Preschoolers picking peas
It was a cool wet spring here in Mount Kisco, but summer is finally here. Our sugar snap peas were slower than usual this year and have finally been producing well in the last 2 weeks. But now they are reaching the end of their run as the sun gets hotter and the days are longer. The pea plants are now becoming dried out. This week, we’ll be popping them into the compost bin along with lots of weeds.
Once the peas are out, the cucumber plants are more obvious. We are working to convince them to climb the fence where the peas were. Cucumbers love the heat and will grow fast in the weeks ahead. Cukes are happy to be started by seed directly in the soil. No need to start them ahead of time and transplant, they grow fast and furious when the time and temperature are right. Like they peas, cucumbers produce lots of food. Summer campers will no doubt be eating them off the vine and will make pickle chips with the extras.
Beans are going in the ground after the peas have moved on. We like the Blue Lake variety of bush bean, they are skinny, tender and sweet. Bush beans are easy to grow and don’t need stakes to climb. Little hands can easily plant bean seeds since they are reasonably sized. Its not so easy for small kids to plant lettuces, carrots and kale, whose seeds are so tiny. Beans are a great crop, they are plentiful and can last into the fall months.
Its starting to get a little hot, so the lettuces might bolt soon. Fortunately, there is plenty of kale that can be harvested for salad. If you keep harvesting the outside, bigger leaves, your kale plant will continue to grow for many months. It starts to look like a funky sort of palm tree.
Some plants take a bit longer to harvest. We are working on growing pumpkins and watermelons in new garden beds this year. These plants need plenty of time, heat, sunshine and lots of space to grow.
Carrots are another crop requiring patience. Most take 90 days from seed to harvest. We planted many during the spring. They are quietly growing in many of our garden beds, we’re hoping for a fall harvest. In the meantime, we are harvesting “baby” carrots to make room for the remaining ones to grow bigger.
Kids love to eat what they grow.