It is amazing how quickly the time rolls by – it seems like we were just taking photographs for May – and here we are in July! In spite of high temperatures, little rain and some bad storms – the garden and farm are faring well. We have begun to pick our green peppers, jalapeno, banana and mini belle peppers – as well as a few tomatoes from the “Big Mama” plant. We should hopefully be in prime picking within three weeks for our Roma’s. June was a busy month – we planted the new grape seedlings into the vineyard area – and finished up a lot of work on the barn and patio. Here is the Farm and Garden in pictures for July:
![Marquette Grapes](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/marquette-grapes.jpg)
The Marquette Grapes arrived from the nursery just in time for the first big heat wave! So far so good – they are growing on their stakes. When they grow a bit bigger – we will switch them from the small individual stakes to the trellis lines next spring.
![Barn Pergola](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/barn-pergola.jpg)
The Barn Pergola was finally completed in June! It will hopefully be a great place to relax in the coming months after long days in the garden.
![tomatoes](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/tomatoes.jpg)
The Tomatoes are filling out their stake-a cages – we have a lot of green fruit on the vine…ketchup, salsa and sauce should be right around the corner!
![Clematis](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/clematis.jpg)
We planted two clematis on the upper pergola – we hope they will grow to fill in the top grid with shade in the coming years
![Poinsetia Peppers](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/poinsetia-peppers.jpg)
Our newest ornamental pepper we are trying – the poinsettia. They have tons of blooms and little green peppers – now they just need to turn to their vibrant yellow and orange color.
![Sangria Peppers In Mass Planting](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/sangria-peppers-in-mass-planting.jpg)
Our favorite ornamental pepper – the Sangria. We put them in a mass planting bed and they are taking off – hundreds of little purple peppers that will turn crimson red in the fall.
![The Four Amigos](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/the-four-amigos.jpg)
The Four Amigos…four of our hens looking for bugs in the yard. The girls have layed steady through the heat so far – about 8 eggs a day on average from the 9 hens.
![Green Bell Peppers](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/green-bell-peppers.jpg)
The Revolution Green Bell Peppers have been producing strong – here are a few on the vine right after a hard rain has splattered them with dirt.
![outdoor Kitchen Frame](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/outdoor-kitchen-frame.jpg)
We started work on the framing of the outdoor kitchen structure – we have built most of the shell in the barn to stay out of the hot sun as much as we can
![Flying the flag](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/flying-the-flag.jpg)
With Dad’s old flagpole in place- the farm starts to take shape. It’s hard to believe just four stakes were in place a year ago to mark where the barn would go.
![Bench](http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/bench.jpg)
The front bench got a fresh coat of black paint to match the barn. The bench was a freebie that was discarded by a local business changing it’s decor.