The Weather Has Been Cool And Then Warm... This Is July 24th 2016
It is Mid-July and the weather is finally getting warm. We have been removing some older plants and replacing them as the summer continues on. This year we have made twelve quarts of tomato sauce, eight quarts of apple sauce, and have been dining on our first harvest of asparagus.
We also have done corn! We had an early batch which was delicions so we planted another 120 stalks and are anxiously awaiting their arrival. Nothing better that sweet corn directly from the garden.
Canteloupes are growing well and the pumpkins are terrific! The onions seem to be just waiting for Sue to say out the back sliding door... "Honey, please pick some onions... I am going to make French Onion Soup".
This has been an excellent season with many thanks to Greg Leach for assisting Paul through the heart issues coming every Wednesday and Saturday to garden and assist Paul.
The sunflower will be twelve feet tall and tower over
the garden in a couple of months. The "flower" dries and we have seeds
We put in a new zucchini where the basil used to be... This will be
our second planting of zucchini
Garlic chives smell great
Did You Know? - Allium tuberosum (garlic chives, oriental garlic, Asian chives, Chinese chives, Chinese leek) is an Asian species of onion native to the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan, India) and to the Chinese Province of Shanxi. It is cultivated in many places and naturalized in scattered locations around the world.
Garlic chives have been widely cultivated for centuries for its culinary value. The flat leaves, the stalks and immature, unopened flower buds are used as flavouring.
We have several cantaloupes being supported by nets
We have six little guys right now
We planted a new cantaloupe plant for late summer harvesting
Yes... All the tools are placed and ready to go should the gardening urge occur!
The Basil has gone wild and it worked, we had bees all summer
(In fact, we had to remove a lot of the Basic as it got too big!)
Not only are they pretty but the aroma permeates the garden
The babies are doing well
We just have them a side dressing of Blood Meal
Looks like a forest
We needed to support them as the afternoon sea breeze can
cause them to bend over and potentially break
Did You Know? - Blood meal is a dry, inert powder made from blood used as a high-nitrogen organic fertilizer and a high protein animal feed. N = 13.25%, P = 1.0%, K = 0.6%. It is one of the highest non-synthetic sources of nitrogen. It usually comes from cattle or hogs as a slaughterhouse by-product.
Blood meal, bone meal, and other animal by-products are permitted in certified organic production as soil amendments, though they cannot be fed to organic livestock. Blood meal is different from bone meal in that blood meal contains a higher amount of nitrogen, while bone meal contains phosphorus. Alternatives to Blood Meal include feather meal and alfalfa meal. Blood meal is sometimes used as a composting activator.
No kidding!
The asparagus keeps on coming out of the ground!
The other stalks are also
Asparagus but we let them mature into ferns to assist the plant's growth
We get 5-10 spears a week and it's only the plants third year!
Next year the growth will be even more...
"Yes... I am hot"... We cut these in half lengthwise
and Sue stuffs them with her special rice concoction!
Sue reminds Paul...
More peppers on the way
The bees went wild over the Basil plants... We planted Basil in each of the
raised beds to attract bees and it worked well
Love those onions
We plant onions around the borders so they are easy to get to
..and we have loads of bunching onions
Did You Know? - Allium fistulosum L. (Welsh onion, Japanese bunching onion, bunching onion) is a species of perennial onion. The common name Welsh onion is rather a misnomer, as the species is native to China, though cultivated in many places and naturalized in scattered locations in Eurasia and North America. Other names that may be applied to this plant include green onion, salad onion, and spring onion.
The species is very similar in taste and odor to the related common onion, Allium cepa, and hybrids between the two (tree onions) exist. The Welsh onion, however, does not develop bulbs, and possesses hollow leaves (fistulosum means "hollow") and scapes.
Bush beans have no strings... They are quite tender and easy to grow but...
You need to stay after them picking every 2-3 days
The kale is going to go today and be replaced by a new pumpkin
We have made 12 quarts of tomato sauce from our garden this year
The tomatos plants are removed as they die out and ground prepared for winter
We still have plenty enough for a tomato salad... These are spoons
Twenty or more will fit into a standard table spoon
The Sun Golds are really done for the season
Did You Know? - Sungold is an indeterminate hybrid cherry tomato. It's orange/gold fruits weigh about a half-ounce each. Their flavour is very sweet, with just enough tartness that you know you are eating a tomato. The tomatoes recontent firmer when ripe than do most cherry tomatoes. The vines are capable of growing to 10-15 feet tall.
