starting to clear up

The season's end is here. Everything should be cleared by 31 October. I started on that yesterday.

A trip to the garden yesterday revealed no more cucumbers but again a few zucchinis. Harvested all the remaining green tomatoes - excellent as salsa and I will try fried green tomatoes tonight. More carrots. I also removed the few little ears of corn that were straggling, for use as guinea pig food. Only the rainbow chard and collards remain for harvesting. I left a few tiny winter squashes to see if they do something over the next week or so.


I took down the beans and removed all the rest of the plants, which generated an additional compost heap. Unfortunately, I missed the garden clear-up in the morning during which Parks & Recreation got rid of unwanted material with their truck.


Even at mid-afternoon the light is dimmer and the shadows longer. I've really enjoyed having this garden and I will miss it over the winter months.


This morning I had some delicious scrambled eggs (traded with produce from the garden) with zucchini (from the garden), mushrooms, neuf-chatel and spring onions and a side of sauteed Rose Finn Apple potatoes (also from the garden). I haven't really had to buy any vegetables from the supermarket recently (except lettuce for the piggies) and it'll be strange to be doing that again.

first frost warning

... FROST ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 9 AM PDT SATURDAY FOR THE COAST
RANGE OF NORTHWEST OREGON... CENTRAL COAST RANGE OF WESTERN OREGON... LOWER
COLUMBIA... GREATER PORTLAND METRO AREA... CENTRAL WILLAMETTE VALLEY...
SOUTH WILLAMETTE VALLEY... WESTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE... WILLAPA HILLS...
I-5 CORRIDOR IN COWLITZ COUNTY... AND THE GREATER VANCOUVER AREA...

Which meant a quick trip to the garden to rescue what is possible before everything dies. Surprisingly, there were some good-sized zucchini and luckily they did not succumb to blossom end rot which happens so often when it gets damp and cold. Tomatoes are not ripening anymore but we harvested lots of green tomatoes for making chutneys and fried green tomatoes. There may be another batch of green beans (the ones that weren't forgotten and therefore grew to monster size) but I think it'll be only a small handful next week. I also nipped off the aubergines at a very small stage but they will be super in some stir-fry instead of being lost to a frost or rotting. Harvested enough large-ish carrots to actually get a taste of them before the guinea pigs get through them, and some more cucumbers. Got about 6 small ears of corn, which have now become the favourite piggie treat, husks and all - just as well, since there is not much on them.

The garden definitely has seen better days. I wonder if I get to harvest a winter squash before shutting teh garden down for the winter, they seem so small.

In the end the predicted frost didn't materialise in our area (although it dipped below freezing just outside Portland) but autumn is definitely here. Getting out to the garden before it gets dark is getting more difficult during the week. It was cold and my fingers started to get numb.

Everything's snapped

The beans got so heavy that they snapped the twine they were climbing on. The sunflowers' heads got so heavy that they just keeled over. God, my head feels heavy too...

A few things manage to hang on in there: I now have 4 cobs of corn growing (feeling them indicates that they may contain about 2 rows of corn if I'm lucky), I keep on harvesting nice little carrots (I think Ed Hume's Danvers Half Long are the ones that finally took) and the members of the nightshade family are plodding along.

The first little winter squash seems to have set. I will try and get a photo of it next time I go. It's funny, the "rogue" Kabocha plant that I got collecting seeds from a store-bought squash is doing much better than the fancy Marina Di Chioggia.

I am posting this to recap last weekend when I took the pictures. I haven't been out there for nearly a whole week so who knows what awaits me. It was very hot earlier this week but now it has started pouring. Today, I got my plot renewal form in the post showing that all the plots are taken! Yay for more community gardeners!

grandchildren of the corn

Harvesting is continuing apace. Dug up some potatoes which I think are "Rose Finn Apple". I haven't had a chance to prepare them yet but I very much look forward to more home-grown spuds. Definitely something I will repeat next year.

Yes, the corn is flowering and I spotted at least one cob. So there! Ankle-high by Fourth of July does get you something on top of mockery. I just wonder how I should cook this little treasure - or maybe I should just dry it and place it in a commemorative spot to honour its memory and remember not to repeat this farce of gardening. Do I sound too scathing? I like the process of growing it but the return is a bit disappointing so far...

More tomatoes are ripening - "Striped German", "Momotaro" and what I suspect to be another variety of black tomato.

Had delicious stuffed vegetables on Sunday, followed by tomato soup on Monday, zucchini and patty pan squash "quiche" (without the crust) on Tuesday and today it was green beans with tomato sauce on tortellini. Tomorrow I may take a break from vegetables, especially as I managed to palm off - sorry, share - some of them with a friend. Still have the fridge full and with the recent warm weather there is no sign of slowing down yet.

