Sadie Mae sure is enjoying the melons and cucumbers. Anyone else have a bassett hound who eats such things? The "Minnesota Midget" melons are anything but midgets, but they are sweet and tasty!! Hungarian Heart tomatoes are HUGE. They remind me of beefsteaks with a different shape. Very sweet and juicy. Martina's Romas tomatoes are prolific. Great for salsa! Growing the basil in with the tomatoes seems to make them both very happy. Broccoli is growing and we should have a nice harvest before the first frost. I can't wait to try the potatoes. The vines still seem too vigorous to dig into the barrel and try them out. Japanese climber cucumbers are as good as ever (as witnessed by Sadie Mae). Our two disappointments this year--zucchini and the corn. I believe that we continue to succumb to vine borers on the zucchini. It grows initially and bears fruit only to die back from the stem. The corn has not done well at all. Both are Anazazi strains from Horizon Herbs. The early corn bore well with small but tasty ears. However the later corn's ears did not fill out at all or are very patchy. A huge disappointment. The kernels that did develop are a rainbow of colors and would have been delightful at a corn roast. Not sure what to make of it. We fertilized, watered and there appeared to be good pollination. Plenty of silks, but no kernels. Not recommended. Beets cooking now. Carrots are gorgeous multicolored and sweet. Jalapeno peppers doing well--flavorful and not too hot according to the family taste tester of hot things--David. The sweet peppers growing nicely and turning red. We've had 4 eggplants and more coming on, so with one plant, very pleased with how it is doing. Doubt we'll have cabbage. It is growing, but since we direct seeded, it just doesn't seem like it will have enough time before frost. Maybe. We'll see. KY Wonder pole beans coming on. The Anasazi pole beans have flowers, but no beans yet. Hope our growing season isn't too short.
All in all, we are sure blessed. No hurricane damage. No hail. No tornadoes. No drought. No floods.
Life IS good.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Dog Days of August
July's a blur of heat and a lot of sweat and gallons of water drunk.Honestly don't remember much of it. 12 hour days at work and hot weekends. David has been a regular farmer hero keeping the gardens watered. Very little rain other than some thunderstorms and the wind from them was strong enough to blow the corn over twice. It is amazing to me how it uprights itself after being flattened down.
The Anasazi Sweet Early is harvested. Small ears, but tasty. Since it is an heirloom and doesn't have the "supersweet gene" in it, we picked it just before eating. Prepped in microwave and once on the grill. Butter and salt.....mmmmmm good. Still waiting for the late. No raccoon issues this year, David has a fully electric line at the top of the fence around the corn. Probably has been keeping Sadie Mae out of it, too. She has been harvesting melons and cucumbers much to our dismay and chomping on them like they are toys.
The Japanese climber cucumbers are good as usual. Really crispy and sweet. First green beans harvested today. Pole beans take a bit longer to mature and the Anasazi beans are still growing and flowering without any pods yet. We did get some zucchini this year, but again succumbed to vine borers and took them out to plant some mesclun and chard for fall harvest.
For the first time ever, we planted broccoli and cabbage from seed right in the garden. It does make them a bit later than when setting out seedlings, but they will bear before frost, so I imagine that's what I'll continue to do with those cold weather plants.
Tomatoes are wonders.From puny little transplants they become monsters bearing tons of fruit. We put in two plants in the 3x3 raised bed along with planting basil seeds and all are growing well, but pretty snug. Maybe one tomato per raised bed along the the basil would be better.
The "star" this year are the "Minnesota Midget" cantalope. Not as small as advertised on the seed packet, and the vines sprawled more than 3 feet, but the cantalopes are primo in flavor and the vines bearing well.
Let's see......oh yes, beets are ready. We've gotten 4 eggplants so far from one plant and the two pepper plants are doing well. We bought these plants at Seed Savers this year at their plant sale rather than trying to start our own and I"m sold on it.Just that much less work, though I do like starting seeds--it's the space and having to be here constantly tending to them. Nice drive to Decorah in April and fun to get away overnite.
Flower beds have taken up most of my time since vegetables tend to take care of themselves once planted and fertilized and kept watered. We were lucky to get a truck load of mulch from Davey when they came to trim our maple and linden. It was enough to cover all of the area from the patio to under the silver maple. We could use two more loads for the fence line and Debby's garden where mulch is thin or non existent.
The roses that we planted last year are growing well. the only issue with that bed are the Japanese beetles,which have been plentiful this year. All in all, I'm really pleased with them. We have also been gifted with a generous portion of milkweed in various areas of the gardens this year, including out front by the lilac near the culvert. Good homes for the Monarchs! Saw some mating today and am hopeful of the cocoons in the milkweed.
New lavender bed is doing well, too, with 8 cultivars planted. I noticed today that the labels are fading and I need to see if I can restore them so that I know all their names. The white butterfly bush that I planted from a broken part of the one in the border bed in front of the house took off like a weed and is blooming and about 30 inches tall. Nice.
The Anasazi Sweet Early is harvested. Small ears, but tasty. Since it is an heirloom and doesn't have the "supersweet gene" in it, we picked it just before eating. Prepped in microwave and once on the grill. Butter and salt.....mmmmmm good. Still waiting for the late. No raccoon issues this year, David has a fully electric line at the top of the fence around the corn. Probably has been keeping Sadie Mae out of it, too. She has been harvesting melons and cucumbers much to our dismay and chomping on them like they are toys.
The Japanese climber cucumbers are good as usual. Really crispy and sweet. First green beans harvested today. Pole beans take a bit longer to mature and the Anasazi beans are still growing and flowering without any pods yet. We did get some zucchini this year, but again succumbed to vine borers and took them out to plant some mesclun and chard for fall harvest.
For the first time ever, we planted broccoli and cabbage from seed right in the garden. It does make them a bit later than when setting out seedlings, but they will bear before frost, so I imagine that's what I'll continue to do with those cold weather plants.
Tomatoes are wonders.From puny little transplants they become monsters bearing tons of fruit. We put in two plants in the 3x3 raised bed along with planting basil seeds and all are growing well, but pretty snug. Maybe one tomato per raised bed along the the basil would be better.
The "star" this year are the "Minnesota Midget" cantalope. Not as small as advertised on the seed packet, and the vines sprawled more than 3 feet, but the cantalopes are primo in flavor and the vines bearing well.
Let's see......oh yes, beets are ready. We've gotten 4 eggplants so far from one plant and the two pepper plants are doing well. We bought these plants at Seed Savers this year at their plant sale rather than trying to start our own and I"m sold on it.Just that much less work, though I do like starting seeds--it's the space and having to be here constantly tending to them. Nice drive to Decorah in April and fun to get away overnite.
Flower beds have taken up most of my time since vegetables tend to take care of themselves once planted and fertilized and kept watered. We were lucky to get a truck load of mulch from Davey when they came to trim our maple and linden. It was enough to cover all of the area from the patio to under the silver maple. We could use two more loads for the fence line and Debby's garden where mulch is thin or non existent.
The roses that we planted last year are growing well. the only issue with that bed are the Japanese beetles,which have been plentiful this year. All in all, I'm really pleased with them. We have also been gifted with a generous portion of milkweed in various areas of the gardens this year, including out front by the lilac near the culvert. Good homes for the Monarchs! Saw some mating today and am hopeful of the cocoons in the milkweed.
New lavender bed is doing well, too, with 8 cultivars planted. I noticed today that the labels are fading and I need to see if I can restore them so that I know all their names. The white butterfly bush that I planted from a broken part of the one in the border bed in front of the house took off like a weed and is blooming and about 30 inches tall. Nice.
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