Gardening Photos From Our Garden – June 2023

The month of June finally brought consistently warmer temperatures, and the last batch of eggplants and tomatoes were all moved outdoors. If anything, we have hardly had any rain save one thunderstorm mid-month.

And I have learned that soil temperature is critical for eggplants. You may get away with cooler nighttime temperatures for tomato plants, but eggplants do poorly in cold soil. I have “lost” 5 of the plants that were moved outdoors in May. The plants stopped growing and looked poorly. They have been moved back into pots.

Be patient, or start your seeds a few weeks later—as much a note to me as you readers. Eggplants take up a lot of space indoors, and again I was scrambling for space.

June has also been windy. Very windy, as in thunderstorms and lightning. I always stake my tomato plants, but I added extra support by firming up all stakes and cages to be safe.

The Click and Grow Smart Garden 9 project is going well. And I am so impressed with the development of my pepper plant.

As you may know, I grow a lot of peppers. Peppers are simple to freeze whole and use throughout the year to spice up curries and other dishes.

But peppers can be tricky to grow, especially hotter varieties. You need to get soil temperature and moisture right, and then you need a good light source, and so on.

But the Smart Garden 9 has done it all, and I now see flowers and fruits on my plant. Check out my weekly updates on the NordicLavender YourTube channel.

I have continued to direct sow lettuce, arugula, radishes, chives, kale, spinach, tatsoi, and a host of herbs, including basil, thyme, and rosemary.

My overwintering rosemary and thyme plants are starting to look a bit woody. I have decided it is time to grow successors while there is still time.

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Gardening photos June 2023

Gardening photo of the week: 26 June – 2 July 2023

Leaf miners and the tell tale squiggly lines
Leaf miners and the squiggly lines they leave behind
Starting seeds with Perlite in the Click and Grow Smart Garden 9
Seed starting using perlite and vermiculite in Smart Garden 9.
Scotch bonnet pepper plant fruiting
Pepper fruits on one of our Scotch Bonnet pepper plants started from seed.
Flowers on my eggplants
Purple flowers on our eggplants started from seed

Gardening photo of the week: 19 June – 25 June 2023

Beneficial insects include ladybug larvae
Ladybug larvae are welcome as they feast on aphids
Planting lettuce in soil bags one row at a time
Staggered planting of lettuce in soil bags.
Leafhoppers and the damage they caused on an eggplant leaf
Leafhoppers and the visible leaf damage they cause

Gardening photo of the week: 12 June – 18 June 2023

First flower buds on my eggplants growing outdoors
Flower buds on my eggplants in grow bags.
Bumble bee on an indeterminate cherry tomato plant
A Bumble bee pollinating one of my tomato plants
Scotch bonnet pepper plant with flowers
Flower on a Scotch bonnet pepper plant started from seed
Harvested basil leaf
Basil, basil, basil – one of my favorite culinary herbs

Gardening photo of the week: 5 – 11 June 2023

Curly kale sown directly in garden bed
Direct sown curly kale plant in a raised garden bed
Fruits on my cherry tomato plants
My cherry tomato plants are starting to set fruits
Spinach plant grown from seed
Direct sown spinach under shade cloth
Staggered planting of lettuce in soil bags for regular harvesting all season long
Lettuce – staggered planting in soil bags, one row at a time