The winter squashes are putting on lots of leaves and even some beginnings of flowers (I definitely planted them too late...), there is another aubergine growing fast (yay for warm summers) but the peppers are still deciding whether they want to ripen. As I was taking pictures my batteries ran out so - again - no picture of the entire garden. Next time, I promise.

...and back to normal Portland weather

After a few very hot days, the damp and cold has settled back in. Not that I am complaining - I don't have to water as much and things still ripen.

A quick harvest on Friday gave me the first beans and more zucchini, cucumbers and greens. In my planting I mixed "Kentucky Wonder" and some Tuscan pole bean variety together, and I can't tell which is which. Not that it matters that much but I will not make that mistake again. The tomatoes are cracking because of the rain and need to be used more quickly once collected. Still, they are delicious. "Black Prince" is not quite as dark as I expected. I noticed just recently that "Velvet Red" has not only furry leaves but also furry fruit.

Having exploited the break in the rainy weather to go camping over the weekend, the garden needed to look after its own for three days. Which meant even more beans, zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers for harvesting.

Luckily, 100% of humans and guinea pigs in households polled prefer cucumber over zucchini. I am very pleased with my trellis method, which saves on space and makes the cucumbers grow straighter. Plenty more to go before the summer is out.

The corn is finally starting to flower. At this rate, I will have yummy roasted corn by the time of the first frosts. Good things come to those who wait. I have never grown corn before and it's definitely worth an experiment.

The garden is looking very lush at the moment, helped by all that rain. One drawback is that the moist soil also encourages slugs, which strangely love the "Costoluto Genovese" tomatoes (haven't spotted them on any of the other tomatoes or other vegetables).

PS. Potatoes harvested last week were very nice and stayed a purple colour even after cooking!

one out, one in

Today hit 90 Fahrenheit/33 Celsius, with the forecast tomorrow for similar weather. Had to get out to the garden before my lovelies would all wither and die of thirst.

At the fence, my helping committee awaited me. This time I wisely only let two in at a time. When one of them had to go, another one was allowed in. A little boy got quite upset that he didn't get to help water. I'll look out for him next time.

Somebody has finally started on the plot next to mine, in fact they cleared it of most of the weeds. Unfortunately, some of the pile ended up on my plot and on top of some of my vegetables. No lasting damage done but they could have put it on the other side where nothing has been done. I'm happy though that the garden is being used. I also see lots of evidence of other gardeners finally getting a move on.

A few updates on cucumbers, tomatoes and corn.

First the corn. Still surviving! Growing, even.

The tomatoes are setting fruit. Shouldn't be long before some ripen. This shot is of Costoluto Genovese but I also spotted a few smaller ones on, I think, Early Girl and Velvet Red. The plants are growing so fast and so big I may have to get some cages for them (Back - lie down - shoo! /dork).

The cucumbers are now nearly reaching the netting (well...stringing) and so are most of the beans. I just have to get them through this mini-heatwave. The lemon cucumber is nestled between some of the tomatoes so it is slightly more shaded and has started to flower.

All these pictures were taken before watering so it looks a bit dusty. Things are hanging in there rather nicely. I may start harvesting some more greens at baby stage before they bolt almost immediately. I am letting the broccoli raab and the arugula (aka rocket) set seed to save me buying more for a later sowing. The zucchini still amazes me - how can a plant grow so much overnight? The borage I planted alongside to insure extra pollination is also keeping up with it.

More planting

Today was nicer weather after a week of rain, rain, rain. The temperature had also dropped to nearly 50 degrees on Friday. It didn't seem to do the plants much harm, in fact, the sprouting broccoli seems to like it a bit wetter and cooler. Been harvesting it (delicious with garlic and olive oil with pasta or in a stir fry!). Also, the four strawberries I got so far were the sweetest I have ever had. The arugula is also very popular. I had almost forgotten how good home-grown food tastes.

I picked up an English cucumber plant at Garden Fever but since today was such a sunny day and I didn't have to lug around a lot of stuff I decided to cycle to the plot. It's a actually a fairly straightforward ride that can be done quite easily in 30 minutes.

Nobody at the garden which was a bit surprising - I would have assumed that the place would be hopping. I planted the cucumber underneath the bean poles to try if I can trellis it. Re-sowed some more collards and sprouting broccoli. As the soil is warming up I thought I'd try sowing the corn and also the summer squashes. If it doesn't work out I have more seeds. Let's hope it stays warm but moist for the next week, as I won't be able to water it for nearly a week.

I'm pleased with the growth so far (except the dang carrots...). I am also trying a few more ways of animal husbandry through selective planting. The marigolds I planted mid-week are very cheerful (got a whole crate cheaply) and they should keep aphids away. I also planted borage near the summer squash to attract more pollinating insects. And the coffee grounds definitely seem to work - none of the strawberries has been nibbled by slugs yet.