The garden in July

Is it already July!?? Well, just barely, really. But one great thing--one of the many great things about July--is the hotter weather. I say hotter, because I have often said summer doesn't start in our part of Oregon until after July 4th. And it's hotter, and it's going to get even hotter probably. Which is great for things like tomatoes and green beans. Not so much for the peas and lettuce. So if you haven't gotten over to see the beautiful red lettuce and crisp heads of romaine, do it now because they won't be there much longer.

Speaking of hot weather loving plants, here are some of those tomatoes I mentioned. Look at them!! They look great! I think these were planted by a 5th grade classroom. There are 3-4 different varieties, one of them is even a purple tomato. Yum.

Check out these healthy plants. We've got some potatoes and onions living happily together planted by the 3rd & 4th graders.
 Have you heard of companion planting? This is the idea that certain plants are  happier together than others, and benefit each other. Onions keep away the Colorado potato beetle, a nasty little pest that looks like a lady bug, but it's yellow and has black stripes instead of spots. If you see it, squish it.
Or find it a better home, away from the garden.

Remember the garden in progress? Well this is what's happening in that new patch of dirt. There are corn stalks standing tall, and pole beans starting to want to wrap around something, and big, old pumpkin plants leafing out and flowering. The bees love the squash flowers. They are huge, yellow, and very inviting if you are a bee.
Go, pollinators!

Ok all you McKinley creatives, what can this space become? Here are some ideas to get you going:
1.outdoor classroom
2. native plant garden
3. stumpery--home to decaying wood and the insects that love them.
4. and...
The possibilities are endless.
Send me your ideas.
I need 'em!