Weekly Garden Journal #17

I’m not in NYC after all…  My daughter stayed with us the Whole Time her daughters were here and they all flew home yesterday.  The entire Visit was Magical…

We dropped them off at the Louisville airport early yesterday morning and were home by noon.  It was hot, but we got out and cleaned up the Edible Garden.  I pulled up all the Romas, a couple of Big Berthas and one zucchini plant. The last crop of green beans is puny and rusted, but I’m not ready to give up on them.  The pole beans were excruciatingly removed from the trellis. Everything that’s left has fruit (veg) on it that’s not quite ready to harvest.  In the center of the naked trellis is a healthy pineapple sage bush which should be blooming in a couple of weeks…

I brought in three pots of basil, ready for drying.  I’ve got a large pot of three left that I’ll use for making pesto next week.

It’s time to wind it down now and the plan is to have the Edible Garden emptied and the pool down by Labor day.  We’ll be leaving for a couple of weeks September 8, trailer trippin’ to New Mexico and Colorado.

After our return from that Adventure, we have Plans for Fall planting in the Bird Garden.  Until then, I’m not sure I’ve much to blog about gardening…

I’ll be over at Sonnystone Acres , though, and you’re always welcome to come sit on the front porch with me…

Keep on Growing…

 

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Weekly Garden Journal #15

Whew! 15 weeks!  Let’s take a tour of the Gardens at Sonnystone Today…

Remember the “conservatory” that we built at the end of last season?  I pictured filling it with plants and using it like a greenhouse, but that was a pipe dream.  It is, however, an excellent porch extension that keeps the pathway from the kitchen to the laundry room dry and warmer and that’s the Real reason it was built.

The west door leads to the pool area; the east door leads to the Edible Garden…

Around on the east garden, the butterfly bushes that I thought were going to die are not all that pretty, but the butterflies don’t mind.  My new maple-leaf viburnum is strong; it will have to be moved this fall for an archaeological project that I haven’t told you about, yet.  The birds have feasted on the grapes…

On the south side, the plants I planted around the birdfeeders are too close together…Why do I Always do that?…and they’ll probably not flower well.  This fall they will be moved into a new garden and spaced properly, I swear!

The volunteer hyssop is such a bee and butterfly magnet!  The petunias in the light-pole planter don’t seem to mind sharing the spotlight.

Roses and Daisies are the vanguard of the Front Porch…

The lavender in the poolside garden is going strong, but the hydrangeas encroached over the one I had kept in a pot.  It looked weak this spring, but it is ready for the ground now…or probably later…

And we’re back to the conservatory…

The NYC kids will be here 3 days!  I will be in full Grandma JoJo mode for the next couple of weeks, harvesting a super crop of love, peace, and joy with the Grandies…

Keep on Growing…

Weekly Garden Journal #13

This week the Edible Garden changed Big Time…

At this time of the season, I usually take stock of what’s working and what’s not.  Fortunately, most Everything has been producing prolifically, except for the zucchini.  I thought this year was going to be the year that broke my streak of zucchini/squash failures…I have fretted over them like babies, but I couldn’t keep away that dang fungus.  I finally pulled out the southernmost plant to buy more time for the other three.  There is still time for them to fruit…

The biggest changes are the empty bean beds…the kitchen has been invaded by green beans…

The Kentucky Wonder Pole beans are a long, flat, tasty bean and we’ve harvested a gallon or so.  Though I planned that those should be picked about now, I didn’t plan on having to bring in the second crop of bush beans this soon (we just harvested the first crop last week).  We’ve already planted the first bed with more Blue Lake (bush) and they are popping right up. I’m going to let that second bed rest for a bit while I think about what sort of cool weather crops might go there.

It’s also tough keeping up with the Roma tomatoes, so I’ve started fixing my trusty tomato salads, beginning with the easiest:  chopped roma tomatoes, chopped fresh basil, black olives, feta cheese with a red wine vinaigrette that I whip up with red wine, canola oil, fresh oregano, and garlic.  Mmmm…

The weather is Exactly the type of weather that makes me want to go to the mountains in July every year…  The garden, though, is at its neediest, so here we are.

