What we're harvesting in the July garden

July garden at sunset

Saturday, July 18, 2026

This July's garden is a bit behind for some summer vegetables.  I started my squash, cucumbers, okra and beans in May instead of April so they are behind.  Peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and fruits are about normal.

We are harvesting eggplant, cucumbers, hot peppers, sweet peppers, Giant Blue Feather lettuce, dill, summer greens, herbs, garlic, onions, blackberries, raspberries, goji berries, Tamarillo fruits, husk cherries and tomatoes.  The flowers are very happy, too!  

We are getting rain a few times a week even into July.  The grass is green and growing like crazy.  If I don't get at least 1" of rain during the week, I do a deep watering with a drip hose.  I have only had to water the garden beds once this season.  The pots on the other hand need watering a couple times a week even with the rain.  Summer Edible Gardening Tips

I dug my garlic this week.  The bulbs were small.  Garlic harvest is here!  I'll pickle the smallest cloves and save the larger cloves for fall planting.  Have garlic any time you need it, just pickle some!  I've found this is the best way to preserve garlic for using year round.  I tried keeping the whole cloves, but most would disintegrate by early winter.

I started getting ripe tomatoes in June from my potted Better Boy that I got from a local nursery.  Most in the garden look good and have many baby tomatoes.  So far, have gotten a few Cherokee Purple and Chocolate Pear and 1 from Tropic, Rebel Starfighter, and California Tulip.  The production slowed down with the temps into the 90's.  Tomatoes will drop flowers when it gets too hot.  For what we can't eat, I freeze to save for making soups, sauces, roasts, and salsa all winter.  Preserving your extra tomatoes

Cucumbers started producing at the beginning of this month.  If you have more cucumbers than you can eat, make pickles!  Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix  I had 2 summer squash plants die.  I have one with a couple of baby squash and the Trombetta is flowering but no babies yet.  Everything you need to know to grow squash 

All my eggplant are grown in pots.  We don't typically have many extra eggplant to preserve.  I have tried the freezing route in the past, but have not been impressed with the taste.  The best preservation method I have found is to make baba ganoush. Everything you need to know to grow eggplant, in a pot or garden bed

  I freeze the extra strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, blanching is not needed for these fruits to preserve the flavor.  I dry the goji berries.   The large strawberries were done early last month.  The Alpine strawberries will produce into fall.  Blackberries are almost done.  Goji should keep producing into fall.  No flowers yet on the Aronia.  Huckleberries were strong last month but have slowed to almost nothing now.  Tamarillo and husk cherry have many fruits.  They also produce into fall.  

I am using purple and green orach, New Zealand spinach, Giant Blue Feather lettuce, herbs, chijimisai, Barese chard, lemon balm and cultivated dandelions and plantain for salads and sandwiches.  The sprouting broccoli has gone to seed.  Should be getting new volunteers soon.   For extras of kale, sprouting broccoli, mustard and other summer greens, blanch and freeze them.  Freezing the extras for winter

For hot peppers, I am harvesting Jigsaw, Chiltepin, and Tunisian Baklouti.  For sweet peppers, so far on the Tricked You Jalapeño, the chocolate and yellow Doe has ripened.  Everything you need to know to grow peppers, in a pot or garden  

For all my herbs, there is plenty to use fresh with extras to harvest.  I like to dry them and make spice blends.  I have thyme, basil, oregano, winter savory, tarragon, rosemary, sage, and lavender to preserve.   Harvest and preserve your herbs  This year, I don't need to preserve basil as I have lots of pesto left from the last couple of years in the freezer.  Pesto is my favorite way of preserving basil.  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil  

Oregano, basil, thyme, Russian sage and lavender is in full bloom.  It looks like the garden sage may bloom again.  The bees love the herb flowers!  All can be cut and dried now, but I love the flowers and will wait until fall.

There are lots of flowers that can be cut or just admired in the garden right now.  Zinnias, celosias, roses, Sweet William, honeydew, marigolds, borage, dianthus, petunias, lantana and borage are going to town right now.  The bees and hummingbirds are in heaven!

We are harvesting the vegetables and fruits that are synonymous with a backyard garden.  Soon it will be time to plant for continuing the harvest into fall and winter.  The garden keeps me busy year round.  It is so nice to be able to watch things grow and have fresh produce all year.