August 13, 2012

August is the month of sunflowers.

Our harvests are getting smaller, but often more interesting; for example, the handful of red raspberries we picked to eat with a honeydew melon and a nice fat fig.  These combinations would never be conceivable if we weren't growing them ourselves.  'Heritage' red raspberries, which are labeled "everbearing," are just getting started on their big fall crop; we don't have to cover these in bird netting like we did with our spring berries; birds are done raising young, which have fledged and focused on protein diet of insects before the winter.

2nd-year parsley, heavy with seed, bends to the ground.

The dog days of summer are over.  We received another 5 inches of rain this week, giving us a two-week total at 9.5 inches; I think it rained every day in the past two weeks and don't remember as significant a wet period since the summer it rained 40 days in a row in 2005.  Needless to say, we're about ready to pull up our soaker hoses and mow down the melon patch.  One of the most appealing qualities of the garden this time of year is its disarray.  Plants are overgrown, blowzy, and wild--and that's part of what keeps our interest.

Brussels sprouts seedlings through
the screen of an airy window.

Folks often incorrectly assume that spring and summer are the prime gardening seasons and that the beginning of fall brings an end to the garden's glory.  But as fall rains return and the lawns green up again, the nights are cooler and the sun seems softer, we have time to catch up on a crop of brassicas and greens.  Cole crops such as broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprouts perform just as well as in the spring.  Didn't get that crop of April spinach that you were hoping for?  Try it now.  Since the days are often hot, it will help to sprout seeds under a 2x4 laid directly on top of the ground, but check underneath every day.  Our brussels sprouts started from seed in early July will be ready to transplant out to the garden by the end of this month.  It's time to start cabbage and broccoli seed now too.

Seed-saving is in full operation as we select the best heirloom tomatoes, peppers, and herbs.

Pumpkins ripen in these warm and humid August days.

April 9, 2012

The first spinach of 2012.

What a glorious Easter weekend we had!  Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and other transplants have jumped into growth after recent rains and agreeable temperatures.  I don't think it's an exaggeration to say we pulled a million weeds over the weekend, however!  This reminds me of an organic gardening tip we haven't really followed this year but will try to follow from now on.  Freshly-tilled soil is a hot bed for weeds.  Tilling, especially in a new garden, turns up millions of weed seeds that rest beneath the surface. If you have the time after tilling, let weeds sprout first, skim them off without disturbing the soil deeply, then plant.  It's so hard to be patient with this technique when days lengthen and temperatures are prime for planting.  Something is always calling to get those hands in the dirt.

This 'Blue Girl' hybrid tea rose bloomed in time for Easter.

There are a hundred chores we could have done, besides weeding, but there was time only to re-till the future corn bed; organic humus from composting clover has made it rich and fertile.  Our first harvest of spinach came due, always a welcome celebration.  I wonder how much longer spinach will last since temperatures have been so unseasonably warm this year; it tends to bolt and turn bitter above 80 degrees F.  Other plants love the heat, and we will soon turn our attention to them.

A recent weather report says 60% of the nation is now in some state of drought, even before we head into the typically dry and hot months of summer.  We haven't had to use our soaker hoses much this spring, but we will be laying them out in the vegetable garden this year in case they are needed.  The first hybrid tea rose on our property bloomed in time for Easter.  We have loads of rose buds just ready to burst open, but a few opened early.

The vegetable garden in April.