Early August Odds and Ends

   It has been a wet start to August.  The garden appreciates the rain, and I appreciate the break from schlepping watering cans.

   Some of the dry bush bean varieties are already starting to dry down on the plants.  Most of the Arikara pods are turning yellow/beige.  It is the earliest dry bean of the season, by far. A few of the Weiner Trieb pods have begun to turn yellow as well.  Early Warwick won't be far behind it.

  Two more zucchini and two Yellow Prolific squash were ready, so I made a second batch of Zesty Zucchini relish yesterday.

   We have been harvesting, blanching, and freezing small batches of peas over the past two weeks.  This year's pea patch hasn't provided a huge crop but there is enough to enjoy with a few meals throughout the winter.  Of the three varieties grown this summer, Green Arrow - as usual - came out the winner.  Lillian's Caseload was earlier, but its pods are smaller.  Laxton's Progress remained very short, the pods were small, and its peas became starchy quickly.

   When planting snap beans in May, I tried using up some of the older seed I had in my stash.  The germination rates were hit or miss, and I ended up having to replant several times.  'Provider' has proven to be a great bean.  The plants are sturdy and remain upright, keeping most of the beans off the ground.  Provider beans grow large and straight and are tender.  Cantare, a slender green bean, has been a disappointment so far.  The plants are short/stocky, but they quickly fall over, leaving the beans to grow on the ground.  That results in many of them growing in a curled or crooked shape and rotting/getting muddy when it rains.  Calima, which I've grown in the past, seems a much more reliable and easy-to-manage slim bean variety.  The Roma II beans are great - I wish I'd grown more this year.  The plants are large and they tip over under the weight of the beans, but the flavour and texture of Roma II's make it worth that hassle.

   With the ground already wet and more rain in the forecast, I decided to pull the small Red Russian bulbs (grown from rounds at the front of the garlic bed) and Brown Tempest bulbs on July 31st.  Central Siberian and Northern Quebec bulbs were pulled on August 1.  From the looks of things, I should have pulled the Northern Quebec earlier.  The outer wrappers don't cover all the cloves and some of the cloves look like they're pulling apart from the other cloves in the bulbs.  It will be fine to eat, it just might not store as long as it normally would.

   The female Galeux D'Eysine squash flowers have finally started to bloom in earnest, and I've hand-pollinated 4 in the last week.  This one (pollinated July 22) is the earliest and largest of the bunch.

 

Favorie de Bretagne tomatoes

Fisher's Earliest Paste tomatoes

Petrusha Ogorodnik tomatoes (paste)

 

 

The first China aster is about to open...

Strawflowers

Lots o' Bachelor Buttons...

The dahlias are beginning to bloom (Unwins Dahlia mix).  Love the pink one!