Summer Vegetable Garden Update: Our First Beet Harvest & Garden Progress

Our summer garden is growing! Here’s our summer vegetable garden update with what’s ready to harvest, what I’m working on, and what I’m learning this season.

Summer has officially arrived in the garden, and things are changing quickly. It is amazing how much a garden can change in just a matter of a few days, especially when life gets busy and you don’t make it outside for a little while. Today I want to share a summer vegetable garden update.

There were weeds to pull, tomato plants to tend to, sage that desperately needed trimming, and, thankfully, some vegetables that were ready to harvest. The garden is certainly keeping me busy this summer, but it is also giving us so much to enjoy.

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Summer Vegetable Garden Update: The Garden Is Growing

After a busy week, there were a few evenings when I completely neglected the garden. When I finally wandered outside, I could not believe how much had changed. The weeds had really popped up!

Usually, one of the benefits of growing in raised beds is that you can avoid some of the weeds you might have in a traditional garden. For whatever reason, though, we have dealt with a lot more weeds than normal this year.

So, one of my main jobs lately is simply catching up on weeding and getting everything looking a little more under control. It is one of those garden tasks that isn’t particularly exciting, but it makes such a difference. Once everything is weeded, I can actually see what is growing and what needs attention.

Dealing With Garden Beetles

Unfortunately, the garden pests have also arrived. Last year we dealt with beetles, and this year I started noticing them again. I was especially concerned about my green beans because these beetles can do quite a bit of damage to the leaves.

Thankfully, we didn’t see any beetles on the green beans, which was such a relief. The idea is to remove as many beetles as possible as soon as you see them. They can release chemicals that attract more beetles, so the more you can get rid of right off the bat, the better.

We also spotted a couple of them on my basil plant, where they were happily chewing away at the leaves. I grabbed some soapy water in a spray bottle and took care of those as quickly as I could. I am constantly inspecting my plants to prevent damage!

If you’ve dealt with these garden beetles before, I’d love to know what has worked for you. We dealt with them last year, too, so I’m definitely keeping an eye on them this summer.

Summer Vegetable Garden Update: Caring for the Tomato Plants

I’ve also been working on my tomato plants. A friend of mine who is an amazing gardener told me that it is important to make sure your tomato plants don’t have branches touching the ground. The concern is that disease can creep up the plant when those lower branches are in contact with the soil.

So, I’ve been trimming the bottom branches from my tomato plants and trying to keep everything tidy and off the ground. Tomatoes can get so big and unruly as the season progresses, so this is one of those little garden maintenance jobs that is easy to put off. I’m glad I finally got around to it.

My Sage Plant Needed a Serious Trim

One job I had been putting off for quite a while was trimming my sage plant. I should have trimmed it much earlier in the season, but it was so beautiful and, at the time, it was really the only green thing in my garden so I left it alone. Well, it sort of got out of control!

I decided to trim it way back and am hoping that cutting it back will allow some of the new growth to flourish a little more. Sometimes it is hard to cut back a plant when it looks beautiful, but I’m hoping the little haircut will pay off with lots of fresh growth.

Our First Beet Harvest!

One of the most exciting things happening in the garden right now is that some of our beets are finally ready to harvest. This is my first year growing beets, so I was very excited to pull some of them from the soil.

There is just something so neat about seeing something that you planted from seed way back in March and then being able to walk out into the garden months later and harvest it. That is honestly one of my favorite things about gardening.

My original plan was to pickle the beets because I absolutely love pickled beets. I wasn’t sure if I had quite a large enough harvest to pickle them yet, though, so I decided to try some of them raw instead. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised!

I’d never really had raw beets before. They were sweet, a little earthy, and a little bitter, but I actually really liked them sliced thinly on a salad. I did a little research and learned that it is a good idea to peel beets before eating them raw because the outer layer can be somewhat tough and leathery.

I’m still hoping to grow enough to make a batch of pickled beets because I really do love them that way. But for now, I’m enjoying them fresh from the garden.

We Are Harvesting So Much Lettuce

Another vegetable that has been doing incredibly well for us this year is lettuce. I feel like I’m harvesting lettuce constantly these days! With all of the garden pests we’ve been dealing with, I’m especially thankful for how much lettuce we have growing. We’ve been using it nonstop in tacos, salads, burgers, and all the things.

It’s one of those crops that has been so useful to have growing in the garden because we can simply walk outside, harvest what we need, and bring it inside. Since we had so much lettuce ready to harvest, I have been making salads almost every day for lunch.

What I’m Looking Forward to in the Garden

There is always something to do in a summer garden. This week it was weeding, trimming tomato plants, cutting back the sage, watching for garden pests, harvesting lettuce, and finally pulling my first beets.

Even though some of the work can feel like a chore (especially when the weeds seem to appear overnight) I love being able to step outside and see the progress.

There is just something incredibly rewarding about planting a tiny seed in March and then harvesting food from that same plant months later. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the garden develops this summer, especially as we continue harvesting our lettuce and hopefully grow enough beets for a batch of pickled beets.

For now, I’m just thankful for what is growing and enjoying the process, one harvest at a time. Do you have a vegetable garden? Let me know in the comments below, and be sure to sign up for my free mini homemaking course for more home and gardening inspiration!