Hot Harvesting




[Placeholder - work is awful-frantic-insane-hateful so I don't have time for a real post for the next 2 weeks until the start of Fall semester]:
Still working on the paper mache lily this past weekend (Sat and Sunday). Now time to build a collar to yoke them together. So at least they are taking up half the space on the livingroom floor.

We've started to move towards harvesting, preparing, giving away and storing things. It's daunting!

*First Carnation Bloom: a pale creamy butter yellow. Smells wonderful.
*Zinnias! Bells of Ireland are enormous.
*All the cosmos at the back under the white grapes are blooming in and amongst the end of the coriopsis. Pink and yellow. Very lovely.
*Tomatoes are actually intimidating... the vines so huge and sprawling and unruly, and loaded with fruit.
*Basil plants are enormous. Feel like a bad steward with those too. But how much pesto can you really use in a year? We still have some left from last season.
*Cucumbers... the unsung heroes of the garden. How many plants? Very tasty. Nice looking with their bright green leaves and pert yellow flowers. ?! [Take some photos]. G grew them from seed. How many plants? (~4)
*Swiss chard: actually wilting a little yesterday. Being ignored, which made me feel badly. Like a sin.
*Eggplants. Made baba ganouj (sp?). May have put too much salt in it. Used Molly Katzen's recipe. Might be something missing. ?!
*3rd meal with fresh green beans. (tri-colored bush snaps). Soooo handsome.
*Overcome with those delicious tiny red seedless grapes. have been pushing ahead pretty hard plucking and popping them into the dehydrator. Told G yesterday I'll never look at a raisin the same way again. She laughed.
*Very, very curious about the sweet potatoes.
*Onions are mixed... several seem to be thriving. Several are still puny.


*Lost 2 more peppers. Leeks are puny. Still battling to the death for the butternut squash.
*Sunflowers - apparently we overwatered them. At least half are dead, which suits the finches who are happily shredding them.
*G bought and hung a seed feeder. (She's been wanting to go to Wild Birds Unlimited & finally did.) Under the middle apple tree. She also got a "transfer pump" ?! And a set of 'bottle buddies' ... to make erstaz upside down ollas out of hollow clay stakes & upside down wine bottles.
*G's compost pile is looking really promising.
*Weeds... we have actually done very very well keeping the ditch clear and keeping down the pigweed, ironweed, bindweed, foxtail and still shoving back against the 'greys'
*Still losing gl0ves, no matter how many pair we buy. And still really loving our weeding knives and "swishes" (the Felco pruners). 6 miscellaneous wide-brimmed straw hats. And three pair of plastic clogs. Funny huh?

*Weather: Can't remember when it rained last. Otherwise, an innocent stretch of blue sky, with breezes. Highs in the 90s. Lows very lovely... 60s.

*This morning, for the first time it wasn't full daylight when I got up at 6am. A pronounced, notable tilt towards fall.

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