Dixon Patch Viewfinder: There's a Grocery Produce Section in My Back Yard

In my small back yard I have a 14- by 20-foot patch of ground which grows an amazing variety of vegetables, mostly over the spring, summer and fall. The predominately clay soil poses its challenges, but I'm gradually improving it with compost. Then on the fringes of my back yard, along the fences, I have fruit trees and berry vines. Blackberries do very well in this area. 

The year begins with growing some veggie plants from seed in peat pots inside my home, then later transplanting them into the garden. The other plants grow from seed planted in the garden.   

Here you'll see a lot of photos of the veggies and fruits as they look these days in my back yard, as we head toward the heat of summer. It's been unseasonably cold this month, so the only plants that are growing fast are the blackberries, beans and tomatoes. The squash, melons, eggplant and pepper plants need hot weather to get into a growth spurt.

Not pictured here are the basil and cilantro I grow in a small patch. I tried a winter garden this past winter, growing lettuce and spinach. The growth was slow, but eventually I harvested mature plants (lettuce had become very expensive in the stores).  

Of course, the most enjoyable part is eating the produce later.

A hint: Get the slugs before they get your plants. They especially love bean plants when the shoots first emerge from the ground.