The last two week have been filled with cool, overcast days, strong winds, and rain. Many of the tomato plants are wind-whipped and looking rough – one broke in the wind – but I think they’ll pull through. Several squash and sunflower seeds rotted in the ground because of the wet, cool dirt, so I replanted those today.
On the up side, this weather has been perfect for carrot seed germination, and it looks like I have lots coming up.
Most of my beans have come up, though quite a number of them had their leaves gnawed off by something before they broke the surface of the ground. Rather annoying. Some varieties (like Painted Pony, Soldier, Ireland Creek Annie, Tiger Eye, Cattle, and Kahnawake Mohawk) came up looking robust and healthy, while others (Butterscotch, Flagg, Buerre de Rocquencourt, and Derby) are looking feeble. Only three of the Grey Speckled Palapye cowpeas either didn’t come up or came up misshapen, which is good, as there were only about 25 of them in the package (they are a rare variety).
This week, the parsnips finally poked through, as did the Whirligig zinnias. I attacked the potato patch (hoeing and hilling in that clay pile…arhg), and transplanted the marigolds into the north garden and raised beds.
One of the pleasant surprises of the season so far has been the Flashy Butter Oak lettuce. It has had the best germination rate of any variety I’ve planted this summer, and it looks beautiful in the garden.
Yesterday was sunny and cool, and we hoped the sunshine was a sign of good things to come. However, there is a rainfall advisory for the next two days (60-80mm forecast to fall with warnings of potential flooding in the area). Rain is forecast to continue to a lesser degree for the remainder of the week as well. I guess it could be worse – some areas within an hour’s drive of here are expected to get up to 100mm of rain or 10cm of snow, due to their elevation and proximity to the Rocky Mountains.
When we do finally get a stretch of sunshine and heat, I expect I will literally hear the garden rejoicing.
Early days, but here is how things are doing so far...
South side of the house:
Oh, yes, that is a bathtub. At first, I was not amused. I finally acquiesced, as I had neither the means nor the strength to get it off my lawn and to a dump myself, and R. didn't seem keen on doing it. We almost had the toilet right there along with it. The fact that we don't fills me with more than a little relief. I have adapted a great deal since moving here, but I do have my limits!
Once the parsley and basil are nice and bushy, I'll wash the outside of the tub and take another picture. I might even buy a rubber ducky to place among the green "bubbles".
That is orange mint in the front, rainbow chard along the back, and there are two small rosemary plants in there as well that are too small to be seen in this picture.
The pansies are thriving at the back of the house. All of the pansies I have this year came up as 'volunteers' this Spring in one of the raised beds along the driveway.
Tiger Eye beans (they will have runners). In the next week or two, we will wrap plastic mesh around the outside of the bed to help support the beans and to keep the cats out (they love to play among the stakes!)
Two beds with two North Georgia Candy Roaster plants in each. If all goes well and September is warm, we'll have a lot of squash. I gather these have "vigorous vines". I wonder if they'll take over the apple tree that is between the beds?
Apple mint in the middle, "Patio Snacker" cucumbers on the right, and (soon, hopefully) a Sunspot sunflower on the left.
Broad Windsor beans (broad/fava) with peas in the background.
Broad Windsor beans on the left, small container of "Painted Pony" beans in the middle, start of the pea patch on the right.
Epazote (a Mexican herb)
North garden - broccoli, green and red cabbage, and cauliflower from the local greenhouse. Flashy Butter Oak lettuce, garlic, Flagg beans, Butterscotch beans, Calima beans, Derby beans, Ireland Creek Annie beans, marigolds, Ping Tung eggplants, Early Annie tomato, Amana Orange tomato, Mexican Torch sunflower, Cupcake Zinnia, and Russian Giant sunflower.
Canadian Wild Goose beans (in very dry soil!).
The leeks are doing well. The corn (to the left) is not, due to the rainy, cool, very windy weather we've been having.
Little bunch of parsley.
Mary Ison's Little Brown Bunch Beans (will have runners). Kahnawake Mohawk pole beans in the lower left-hand corner.
Flashy Butter Oak Lettuce
One of my peppers!
Potato patch
Grey Speckled Palapye Cowpeas
Green and red cabbage I started in milk jug greenhouses. A mix of Early Jersey Wakefield, Golden Acre, and Mammoth Red.
Garlic, planted last Fall. I'll have to look back at the blog entry to remember what kind.
Peppermint, Chocolate mint, and ginger mint (the paler, variegated mint). Two dahlias in the brown containers.
R.'s experiment - we had some seed potatoes with very long roots left over, so R. tossed 1 in each (clean!) garbage can...
The pea patch
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