Garden Chores

Planted a bed of Dixie Lee Butter Peas in place of the crook neck and zucchini squash I pulled up yesterday due to invasion of the squash snatchers.

Harvested the basil and made a big batch of luscious pesto. Cut all the big rainbow chard leaves; Washed and prepared them for cooking tonight.

Thinned the carrots.

Picked the wineberries.

Made sure the pole beans were running in an organized manner.

Make Room for Okra

I decided to pull the rest of the beets. The roots aren't getting any bigger, and it's about time for the okra (planted between the rows of beets) to take off. I roasted the roots and prepared one last recipe of Harvard Beets - my favorite - then cooked the greens up with a splash of vinegar.

Promise and Problem

Blossoms and baby squash... my mouth is watering already! But not so fast... the squash bugs have invaded. I'm afraid these plants are doomed.

Treats and Trials

Today I picked the first two Early Girl tomatoes and the first fig of the season. Got 2 quarts of wineberries. Made a second batch of wineberry jam.

I noticed that the squash bugs have taken up residence in the yellow squash and zucchini. May not get any fruit from these plants. That makes me mad!

Today's Garden Chores...

Made 7 pints of wineberry jam this morning from berries picked yesterday.

Picked today's wineberries and black raspberries. Checked for blueberries and hybrid blackberries. Not quite ready.

Planted the "Sun Gold" cherry tomato plant purchased at the tailgate market in Asheville this past weekend.

Guided the running pole beans onto string.

Dug the Yukon Gold potatoes. Their plants had died back. Boiled some for supper. Heavenly!

Pulled more beets. Ate the greens for supper.

Berries Rule!

The wineberries are coming in strong. Thank goodness Abi was here to pick this weekend! She picked about 6 cups while we were away. She and I picked enough today for one batch of jam. I've prepared the berries; will turn them into jam tomorrow. The black raspberries are down to a good handful per day - enough for our cereal in the morning. The blackberries and blueberries are just starting.

The "Early Girls" are turning red. Real tomatoes, soon! There were a few purple snap beans which I added to a pot of soup this afternoon. The squash are blossoming. The golden yukons are dying back. The pole beans are about to run. The beets need to be dug. The okra is ready to take off. Rouse is ready to cut down some trees. I'm ready to agree. We need more sun!

I Love My Berries!

The black raspberries are coming in slowly, but surely... I picked 1 cup today. They're a little soggy with all the rain, but there're still plenty of unripe berries on the bush. We need some sunny days. In the meantime, the wineberry canes are loaded with berries! They're starting to ripen now. I picked 2 cups this morning. The blueberries are not far behind. By the time we get back from Asheville Sunday evening there should be plenty to pick, if the birds don't beat us to it.

Speaking of rain... We got another 3/4 inch last night. Temperatures are expected to rise today. 90's - Here we come! I'm expecting big changes in the garden while we're away the next few days.

I pulled up the lettuce leftovers. We sure have enjoyed the fresh salads. Cooler temperatures this spring (and my shady garden) allowed for a longer season of sweet lettuce. I harvested more beets today, too. Now that the summer is heating up, the okra should take off. Time to get the beets out of the way. I still left the ones with "baby" roots, though. All in good time.

Enjoy Cool Temps While You Can...

The heat wave is coming. We may hit the 100 degree mark this weekend. We're heading to Asheville tomorrow night. Maybe it'll be a little cooler there.

We ate the last of the lettuce for supper tonight. I'll miss those fresh salads! We do still have beet greens available...

I used tape to remove flea beetles from my eggplant. Very effective!

The wineberries are about to explode into ripeness. Hope we don't miss them while we're in Asheville!

Flood Warnings Today in Central NC

It's raining! It's pouring!

Today I picked the first wineberries (only 1/2 a dozen) and one giant blackberry.

I attacked the flea beetles that are attacking my eggplant. I hope I made a significant dent in their population.

Chance of Thunderstorms, Morning and Night

The black raspberries are slowing down - found only 1/2 cup today. It's an overcast day, but still... I found plenty of ants and spiders.

I picked the first handful of purple "green" beans this afternoon. They're purple on the vine, but turn green when cooked.

The bad news today: Flea beetles are eating my eggplant leaves! Flea Beetles are tiny (smaller than the size of a pin head), dark colored, and very much flea-like in the way that they can jump up and disappear from the plant when disturbed.

The traditional organic approach to controlling flea beetles has been to resort to the application of an organic pesticide such as pyrethrins or rotenone. While organic, this is still a pesticide that has to be handled carefully and can kill non-targeted insects including the beneficial ones that we want to keep around the garden. Since I have only 4 plants, I think I'll try picking them off by hand and squishing the little buggers. Must be quick, before they hop away!

Thievin' Squirrels!

