Still Raining!

After a pause in the precipitation yesterday, it's coming down steadily again this morning.

Still Raining!

Blessed Rain

It started raining today about 5:00pm ... a nice gentle soaking rain that has lasted into the evening.  I hope it rains like this all night.  I swear I can hear the earth rejoicing!

Salad Greens Suffer, Cooking Greens Thrive

I cut a bouquet of sweet basil today.  Andrew converted it into a batch of luscious pesto, then used it to sauce up a spaghetti squash he received as part of his compensation for work done all day Friday at Hickory Mountain Farm.

I spoke too soon in my last posting.  The long beans are actually still producing quite well.  Those plants do tolerate heat and drought. The little bit of watering I've been doing must be good enough.  I love those beans stir fried with garlic in olive oil until tender, sort of crispy, and sprinkled generously with salt.

The bed of salad greens are not looking so good.  The radishes are developing nicely, but something has been gnawing on the roots. Squirrels?  They've been leaving enough for us humans, though. The lettuce has shriveled up - again.  The spinach is non-existent.  The arugula, beets, and chard are hanging in there.  We need some cooler weather ... and some rain ... and fewer bugs.

The bed of cooking greens, on the other hand, are looking pretty delicious, despite little insect induced holes here and there.  The chickens sure do like them!  Those yard birds have trimmed back the plants all along the edge of the bed as far as they can stick their heads in through the plastic fencing.

The little butterflies like these greens, too.  Lovely to look at flitting about, but not such a good omen for the success of my greens crop. If I were following best gardening practices I would have covered my newly planted  green seeds with floating row cover as soon as I sowed them to protect them from such pests.  I've never done that, but I can see the value of it.  Heat, drought, bugs ... so many challenges for these young seedlings!

Today I ordered new seed (lots of greens and other fall/winter crops) and a 50-foot roll of lightweight agricultural fabric from Johnnie's Select Seeds.  I'll get Andrew to help me get more seed in the ground, and this time I'll do it right!

Drought

Abi returned home today after being in Hendersonville for about five days.  Her first comment, "It's so brown here!"

It is indeed brown, and crispy!  And I'm not talking nice crisp autumn air, either.  It's been in the the mid to upper 90's with no rain.  Hot and dry.  I can't remember the last time it rained.  Rouse says it was sometime last month.

I've been watering the fall greens, okra, cherry tomato plants, and long beans.  I've given up on the pole beans ... didn't really like them much anyway ... too stringy.  The long beans and cherry tomatoes have just about played out, so I'm going to take them off the watering schedule.  I wish it would rain!

Garden Goodies Highlight our Family Feast

I've been saving up for visitors!  Dad and stepmother, Susan, arrived from Florida today, along with brother, Bob.  Noah is in town for the weekend, refreshed after his recent month-long road trip and backpacking adventure in and around the Wind River Range of Wyoming.  Abi and Andrew are home, recently back from their 1,000 + mile trek along the Pacific Crest Trail, full of tales from the trail and ENGAGED!  Drew is living at home again, and is enrolled in the sustainable farming program at Central Carolina Community College. Good time for the family to gather around the dining room table!

Susan has been dreaming of eating okra fresh out of the garden.  I picked a big pile and I gave her the job of stemming and halving the pods before I fried them up Wilson-style (sans breading) in our largest skillet.  (Three pans full!)  We had grilled pork tenderloin topped with fig chutney, roasted purple viking potatoes, pan-fried long beans with garlic and almonds, and spicy beet pickles on the side.  Homemade cookies, vanilla ice cream, a variety of liqueurs, and lively conversation topped it all off.  What a feast!  What a family! What fun!

Copperhead in the Okra

While working in the okra bed this afternoon I uncovered a young copperhead in the mulch.  It had the typical pattern of a copperhead, but the tip of his tail was bright yellow-green!  Rouse did away with him, a mere five minutes before our out-of-town guests pulled into the driveway.  Probably best NOT to have a copperhead as part of the welcoming committee!

Safety Glasses Should be Required

Last Friday as I was picking okra, a large okra leaf brushed across my left eye and scratched it.  Eyes heal relatively quickly, so I thought I'd wait it out.  But Saturday night it really hurt when I closed my eyes to go to sleep.  I got up three times to wash my eye before I could settle in for the night.  The next morning was better, but by Sunday afternoon, I was feeling uncomfortable.  On Monday, while walking the trail with granddog, Grayson, I noticed that bright light was bothersome.  Later, while looking at the digital clock in the car, I realized my eyesight was slightly blurry in the injured eye.  Plus, I thought I could feel a point source of pain in the upper lid.  I was afraid an okra barb had become lodged up there!  So I went to the eye doctor today.  He found no vegetative debris, but I do have a cut directly across the center of my eye.  He prescribed anti-inflammatory drops and wants to see me again in a few days.  Didn't know picking okra could be so dangerous!

