Sue is NOT in the garden ...

July 29 - August 6
I'm in Asheville, visiting with Noah, then attending my 14th dulcimer week at Swannanoa Gathering, Warren Wilson College.

Processing Day in the Kitchen

Tonight Rouse and I will drive to Asheville in anticipation of meeting Noah's future in-laws.  We'll spend the weekend visiting with them and Noah and Ashley.  When Rouse returns home on Sunday, I'll stay in order to attend dulcimer week at the Swannanoa Gathering, Warren Wilson College.  Before taking off for 10 days away from the garden I had a lot of work to do today!
Luckily, Andrew and Abi will be here to take care of the daily chicken chores.  I did make sure the waterers were filled with plenty of fresh water, though.  Chickens are highly susceptable to heat stress and must have water available at all times.

I started at 7:30 this morning, picked everything I could and hauled it into the kitchen.  Along with all the veggies that had accumulated on the counter and in the 'fridge over the last several days, I had a busy day ahead of me!

• First, I pulled up the rest of the edamame, picked the beans off the plants, blanched them, and put them into the freezer.
• Then I cleaned peppers - cubano, banana and anaheim varieties - removing stems, seeds and membranes.  I blanched them whole, dreaming about how good they'll be stuffed and baked at a later time.  They went into the freezer.
• I blanched all the tomatoes I could find, peeled them, chopped them, packed them into ziplock bags, and loaded them into the freezer.  I left some cherry tomatoes in the 'fridge and packed a ziplock bag to take with me to Asheville.
• I processed the last of the zucchini.  The plants had become infested with squash bugs and had to be removed from the garden.  I shredded the largest specimans and baked two loaves of spiced zucchini bread.  I sliced the rest, tossed it in olive oil, salt, and pepper, roasted it, and put it in the freezer.  I'll use it to make ratatouille or some other delicious pasta sauce at a later time.
• While things were baking and roasting, I sliced all the tender cucumbers and made a jar of refrigerator pickles for Noah and Ashley, then topped off my own jar.  I shredded the large cukes and made a pot of cucumber soup, which I pureed, cooled, and packed to take to Asheville with us.
• I bagged up all the rattlesnake pole beans and took them to Noah and Ashley.
• We ate up all the okra, asian long beans, and jade bush beans at supper last night.

When I finished, the counters were clean and the 'fridge was void of produce that might go bad while I'm away.  I can't stand the thought of that! 

This afternoon, I hastily planted butternut squash in one of the beds recently emptied of potatoes.  It should've been planted earlier in the season, but I haven't had space for it.  At this late date I had to plant a variety that requires minimal number of days to maturity.

I Dig Fresh Potatoes!

The potato plants have all but withered and died in the heat and drought.  I harvested the french fingerlings and the yellow fins yesterday.  Today, Andrew and I dug the purple vikings and the yukon golds.  All in all, a total of 45 pounds of 'taters grew in our dirt.

Although I'm thrilled with my new supply of tasty spuds, it does seem the space could've produced more. I blame lack of water.  My favorite variety this year is definitely the french fingerlings.  Beautiful to look at.  Creamy and delicious on the plate.

After Vacation, the Chores

Picking is the fun part ... AND anticipating all that goodness on the dinner table! Plenty of rattlesnake pole beans, jade bush beans, zucchini, cucumbers, a few tomatoes. Yippee!! We may have missed the majority of the blackberries, but the blueberries are abundant.

Of course there is the weeding, the trimming, the tieing up ... but that all results in the heady satisfaction of a neat and tidy garden.

Biddies Join the Big Girls

Today was the day!  I folded back the fencing that has kept the young hens separated from the rest of the flock.  Barack, the rooster, strutted directly into their midst, but without unnecessary  aggressiveness.


Some were bigger 'chickens' than others, but gradually, all of the youngsters merged into the chicken yard, keeping a healthy distance from the more mature hens. While working in the garden, I kept an eye and an ear out for undue commotion, but I heard only a couple little squabbles as the older hens made sure the wannabes know their place in the pecking order!

Sue was NOT in the garden ...

...  July 1 - 10.  Thanks to Jeff for doing the daily chicken chores, including the task of dispatching with an egg-eating black snake!  I'm also grateful to him, Brittany, and Betsy for keeping the garden watered and picked.  Glad somebody enjoyed the fruits of my labor while we were on vacation!