We keep the 2-grain chicken scratch in a metal trash can in the chicken yard. The lid was off the other day when I went to let the chickens out in the morning. Grayson, the granddog, was visiting. I thought maybe he had been nosing around and knocked the lid off.

The next day, the lid was off again. Grayson had gone home the previous day, so I knew I couldn't blame the dog! I know deer will go after corn in containers, but our deer fence is effectively keeping deer out of the yard. My next thought was raccoon, or possum. So I moved the trash can into the "safe" zone where it would be inaccessible to such animals at night.

A couple days later, as I was walking out to the garden in the afternoon, I saw the lid off again! Then I saw the culprit pop up out of the can.... a dad-gum squirrel!! I ran to the chicken yard. He saw me coming and went crazy, jumping from one side of the "safe" zone to the other. He didn't want to come out into the larger chicken yard because I was standing by the door opening. So he ducked into the hen house through the little chicken door. I jerked open the door, intending to terrorize him some more, and he was gone! I assume he escaped through a space between the walls and the roof.

When I told Rouse about it that evening, he had a good idea. He placed a bungy cord over the can to keep the lid in place. The very next day I went out to the chicken yard. There was the lid... on the ground... next to 4 bits of the bungy cord. The rascally rascals had chewed that bungy cord to pieces! Rouse said, "That pisses me off!" I was in total agreement.

I put a 25-pound weight on top of the can. Rouse says it's overkill, but guess what? The squirrels can't get the lid off now. Of course, it's a little inconvenient for us people who want to open the can daily to throw out corn. Brother! The things we do to keep nature at bay.

Can't Beat Beets!

The field peas I recently planted are up and growing. The pole beans are just starting to peak through the soil. Some of my tomato plants are out-growing their support. I'll have to do something about that. The squash plants are looking healthy and lush. The chives in the herb bed are loaded with little black bugs. Yuck! The black raspberries continue to produce well.

The real prize that I'm focusing on this weekend, though, are the beets. Beets are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat, and good for you, too! Beet roots boast folacin, vitamin C and fiber, but the real nutritional treasure lies in the green tops: they're packed with beta carotene, calcium and iron. I have two red varieties and one golden. We've eaten baby beet roots a couple of times this spring, and have eaten lots of beet greens, but I've been waiting for the roots to get a little size on them before digging them. For maximum flavor, both beet greens and roots should be eaten as soon as picked, but they will keep in the 'fridge for a period of time. Some beet tips:

• Pick up to 1/3 of the foliage from a beet plant at any time to use as salad/cooked greens.
• Harvest both roots and green tops when they're young and tender for best flavor.
• Pull or dig the roots when they reach the desired size for cooking or canning; this varies with the variety of beet and the spacing in the row.
• Store unwashed beet roots in plastic bags in your refrigerator's crisper section for up to three weeks; to increase storage life, remove the greens but leave at least an inch of stem.
• Store beet greens the same way and use them as soon as possible; they'll last only a few days.
• Keep unwashed beet roots long-term by covering them with sand or sawdust and storing in a moist, cool spot (35 to 40 degrees F).

Roasted Beets: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Clean beets, trimming stems and roots to 1-inch. Do not peel. Place in a well sealed foil packet, or in a roasting pan with a tight fitting lid. Roast about 1 - 1/4 hours, until easily pierced with a fork. Adjust cooking time based on size of beets. Use in your favorite beet recipe!

Mother Nature is Watering the Garden

The heirloom okra sprouts that Noah gave me are up, only two days after sticking them in the ground. Amazing! And it's raining tonight... 2nd night in a row. We got about 1/2" rain last night. Thank you, Mother Nature. I won't have to water this week.

Transition Time

I picked the last scant handful of sugar snaps, then tore the plants out of the ground and threw them into the chicken yard. I planted two more rows of pink-eyed, purple-hulled field peas in their place. I already have two rows of the field peas along the edges of the raised bed. Looking forward to some good ol' southern peas!

I planted two rows of Kentucky Wonder pole beans in the place of my green onions. According to the Gurney's web site, they're one of "Grandma's Favorites", an old-fashioned variety, long on flavor--vigorous, rust-resistant and successful in all parts of the country. Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans produce enormous yields of straight and smooth 8- to 9-inch pods. A good all-around pick for processing. 67 DAYS. I chose them because they were the only pole bean seeds available at the feed and seed store!

There's a storm brewing. Sure hope it brings us some rain!

Marvelous Mojitos and Mint Juleps

The mint is growing vigorously in the herb garden. Time to enjoy a cool, fresh, minty drink - the perfect summertime refreshment. The hard part is making a choice... mint julep or mojito?!