Fried Green Tomatoes

I used to think the idea of fried green tomatoes must've been dreamed up by someone who couldn't wait to eat the first tomato of the season.  But now I think the recipe must've been developed by a gardener who couldn't stand to waste the last fruits of the season!

That's where I am today.  I failed to "layer" my tomatoes a month ago, and I'm sure it must be too late for that now.  The sungold cherry tomatoes are still producing enough fruit to keep me interested, but the other plants are producing very few tomatoes. Between the current drought and the abundance of bugs and caterpillars, the remaining fruit is small, misshapen, and riddled with holes.  Time to pull those plants out of the ground and make way for other crops.

I did pick all the little green tomatoes, along with their plundering pests. Tonight, I'll slice the best of the tomatoes, then lightly batter and fry them, and serve them stacked three high with thin slices of smoked gouda in between and a dollop of Andrew's cilantro salsa on top.  I'll feed the worst of them to the chickens, scattered and tossed with those yummy worms.

More Seeds in the Ground

I had limited germination success with the spinach seed I planted two and a half weeks ago.  What did sprout has shriveled up and died, or has been eaten by some critter, or has somehow simply vanished from the garden.  In its place I've sown seeds for arugula, detroit dark red beets, and rainbow chard.  I'll try spinach again once I get some of the summer garden plants cleared out and those beds prepared.  I also sowed additional lettuce seed to fill in the rows where earlier plantings have failed.  More good greens for the fall! And just in time ... it's raining!

The Bugs Win (Again)

I give up!  The squash bugs are too numerous and the expected fruit is too scant.  Plus, the butternut squash fruits are showing signs of worm invasion.  It's time to pull all the squash plants out of the garden.  The chickens will have a buggy feast.

Very hungry caterpillars have been working hard to defoliate many of the plants in the garden.  This sweet basil plant has lost its appetizing appeal.  I smooshed the caterpillars on this one and processed the rest of the (unspoiled) basil.  Now I have a nice bag of pesto in the freezer - measured out into appropriately sized blops for easy usage.

Rooster Has a Name

I've decided to name our rooster after the President of the United States. Afterall, he'll be the Commander in Chief of the chicken yard.  Plus, he's black and white.  Be sure to pronounce his first name with a chicken accent ...
ba - RACK!

And the hen that's grown up with him and stays by his side?  She's First Lady.

Late Summer Garden

We sure do get a lot of good food out of this little plot of land!  The zinnias add a burst of color nestled into the airy asparagus plants. Check out the tomato wall next to the asparagus, and the okra forest behind that.  Nitrogen rich soil produces monstrous plants, often at the expense of fruit production.  Luckily, we've been getting plenty of veggies.  The pole beans are climbing high on their string trellis behind the asparagus bed, and the bed behind that (in the shadows) contains the Jade bush beans.  The kale sprouts are just showing in the lower left corner of the picture.

From the other side of the garden you can see the two beds planted in greens ... one bed of salad greens, one bed of cooking greens. The Black Turtle Beans are growing adjacent to these beds.  Behind that, look for Lek's Long Beans, Thai and Sweet Basil,  a couple of hot pepper plants, butternut squash, what's left of the late crook-neck squash, the herb bed, and the berry beds.

That pesky wabbit!

The cabbage, collard, and broccoli plants have disappeared into thin air, with nary a trace left behind.  Shriveled up to nothing in the hot sun?  Alien abduction?!  The most likely scenario?  Our cute little cottontail has been helping him/herself to some tasty vittles.  That makes me mad!

Black Beans, a.k.a Black Turtle Beans

Andrew planted Black Beans in one of the beds left vacant after the potato dig.  We didn't know if they'd have enough time to mature, but figured they'd make a good cover crop no matter what.  I don't know the first thing about growing Black Beans (easy-peasy, like any other bean) or harvesting them.  I wondered if they're ever eaten green.  But then, they'd be "green" beans!  The plants are setting fruit now, and I figured it was time to read up.  Here's what I found:


"Black beans grow best when planted later in spring. In fact, warm weather helps these beans grow faster, and the rains of early summer strengthen the plant. And as summer builds, the hot, dry conditions are great for drying black beans in their pods on the plant.


To support your beans as they grow, offer a 3-foot-tall structure for them. When the bean pods begin to fill out, water your plants only if needed and allow the pods to dry out in the summer sun. Harvest your beans after the pods have dried completely and the beans have turned black. If you pick a few and find the beans are still white and the pods are moist, allow them to dry further before harvesting the rest. When they’re ready for picking, crack open the pods to remove the beans, and spread them on a flat surface to dry for another day or two. After that, place the beans in a container in a cool, dry place and use as needed."


From:  http://www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/edibles/vegetables/BlackBeanFiesta.aspx