Sungold plants love heat but can tolerate cool weather better than most tomatoes.
Sungold grows as an Annual and is a Fruit. Being an Annual, it tends to grow best over the course of a single year. Sungold is known for growing to a height of approximately 2.00 metres (6.50 feet). This variety tends to bloom in mid spring.
Mexico is believed to be where Sungold originates from.
These guys are doing well
We lost three in a row but that's OK - The ground is ready for something else!
The garden is still busy with the corn being quite prominent
The nectarine tree did amazing this year... We had nectarines for a month!
Seems they all come ripe at once so we had them quite often
We got almost 70 of this sized tomato... Excellent for tomato sauce!
Weighing in at about two plus pounds
Notice we have fruit AND blossoms at the same time...
This tree has four types of apples on it!
We have new apples in another 60 days!
We can see apple sauce in our future!
This summer we made eight quarts of apple sauce!
Paul could not resist
We got the variegated fig into the ground just in time!
The figs are beginning to ripen
The tree went wild this year but Vicky is happy
(Our next door neighbor Vicky loves figs)
Sue uses Han's magic homemade sauce on the cut up figs!
Paul has to keep busy so the Japanese Beetles and/or the birds don't get there first!
The little pumpkins are already done...
Now we must store them in a cool dark place
The back bedroom gets the nod!
They are hiding well!
These are little guys but just right for the small grand kids/great grand kids
The Lime Tree is loaded again this year
Reaching for the sky!
The driveway table grapes are gone for this year... They were excellent!
S-h-h-h-h-h I am hiding
The Sun Flowers are for both the next door neighbors grandsons
We put in a newcherry tomato and a crook-neck squash!
The avocados are doing well
Did You Know? - Browning leaf tips are often a sign of salt burn, caused by a salt build up in the soil. Salts in the water and in fertilizer build up over time. Browning usually occurs on the old leaves first. This excess salt accumulates in the leaf edges, where it kills the tissue and the leaf dries out and turns brown. It's important to water deeply and slowly. At least once a month, water deeply enough to "leach" or push salts well below the root zone. Frequent, light "sprinklings" allow salts to accumulate in the top layers of soil, where the roots are, which is bad news. Similar symptoms occur when too much fertilizer has been applied. Always water plants thoroughly before and after applying fertilizer to help prevent burn.
The pomegranates are looking excellent
Nice and plump... How come they are on Vicky's side of the yard!
The orange trees are setting fruit for later this year
...and we still have fruit from earlier this season
Did You Know? - We have a Meyer Lemon, Navel Orange, Tangerine, Grapefruit inisde the fenced front yard. On the driveway and outside the fence we have a lime, kumquat, orange, Santa Barbara plum, Nile orange, orange-tangerine cross, and an avacado. In the parkway we have a Santa Barbata plum, a three-grafted apple tree plus a minature peach tree.
Little guys just being born
Our front yard tree is also doing well... We got 100+ apples from it this year
(...and it likes to visit the watermelon!)
Do you see them hiding?
There are three but they are small
The front yard tomatoes are still going strong
We have had Japanese Grapes for two months
Lemonade anyone?
Funny But True Story - Last week, Paul was awakened by a loud sound. It sounded like someone was attempting to enter the house. Paul was prepared and tiptoed down the hall, looked at the front door but nothing was ajar. He flipped on the porch light and heard nothing. After a few minutes, he carefully opened the door and found..... ready for this?.... A hugh lemon had dropped off the tree, apparently hit the roof above the bedroom, and rolled down the roof onto the cement and brick entrace way. The lemon must have weighed a couple of pounds as it was almost 8 inches in diameter...
Dodged anothe bullet!
We are proud of our Sprite Tree
Sometimes Paul thinks this is very true
The lonely "Charlotte" is doing just fine... She is a fighter!
...and of course the Herb Garden
