Waning Days of Summer

It’s no secret, the days of summer are quickly shortening.  From the 8:30 sunset of just a few weeks ago to the 7:08 sunset last night.   Days are shorter, nights are cooler and good old Fall is creeping in.  I love Fall.  It’s that “other” season that follows it that I don’t like so much. 

In past years this would be the time I would ponder putting the garden to bed.  Not this year.   The tomatoes are still doing well yet other things have been yanked out.  Making room for a few experiments.

I planted these a couple of weeks ago…

Will they be ready before the frost?  I dunno.  But I would never know if I didn’t try!  We shall see.

Today I added these…..

30 days to maturity.  Maybe.

42 days.  Maybe.

I’ve had a new helper in the garden this year.  One of my daughters has moved back in (until further notice) and brought with her, her  four legged friend.  Ms. Elsa (aka:  Salsa, Sausalito, Monkey, Bubby, and so and so on.). 

It has become a daily ritual for her to check on the veggies with me.  Oddball that she is, she has taken to eating a few things that I harvest.

She loves freshly cherry tomatoes and peas.   Today I offered a sweet banana pepper.

Yup.  She liked that too.

It is with mixed feelings that I say goodbye to summer (not yet, but soon!).  I do welcome the cooler temperatures for sure.  Enjoy the waning days!

Hot! Hot! Hot! – Fertilizer Friday

Oy-vey!  It’s been hotter than Hades in this neck of the woods.   Stifling, thick air.  Buh!

Gardening has not been a pleasant activity.   Hubby has been kind enough to water the veggie bed and I’ve been tending to the potted plants. 

I’m keeping my posts “short ‘n sweet”.    Lest I am consumed by the heat monster.  Never to be seen again.

Concord grapes

 

Hydrangeas are acting very strange.   The bloom puffs are small!

Peas have arrived.  Purty, eh?

Zucchini is “working it”!   My fingers are crossed.  Curcurbits have been having a rough time the past few years.

Blanket flower.

Brugs are doing fine!   The sticks from a few weeks ago are coming along quite well.  Despite my reservations.

Remember this?   Well we now know the color….

Tada!  Perhaps not my favorite color but love that it’s a double.

(P.S.  Walmart has the 6” pot marked down to 1/2 price right now.  Just $3 here.  So I bought 2 more today.)

Feathered friends.

Tufted Titmouse.

My little chickadees.

Alas, the silliest creature of all……

Smudgie.  Settling down to "chill" in a pot.  Kooky cat!

That’s it for this week.    But there’s much, much more over at Tootsie’s blog.   Check it out.

Roadtrips, Roomies and the Case of the Missing Blogger

I did it again!  I went missing!  I’ve been neglecting my blog but at least I’ve been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with everyone else’s. 

First I took a road trip at the end of May.   I went to Montreal to help my daughter sell off her things and pack up her apartment.  She’s moving back home for a bit so now I have a roomie!   Oh…and she brought her roomie too……

Miss Elsa is a 13 month old big, old baby.  She’s adjusting well but the other 4-legged inhabitants are not quite so sure about her.

Face-off in the catnip patch!

I posted about these a few weeks ago.  They were mere twigs and I didn’t have high hopes.  That’s the nice thing about going away.  If things manage to survive, the growth is a pleasant surprise!

Fingers are crossed!  Please no cucumber beetles this year!  Pretty please?

 

Almost done!  Unless I am graced with a second bloom!

Coming soon!

Coming along….

Where did this come from? 

And what’s with all the yellow?  I don’t even like yellow!

So that’s what’s been going on in my neck of the woods.  I haven’t been out in the garden very much because of the rain but hopefully that will change this week.  I have a few more veggies to throw in the garden and well, with rain comes weeds…..lots of ‘em!

Sunny Days Ahead – Fertilizer Friday

I don’t know if it’s just me or not but when October ends, my mind seems to shut off from thoughts of gardening.  Not to give it much more thought until January is behind us.  

Then like a bear coming out of hibernation my thoughts slowly turn to seeds ‘n soil.    What will I grow this year?  There are always the tried and true.  Things I plant every year.   But I like to play around too.  You know, experiment.  Thus the name of this blog.

