I actually had a DREAM about a yellow slicing tomato last night, LOL! They can’t get here soon enough for me, either!
2” of much needed RAIN yesterday and overnight, but now we are looking at gawd-awful humidity and temps in the mid-80’s all week. Ugh!
So glad I worked ahead in the garden and am 100% caught up with weeding chores and transplanting.
I am goofing off today. Had a houseful of family from Friday through Monday and I am pooped!
Beau leaves for Bear Training Camp today, so I have a mini VACATION for a week or so. He’s taking 12 of our dogs, so that leaves me with only TWO to care for, plus our ‘Majordomo’ Beagle, two cats, two raccoons and the mule.
How will I EVER fill my days? LOL!
Beau leaves for Bear Training Camp todayWhat's he training the bears to do?
Got one red slicer starting to turn red. Something took a bite out of the bottom when it was little but I should still be able to get a half tomato out of it. Heat wave this week. 99 today, 100 tomorrow, then 99, 98. Lows in the high 70s. Heat index is already close to 100 and it's not quite 10 am.
Some cherry mater clusters have formed and more are forming. No colors on those yet. Luckily the maters get shade by 4pm. Haven't seen any blossom drop yet. Will have to water them every 2-3 days. I mulched heavily with old hay a few days ago so that should help.
Two racoons!!! I won't comment. Glad you still have Ithaca.
It's been a few weeks and I have had pics to post. Just about everything except shishito peppers and 2 tomato plants I started from seed at the beginning of April. I am most amazed with the broccoli and peppers. So much was jammed into the garden I made a diagram on white butcher paper and have it taped to the wall in the garage.
What we are growing - Asparagus almost done. A nice harvest little bit better from last year. This spring I added another row and it all came up. We always get Jersey Giants. Garlic, we have 2 varieties harvested one row already, about a third more heads than last year. Have another longer row to do in a week or so. When that is done I will train the butterkin squash vines to go into the finished garlic and asparagus beds.
Only about 10 tomato plants. Tomatoes are green and growing, Sabre, celebrity, better boy, campari. Many varieties of peppers, mostly red sweet and snacking. I have 4 beautiful Costa Rican Red Pepper plants from seed, they are delicious. Shishitos just flowering now.
7 big broccoli plants. We always buy plants in the spring but this year we used seed, calabrese variety. They are huge plants, first head forming. cucumbers, red raspberries tiny fruit, chinese long beans, sweet pea pods, romaine lettuce, heads in the garden and up to on the patio.
Radishes done until fall, baby bok choi all harvested. Looking for full size seeds. I could only find the mini this spring and man was it mini. Delicious but I can get a second crop of the bigger ones.
Kale - what can I say. First time growing I gave the row a haircut and steamed and froze small amounts to cook with, soup, etc. I also cut again and combined with parsley, cilantro and basil, lemon, garlic, oil, etc and made chimichurri, A whole plastic grocery bag of greens in the mortar and pestle along with the other ingredients yielded about 2 cups. Amazing on a steak, which was not in our budget, but fantastic on a good beef burger too. No bun or anything else.
Have picked a couple of banana peppers so far, all others are just blooming now. Also growing sweet onions. I think that is about it.
We pretty much quit the bird seed in the summer to encourage the insect eating birds which we have a lot of . They come to the birdbath which sits right above the garden and will perch on the tomato and fence stakes, We have not seen a single bug or worm in the garden.
Have fertilized twice now with Dr. Jim Z's Chicken soup for the Soil. It concetrates on increasing the microbes in the soil. Amazing stuff, our second year with it. End of May and mid June I had 2 cataract surgeries which went great. Noticed this year that I started having back pain for the first time in my life. Bending over in the garden is what does it, so I just have to be careful. Have kept up reading the posts the last few weeks, just have not been able to post anything. Forgot to mention flowers. Irises all done they were beautiful just could not get down there to take many pictures. Pic of my favorite a big 2 tone, and a vase with some, love the big pink ones. Also our clematis kicking butt, two are in flower, one done and they joined together on their own. Just love that. Roses, we have 4 different ones, all from our house I grew up in Chicago, all 70 or more years old. A rosa rugosa, seven sisters, A tea type fragrant very bushy, and a VERY thorny and most fragrant called Amelia Damaske
Also picked up a mason bee house I have always wanted to try them. Just bought the house and hung it up. It is filling up, hung it on the outside of the barn.
OK that's it for now. Happy gardening, love you guys.