Garden Friday

 

 

 

Welcome to Garden Friday!

Autumn is finally here,

and you'll find no one more excited about that than yours truly.

Fall is such a great time to be in the garden,

whether it's sowing cool weather crops or picking what nature has provided to enjoy inside.

 

Sweet potatoes were harvested this week.

We got 14.5 pounds, which isn't bad, 

considering we planted only one small bed.

 

The tubers in this crop were smaller than in past years,

and they seemed to grow more in clusters, instead of individually.

The slips were started in February,

so this was a long process from seed to table.

 

They will cure in the garage for two weeks before being sampled.

We're using a hitch-haul and the bifold door that I use to use at the Market.

 

Some time was spent earlier in the season on planting the front flower beds.

I've added quite a few things and seeded many zinnias.

In fact, they grew so big,

that the evergreens and grasses behind them are well hidden.

 

Every morning when I open up my curtain,

I look down into this beautiful display of flowers and busy pollinators.

I even noticed a goldfinch eating bugs off of the milkweed!

The zinnias just went wild with the rainfall we got.

They are filling in the front bed so wonderfully.

 

 

Seed saving continues,

with flower seeds and dried beans making their way into our stash for next season.

It's a tranquil and fastidious task

that can be savored with the anticipation of future harvest.

 

The Seminole pumpkin has grown outside of its bed.

It's still too early to know if fruit will show itself,

but we'll leave it be for now.

The Piggot peas have started producing,

and I'm curious to learn more about them.

This is a new crop for me,

but so far, they have been easy to grow.

We're even getting some late-planted cucumbers coming up.

 

We've got visitors, folks!

Although we were not blessed with Monarch caterpillars this year,

a few black swallowtails were spied on the Rue.

This no-fuss plant is one of the host plants for this species.

What wonders have the fall season brought you?

 

Garden Friday

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Garden Friday.

It's been a quiet scene at our homestead

with two of the three members of our family

coming down with what we think was surely COVID.

It laid us out for a full 10 days,

so there wasn't much to report.

Thankfully, we are well on our way back to health. 

 

tastes like zucchini!

great for cleaning once dried and peeled

 

The loofah is creating a wonderful amount of shade in the chook run,

and the pollinators are relishing the bounty of nectar.

The fruit is hanging from the vines in various stages.

I'm planning on picking a few of the small loofah

for fresh eating.

The larger ones will be dried on the vine

and given away to be used as scrubbers.

 

Another volunteer something or other is getting started.

It looks like a pumpkin, but it's too early to tell.

The last time something like this volunteered,

I thought it was watermelon,

but it turned out to be a pumpkin.

It's always fun to spy the female flowers

and guess at what it may become.

 

We do have a few Kajari melons coming along.

I had pretty much given up on these doing anything,

but here they are surprising me once again.

 

The Piggot peas and cukes are doing nicely,

thanks to a few downpours we've had in recent days.

These were transplanted around the 10th of August.

It's still hot and humid, so we may still get some fruit.

We've had over an inch of rain so far this week,

after three weeks with nary a drop.

More storms are on their way,

with a cooling in temperatures on the horizon.

We are ready for it!

 

The Seminole pumpkin seems quite content,

and was transplanted around the same time as the Piggot peas.

Once the rain hit, it took off like nobody's business! 

Not sure if we'll have enough warm days ahead to get fruit,

but it will be sown again in the spring.

 

The mottled leaves are so decorative.

 

The birdhouses were cleaned out a couple of weeks ago.

It's always a marvel to see how the nests tucked inside are constructed.

 

The chook feathers have obviously been instrumental

in creating a cozy place to raise young.

I can imagine how soft they would be.

 

The cannas were overrun by Japanese beetles earlier in the season,

and the leaves were such a mess.

A bit of trimming brought them back to life.

These will come up every year and spread below ground.

They also provide some shade for the chooks on this end of the run.

 

The hyacinth bean vine along the north side of the chook fencing

is loaded with blooms.

The butterflies, bees and even hummers savor their delightful ambrosia.

This vine never disappoints.

Maybe next year I'll set up teepees for them to grow on.

 

 We lost our sweet Jubilee recently

in a most sorrowful and tragic way.

She was a raven-feathered beauty

with a patina like no other.

Her loss has been a difficult lesson to learn,

as I feel it was preventable.

Please pray that she is at peace.

 She is so missed.

 

 I may not be posting for a couple of weeks,

as I will be pup sitting.

Blessings...daisy