Post-vacation harvest

What survives, survives. In this case, it was summer squash and greengages which greeted me on arrival. Not as many greengages as last year but they alternate in years. There are a few tomatoes which should be ready in a couple of weeks (good for the cold and rainy weather we've been having) and the raspberries are gearing up for another harvest.

What didn't make it through: gooseberry bushes have again been stripped by caterpillars and they are now officially abandoned (also, I didn't like their spiney defences). No white beetroot this year either. No jalapeno peppers. Not a great gardening year...

my spider sense

Life is hard this time of year for an arachnophobe like me...lots of webs built exactly where I want to wander and water. I am gingerly picking off the tomatoes, avoiding the giant spider that lurks there. A careful sideways approach to the waterhose reel because another spider has used it as an anchor for a thread. I am trying to ignore the one dangling over my head as I step out the kitchen door. I don't even think about dashing out to get some herbs after dark anymore, instead I plan a minor expedition involving a stick to knock down the webs and a torch. I guess they are very useful...but I just don't like 'em.


A few rays of sun are still about. Raspberries doing very well and I am even getting a little Serrano pepper. My bean experiment is nearing the end, there is a substantial amount of dark purple pods which, I hope, will contain black beans.

The Thompson and Morgan catalogue has arrived and I have leaved through it a bit. Disappointing selection of cucumbers but interesting beans. Need to sit down soon and make a list.

Failed chores and sowing

Unfortunately I am running way behind on gardening chores. I was going to book a streetcar to go to the local DIY centre yesterday to get some compost but a) all cars were already booked (my own fault for leaving it so late) and b) according to their web site the shop location is out of all big bags of compost (a fact that I cannot quite believe). So I need to do it next weekend which means that my potatoes and mange touts are going in a bit later than I had hoped.



However, the first seeds are in. I sowed a serrano pepper that Karesansui-san passed on to me. I also planted my six varieties of tomatoes and some seeds from my one pack of aubergine. I am using the "toilet roll method" - the cardboard core cut in half and filled with compost. Usually I either go for the tray method or scratch all the little pots I have together but this year I am willing to try something new. The idea is that you can just plant the whole thing out and the cardboard rots down. I have also heard some negative reports that the glue or something in the cardboard may inhibit germination. Let's see what happens.

peppahs

Hopefully the peppers are turning red quite soon ("Banana" and "Nardello's"). It's really hot for September so here's hoping. One of them has the beginnings of it but nothing substantial across the board. Not sure it was worth it, especially as we seem to eat a lot of peppers.

And now as promised the most recent picture of the garden. The squashes are turning mildewy which signals, to me, the very ear end of the main growing season. Still, plenty of things to harvest and water.

Portland sauna

Yet again it is too hot. Too hot for humans and too hot for plants. Everyone and everything wishes for AC. I think I even heard snippy mutterings from the rainbow chard today.

I also decided in my wisdom that today was the day that I would harvest the seeds of the arugula aka rocket. As a consequence I also had to sort out the strawberry plants and their runners that sharing the same area (long story but as reported earlier they were actually growing outside my plot boundary). 100 degree weather is not really ideal for this endeavour. I also dug up my first harvest of potatoes (Dark Red Norland, enough for a small meal, slightly disappointing amount). Nevertheless, I got it done, even though sweat was pouring off me.

Finally the first pepper harvest and others on the way. I've now had quite a few tomatoes but still waiting on more to come. The Velvet Red is a small cherry tomato which I wouldn't grow again - not enough output to make it worth it, although the foliage is pretty. The Momotaro is good and uniform with quite a good taste. The Costoluto Genovese is hanging full and is delicious but sometimes has the tendency to rot at the top of the stem. I am still waiting for Black Prince (which is starting to ripen) and the Striped German.

Lots of different flowers again - a sunflower has opened up, the aubergine aka eggplant is prettier than I ever thought and the flowers on the cucumbers and beans ensure lots of produce to come.

It's in times like this that you notice that the garden sucks up most of your life. Watering and harvesting every day is time-consuming. But then you take what you have laboured for home, cook it, serve it to friends and everything is alright.

Nearly there!

It's definitely summer and the great big harvest is nearly upon us. I already took a few leaves of collards, chard and mustard greens and I am really looking forward to tasting them. A neighbour gave me some spinach starts which I planted although they didn't look too happy. Still, there is the potential for even more greens in the future.

There is a pepper growing, it nearly sneaked past me! I think the variety is Nardello's and it should turn bright red. The other pepper plants are still gearing up but looking tall and bushy.

The zucchini is reaching gargantuan size and with its mottled silver leaves looks stunning. There are numerous fruit developing and there may be even one large enough to harvest this weekend. Sorry for the blurry picture, it was getting dark already.

I need to remember to plant my winter squash, it is getting a bit later than I wanted to but every time I go to the garden I forget to take the packet of seeds. Maybe I just start them off in pots at home.

I think the garden has undergone some magical changes over the last few weeks yet it will transform again soon when the beans and cucumbers are climbing up the poles. Can't wait!

more work to be done...

Have I really not posted anything for 2 weeks?!?

Last weekend and the few days preceding it was the first of hot weather (over 90 degrees) so I went to the garden nearly every day to make sure that the recently planted tomatoes and peppers would survive (not to speak of the seeds). [Note: the peppers I reported planting are "Banana" and "Nardello's", both sweet, the aubergine is "Ichiban"]

I also missed the garden clean-up on the 10th but was told afterwards that the plots on my side of the garden had been measured out wrong - mine was about 1' shorter but on the other hand nearly 1' wider. It's all to do with being able to fit a wheelbarrow down the main path but unfortunately (or luckily) I already had planted strawberries there. So they decided to exclude me for this year from that "law".

Of course, this being the Pacific Northwest, the few days of heat and sunshine were followed by buttloads of rain and cold temperatures. At least I didn't have to water anymore.

Just went out today to clear the path next to my plot, to make it easier for me to walk around my realm. It's really a shame, the plot next to me has not been taken up so the weeds are knee-high. I wonder if they have reassigned it yet...

Surprisingly not too many weeds considering, and the sprouting broccoli is doing really well. There are even little heads appearing. Collards and the shoots of the potatoes have appeared. Strawberries looking good (although with 5 plants I'm only getting a handful), trying to keep the slugs away from the fruit by sprinkling coffee grounds around them - will report if those little buggers get to them despite this measure. No sign of carrots. *sigh*

Still a little bit too cold to plant beans and zucchini but soon! But found this cool soil temperature map, that even has a 5-day forecast per region. It should be ok for the beans at least next weekend.