Serious start to harvesting

What a difference two days makes. We were gone camping last weekend from Thursday until Sunday and we had a blast. The girls spent the whole time in or on the lake. We taught them to paddle and went in canoeing in white caps (the girls called it a roller coaster). We also roasted marshmallows, ate some sunflower seeds that Brad gave us, and read lots of books. When we got home and unpacked a huge surprise was waiting in the garden.

We had a huge harvest because we did not pick on Friday or Saturday. We got

• Lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Peas
• Sugar Snaps
• Raspberries
• Edamame beans

I have flowers larger than I am, all my lilies are in bloom and my white clematis is starting. Today, Mike finished the second rain barrel and we went berry picking with Anna. We got three baskets of saskatoons and two of strawberries. I am SO excited to be gardening this year. Check out all the current pictures.

Veggies to scale

Anwyn and Leora agreed to let me take some pictures of them in the garden for a sense of scale. I can't believe how large things are this year. I am sure some of it is the green house / south side bed, but I think square foot gardening may be a big part. Things need to go up because they can't go out. Sometimes I wish we hadn't tried all these knew things in one year because I can't tell what is responsible for what.

Ian was over last night and he says their veggies are big, too. James also got greenhouse plants from us, but his are in the shade so that impacts size. He has lots doing well though. If James or Anna lets me I'll post pics of their garden projects also.

Mike went out yesterday with James and Kent and got even more rocks. We'll start storing again until we are ready for more grass removal. We also put up a piece of an old bunk bed so my clematis can cover the path in a tunnel fashion rather than hanging into it. So far it looks too white to me, but Mike assures me I'll like it in time.

Oh Yeah

Well, life has been busy in the garden of late, so I have been out rather than in, and my blog is behind. Lots of projects to talk about this week.

Currently blooming perennials:

• 5 types of roses
• 3 types of bell flowers
• 3 types of pinks
• Peonies
• Astilbe
• Phlox
• 2 types of poppies
• Lilies (too many types to count will bloom in the next several weeks)
• Lots of types of succulents

James gave us some poppies and an olla (pronounced Oh Yeah). I first read about ollas in a blog I follow on urban farming. I have situated it in the back yard among my cauliflowers and broccoli. It is a very old technology for watering water loving plants in dry areas. Mine is made with a clay pot and lid. It is late in the year to be putting it in, but I'll see how it does. I'll post a picture of the root growth around it if it happens.

I also read about comfrey. I found it in my garden 5 years ago and didn't know what it was. I liked the look of it, so I kept it. I read about it in an organic gardening book and it is sometimes called the compost plant. I'll experiment with it this year and try making some compost extract for my plants. It is so potent that I am supposed to use it at a rate of 15 parts water to one part decayed comfrey. I am going to cut some leaves and put them around my potatoes in one section to see if it makes a difference.

Mike, Leora, Anwyn and I build a path around the south side of the house yesterday, Jaime helped us lay the stones and we bought pea gravel to fill in around them. Erin and Colin lent us their truck to get the gravel. Although the pictures imply that the girls did all the labor, it was mostly supplied by Mike. Mike also made me some stepping stones by pouring concrete on rhubarb leaves. The result is beautiful, but may not be strong enough as we skipped the mesh. the south side square foot gardens are really flourishing and the path really helps with access.

Things in the garden are growing in leaps and bound. I've taken some pictures of veggies and the girls together so the scale is clear.

We are currently eating:

• zucchini
• lettuce
• peas
• cherries
• rhubarb
• strawberries (everberring)
• kohlrabi
• baby onions
• beet greens
• spinach

We did a massive basil harvest this week and Mike made his pizza and homemade pesto. I know Anna and Ian would love the pesto, but Anna is still away. Maybe Ian will come over... I have dried about thirty dill stalks, which will add up to about 2 cups of dried dill weed. We've been cooking a lot with dill.