Mega Post: August Catch-up

It has been a busy summer.  I am finally playing “catch up” with a marathon of picture-posting and a recap of what’s been going on in the garden.  These pictures were taken between August 1-12 (click to enlarge).

The garden really took off mid-July and has been growing like crazy since.  I'm not sure what has caused the boost in growth.  Maybe the  days of alternating rain and heat, or the application of EM’s in addition to some fish fertilizer in early July.  Whatever the case, it is something to see…particularly the East garden (beside the raspberry patch).  We are now calling it, “The Jungle”.  The North Georgia Candy Roasters sprawled so much and so quickly that they have climbed over the rogue potatoes (we didn’t plant them), the tomatoes, and the marigolds.  This garden is so densely packed that it has been impossible to get in there to hand pollinate the squash. We have had to rely exclusively on the bees for that this year.  So far, I have found two large Candy Roasters growing in this garden, and about 5 small ones that have set recently.  I hope that we have a long, warm Fall like last year so they can grow to maturity.  Getting only 2 squash from 4 full-sized plants at the end of the season would feel like a disappointment.

 

To my surprise, almost all the sunflower seeds I planted in this garden came up.  Some are now 10+ feet tall!  The pole beans are doing well; the Early Riser (Romano/snap) beans have grown past the top of the poles and are drooping over the side by a foot.  Picking them might be a challenge; we’ll need to use a step stool or a ladder, and try not to squish the North Georgia Candy Roaster vines that are growing near the bases of the bean poles.

Many of the varieties of beans I have grown before (e.g., Molasses Face, Swedish Brown, Purple Amish Gnuttle) are 1-2 feet taller that I have seen them before.  The Principe Borghese tomatoes (a determinate variety) are about 6” taller than they were when I grew them 2 years ago.  

Romanesco Cauliflower, Swedish Brown & Purple Amish Gnuttle beans, Golden Jubilee tomatoes

L-R --> Principe Borghese tomatoes, Molasses Face beans

Principe Borghese tomtoes and Molasses Face beans

We're not sure what's up with our peas  The plot was thriving and looking lush for most of July.  Soon after the first picking, however, the plants started turning yellow. The roots weren’t disturbed and they haven’t been waterlogged by rain (or dried out from lack of watering).  I can’t find the information I wrote down last year re: the amount of peas picked but this year we can already tell we’ll have more.   It will be a far cry less than the 35-40lbs I was expecting from the plot, though.  As of today, we have a shelled total of 19 lbs 12 oz.

Green Arrow peas

The first picking!

The Early Prolific summer squash is coming along.  Not sure that is it particularly early, but it is putting out a lot of squash.

We have picked 3 or 4 cucumbers so far and the bush cucumber plants in the raised bed along the driveway are covered with yellow blossoms.  If all goes well, we’ll have plenty to eat fresh and plenty to go toward making relish.

Zucchini

Lou in the garlic patch...

The garlic "flowers" producing bulbils (Red Russian, I believe...or possibly Northern Quebec).  

Yesterday, I dug up the cloves and bulbs of the varieties I started 2 years ago from bulbils (Kiev, Baba Franchuk's, Brown Tempest, Siberian, and Central Siberian) and hung them to dry.  More about that later this month.


 Along the driveway...

The tomato plants, in general, look nice and healthy.  Some plants seem to be far foliage than fruit, which is a little disappointing.  So far, the best producers seem to be Early Annie, Russian Rose, Scotia, Principe Borghese, and Dwarf Rosa Vetrov.  Auria, Golden Jubilee, Malachite Box, and Damasus Steel don’t seem to be producing well (granted, the latter two are being swamped by squash vines).  The Rutgers tomato plants, which I thought were a determinate variety, grew like mad.  Either the package was mislabeled (I received the seeds in a trade) or Rutgers in an indeterminate variety.  I’ll have to read up on that later, when I have the time.

Work Release Paste tomato

Work Release Paste tomatoes

Auria tomato

Auria tomatoes

Damascus Steel tomato

Damascus Steel tomatoes

Dwarf Roza Vetrov tomatoes

Russian Rose tomatoes

Principe Borghese tomatoes

The cabbage are doing very well, though the slugs found them this week and have started to do some damage.  Many of the cabbage are ready to be harvested.  I just have to figure out what we are doing with them!  I will make a cabbage roll casserole (or 3...) and will likely give away – possibly sell – a few.  In the meantime, I will sprinkle some Slug-B-Gon around them to keep the slimy munchers away.

Aubervilliers cabbage

Brunswick cabbage

The bush beans are covered with blossoms and have started to develop pods. The Red Swan beans seem to be ahead of the other varieties, and there are already a few of these beans ready to pick.

Red Swan beans

The crabapples look pretty!

Spot the kitties...

The Romanesco cauliflower has also done well this summer, and we harvested 5 yesterday.  We will blanch and freeze those today.  I am glad I didn’t give up on the transplants, which looked so pale and feeble this Spring that I almost composted them instead of planting them!

The carrots look like they are ready to be harvested.  We’ll have to do that sooner rather than later, as several have already bolted.  We will dehydrate a bunch for use in soups and stews, and I might also try my hand at canning pickled carrots this year. 

Unfortunately, it has been another summer of forest fires in BC, including some in the northwestern region of the province.  The sky has been very hazy this week and the air constantly smells like smoke.  R. found his car covered with fine ash on Wednesday and Thursday morning when he went to leave for work.  The picture below was taken the morning of August 9th.

Assorted pictures from the garden...

Dazzling Blue kale, flat-leaf parsley, and lettuce in the "bathtub" bed

Tronchuda collards

"Dinnerplate" dahlia

Fingerling potatoes

Small Wonder spaghetti squash

Mini snapdragons

Sunflower in the tomatoes

Bea (in R's hat) and Loulou (in the kangaroo apron) supervise the pea picking.

This kitty started popping by from time to time for a visit in late June.  He is a shy but friendly guy with extra toes on each paw.   He tries to chat up Bea and Lou, but to no avail.  We call him, "Romeow".

Scotia, Orange Amana & Auria tomatoes and Coco Jaune de Chine beans

Two more small North Georgia Candy Roaster squash

Dahlias

Dahlias

Dahlias

Dahlias

South garden (we didn't plant any of those sunflowers!)

South garden

Rosemary

English Thyme