Saturday, July 18, 2009

More Garden

The Garden is at a fairly easily maintained place right now. No real harvest going on, the plants are big enough to out-compete and shade most weeds, and everything (...maybe) has been seeded for fall.

So, garden chores are pulling a few weeds, watering, pruning and waiting for the REWARDS!

I have lived in Western Washington most of my life. I have NEVER seen tomatoes set on and grow like this year. What a treat! At TRF, some of the cherry tomatoes are turning orange - we workers will get to sample them next week - yum!

We've been sampling peas here at EverRanch. Snap peas and shelling peas. This morning they look ready enough to harvest for a meal! (The boards in the background define my paths, and keep me from compacting the soil too much.)

It won't be too long before the beans are ready to eat. They didn't take well, but the plants that germinated and survived have grown well with many, many blossoms.

The corn tassles are showing! And this morning I spied some silk. I can hardly wait! Corn fresh from the garden has to be one of the best treats ever.

Below the corn lies the promise of sugar pumpkins and spaghetti squash to come.

I decided not to use black (or red) plastic mulch this year. Then it's been so hot, I wanted to put something down, at least under the tomatoes. "Junk" fleeces to the rescue! Thanks, Asa, Astrid, Razel, and Snowflake

Besides the feast for the taste buds and stomach, I added some eye candy. Barely visible in the back of the top photo is a row of sunflowers. I never knew they came in so many colors and sizes! We have yellow, red, orange, tall, medium and short ones. They were the left-overs from TRF - one of the bennies of being an employee there. :-)

The flower below is a cosmos, also a leftover from TRF. Sunflowers and Cosmos, among others, are attractive to beneficial insects, so are an asset in the vegetable garden. I think bumblebees qualify as beneficial insects - go pollinate some squash, little bee!

I find myself with an abundance of blog fodder - and even some photos - there might be a new post in the next couple of days. :-)

- Franna

1 comment:

Christy said...

That is one beautiful garden! I'm jealous. Mine isn't too nearly as well. Too hot and not enough rain.