Wednesday’s Photos
Of Hops and the Joy of Raised Garden Beds
You will remember the video I presented on this blog that gave you some impressions of the simplicity of raised garden beds. At age 78 I strive to make things simpler, more efficient and ultimately more relaxing with gardening as one of the many areas of this lofty goal.
Weeding when needed at all has turned into a pleasurable activity. For the last four weeks or so my wife and I have been eating our own lettuce, beans, strawberries, with cucumbers and red beets recently added to the delicious mix of fruits and vegetables. As a bonus I added another photo of the various hops plants, which are beginning to develop those cones that are responsible for the fine refreshing taste of a homemade craft beer. Enjoy.
The Peter and Gertrud Klopp Family 
wow. Having a kitchen garden is awesome. Not only is this a great fun activity, produce from our own garden ensures that we keep chemicals away.
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So true! Our veggies are totally organic.
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Peter, your garden looks terrific, everything is so healthy-looking. Last time I was visiting my folks, we thinned out the young beets and parsnips, etc. and I love eating the beet greens as much as the beets themselves. Your hops look great, too – -people have started growing them commercially in upstate NY again, after being absent for many years.
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Our youngest son will turn the hops into craft beer. He is really good at it. Thank you, Robert!
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Peter, what a fine looking crop you’ve got going! You two are light years ahead of us in regards to gardening, but I hope we do better next year. And please remember to keep us updated on the craft beer progress.
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Our summers are short up here. So we have to get the most out of our garden while we can. Thank you for the kind compliment, Des!
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Yum! I’ve never had a vegetable garden, but that looks so enticing. Enjoy!
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Also the knowledge where your vegetables are coming from is very comforting.
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Your garden looks wonderful. I’m a great fan of raised beds; indeed anything that makes gardening easier and more pleasurable.
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I guess building the raised beds is the thing that keeps many people from gardening that way.
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True. I am fortunate that the Big T enjoys building things (and is good at it)
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Peter , I am so happy for you and Biene, cropping all of what you had been tending in your vegetable garden, I am sure it was all raised with love and care, now you get to enjoy all your affords.
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Thank you, Cornelia!
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No gardening down here. Too hot, Too smoky. The Bay Area is burning again. I wish I was up in the Arrow Lakes!
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I hope there is a relief from this terrible heatwave for you down in California.
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Hopfen und Malz,
Gott erhalt’s!
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🙂
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Your garden is absolutely beautiful — as pleasing to the eye as I’m sure it is to your palate. It was fun seeing the beets, especially. I’ve always wondered why the beet greens are the first thing to sell out at the farmers’ market I visit. I’ve never had them, but between your photo and Rob’s comment, maybe I should figure out what to do with them, and give them a try.
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What a lovely comment you wrote! It really made my day. Growing a garden on raised beds is really fun. Initially building the boxes is the tough part and expensive to fill them with soil. Thank you so much for your compliment!
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Your garden is so beautiful! Over the past several years, we’ve been traveling during peak growing season so, other than our blueberry bushes, we didn’t have a producing garden. This year, we got serious. Raised beds, hardwire cloth at the bottom to keep the gophers out, etc. I love the zen of caring for our garden… and the tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers aren’t bad either. I don’t really like bear, but I think hops are so pretty!
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The hops plants have an amazing growth rate. At their peak season they grow several inches a day. And their cones are very beautiful and have a wonderful aroma. I hope all goes well with your new garden this year, Janis.
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Your garden is just lovely, Peter! I’ve never been able to grow a very good one, but my mother-in-law was a dedicated gardener. We always made sure to visit when the strawberries were ripe!
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Ah, the strawberries from your own garden taste so much better than the store-bought ones.
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Not ours, they are quite tasteless and not sweet at all so we’ll look another type for next year.
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I wrote here last night but seemingly there is nothing to be found here…
What I wrote is, that we also have two areas where we rise plants for the kitchen. But they are at a height of about 1,20m.
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Wonderful! Cheers to your raised garden beds!
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Your age reminds me that 78 is the sum of the whole numbers from 1 through 12.
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Thank you for showing me my age as the sum of the first 12 numbers, Steve!
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Let’s hope you make it to the sum of the first 13.
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Eating what you grow is awesome. It is one of the items on my bucket list and perhaps likely to be one of the more difficult ones to achieve since I live in a crowded big city at present.
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Perhaps you can start with growing things in pots and planters on your balcony.
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We are luckier than most who live in apartments in big cities as we have a large open terrace where, mostly thanks to my wife’s efforts, we have a lot of plants. Occasionally, we have managed to grow some eatables like tomatoes, okra, mandarin, basil, etc. Experimenting with grapes and papayas.
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That is very impressive for a city dweller, Ankur.
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An impressive and verdant garden, Peter. Congratulations and enjoy the fruits of your labor. 🙂
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Thank you, Jane!
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Absolutely beautiful garden, and a hoppy toast to you with beer
Stay well and Laugh when you can
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Thank you, Mr. Ohh!
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