Our August Garden

My middle name is Augusta. Or at least it was until I got married many years ago and the Social Security Administration decided that I could only have one middle name so now my maiden name is my middle name. In my heart, it's still my middle name, though. It was a good choice for both sides of the family - my mother's maternal grandmother and my father's mother were both named Augusta. One would think that I would have some sort of special affinity for August because of my name but I don't. I actually didn't even think of the connection at all until this last week as I considered writing an update on our garden here. 

Anyhoo, the garden has been doing well. It's starting to remind me of an autumn garden, though. We had a cold snap last week that has me ready for fall. That may tint my view a bit but the garden is starting to peter out. It's been a couple of days now since we picked any cucumbers. That had been a half-dozen-a-day thing for a couple weeks. The plants are still setting fruit but they look like the last hoorah - tiny and super prickly. The leaves are starting to give up too.

The cucumbers' leaves are getting crunchy.

Overall, it's been a very fruitful season. There's never a huge amount of any one thing at a time, except for the cucumbers, but we've enjoyed a steady stream of fresh veggies. (Look for another post coming soon telling what we did with our produce.)

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

The snap peas had a nice long run and are now providing support for some morning glories that seeded themselves from last year. 

It's fun seeing the peas and morning glories intertwining.

Underground, we had a nice daikon crop, which my husband pickled. We also had a handful of two different types of beets. They are all entirely finished now.

Just one of a dozen or so daikons.

Can't beet this!

On the topside, both the yellow squash and zucchini produced well. I would have liked more zucchini. Maybe because I like it so well, it didn't feel the need to overwhelm us, as is so cliche for zucchini. There are still a few small squash on the vine, so we'll probably get a couple more this season.

Yellow there!

Um...I can't think of another pun. It's a zucchini.

The tomatillos put on flowers like crazy but have only made a few fruits so far. The tomatoes, both beefsteak and grape, have put on fruit like crazy. They're just both taking their sweet time turning red. We've started bringing them in as soon as they start to blush so our lovely summer rainstorms don't make them explode before we can pick them. I think they still taste just a good (much better than store-bought, at least) when they ripen inside rather than out on the vine.

At least the tomatillo plant is pretty.

Tomatoes ripening inside...

...and more still waiting to go.

The Three Sisters bed has been doing it's thing mostly untouched all season. The rattlesnake beans grew well as always. They're just starting to dry on the vine now. Similarly, the turtle beans in a different bed put on tons of beans and are now slowly drying before we can shell them. The popcorn seems a bit odd, making two or three ears in the same spot. I've never grown it before, so maybe that's normal. I'm just glad that after being flattened during several thunderstorms, the stalks straightened right back up again. We're just waiting for it to all dry out now. The Long Pie pumpkin vine has woven its way happily between the corn stalks and up the bean trellis. We've picked two them already and there's a third still on the vine.

I love that shell beans are fairly self-sufficient.

I hope the popcorn is doing as it's supposed to. It looks nice.

Two Long Pie pumpkins curing in the dining room.

One more still hanging out.

I'm not sure if our One Too Many pumpkin plant is actually going to have time to do it's thing. The strong seedling we transplanted in June struggled to establish itself. Perhaps it was a bit resentful. The vine finally had a growth spurt just a couple of weeks ago and has filled the entire bed. It has even put on a couple of pumpkins - one the size of a ping-pong ball and one like a baseball. I'm hoping we've got enough warm days ahead so that they can grow and prosper, but the days are getting noticeably shorter. Like with all the garden, we'll have to wait and see.

Finally, our resentful teen pumpkin is becoming a better-adjusted young adult.

You grow little pumpkin! I believe in you!

Not all has been happy fun time in the garden, however. Somehow, a deer or multiple deer, found their way inside. I'm guessing they accidentally hopped the fence while cavorting in the back yard. The yard slopes slightly so the fence on the north side is shorter than on the south side. Once inside, the deer stomped around in most of the beds, ate many of the leaves off my purple snap beans, and decimated the chard. It wasn't a very good year for the chard anyway. It didn't grow very well, I think because the location I chose for it was a bit shady and damp, and then it got leaf miners and I didn't make an effort to remove them. So, we haven't harvested any of it yet and it looks like we might not get much at all. I guess that's the compromise we make when our neighborhood is filled with deer and we do little to discourage them from getting comfortable.

I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.

