Sunday, August 1, 2010

The August 1st Garden

Here we are again at the first of a new month. Time for comparison pictures of the garden.

Back on June 1st, this is what the raised beds looked like.

Same shot on July 1st.

And here we are today, August 1st.

I know I've got a lot of bare spots that I would normally have done some succession planting in but other things are yelling louder for my attention this summer. There's still plenty growing in the beds to keep me hopping with preserving and putting by. (I love that expression "putting by.")

The field garden on June 1st.

A month later on July 1st.

The field garden this morning. Everything in the garden seems to be three weeks to a month ahead. Except perhaps the squash. The vines are unbelievably huge (and trying to take over the acreage) but the squash are only about baseball size. I don't see how they'll be able to mature before being taken out by frost this fall. Growth in the field garden is looking unkempt and blowsy . . . kinda out of control, the way it usually looks at the end of August.

On June 1st, this was the pumpkin patch. No pumpkins this year but rather a cover crop of an oat and barley mix.

The pumpkin patch this past July 1st. Planted buckwheat was just starting to come up.

This is our scraggly showing of buckwheat which has just started to flower and which we'll probably be cutting down and plowing in shortly. We haven't decided if we'll try one more green manure crop here or just cover it with grass clippings and/or mulch for the rest of the season. Either way, I think what we've done to it this summer should make for better soil next year.

Boy, I'm not sure sitting down to do this post was a good idea. I'm feeling very sleepy and I still have pickles and peas to preserve this afternoon. Better get up and move before rigor mortis sets in.

8 comments:

SweetMissDaisy (Anna Wight) said...

Love seeing the transformations of your garden. It is truly amazing what can happen in just a couple of months, isn't it! Loved your last comment too... gave me the giggles! :)

Erin said...

Or in my case "putting off"... as I chuck whole jalapenos into ziploc bags and into the freezer :) !

The blog post yesterday was all I could manage this weekend, I have been so busy with the garden. Today it rained all day long and I was so happy about it since I really had quite a few new followers that I felt guilty about not visiting their blogs yet, so I was able to do that and get the (ugh!) grocery shopping done, hate it but I'd rather spend a rainy day at the store than a nice one!

Your garden transformation is amazing! What are the tall red flowers you are growing in one of the beds, are those still the poppies?

Sue said...

Isn't it neat to see the changes!!
I do the same thing-it's amazing, despite the SHORT season, how much of a difference there is in a few months.
Those pictures are especially appreciated in the dead of winter.
What an enjoyable post!

beth said...

Thank you for the walk through the months. I enjoyed seeing the transformations. Enjoy your harvest.

Mama Pea said...

Sweet Miss Daisy - The thing is if I didn't document the garden progress on the blog here, I'd have no way of "seeing" the transformation from month to month. Cool, huh? :o)

Erin - The tall red flowers are the geraniums that were being choked to death by those awful insipid white/yellow petunias! I yanked out the petunias and the geraniums have spread out and grown up a foot!

Sue - Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the post. I guess with our short season, the plants just know they have to do their growing as fast as they can!

Beth - Oh, thanks, Beth. It's hard to "enjoy" the harvest right now when there is so much to do, but come winter I really do appreciate it so much!

The Apple Pie Gal said...

Are you for hire? Your gardens are amazing!

Susan said...

I love that "putting up" and Erin's "putting off". I'm afraid I fall into the latter category more often than not. I have managed to get some hamburger dills canned and am closing in on blueberry/ginger jam. I am saving my strength for what I hope will be a bountiful tomato crop - I didn't get any canned last year and the pantry needs those red jars.

Mama Pea said...

Apple Pie Gal - In another time or age, I could have happily been a hired gardener!

Susan - How the heck are you getting any canning done with one wing broken?