It's a warm one today, 31 degrees Celsius as I type (4:40 p.m.).
I picked the first little harvest of string beans on August 5th (Calima at the bottom, Red Swan in the middle, Provider at the top) and enjoyed them steamed for supper. So tasty! The next picking was a bit larger; some were steamed to enjoy with a meal and the rest blanched to freeze. I am exercising as much restraint as possible and leaving them alone to grow so a large batch can be picked at the end of the week. I'll either pickle or (more likely) freeze them.
While walking around the garden on August 7th, R. discovered that one of the three red cabbages had been chewed on during the night. It looks like The Midnight Snacker (who also sampled the kale again) returned! Cabbage usually does well for me, but this has not been a great year for it. In addition to having deer snack on it at least twice, I had a lapse of good judgement (or unrealistic plans) this Spring and started mostly Late Flat Dutch cabbage. As the name implies, this is a variety that's late to mature, and it is the variety that was chewed by the first deer that came through the garden in June. Note to self: stick with short season cabbages from now on.
The garlic bulbils (listed below) have been pulled up. The bulbs will be harvest later this month.
Red Russian, Northern Quebec, and Red Rezen (new) – July 31
Russian Giant (new), Persian Star (new), Pyong Vang Korean (new), and Mother of Pearl (new and softneck) – Aug. 10
Only four of the Pyong Vang Korean bulbils grew, though the resulting rounds are a decent size.
The Mother of Pearl bulbils (the only softneck variety I have grown) fared better than I expected. Some of the rounds are quite large!
The “volunteer” bulbils that R. discovered tilling the north garden this Spring were pulled July 31. I had planted them in several plastic pots and put them at the side of the house for the summer. Most appear to be Red Russian, though it's possible some might be Baba Franchuk's or Kiev.
The garlic bulbils were bundled into coffee filters by variety and hung to dry down/cure. There is a heavy wire stretched across our rather ratty-looking (especially during harvest season) laundry room that is there specifically for the purpose of curing the garlic. Things here are not what one would call aesthetically pleasing, but they're functional.
The peas (Green Arrow) have produced about as much as they're going to this summer. It wasn't an overly impressive harvest compared to some past years, but we managed to freeze enough to enjoy with a few meals through the winter. The snow peas (Green Beauty) have reached the end of their production, too. They were delicious and tender! The few left on the plants now are tough and oddly shaped, so they'll be left alone to dry for seed-saving at the end of the month.
Zucchini has started to grow (woo-hoo!) and a few sunflowers have opened. The bees are content.
White pattypan squash flowers are starting to appear.
The cucumber plants are taking off. These are Dragon's Egg cucumbers.
Clear Pink Early tomatoes, starting to ripen.
Swiss Giant pansies, Johnny-Jump-Ups (small pansies), and Candytuft.
Gazania
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