Mid-August

Something told me there wouldn't be too much to do
in the garden today ... was I wrong ... I arrived
to find the new squash doorway I'd built collapsed
(no big surprise really - what was I banking on -
miracles - it's put together with tomato ties and
not even sunk into the ground more than 1/4" because
I got pooped out hitting the top of the post with a
rock at an awkward angle ... and it seemed to stand
up) ... SOOooOooO ... I spent about an hour & a half
trying not to get knocked out by the swinging pumpkin
as I rebuilt it with more tomato ties and little stakes
placed at a whole lot of rinky dink angles to support
the two main posts ... many of which are hidden from
prying eyes by copious numbers of vines and leaves.


So here it is now - O-Ya! please let there be no wind
or any weather, etc for the rest of Summer - just miracles!


... evidence that were some ripe red tomatoes before my visit
today - eat the whole thing & leave me some next time chipmunk ...


... other things are ripening too but not quite there yet
(in the b/g are some mini chocolate peppers - I'm assuming
they are hot - if not - then that's a whole lot of
energy out for just one little salad.


I spent another hour and a half clipping off dead branches
and spotty leaves - I'm being ruthless this year ... these
guys are getting lots of air flow ... there are still flowers
on some of my plants ... there's still potential for some ripe
tomatoes (next year I'll let the whole garden take a tomato
rest - I say that now) ... that's a lot of fried green tomatoes?


Todays catch ... flowers & herbs (dill, thai basil, mint),
squash blossoms, tomatoes, garlic and a marrow (it might
look like there's a lot of tomatoes in there but there
aren't ... not enough for me to get sick of eating them
which is the whole point - not by a long shot)


... the year of the zucs & cucs what can I say ... they are going gangbusters and I'm enjoying them in salads (except for the tough seeds and they are almost all seeds - heheh) ... and I finally have all the ingredients purchased to make a zucchini bread so there will be baking.

1st Tomatoes

I think I'm about a week or two behind last year ... I was a little late getting the tomatoes in after a cold and rainy Spring ... my tomatoes were really small as well.


This is the first year for morning glory ...
beans will work along the fence next year!

The first big tomato ... albeit it's split but it's ripened!

Last week after putting up the door frame ...

What a difference the week made to
perk the pumpkin plant & the pumpkin up ...


The herb patch ... and yes I'm letting
purslane grow in the pathways - it's edible!


Catch of the week ... just one zuc (phew) ...
some tomatoes, chard, mint and a little cuc

Zucs & Cucs ... and Soldier Beetles

Moments after coming back from the garden, I noticed a Tweet about soldier beetles being good garden insects to have - phew - because I saw some and thought, 'Oh No - now I've got these?' ... I scooted a couple of them off leaves and got them going in the direction out of the garden and into the woods. Hopefully they didn't follow my direction. I'll try to get photos next garden visit. I don't think mine are redheads though. Anyways - here's the post I saw about them ...


The blue tomatoes are coming along ... I was hoping they
would look pretty beside the gold ones ... and they do.



I hadn't counted on having to build a doorway for what
I'm calling pumpkins but they might not be OWell wOoPs
... they grew a few yards longer in just a week ... YA!


And there's fruit growing on them too - I perched this one
up here hoping it will like it there as it grows and ripens.

That's it for today ... I'm not going to write about the corn that doesn't exist anymore because some animal had a feast on all the cobs - probably the chipmunk that frequents the plot - even while I'm there - the one that wakes me up when I'm snoozing on the lawn chair and scares the paparazzi out of me (I tend to go for my camera normally when I spot it) ...

A Day Later ...

A little baby robin got it's wings caught in my vines - it looked to me like it had gone into them to have a little snooze and I might have woken it up when I got to the garden early this morning. I talked very softly to it - encouraging words - and let it find it's way out on it's own without exciting it by over reacting ... it was exhausted and rested in between flapping and catching it's other wing after it had freed the first one ... funny how life mimics life (I left the water on and got caught this morning too ... nobody yelled at me - everyone was playing musical hoses last night at the taps and I turned someone elses off - maybe - then again - maybe not). Consequently though, my garden has had a really great soak (so has the garden next to mine)! I know they will be happy as it's been really hot and dry and the gardens are all parched. No harm done.


At 10:30am the sun began to creep into the garden ... kinda late I thought ... hmpf!