Mint Julep: Muddle 12 mint leaves in the bottom of a silver cup (mine is pewter). Add 1 tablespoon simple sugar syrup and 1 1/2 oz bourbon. Add ice and top off with club soda. (Bourbon lovers and traditionalists would leave off the club soda, but I'm a light weight.) Stir. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Mojitos: For 6 - 8 servings: Muddle lots of mint leaves (at least 12 per intended serving) into a glass jar. Pour 12 oz frozen limeade concentrate over the mint. Cover and chill in the 'fridge, allowing all that fresh minty flavor to be released into the limeade. Strain out the mint. For each serving, pour 2 oz of the mint infused lime juice and 1-1/2 oz rum over ice. Top it off with club soda. Stir. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Sit on the porch and enjoy summertime!

Good Morning, Garden

I pulled up the last of the green onions. We'll enjoy them for another week or so out of the 'fridge. I still plan to sow pole beans in their place. I don't have any other place to put them! I just hope the weather will be such that the blight is kept at bay.

I picked a few sugar snaps. Their productivity has gone way down. It'll be time to pull them soon and replace them with another row of field peas.

Some of the lettuce has bolted and become bitter. I pulled all that up and threw it to the chickens. They thought it was quite a treat! I harvested the rest of the green leaf lettuce, left some of the mesclin mix, then cleaned up that bed and planted 2 regular eggplants and a couple of japanese eggplants.

Noah, my father-in-law, gave me some okra that he had sprouted. The seeds were given to him by one of his patients. Apparently, they came from an heirloom variety that has been planted by their family for three generations. I really didn't have any place to put it, but decided to stick some in my okra bed - which is currently populated by three rows of beets and two rows of baby okra plants! I planted them along the outside edges. Maybe they'll do fine, once the beets are harvested.

I cut the rainbow chard for the first time - about 3 dozen stalks. Rainbow chard will produce all summer long if you keep it cut. Very nice to have fresh greens in the hot summer months.

I pulled weeds around and between the beds. The violets are going crazy out there. The creeping charlie is creeping in. The grass wants to grow. But, overall, the cardboard and mulch is doing a pretty good job at weed control.

I still need to find somewhere to plant butter beans, sweet potatoes, and more eggplant, but all available space is currently taken. Two full beds will be freed up when I harvest the potatoes, but that will be no time soon. There are still lots of tiny potatoes forming and I don't want to miss any of them!

Razzle Dazzle Berries

The black raspberries are really coming in now. With all the nice rain we had last week, followed by warm temperatures, the berries are plump and abundant. Picking berries requires serious covering up... long sleeves, long pants, real shoes, and bug spray - but it's worth it! Grayson, the granddog, has been here the past several days. He accompanies me to the berry patch and likes to graze the berries himself. The people in the family have been eating them on cereal, in salads and yogurt, out-of-hand. I sense a raspberry roll-up in my future!

Bush Beans Look Diseased

My beans are not looking so good. Looks like they are suffering from some sort of blight. I treated them as I do my tomato plants when they show signs of Early Blight. I removed the diseased leaves and threw them far away.

Here are some Quick Facts from the web site: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/crops/02913.html

• Halo blight and bacterial brown spot are favored by cool to moderate temperatures, high moisture and plant wounds before flowering.
• Common bacterial blight is favored by moderate to warm temperatures, high moisture and plant wounds during and after flowering.
• The pathogens can survive in infected debris and are seed-borne.
• Disease management recommendations rely upon crop rotation, sanitation, planting treated certified seed, varietal selection, stress and wound avoidance, and proper pesticide scheduling.

So, removing the diseased leaves may not be enough. These beans are in the same bed I had green beans in last year. It might be best to remove all the bean plants and try something else in that space this summer. But there's such a nice support system built into that bed! I guess best gardening practices will have to take priority over reusing existing garden structures.

Another good web site to refer to : http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Beans_BactBlights.htm

Egg Thief?

This afternoon I went out to the hen house to pick up eggs. There were only 3 eggs in the nesting box... and a big "egg-y" mess - with no broken eggshells in sight! Makes we wonder if a snake might have had a feast that day. On Sunday afternoon I did see this nice black snake making his way up the back steps. I like having black snakes around. They eat rodents and other non-desirables. But don't mess with my eggs!

Radish Issues

This afternoon, I posed a relatively simple question to my friend, Betsy. "Why aren't my radishes forming a bulb?" She did a little on-line research and within a few minutes had found the answer to my question. Then, as a bonus, informed me of two more things that were wrong with my radish plants!

My first crop of radishes (planted in March) were lovely and delicious. I planted this last row of radishes on April 19, wondering at the time if it might be too late. It was. Radishes will not bulb properly if forced to mature in temperatures over 82 degrees. Recent high temps have been in the mid to upper 80's. Instead of nice round globes, I got a bunch of long, thickened roots. Not very pretty!

On top of that, the plants were infected with black scab and flea beetles. Yikes! I pulled up all the plants and threw them to the chickens. Good riddance! Now I have room to plant another row of okra...