It's kinda nice just hanging out with the local baby wildlife.

Why Wait Until Spring?

I started my new container herb garden today. Our garden is fairly close to the house, but still far enough away that, when I’m cooking, I don’t make the effort to go out and get fresh herbs. So I decided to make a container herb garden on our back patio, just a few short steps from the kitchen.

Look at that garden all the way back there.

My original plan was to wait until spring to put the container garden together. I ordered the plant shelf last week from Amazon (for $45.99). I put it together so that I could see what size planters I could fit on it. Then, it was going to go into the basement for the winter. I figured I could start collecting ceramic pots of various types throughout the rest of the summer and fall - maybe scoring some on end-of-season clearance - so I would have them all ready to go in the spring. 

Two to start.

I found two that I liked today. I got the white one at T.J. Maxx. It was made in Vietnam and cost $9.99. The multi-colored one is from Lowe's. It was made in Malaysia, weighs considerably more, and cost $22.98. I actually like the white one better, but I'm happy with both. I only want ceramic planters. There are tons of plastic/resin ones out there but I just like the look and feel of the ceramics better. These were both marked "frost resistant," not that that's much of a concern for me.

Enjoy your new homes, little ones.

This past spring, I started some herbs from seed indoors. They included parsley, thyme, and basil. I transplanted three of each into the garden. Today, I transplanted two of the plants back into containers. All three of the parsley plants took to the larger garden quite well. I had no qualms about digging one out to move to the patio. An odd side note about the parsley: the seeds I purchased were labeled curly parsley, but one of the plants is very obviously flat leaf parsley. The flat leaf plant was being overshadowed in the garden by horseradish leaves, so that's the one that went into the pot. It became a bit droopy in the aftermath of the transfer, but I think it'll do fine. If not, I've got two more parley plants.

The thyme plant that I moved from the garden into the planter is the only one of the three original seedlings that survived the initial transplant. It's well-established and I didn't disturb much of its roots in the move, so it should be okay. I love thyme and, even though it is a perennial, I haven't had luck over-wintering it in the garden. I hope that it adapts well to the planter so I can bring it inside this winter.

View of the new container garden from our kitchen.

My plan is to keep collecting ceramic planters for my various herbs. I've got strong, perennial chives I can divide and put in a pot before fall. I'll be collecting dill seeds so I can start some directly in a new planter next spring. We have some beautiful Greek basil plants that are cuttings from the indoor plant that have thrived in the open garden this year. We'll definitely bring a couple of them in for the winter. I don't think I'll bother transplanting my sweet basil if I get enough pots before fall. The plants have massive roots and would probably resent the relocation. I'd like to have enough planters by spring to also start rosemary, oregano, and maybe some well-contained mint. No cilantro, though. There's no place for that in my kitchen. I'm really looking forward to having my fresh herbs so close at hand. Of course, we'll have to see what the deer have to say about it too.

The Ends?

CSI: Backyard

I was sitting on my back porch sipping a midori sour and reading an Elizabeth Peters novel, as one does on a Friday evening, when I was pulled out of 19th century Egypt back into my real world by a ruckus at the back of the driveway. A loud buzzing sound and the frantic flapping of red wings caught my attention. It took a minute for my eyes to change focus from my e-reader to the outdoors (the over-40 set will understand the struggle) but, when they did, I clearly saw that a cardinal had triumphed over some sort of insect. 

By the sound, I guessed it was a cicada. I haven't seen any yet this season, despite the major hatch-out that apparently has happened in other parts of the country. I wanted to know for sure but didn't want to disturb the feasting. After all, it sounded like it had taken some effort for the cardinal to slaughter the bug. I would have hated to scare him off his meal. Once he finished, however, I visited the scene of the crime looking for clues.

The first thing I saw was a shiny wing.

It was smaller than what I usually associate with cicadas but there are different sized cicadas and the green made me think my guess had been correct. Closer inspection yielded more clues, though some went against my cicada theory. (I know you shouldn't go into an investigation with a set conclusion in mind but I'm not actually a forensic investigator of any kind so I don't care.) There was a moth's wing and what appeared to be the shell of some variety of beetle - they kind of felt like acrylic fingernails, so that was interesting.

Then my investigation took a darker turn with a pair of legs, some distance from each other.

I continued scanning the area and then...oh my...is that a face?