Not qiute making it to the pastes nor exotics yet ...


I'd already weeded as much as I was going to today ...


I tore up the rhubarb leaves I'd cut off the stalks and put the leaves into water to soak in the sun ... hoping to make bug poison ... I think I heard about this somewhere - maybe - I'll google it now ... OK - WARNING - hear yee - hear yee ... don't use it on veggies or edibles! That makes sense. Why didn't I think of that? But here's a very neat thing to do with the leaves - use them as little mulches for seedlings at the start of the season ... aww (too cute)


I cut off the garlic scapes and will make pesto today. I am going to soak the rhubarb in sugar and vodka ... the vodka - where did I put it ... it's around here somewhere ... I hope. I might have to go buy more or just make stewed rhubarb with sugar. And I'm going to make a cilantro mash using oil as well to freeze for later use.

Mid-July and all is well

I just got back from Ottawa & always like to go to the National Gallery ... outside Louise Bourgeois' spider guards the front doors! I was out-of-town for 9 days. Fortunately the garden and roof garden were fine even though there was a heat wave and no rain. I watered deeply before going (and put my pots into kids swimming pools - if anything the plants had too much water but I rescued them the minute I got home and all seem to be fine)! Phew!


The zucs haven't taken over the garden ... yet! The mint has now overtaken the creeping charlie ... there will be mint pesto when I return from the cottage ... (almonds, lemon, honey, garlic, parlsly) ... lamb! ... maybe some feta - yeah feta! Oh and there are some raspberries over on the far left ... I ate some ... the rest still need time to redden up.


The tomatillos were trying to get outside the fence but I was able to tuck them back inside ... also - notice at the back where the creeping charlie compost is doing quite well - it's not alive - I consider that doing quite well ... I was able to control it by throwing knu poo and chipped twigs on it ... the hose isn't manditory ... it's just 'there'!


This little tomato patch was the last one planted so all the plants are a little bit smaller than all the others - but they are catching up ...


I guess I only get two meals of peas - next year I'll plant more! The rhubarb at the back will be married with some sugar and vodka in a week - when I get back from the cottage ... (I'm going drawing and swimming) ...


This is the original tomato patch. For two years I put veggies into it so the soil would reconstitute ... these were the first plants in and they are really doing well ... some big green tomatoes already (I've trimmed every bottom leaf and anything off all my tomato plants that is the least little bit bitten by bugs ... or whatever makes those small brown freckles on bottom leaves).


Pesto ... tomorrow! Cilantro and Basil. Later I'll do the Mint. The Sage wilted so I'm hoping it perks back up with water! The rosemary thrived ... so did the stevia - that's worth a WaHOOooOooo!


Here's the entire patch. The wilted sage is way in the back at the left ... it's wilted - you can't see it ...


Flox. It's such a perfect perfumed bouquet to bring home.


This is the first time planting tomatoes in this patch ... these are my big exotics ... ruffles, blues, oranges, greens, yellows and blacks ...


This is the first time planting here as well .. these are my tiniest little current tomatoes ... some reds, whites and yellows ... over on the far right (there are about 5-6 plants) ...


The cucs are doing really well. This is a first ... (they are in the old tomatillo patch). Notice how fast the brown paper mulch breaks down - it's done it's job - no weeds of any consequence. I'll need to really mulch with leaves in the Fall though if I want there to be some weed control come Spring.


This is what officially (kinda) makes me a farm ... corn (it's a crop) ... I tried planting the 3 sisters but they are all kind of being like a dysfunctional family ... not doing what they're supposed to do ... the corn didn't grow quick enough for the beans to grow up them ... I planted the beans to the side where I could put poles for them and the pumpkins were supposed to be squashes ... what can I say ... dysfunctional (me maybe - not them) ... 'better luck next year' ... maybe!


Here's another view of the corn ... it all looks really good ...


Here's the old paste patch (can't remember what tomatoes are in here ... there's a piece of paper with it all written down somewhere that was supposed to get laminated ... (it could still happen ... theoretically ... if I find it before the year is over) ...


Well that's it.

If you look at the photos taken earlier you'll see how fast my garden grows! Soon it will be outta control & I'll be feeling like a real loser that knows nothing about how to keep it together. Right now - I & it looks as good as it gets! Enjoy ...

Some more Nudes - I'm Still in the Garden - Text to Follow