Here is how my garden looks today:
Stuff is starting to show signs of stress. My cucumbers are growing mildew and spiders of Sci-Fi proportions are cozying up in my tomato plants for fall. I’ve also sadly made the decision to scale back my plans for a fall garden. The first reason being, I had a lot of issues with pests and growing this year and want to amend the soil and let it rest. Second, time slipped away from me and we did not get the plans, dirt, and planting done in time. While I was a bit sad at first, I’ll be glad for a bit of a break from working out there and let the dirt marinate over the winter for a great growing season next spring & summer.
I did manage to harvest a number of lemon cucumbers, and tons of cherry tomatoes today! I am thinking of drying the toms in my dehydrator today.
Here is last week’s bounty:
Talk about eating the rainbow, right?!
Here is one of the cukes growing on the vine. I bet I harvested about 10 of these today. We like to throw them in smoothies around here.
My first miniature green bell pepper…has turned into a miniature red bell pepper! These are so cute, I love them.
This also surprised me today. Raspberries! I thought mine were early summer bearing only. What gives? Who knows, but I’ll be keeping an eye on them!
My lacinato kale continues to flourish! It has had some pest issues (we grow organically around here!), but I have just been spraying off the bugs, clipping off the bad leaves, and pretty much eating the rest. I snipped a few for our green smoothies this week.
If you’re thinking, oh no! I killed the beans! Let me remind you that these are dry shelling beans. This is my first hand at growing them and I realized today that quite a few were actually ready for harvesting! Apparently you know this because the skins become papery and you can even hear a “rattle” of the beans inside when they are done.
Here are the ones I picked today. Some were not ready yet, and I left those on the beanstalk.
Here is what they looked like inside. Aren’t they beautiful? I will definitely be saving a few for next year’s garden! (In case you’re wondering, they are Hidasta Shield Heirloom beans if you want to grow them yourself next year.)
You know what I was thinking as I was shelling these? Dry beans are such a smart choice for the frugal gardener! When you harvest them – tada! – they are already preserved. You don’t need to can, freeze, or even worry about eating them all right away. Something to think about.
Speaking of saving, I pulled up all my cilantro plants, which had gone to seed. I’m thinking of saving the coriander seeds. Does anyone have experience with this?
How is your gardening going these days?
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The cilantro will do great. We had cilantro growing up all over the place where the seeds had fallen last year. In years past, we put the seeds in an envelope.
Some raspberries produce twice a year–completely normal!
Since you’re not doing a fall garden I recommend you put in a cover crop for the winter. You let it grow undisturbed over winter and then till it in when spring comes. You can buy the seeds as “cover crop” at a garden store. It contains nitrogen-fixing plants, which will enrich your soil effortlessly. Nwe’ve done this for years.
Yup, I’ve done this before
Do NOT clean up the stalks from your brassicas. They will start producing again, I had about 9 months of not being able to garden. Did not get all the stalks out of my garden. Ate kale from February to July bolting. Ate as many of the seed heads (like broccoli) as i could, but some got away from me and, ta-da!, more kale’s a-growing. Little white butterflies are mostly gone now, so i guess i’ve got a winter crop thanks to Mama Nature. Oh yes, the cabbage came back, too. There’s one more head to harvest.
BTW, i’ve found that if i drop the veggie in salted water as i harvest, most of the “extra protein” drops to the bottom of the pail by the time i get to the kitchen sink.
Oh, about the coriander — if you use it for cooking or resowing, i’ve found that letting it dry on the stalks is good.
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