I took a walk through the drippy garden first thing this morning, and I would swear (but only with pretend words, none of the hard stuff) some things have grown 6" since yesterday.
My broccoli is getting close to being ready to harvest. Gotta watch it carefully because the heads can go from not-quite-big-enough to separated and past prime in a snap. As you can see, the same insect (I'm calling them flea beetles although I'm not sure that's what they are) that has been feasting on many leaves in the garden this year hasn't avoided the broccoli leaves.
I don't think we've ever had such lush potato foliage as this year. Sure hoping this means lots of big, ol' taters underneath.
Aren't potato blossoms lovely?
I just may have found something that will willingly climb up and over the hoop trellis I have on one of the raised beds. Scarlet Runner Beans! I'm thinking the vines should be bigger (as in taller and farther up the trellis) by now but because of our cold spring/early summer I had to replant about 50% of them.
The three haskap bushes have been stripped of all their berries which are now in the form of 10 pints of luscious syrup and 8 pints of lovely jam. And also 3 gallon bags fresh frozen for use in smoothies and another bag destined for a pie requested by Papa Pea. I'm hoping this supply will last us two years because next year all the berries are going toward . . . WINE!
The blueberry bushes are showing more berries (albeit green yet) than I had expected to see this year. Upon close inspection yesterday, I found only one single, teeny-tiny growth of the dreaded Witch's Broom that has been plaguing them. Although we may not be out of the woods on this one yet, as of now I'm scoring one for our side.
The rain drops are still coming down in slow fashion now at mid-afternoon so all this moisture is invaluable for the health and growth of the garden. And golly-gosh, did we need it!
Do you have any aronia berry bushes? I have three that produce enough for my parents to make into cookies and muffins all year. I suspect they would do well there also.
ReplyDeleteMy potatoes are lush like that; hoping for bounty.
tpals - I've never heard of the aronia berry but after doing a quick research of them, they sound very interesting and I do think they would grow well here. I just sent a link to a good article on them up to my husband (he's upstairs in his office on this rainy day and I'm downstairs at my computer) as he's the one who files away scads of info he comes across so he may have heard of them. Thanks for the heads-up though. We may look into them!
ReplyDelete"Only with pretend words, none of the hard stuff" made me grin! I'm that way with language AND beverages!
ReplyDeleteYeah! Rain! Yes, it sure does make the gardens jump. I harvested Haskaps from my little bushes, (They started last year as bare root, so not very big, but growing well) and got about half a cup. I made a wee bit of sauce with them, cooked with a little sugar..Yum! So good on ice cream. We'd never tasted them before. How old are your bushes, and how many do you have, if you don't mind me asking? Your broc. look lovely, and the stems are so edible, unlike the stuff in the stores. Those blueberries look amazing. We usually pick wild ones near here, but on going for a look a few days ago, there are none! They were amazing last year, so maybe they are taking a break.
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks lovely. I envy you the rain! So, so dry here still although areas around us have had some real storms.
ReplyDeleteMichelle - So does that make us wimps . . . or very good girls?? ;o)
ReplyDeleteRosalea - Our haskap bushes were planted in 2012. (Yikes, time goes by so fast I can hardly believe that.) The first maybe three years they didn't produce much. Then they seemed to take off and the last couple of years have grown hugely and bore scads more fruit. We have only the three bushes. The two on either side of the picture are the Borealis variety and the taller one in the middle is Berry Smart Blue. You need two different varieties for cross-pollination. We've since learned that there are now varieties available that are much sweeter than the two varieties we have and we've considered putting in some of those.
Granny Sue - It's truly so sad (and frustrating) when rain is needed so badly and it just doesn't come. Sure hope you get yours soon. And thank you for the nice words.
Beauty and bounty very soon! Perfect!
ReplyDeletewyomingheart - The same wish sent back to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mama Pea. I have two little sprigs of Haskap bushes, a Borealis, and an Aurora. Thinking of maybe getting a couple more in the spring. Your gardens are absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe blueberries look very healthy! How are the strawberries or did I miss those?? That's quite a bounty you got from the Hasp berries! Let's just pray for a great potato crop!! finger's crossed! Take care!!
