our square foot garden(s)

I know. It's a little late in the summer to be blogging out the garden. But in fact, here in northwestern Oregon, summer has been a little slow in getting started. So while some plants have run their course, others are just revving up.

Regardless, I thought I'd give you a peek at our new square foot gardens. Although the first photo is of a bush which isn't even in the square foot garden....


It's been tremendously fun to have blueberry bushes this year. Alas, they've really slowed down in their berry production during the past week or two. But it was great while it lasted. What a novelty to be able to go out back and return with a bowlful of berries! We used them for snacking, muffins, smoothies, and many batches of blueberry pancakes.


The deal with a square foot garden is that the garden is divided into...well, square feet. In some squares you might plant one seed/start, in others two, or four, or more. It all depends on the plant. This cucumber plant is crowding into the next square, but the space is available now so it doesn't matter anyway.

As I've mentioned before, it's been a very strange summer here. Consequently, my cucumber plants are just getting started. Lots of blossoms, and some tiny cukes are growing. I think there's a solitary pickling cucumber that looks about ready to be picked, but that's it. Likewise, the tomato plants are now sporting tomatoes, but they're almost all green. I picked the first (and only) red tomato yesterday, but so far things are off to a slow start. I sure hope they ripen. My salads are looking awfully green these days. They're desperately in need of some color.


Perhaps the happiest plant in my garden right now is this squash plant. The funny thing is, I planted this seed on a whim after discovering I had an extra square or two. The seeds came from a Burgerville kid's meal, and I really didn't expect much from them. But all the seeds we planted from this source came in beautifully. And even without much planning or TLC from me, this plant is doing splendidly.


And peas. Ah, peas. It's been a good year for peas. These sugar peas have been really fun, and I love that the boys (and their neighbor friends) love to pick them and eat them when they're out playing.

This is just a tiny snapshot (or two) of our gardening experience this year. I'm really pleased with the square foot situation: I've hardly had to do any weeding, they look neat and compact, and next year they'll be ready to go whenever we are. At the moment, Jeff and I are considering whether to plant any early autumn seeds/starts. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

So, what do/would you do with your garden this time of year? Especially when warm days are a bit undependable?