our maine home – zone 5b
I am enjoying these beds of greens very much. They are lush and trouble-free. No damage from bugs or frost or drought. No need to water as we haven’t closed up the hoophouse yet.
Wonder how they will do as cold weather sets in, if it does.
Is it still mid-August? A lot has happened. We harvested the fava beans on August 11. Had a big party, the third annual, to shuck the beans. I have three small freezer bags of leftovers, which is good. I didn’t take any pictures, unfortunately.
We have picked over 20 pounds of blueberries, all in the orchard except for two containers harvested atop Schoodic. I know that should be quarts, next year I’ll switch to the more typical measurement.
We are still waiting for the Reliance peaches to ripen. Last year they were all taken, probably by squirrels. This year we took more precautions (netting around the trunk). Sam propped up the heavy branches. They have great color, but are still quite hard.
Sam’s working on improving the orchard fencing. Too many deer are getting in there.
He also added two more raised beds in the hoophouse. Over the next few days I’ll plant some fall and winter greens in them. The peppers and eggplants in the older beds are growing but not exuberantly, but the basil in there is doing great. We had to protect those beds from deer who came to munch one variety of pepper when we opened the roof to the sun and rain.
I’m picking green beans almost daily in the main garden. Also sowed some fall seeds in empty spots.
The fava bean area freed up, so we put up a pea trellis there. Also planted cilantro, broccoli rabe, and spinach in that area.
Harvesting lots of food: beets, cucumbers, a few ripe tomatoes, lettuce, escarole, radicchio, carrots, costata romanesca zucchini, kale, chard, dill, artichokes, broccoli, Savoy cabbage, fingerlings, strawberries, blackberries. Coming along: squashes, a few ears of corn, cabbage, soybeans, pattypan squash, lots of tomatoes!
Escarole is bolting. I harvested two large bags.
Harvested one good-sized beet and a few turnips.
Also jarred up some sauerkraut (not grown by us).
Soon we’ll need to eat a couple of the artichokes.
Other news: More lettuce than we know what to do with. A few peas, a few baby cucumbers, squash blossoms, a few handfuls of blueberries, a few tart cherries. Harvested some fingerling potatoes due to potato beetle infestation.
Row by row scan:
I spent a humid hour and a half in the garden this morning. Plants are growing and need a little help. Okay, a lot of help in some cases.
Mostly I weeded under and around the corner A-frame trellis. And laid out more hay mulch in that area.
The scarlet runner beans are just starting to bloom. Two hummingbirds perched on the tomato trellis in anticipation.
I dug out a huge mass of white clover which was overtaking the front doorway of the A-frame. The oak leaf and Encore mix lettuces needed only a light weeding. They look great. The Ovation mix is overgrown and mostly bolted. Hard to pick it.
The arugula quadrant has not done well at all. Mostly weeds. I tried first Sylvetta with no luck, then I planted Bellezia. A few feeble sprouts. I don’t get it.
I also started to train my 8 cucumber plants to climb the trellis. Some are too short to reach it, others are just disinclined to climb.
Bianka’s white runner beans are doing nicely at the four corners of the trellis.
There are a few little green tomatoes.
The fingerling potatoes have a nasty case of aphids.
Happily, cosmos and poppy seeds have germinated in flower pots – a late experiment.
A beautiful day, sunny and warm with a cool breeze. The garden is looking great, healthy and almost pest free- discovered our first potato beetles today and dropped them into a bucket of soapy water.
Some standouts:
Having waited almost too long, yesterday was the last harvest at the community garden.
The snow was not so much the issue, as the long cold spell looming in the forecast.
We brought in the remaining celeriac, kale, and leeks, as well as a handful of adorable baby carrots and one hapless baby beet.
We covered up the seedlings in the garden in anticipation of cold temps over the next few nights. This is an experimental bed. I don’t think they’ll all make it, maybe none of them will. Cilantro, lacinato kale, red lettuce, spinach. They are under a layer of plastic, a layer of agribon, and a few inches of hay mulch.
Made this with the massive winterbor kale from the community garden. Four baking sheets worth. It is really hard to get the crispiness right. Many of the chips are brown and disintegrate to powder immediately upon placement in the mouth.
Harvested a lot of smaller beets, a celeriac root, and a Winterbor kale at the community garden.
Going to make some food for the election results get-together at Lesley’s house tonight.