April 24 update

Some pics of the garden as of today.

Here is some swiss chard with zucchini in the background.

My strawberry bed. The variety is Tribute. They are producing a lot of runners and have had a few berries so far. Some say pic the flowers for the first few months and some say don't worry about it. Let them produce fruit. I decided that the plant will figure out if it is ready to make berries or not. Well they are making berries and I like them.

Atkinson tomatoes. The last ones I planted. They have a huge amount of fruit on them. Okra are just to the right in the pic.

Sweet potatoes I planted on 4-22. The variety is Vardaman. They are supposed to be a bush type for small spaces.

I am trying some containers this year. these are 15 gallon pots ( large black pots) with my "Mel's Mix". The one to left is a cantaloupe from Lowe's. The next two are red potatoes that sprouted from the grocery store. I first put about 6 inches of mix in the pots and then the potatoes. Then as they grew I kept adding mix until I got to the top. We'll see what happens.

I also planted carrots in one pot and red leaf lettuce in one pot and buttercrunch lettuce in another yesterday.

Peppers on the pepper plants.

The pepper and eggplant bed. Flea Beatles destroyed the first eggplants I planted. I get a few every year but for some reason this year they were too much for the plants. The next plants got hit immediately. I tried spinosad for them with no effect. Finally I tried a pyrethrum powder with copper and sulfur which didn't do away with them but kept them manageable until the eggplants got established enough to outgrow the damage. The beatles  then began migrating to tomato plants here and there. They are still here but the plants are large and vigorous enough where the damage is minor so now I don't worry about them.

The last of this years cabbage.

Watermelons in front with bush beans in the background. Dill pops up all over the place. I just leave it grow as the flowers attract beneficial bugs.

Beef Master tomatoes ready to pick.

I have to cage all my tomatoes or the birds get to them first.

Pic across the back.

Some Beef Master tomatoes picked today.

Fig I got from Lowe's last year.