In the Garden: September 14

Some of these photos are old- I'm a bit behind here, school, and birthdays and colds et al. but these are photos of our barley harvest- not much after the deer came and had their fill- but some enough for christmas pudding, and to increase our seeds next year. The zinnias I planted are all blooming and really lovely- it's a giant cactus mix, an a state fair mix I think- the colours are just awesome, coral and pink and orange and red and gold, they make an effortless arrangement. I've also figured out how to show them best- with short stems in a short vase so that you can look down on the flower tops, for years I've been trying to cut long stems and putting them in tall vases- and then getting annoyed because all you see is the underside of the flower- this way they make perfect little round flower
puffs- adorable.

My passionflower vine flowered too- so wonderful looking- an exotic flower for sure! It's set to come inside now along with my other special plants because we've got a frost warning here- so it's all hands on deck for harvest. This year we seem to be more relaxed about it- I think we've learned what can tolerate frost and what we'll bother covering or not. We just picked the sauce and drying tomatoes green and brought them inside- then covered some of the eating tomatoes. We brought in the pumpkins too- they look lovely and big- though must be tasty enough that most were eaten by something before we got to them. We had grown them in a patch that's surrounded by longish grass- which is just too easy for woodchucks of other rodents to get to.  I know pumpkins often get left out till the last and the vines are dead- but we never do- frost makes them spoil, and then they won't keep, of course taking them in early is tricky too- but if you're careful, and cure them well- they'll keep into February or March even.

The dry beans are starting to harden now- so hopefully it'll stay dry for them (and for the farmers- it's been a wet fall- so they're just starting to get things off the field- it's late and damp and no good generally). We've planted the strawberry transplants- in one long row hopefully that will help keep the weeds down and allow us to space the runners out to the sides of the main row which will make it easier to keep tack of, I'm amazed by how awesome plants that renew themselves are- the runners we placed in pots had taken off so well that the roots were growing out the bottom of some of them!

I think this will be the last official garden update- though I'll post about the new tomatoes we grew this year, and a few other photos of course- it's time to switch gears into the kitchen and clay studio...

In the garden August 28

It's high summer here now- and a little fall-ish too- just like that, the mornings are cool, and the breeze is a bit chilly, we're seeking out sweaters. The garden is growing, and ready to harvest- there are rows that we'll to put to bed soon. This is the time to remember all the things that didn't work out- to take notes for next year's garden.

The barley is ready to be harvested, the onions pulled- the potatoes need to be dug- the beets even, are ready to pull. I have to figure out if I care enough about the lentils to pick off the teeny tiny pods and then..oh god...shell them. The beans are drying down and almost ready to pick- I'll have to find the planting sheet (usually scribbled on a random piece of dirt stained paper) so I know what's what out there.

The Eggplant is a no-show again this year- should I give up? Next year I will try Chinese style eggplant the long thin ones- and give up my dreams of the big fat dark purple fruits. At least until the kids are older,(I'm much too stubborn to give up altogether) and I can go to the trouble of hand-pollinating and possibly greenhouse-ing them- I think heat is the problem this year- not enough- or something, It's getting weird with the eggplant not producing three years in a row, I mean, what the F, any ideas?

I'm getting my last cuts for drying in- sage, calendula, dill, savory, oregano. I'm also starting to think about cuttings for next year's garden- looking for an- all natural homemade rooting hormone recipe, a cursory google search suggests saliva...I'm doubtful...). The tomatoes are still coming in- but the problem is we thought that we'd plant less of each type- ten each of saucing varities, five each of drying, which in theory should work well- if all the tomatoes ripened at the same time, but the truth is- they don't, and it's hard to make a batch of dry tomatoes, or sauce for the freezer with four ripe ones. I'm going to try pulling all the large green ones off, and letting them ripen inside to hopefully make it easier to make sauce etc.

The smaller numbers of plants are working well for the fresh eating type ones, we've got enough for a couple every day and we're not feeling the pressure to eat tomatoes at every meal- though sometimes we do anyhow. The only downside is that we won't have a lot to give away, en masse, as we usually do, until the frost comes anyhow.

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...

Fall Leaves and Root Vegetables

I love Fall, it's one of the big things I love about he prairies, a crisp bright fall. When I lived in B.C. it was always warm, well, warmish I guess, but it rained all the time. Really, truly I have never experienced such gray dreary days as the fall in British Columbia. I can only remember things as darkly grey in the morning, then sort of lighter grey in the afternoon, then pitch black at night- because the clouds hide the stars and moon, so you don't even have that- not that you'd look up anyways because you'd get rain in your eyes.

Anyhow- when I decided to live here in Manitoba permanently lots of people were surprised, but I'd trade that horrible rainy fall and winter for our bright -40 days any time. Plus we get real honest to goodness fall here- crackly leaves and blue sky, apple and pumpkin harvests, frost in the morning and warm afternoons for a couple of months at least. Winter is early here- I always laugh on the first day of winter because it's already been winter here for months by then- it feels like the rest of the world is late. But all in all I'll take that long winter because at least we get Fall.

Latley...

Marizol Gold tomatoes

Costoluto Genovese

Still feels like summer in the afternoon

Long Island Cheese Pumpkins

Baby A storming the Sweet Potatoes

N Planting some Lavatera seeds- could this be the reason for so many 'volunteer' plants?

The biggest Leek we've ever grown- hilling them up works! 

Leek car wash

chilly mornings call for sweaters

Some sort of sweet tiny fungi in the grass

'Dragonbot' the dragon fly that N 'rescued' from the puddle on the chair.

She's been rescuing insects lately, worms, centipedes, dragonflies...

A bench just for her

Some thumb sized sweet potatoes