Garden Friday

 It's Garden Friday!

We are thankful for cooler temperatures,

less humidity 

and visitors like this in the garden.

Although we turned toward autumn,

with temperatures in the 50's overnight,

the loofah plant is still flowering like nobody's business.

The loofah are being picked as they turn brown.

This was a fundraising project for The Community Garden.

They are fashioned into soap scrubbies.

 The sweet potatoes will hopefully be harvested this weekend.

I was able to prop up the white sweet potato trellis

with a couple of "Y" shaped branches found in our wood pile.

 The leek that were leftover from a March planting was harvested this week.

Some of it was turned into a delicious leek-onion soup

and the rest was chopped and put into the freezer for use later in the fall.

These leek were a fraction of the size of the crop grown last year,

and they never really developed, so they will be enjoyed as baby veggies.

 Not everything survived the drought this summer.

This poor thyme didn't get enough water and was lost.

I'm behind on my planting this year,

but I did manage to get some sugar snap peas started.

 I created a border using some branches we had lying around

and fastened them together with wire.

I like the rustic look.

 I decided to stagger my planting,

so I did one section next to the arches

and will sow more every 2 or 3 weeks.

 It seemed like a good idea to repeat the practice of 

adding wire over the planting area to keep squirrels from digging up the seeds.

(Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

 Bingo!

I noticed yesterday that they have germinated.

Take that, you sneaky varmints!

 The other major project completed was the new beds we added.

We had the wood cut at the store,

which made the construction even quicker.

 The area was cleared to make room for the new beds.

 The original plan was for three new beds,

but at the last minute, we decided to install only two,

and keep the center space open for a future project.

The interior of these beds will be filled with a layer of leaves and twigs,

and then the addition of our organic potting soil.

Amendments will consist of coffee grounds, worm castings and turkey poop.

Hopefully, that will give everything a good boost!

 In these two new beds,

we made sure to pound down the rebar in the center of the blocks.

This should keep the beds from going astray.

 The feed sacks I had put down under the mulch

did a great job of keeping the walkways weed-free.

The corners of the new beds do double duty

as a hose guard when it is needed on the other end of the garden.

A drip system is planned to make watering easier.

 The sunflowers have been left in place to dry,

so that the birds have some extra nourishment this fall.

 It looks like someone's been feasting!

Although the Red Ripper beans have slowed to a crawl,

we are still getting a blossom now and then.

What a relief to feel the cool breeze in the mornings.

This summer seemed like the hottest one in a long time,

but I think I say that every year.

I'm just grateful that it's over (I hope),

and we can look forward to much more comfortable weather.

Has autumn shown up where you are?