So I've been slacker blogger extraordinaire this last month, I know, I know. I would like to blame it on all the gardening, but really I haven't been doing nearly as much as I should. We got started planting quite late with all the beds we added, and things are only really starting to pick up now. I've been in a bit of a funk this spring and summer, so it's been tough to get out there. Now that the flowers are in full force and everything is going like gangbusters though, I'm feeling more inspired.
We have had some good harvests over the last month, lots and lots of snow peas, herbs and green onions to be had. We had our very first strawberry harvest this year as well, and probably got 2-3 quarts out of our one strawberry bed. I saved a quart or so for jam and we ate the rest in a jumbleberry pie, but mostly, just fresh and sun-ripened right out of the garden. Most of them didn't even make it inside. They were delicious.
The herbs are doing very well, we've been harvesting for about a month and a half. I have been a bit slack, but have picked things up this past week as we need to get lots dried for the winter. I much prefer having my own dried herbs to last throughout the year. That way I know where they came from and just what was used to grow them. Peace of mind. We should have a jar of dried rosemary, thyme, sage, tarragon, dill, oregano by summer's end, as well as a jar full of dried thai chili flakes. Basil will be chopped and mixed in ice cube trays with olive oil, then stored in a freezer bag once frozen. Very handy for dropping in sauces. Hoping to grow dill and cilantro under the grow lights as it doesn't store that well. There is nothing quite like cooking with fresh herbs.
Flowers are coming along. I planted a lot more than I usually do. I grew all my petunias from seed this year, they turned out very well. This is an older picture, but there must be 20-25 blooms on it now. The salmon/pink colored ones are called African Sunset and they're quite beautiful. I plan on harvesting the seeds of these in the fall to plant again next year.
Calendula growing very well too. I keep meaning to save the spent blossoms so I can dry the petals. They are supposed to be good dried and ground, added to the bath for itchy skin.
We harvested 516 bulbs of garlic about 2 weeks ago. They are mostly small, but delicious. I think the size is possibly due to not getting the scapes removed quickly enough. I'll try to do better next year to see if that helps. It also likely was affected by our dry weather this summer.
One thing that is enjoying our dry weather is the tomatoes. It's now August 21 and I still have tomatoes on the vine. That's a record in the last few years, as we usually pull them early due to late blight. They look good this year though, and I counted over 70 tomatoes on the vines, not including the 4 cherry tomato plants.
UPDATE: It's one day later and I harvested one patch of tomatoes that had blight the worst. We'll see how the other two patches are tomorrow when the sun comes out. I harvested 9 lbs 9.3 oz of various tomatoes, all green, but they'll ripen easily in a cardboard box.
Horseradish and Jerusalem artichokes we put in this year are both doing well, the J. artichokes are about 6' high now. No plans to harvest this year, instead we'll let them become well established and harvest next year.
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| Horseradish |
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| Jerusalem Artichokes |
Lots of lettuce, though we've harvested little for salads, mostly for wraps and sandwiches, veggie burger or taco toppings, etc.
We harvested the last of the Kent strawberries about 2 weeks ago. I froze a couple quarts for jam, made one pie and we ate handfuls of them right out of the garden. Very productive harvest and I'm sure it will be even better next year. There are dozens of runners with small plants trying to root outside the strawberry bed. I'm planning on filling plastic cups with soil and pinning the runners down in them to root new plants so I can put in one more strawberry bed before winter.
The bed with the White Carolina Pineberries has filled in nicely. This picture below was taken a couple weeks ago, it looks even better now. I can't wait until next summer's harvest to try them. They say they have a slight pineapple flavor.
Snow peas have been prolific for the last month as they were planted a bit late. They're just starting to die back now, but still plenty of pods on them. We've harvested fistfuls for stir-fries and other meals, and froze a few bags of them as well.
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| Not sure what this is, though it's pretty! This came from a perennial/annual mix I had. |
Many of the flowers got planted way too late this year and are only starting to bloom now. I planted sunflowers, zinnias, calendula, marigolds and petunias, which I always plant for my late mother (they were her favorite flower).
