It is May already. Time really flies. April was nice, warm and sunny with a couple of showers. Perfect for my garden. And you can tell this because everything is growing quickly. I will show you the progress of the plants and trees in my backyard and the crops I'm preparing to plant out into the garden.

Beans

Last gardenupdate I showed you the string beans I had seeded. They were growing so fast behind the glass inside that I had to move them outside.
Normally I let them get used to the colder outdoors, but since it was going to be a warm week last week, I decided to move them directly.
I built a bamboo pyramid and placed a bean plant next to every stick.
I had attached them to the sticks with a little string, but now after just a week, they have climbed up and curled themselves along the bamboo sticks.

Cucumbers

Two years ago, when I started gardening I planted three cucumbers in my backyard. I wasn’t sure if they would produce anything, but when I got back from three weeks of summer vacation, the three plants were full of cucumbers. They didn’t look like the ones you see in stores, but they were delicious!
Last year I had a slug invasion, and all the little cucumber plants were eaten.
But this year I'll have another go. 9 of the seeds have sprouted and grown out into quite nice plants already. I still keep them indoors for a few weeks before I will plant them outside.

Cherry tomatoes and beetroot

My Cherry tomatoes were the only crops that survived the slug invasion last year. Somehow they didn't like the smell of it. And I must say that tomatoe leaves do have a certain smell.
But since I like those sweet cherry tomatoes as a snack, I've seeded them again.
I was quite late, but the tiny plant are doing well indoors. I did have to save them because they were inside when I was a couple of days away last week. The soil was completely dried out.
But the cherry tomatoes (on the left) recovered well.
You can't say that for the beet root. They were laying flat on the soul when I came back. Most of them revocered after I watered them when I got back, but a few of them (in the bottom right) didn't survive. Next time I need to put in a watering system before I leave.
It's the first time I've planted beetroot, so I'm curious if it will work.

Watermelon

Another thing I'm curious of are my watermelons. I just love watermelons! They are my favorite fruit by far! But the Dutch climate isn't very optimal for growin them. Despite that I did want to give it a try. Just to see if it is possible. I planted 4 seeds from which three germinated and two are actually doing quite well. I'll have to find a nice and sunny spot in the garden for them, but they first need to grow a bit larger.

Apple tree

Things are looking good when I look at my fruit trees. The apple tree we planted three years ago had a hand full of apples in the first year, but lasy year we only had one tiny apple. But this year the branches are full of tiny apples already.

I've counted over 30 of these already. Some of them are really cluttered togeter and I've read somewhere that you sometimes need to give them more space by removing a few. Or else they will be in eachothers way. Does anyone have any experience with that?

Plum tree

Just like the apple tree, the plum tree is full of tiny fruits. The tree is covered in leaves, but when I look under them I see soo many of them. I have to look up my nets so I can put it over my trees when the fruits are starting to ripen. Or else only the birds will enjoy them.
I can't wait for the sweet and juicy plums.

Raspberry

The raspberry never lets me down each year. I cut it all the way back and it always comes up again. This bus has been a guarantee for loads and loads of raspberries all summer long. Last year we picked the last raspberries in the beginning of October.

The fruits are tiny, but there are a lot of them already. And the bush will become at least four times as big as it is now every year.

Almond tree

And last, but not least we have our little almond tree. I really love almonds, but it is a small tree and although it had quite a lot of almonds last year, there’s always pretty little left when you take the almond out of its shell.

But it is a cute little tree that has very nice blossom every year. And although it's quite a bit of work to harvest the almonds, dry them and then crack them open, it is nice to eat your own homegrown almonds, albeit just a hand full of them.

Conclusion

Well, things are looking very good so far in my garden. Because spring wasn't that wet we didn't have that many slugs, so I think more crops will survive. The fruit baring trees and bushes are looking very good for now. I hope the fruits will continue to develop nicely, I will be able to protect them from the birds and they will not get any pests.

This was my garden update for now! Stay tuned for another update in a couple of weeks!
Happy gardening!

FriendlyMoose

I'm an amateur photographer with a love for indoor gardening, craft beer, and cycling. As the owner of the Cycling Community and the creator of the Topcomment initiative, I focus on fostering engagement and bringing like-minded people together.
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