In the Garden: August 21

The Tomatoes are here! First ripe tomatoes, and I was surprised to find a whole basket full when I checked. The Earliest ripe varieties this year: Arbuznyi, Costoluto Genovese, Principe Borghese, White Currant and Ferris Wheel. So delicious, and so worth the wait!

The Marshmallow is flowering- and tall and lovely, the stone path in the perennial garden is growing, next year the creeping thyme will fill in all those blank spots- or overgrow them if I'm not quick with the scissors. I think I might need a small lawnmower to run over it actually once I get it all done. I'm averaging about 15 feet a year on this walkway- and it's about 40 feet long- longer if you count the side paths- so it'll be a couple of years of work- but I tell myself that gardens are long term pursuits so I think that's okay.

The Galeaux D'Eysines squash are starting to form their little 'sugar warts' I think they'll be tasty. Despite the many seeds we planted only four plants grew- two from each variety- and it actually seems like this will be the right amount of squash for us to realistically consume. I always forget how big they grow. We also put the strawberry runners into pots so that we can replant our patch- we potted up about 100 plants still attached to the parent plants, when they get big enough we'll cut them free and re-plant them. The only tricky thing is keeping them moist in the small pots. We picked a few perfect late season strawberries and raspberries, which we eaten almost as fast as they were dropped into the basket.

A Dahlia bloomed! Just one! - but lots of buds to come. Baby A is eating every edible thing in the garden- Rhubarb is still a favorite- stalks as long as she is- though she usually doesn't eat it all. The carrots are really giant now, and tasty- so she walks around munching on them - teeth full of dirt. The Comfrey is blooming too- so lovely looking and robust- I'm wondering how much room I'll need to give it in the future, I'll maybe have to move more than the rosebush.

The Canola was swathed this week (cut down and laid out in rows to dry out before it gets combined), and the flea beetles are into the garden quick as can be- the Kale that was uncovered will be devoured soon- but not to worry, we've got lots under cover. The Garlic harvest is in, and it's meager, which prompted us to buy seed bulbs for fall planting from Boundary Garlic Farm  yesterday- the first day their shopping cart was open, and holy heck it was like buying concert tickets- having to refresh over and over because their website was overloaded! It made me think maybe we should get into the seed garlic business...