Well, that could have fallen off at any time. Maybe it wasn't from the most recent slaughter I had witnessed. But then...oh...oh dear...that's certainly part of an insect. And it's still...um... squishy. Ewwwwww.

Okay, enough CSI for me. A cardinal had thrashed a bug that may or may not have been the first cicada of the season. Case closed. The ant crew was already on the scene to clean everything up. The wing had actually disappeared by the time I finished examining the rest of the bits. Nature is a wondrous thing!

How to Make Your House Smell Amazing

Step 1: Plant a bunch of different herbs in your garden.

monarda

dill

basil

chives

parsley

Step 2: Harvest said herbs, load into a food dehydrator, and let them dry out for a day or so.

basil ready to dry

dehydrator loaded and ready to go

Step 3:Inhale deeply as you crush the dried leaves into pleasantly fragrant bits.

dry dill

dry parsley

Step 4: Pour dried herbs into labeled jars.

dried basil in a recycled/reused jar

the grand assortment

 Step 5: Enjoy!

bunny butt approved

Back When I Was a Creator of Fantasy

Many, many years ago, my father made me a Spanish hacienda-style dollhouse. At that time, miniatures were very popular and everyone in my family had either a dollhouse or a model train set. My grandmother's was a Swiss chalet. My sister's was southern-style with tall columns on the porch. My mom decorated shadow boxes, rather than a full dollhouse, with colonial-style room settings. My preteen self enjoyed the south-western aesthetic - earthy pastels, terracotta pottery, geometric rugs, bleached cow skulls - so the hacienda was perfect. I lovingly painted each room the perfect color and constructed a little kiva fireplace all by myself. I probably even made some furniture for it out of balsa wood, but I can't remember. At that age, I lost interest in things rather quickly. I gave up on furnishing the dollhouse and it sat untouched for I don't know how long. Then, one unremarkable day, I was struck by inspiration and the hacienda became a fantasy realm filled with fairies, gnomes, dark hooded figures, mermaids, and other mystical creatures.

My hacienda fantasy dollhouse.

By my mid-teens I was deep into fantasy and my forgotten dollhouse was the perfect place to create my own magical world. The entrance hall and living room was the realm of the fairies - delicate, handcrafted felt creatures with butterfly wings made of painted feathers that were easy to find at the local craft stores at the time. All the figures were, in fact, handmade by me of felt. Felt was cheap, easy to get, didn't ravel when cut, and was very easy to hand sew. The white unicorn liked to hang out in the fairies' living room when it wasn't just chilling on the front porch.

Where the fairies are.

The kitchen was where the dark hooded figures gathered to perform rituals. They did more conjuring than cooking in there so they never bothered with getting any major appliances. The dark unicorn enjoyed spending time with them.

Not sure what they were up to but none of the other residents seemed concerned.

Upstairs, the gnomes took up residence in one of the bedrooms. Theirs was a wilder setting, closer to nature, as they liked it. There was even a small stream running though that was likely a leak from the adjacent bathroom.

The yellow cootie was not a pest, it was a pet.

The gnomes' favorite food was acorns. While none actually grew in the house, they would magically appear in the fairies' living room. The gnomes would take turns venturing to the first floor to collect them. 

Just stay out of the fairies' way and you'll be fine.

The mermaids lived in the bathroom, as should be expected. They are the only residents with actual faces. Markers don't do precision work on felt, so I decided to keep the rest of my little creations expressionless.

The water bill was huge at this house.

The second bedroom was an arid place filled with sand and warm stones. A serpent moved in with its hoard of priceless (plastic) jewels. It never troubled anyone else in the house as long as they didn't get too curious about its treasure.

Careful little fairy! Look but don't touch.

There was a slight infestation of tiny red bears. They may have come from under the stairs but no one knew for sure. They only lurked and watched so all the residents decided it was easiest to just let them be.

Like an endless game of hide and seek.

I remember having such fun poring over the walls, shelves, and bins in craft stores searching for the perfect thing that would make my fantasy hacienda more complete. I intended to collect old bark from my dad's sawmill to cover the roof. I don't remember what my plan was for the siding. As usual, I lost interest. This time, the dollhouse sat for 30-ish years gathering dust. It's still at my parents' house. I was there this week. I don't think I'll revisit the old hacienda but it did make me wonder when I stopped creating things. I do some knitting and sewing now and then, but nothing like when I was a teen. Maybe the practicality of adulthood took over. I need to see about changing that.