In recent years I have concentrated on food gardening.    Last year some of the experiments were……..

Peas

Even if you despise peas, try these.  I never even bothered to cook them.  Popped them straight out of the pods. 

Garlic

Potatoes

Snake gourds

to name a few.  

Oh, and one last one.  Dill’s Atlantic Giant Pumpkin.  You know, the ones that they grow for competitions?  They weight hundreds and sometimes over a thousand pounds.  I grew one.

It weighed about 15 pounds.  Haha!  That worked well!

It’s time for me to hunker down with the seed catalogs.  What are your plans for this year?  Any experiments?

I am joining Tootsie’s Fertilizer Friday because if anyone can inspire, Tootsie would be your gal.

Time in the Trenches

Yesterday afternoon was spent catching up in the garden and checking out how my experiments were doing.

Les Pois
Peas were one of the NKTB's (aka New Kids on the Block). Must say, love them! The peas that is. My daughters were the ones who loved NKTB. They were pretty much pest-free, grew like the dickens and were very very yummy. I never even bothered to cook them - just pop 'em open and pop 'em in.

Today the last bunch was picked and I learned something new. Young sweet peas really are better. This bunch had gotten pretty big and were not as sweet as the ones picked earlier. (Note to self.) So today was the day to pull those babies. All in all I was very impressed and plan to have peas in the garden always.

Garlic (or as Emeril would say "Gaaah-Lic")
The garlic was planted last fall from kitchen garlic 'cuz the seed store was out of it. It was looking all shabby out in the garden today so out it came. I was happy with the outcome. Rather small but it's hard to be disappointed when you have no expectations. Haven't tasted it yet but it grew.........and that's what matters.

Les Tomates
This years tomatoes are rather obnoxious if you ask me. Just behaving very badly. Growth is all over the place. Some are huge and skinny - some are short and fat. And only a few itsy bitsy tomatoes. June was a bust with relentless rain so I guess I should cut them some slack. I have to remind myself that it is only mid-July and there is still time but I. am. so. damn. IMPATIENT! Hmmmmf.

The Pea Post

You may or may not know that I have never eaten a fresh pea before. Well today was the day! Wow! Have I led a deprived life! Yummmmmmmy! The pea experiment was a success. They will become a staple in my garden. Quite frankly, I don't know that I will ever eat another pea unless it is picked fresh from the vine.

So, back to today, as I picked the peas I noticed that the 2 young boys (4 and 7) next door were out playing and I offered them some. To my great pleasure and quite unexpectedly, they said "yes". They were popping them like candy!

I was so obsessed with this wonderful little veggie that it turned into a little game. Squeeze along the seams to pop the pod open......reveal perfect little green orbs......pop the slightly crunchy little orbs in mouth. And oh how pretty for pictures. I was glad that my kids were out and hubby was visiting the neighbors cuz a pea photo session was a little over the top for them.

Who knew how delectable peas were? (Probably everyone but me but that's OK. Better late than never.)
From this.....

To this....

To this.......awesome!

NATURE'S BALANCE
I love rainy days as much as I love sunny days. Just like my garden. It's all about balance. Too much or too little of either puts me out of whack and any gardener knows that their garden feels the same. After a rainy, rainy day yesterday and an "on again / off again" rainy day today I was able to accomplish a few things...however minor.... outside today.

Les Petit Pois
I am in experimental mode so I popped some peas in the garden. I put 34 in. I am not sure if that is reasonable or not since I have never grown peas before but I guess I will know soon....certainly by fall planting time. Nor have I ever eaten a "fresh from the garden" pea before but I am looking forward to the privilege of doing so. Funny because when I was a kid peas were on my most hated list. I guess that means I'm all "growed" up.


POTATOES
Potatoes are another thing. Being of Irish descent, I've eaten a potato or two in my life. A potato is a potato is a potato, right? Non, non mes amis! Last summer I was a "fresh from the garden" potato virgin. I assumed that all potato were created equal. Not true - totally false! My neighbor gave me some of his garden fresh potatoes and they were phenomenal! Taters are definitely on my grow list.