularly excited about the cabbage, which is looking like a cabbage patch kid may crawl out of at any time.
What are you growing? Any luck with straw under the strawberries? Or other tips to keep the bugs away?