Around on the Bird Garden Porch, I had to move the cardinal vine/black-eyed Susan vine to a shady spot for some intensive care.  The container I used was just too small and it dried out so easily where it was placed. With all the real estate opening up in the Edible Garden, I might try to plop it in the ground in a couple of weeks. The nasturtium was nearly destroyed by rain and sun, so it also was placed in intensive care.  Just to keep everybody company, I also moved all of my herbs there and I like seeing them right outside my conservatory door…

We’ve paid no attention to the banana trees, yet every week they happily unfurl new branches–if only the edibles were so easy…

Keep on Growing…

 

 

Weekly Garden Journal #12

We are Reaping what we’ve Sown…Green beans have been on the menu frequently for the last couple of weeks.  Sliced tomatoes are always available. There’s a steady supply of cucumbers and bell peppers for dipping.

This morning we pulled the last of the beans from the first planting in late April.  It was a slow start, thanks some 40degree temperatures, but it has Loved the rain, and we’ve bean eating from it for the last two weeks.  We pulled up the plants and will amend and prepare the soil for one more planting.

 

  The second planting is nearly ready for picking now.

Today’s Harvest

Photo Gallery

Keep on Growing…

Weekly Garden Journal #10

The rain stopped and we saw Sunshine yesterday!  The gardens don’t look a whole lot different, but we’re spending considerable time removing beetles and caterpillars.  The persistent rains made spraying a futile effort, but we’re still hitting them with Neem and Sevin as often as we can.  There’s very little weeding to be done thanks to thick mulch, and certainly there’s less watering this year.

We harvested several servings of green beans last week and they were delicious with some new potatoes from the Farmers Market.  Soon we’ll have more peppers and tomatoes, too, but the rain has messed up our zucchinis and we’ve had to toss some thanks to the rot.

I fix Classic cucumbers and onions in sweet vinegar every summer, but this is the first time I’ve grown cucumbers—who knew they were so easy?  Easily thrilled, I love keeping the bowl full with my very own crop.  The burpless cukes are prolific, but too obscene to photograph…

The Edible Garden

Blooms

Today is overcast, but at least bright, and I’ve got Jrs. girls for the day after spending last night with us. I hope you see the Sun Shine today!

Keep on Growing…

Weekly Garden Journal #9

Lots of rain, almost too much, has been a daily occurrence, so we’ve spent some time propping plants back up.  We caught some Rust on the pole beans and zucchini early enough to remove and spray, but lost one Roma tomato.  I’m so grateful for whoever invented Neem oil; it takes care of most of our problems — if we catch them early enough.

With Casey at home, I have a fellow stalker-of-pests, but he keeps an eye on the real crritters, too.  He has an ongoing War Against the Moles, who he calls “the mole”, like it’s just one…but he’s focused.  Several years back we sprayed the lawn with castor oil and for a couple of seasons, they stayed away.  Last year they were back, and this year are reallly back.  He’s been planting his traps all along their runs and between rains he’s sprayed the castor oil around.  He was in the edible garden and saw the movement of “the mole” at the edge.  “The Mole” has never ventured into the Edible Garden and Casey’s alarm went off…he did some sort of ju-jitsu with shovels (and stuff I made him stop telling me) and I am so happy for him!  Man against Mole is a gamble and lately the odds are short on “The Mole”. so Hurrah for Casey the Mole-err-catcher for saving the Edibles.

Here’s the garden he saved…The Edible Garden

Around the House…

The Bird/Porch garden got better when we bought the cool red glider at a rummage sale, but I couldn’t stop myself from adding more begonias.  This year I have No plants on the Front Swing Porch–I neglect them out there and the West sun doesn’t let me get away with it–so I’ve made up for it with More containers in the part-shade Porch.

Today is Midsummer’s Eve and I suggest you be alert for Puck or something like him.  It’s been a water-filled Spring and we’ve had only one pool day, so I’m hoping to see more sun in the next Season, but as long as the Plants are happy, I’m happy.

Keep on Growing…

Weekly Garden Journal #8

The weather continues to be just right for our garden, though our local farmers have had so much rain that only 50% of their crops have been able to be planted.

The Edible Garden

My biggest project this week has been the Bird Garden which has morphed into the Porch Garden.  I went crazy with begonias and pulled around some other containers to fill it with blooms.

The feeders stay busy as the adult birds bring the young-uns out and teach them to feed themselves.  If we sit still for a while on the porch chairs, we can blend right in with the avians.

The echinacea and susans around the feeder poles are doing well, but it’s too early for their blooms.

I’ve got the girls today and we’re headed out for a picnic…  Until next week…

Keep on growing…