Spent the afternoon cleaning up leaves and dead plants. P is working on the fence because we have a big planting project coming up in the upper yard.
He pulled the apple tree a little while back, because we realized we would never win the fight against pests.
The arugula and roots are going strong, the kale is hanging in there, and the asparagus still has green (I’m supposed to cut it back when it turns brown.)
It’s been a nice cool summer somehow, and we’ve all been happy about it… But today that changes!
I pulled all the garlic to cure. There’s a bunch. The metechi in the south bed seemed a little stunted. I think in general the Deerfield purple gave larger heads.
We also stripped down all the rhubarb, and picked raspberries at a friend’s- for brewing experiments.
Things look good. Good eating. Yellow beans are yellowing, green beans are getting ready to bear, and scarlet runners have given a few. I’ve been pulling squashes while they are small. I’ve got a couple of beds languishing now- I wonder if there is anything I can plant…
I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to turnips as well as radishes. *sigh*
And things happened!
Garlic is starting to look sad, so I pulled about half.
Food! First cherry tomatoes, yellow beans, runner beans. Raspberries!
I haven’t done a good job writing about harvests, so I thought I’d do an update.
We have a TON of kale in west c. I’ve been thinning it and eating the babies, now we are up to mostly full grown plants. This is my best kale result ever. Is it the bed? Overseeding?
Radishes grew well, and we are bunches until my lips started to swell and crack. No radishes for Alison next year ): I’m scared to try the turnips.
We’ve eaten a few young red onions, and 4 garlic scapes!
We’ve had a bunch of arugula. It’s bolting now, but still tastes ok.
There’s lettuce in my plastic bowl for lettucing
Berries are on their way. Blueberries are forming, as are raspberries, and strawberries. There are blackberries and salal in flower stages, and even a few grapes.
While P built a structure for the raspberry bed, I weeded the brass buttons, plum tree, and put down grass seed (no mow fescue) in the recently “cleared” blackberry field.
What to say… There is much food. The Arugula is delicious, I’m also growing it inside, in the Aerogarden.
Some of the onions are still going. The hops are GIGANTIC. I found one okra, and that is enough to make growing them from seed worth it. The tomatoes are doing well, ripening. P loves spicing the sauce ones up and cooking them down into sauces. I think we have enough that we might eventually tire of that and have to can some. Green beans are doing well. I think the squash could use more irrigation (note for next year) as could the blueberries. (I filled a pocket up of blueberries yesterday. Whimsical!)
Uhm, looks like I might have a couple of Brussels sprouts and some leeks this winter; raspberries are happy.
Strawberries are having a second (small) berry time. Yay!
All of this is perfect timing to make me little less aware of my health. My gallbladder went from warning me occasionally, to hurting whenever I have any kind of fat. I do have a relatively low fat diet as a vegetarian who mainly eats home cooked meals, but I am missing my cheese and olive oil something fierce. There is hopefully a cure on the horizon, but it will mean a short break from tending the plants.
In the meantime we are getting creative with proteins, and I have developed a snack I call “hand salad”, which is basically a handful of lettuces (kale, arugula, mesclun) and tomatoes which I shove in my mouth.
It’s like potato chips, except not at all.
Take that nutritionist!
We have had the joy of living without half of our appliances for a week, because of a lack of 240 voltage and dependable electrician. It’s also been gross outside- including some snow, and lots of rain.
I am not happy.
So let’s start with what’s good in the garden…
The two blue hydrangeas are coming in quick. I fertilized them with the hydrangeas food today.
The two rhody transplants are settling in well.
The hops are coming up- p has been pulling extra shoots.
The rhubarbs all seem very happy.
Some root veggies are sprouting in west E.
NOW for the bad news.
Something has been eating my pea sprouts. I have a feeling it’s the pnw monster slug. I do not feel any warm feelings. I sprinkled Sluggo across the soil with ruthless abandon.
The garlic is not happy about the weather. There’s a lot of yellow showing. I don’t think there is anything I can do- but I put the tomato fertilizer on it while chanting. /:
Onions are also barely hanging in there, and got the same treatment.
The lawn looks like hell- although some of the clover and fleur de lawn seed seems to be catching. All the effort we made trying to smooth it may or may not have helped.
Here are the fertilizers I used.
The blue one went on the hydrangeas, camelia, and blueberries
The red one went on the onions, garlic, and the places I’m putting tomatoes.
In the process of writing this (and waiting for water to boil for my bath), the asparagus and raspberrys have arrived.
I begged P to plant them- since he has access to a shower at work.
Raspberries are going in west A, asparagus in west B.