ReplyDeletelinnellnickerson - I'm so pleased with how healthy the blueberry bushes do look considering the way they were attacked by the Witch's Broom! All in all there are some bushes that don't have as many berries on them as in past years though. We're right at the end of our strawberry season. We've been eating them fresh like crazy, I've made two Strawberry Glace Pies, have several quarts of smooshed berries in the freezer for use in smoothies and made two batches of strawberry jam so can't complain about the harvest. It's all good!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got rain and what a wonderful feeling it must be to have all those haskap berry products canned and frozen! Your garden is my dream garden which is not going to happen down here! How so keep the deer away? I have to get something to cover my beans as they are nibbling on them! No wonder I don't se any flowers!
ReplyDeleteLook at your blueberries and broccoli! Beautiful garden! YOu deserve it after how hard you worked!
I love your new header photograph! Is that a Chicken Mama creation? (I am so woefully behind in my blog post reading....) I would love to see an inch of rain in the rain gauge here. There's plenty of thunder but the rain is staying west, north and south of us. It's so frustrating! I'm finding myself apologizing to the kale for not watering it, as I have to be careful with my well water use. Oooooh, haskap berry wine? Sounds wonderful! xo
ReplyDeleteSam - And we're getting more rain right now at 5 o'clock Thursday afternoon! It's wonderful and the plants in the garden are truly growing by leaps and bounds. Just what they needed! When there are deer around, it seems absolutely necessary to fence them out of your growing things whether they be veggies or flowers. We simply couldn't grow anything without our 7' high deer fencing.
ReplyDeleteSusan - The header photograph is mine but my talented daughter added the lettering and made it look so nice. Yep, we just can't grow good gardens without natural rain fall. It's so necessary for all forms of life on this earth of ours!
My broccoli looks like yours too. A lot of holes. I love your potato patch. Tried carrots this year and so far so good. Gonna try potatoes next. I love your variety of everything. You have a lot of room for all that you grow. What size is your property? very roomy... My husband and I have been discussing buying an acre so we have plenty of room for what we want to grow. Your an inspiration which helps me to keep going. Thanks for your postings!!!
ReplyDeleteSue G - Thank you for such a nice comment. We have several acres here but most of it is heavily forested. The area that we garden in is probably a little under half an acre. I have 26 raised beds that are each 4' x 8', a field garden that is about 35' x 50' and also have an area where we used to have raspberries (it's in squash this year), 20-some blueberry bushes, 3 haskap bushes, a small orchard of fruit trees and way too much area that needs mowing that we're in the process of plowing up to make it more useful. Also a small hay field and a large poultry pasture which contains a small pond. With just the two of us the gardening area is more than adequate for a year 'round supply of vegetables and fruit. I plant very intensively in the raised beds which keeps down the weeds and produces A LOT of produce. For instance, only half a raised bed planted out to carrots gives us a year's supply. Whenever I see large, manicured lawns by a house I envision the huge supply of food one could grow there. Hope you and your husband find the land on which to expand your growing room. You'll be so happy you did.
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks so happy. Huzzah for rain! Everything looks to be growing well, even if the broccoli is a bit gnawed on. Glad to hear your blueberry bushes are recovering!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leigh - Yes, the rains (now they don't seem to want to stop!) have really helped around here, in the garden and elsewhere. We've also been having sustained unusually hot weather which is causing jungle-like conditions! Feast or famine, but the garden has really had a boost and is doing well.
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ReplyDeleteI hope the blueberries continue to thrive. We found patches and patches on our property yesterday. There are commercial blueberry fields not too far away so perhaps these are "escapees"? :) I'm happy for them! My potatoes are also thriving, one night of rain and everything grew! I can't wait to see something I can harvest!
ReplyDeleteRain - Gosh, I wonder if your blueberries could be from the commercial blueberry fields? The seeds could have been carried by birds who ate the commercial berries. Do you know if wild blueberries readily grow in your area? They do around here, but people who know where the best patches are guard their secrets closely. (I don't blame them!)
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling they are from the fields, there are SO MANY all over the place. Alex and I were walking around looking for little spruce saplings to transplant in front by the driveway and we were amazed at how many blueberry plants there were everywhere. Right now I'm leaving them be, I just don't have time to pick and process...but next year, yeah, I'm going to watch them and harvest some! We have wild blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. I'll have to pay more attention next spring to what's growing everywhere!
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ReplyDeleteRain - A real plethora of wild fruit! Lucky you, and I'm sure next year you'll take full advantage of them.
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