From commentor RAM:
Here’s a photo of our first full-sized tomato of the season, along with some nice green beans, black raspberries, and lettuce that my wife snapped this a.m. We live 40 miles west of Chicago and this is the earliest we can remember harvesting full-sized tomatoes. Not even sure what variety it is. Apparently we got the ID stakes mixed up because it definitely is NOT a German strawberry. The black raspberries grow wild behind our house along a railroad track. Originally, my great-grandparents grew black raspberries on this property to earn money during their retirement from farming, and I suspect these canes are the descendants of the ones that once covered part of our homesite.
And more from commentor Kathi C:
Experimenting with balloons to scare off the groundhogs. So far, so good.
Check out the outrageous, volunteer sunflowers! The biggest one is over 10’ and I keep thinking I should have staked it but I don’t have any stakes nearly long enough and have never had the droppings from the birdfeeder get anywhere close to this high before.
************
Here in New England we’ve finally harvested the first handful of ripe cherry tomatoes, from the hybrid Black Pearl we risked planting out in mid-May. There’s lots of full-sized greenies swelling up on the heirloom plants, but it’ll be a couple more weeks before we see any ripen, alas.
What’s going on in your gardens this week?
MikeJ
Only one thing grows in my garden: raspberries. There’s about a quart of them in the kitchen right now.
Ok, some basil and parsley too, but they don’t count. Not until you produce video of Carol Channing saying “baaaaaasil!”
I have a Pike pin for the person who requested it. Omnes?
c u n d gulag
OY!
Now, I’m bummed.
Usually, I come here to laugh, or to get angry, or to share my idiotic opinions through my meaningless word turds.
But this morning, I’m seriously BUMMED OUT!!!
I wake up, and find out that General Stuck is dead.
I wake up and I find out that Tunch, is dead.
John, I’m so sorry. I just shed a tear for your beloved cat.
So very, very sorry for your loss.
And wake up and I find out that Zimmerman, that phat phuck, walked.
And now I’m supposed to opine about gardens?
All I can say is, that sunflowers look like plants from some alien planet.
I think sunflowers are the Snowden’s of plants.
They’re here to monitor us, and tell the aliens the stupid shite we human’s are up to.
RIP, the good General, and the GREAT TUNCH!
Mary G
My water bill is astronomical, so I have stopped watering the useless grass in the back yard to grow flowers and veg in some kind of raised beds or containers with drippers. I am in a wheelchair, so they need to be higher than the usual 8 inches or so. I found these “Smart Pots” on Amazon, which are great at 24 inches high. Does anyone have any experience of them or know of an alternative?
JPL
Yesterday sucked! After the news about our beloved Tunch, I curled up in my bed with a book. There isn’t anything else to do. I did make a donation and sent Marc a note to make sure they knew, the donations were in Tunch’s honor. This is the note that I received… , yes thank you they are pouring in. We certainly will honor Tunch in our rescue efforts and your donation will definitely help make that happen. Thank you so much
Something so horrific will help dozens of little Tunches and I hope that John knows that.
also, too… fuck zimmerman
c u n d gulag
What JPL said!!!
Linda Featheringill
It is very sad that Zimmerman walked.
I like the idea of rule of law but at times like this, I wonder about it.
RIP, Trayvon. I’m sorry.
liberal
@c u n d gulag:
Yeah. Just woke up, checked email, and heard from my dad.
Dad is a mid-80s white (Jewish) guy. He’s very liberal, so that alone would make the Zimmerman thing seem like a great injustice, but fundamentally he’s got a very strong sense of fairness and justice. When he was over here a couple weeks ago, the case came up, and he explained his take—the only conclusion a thinking person could draw—that Zimmerman essentially executed Martin.
Linda Featheringill
My garden is kind of waterlogged at the moment. A few days of sunshine would be welcome.
Lurker
The garden pics look lovely, but I can’t focus on them today after waking up to the news that Tunch passed away.
I’m bawling my eyes out. It is a testimony to John that his love for Tunch made us all love the sweet critter.
raven
@JPL: Did you get that note immediately?
SiubhanDuinne
@Lurker: Testimony, too, that the various Tunch posts in the past 12 hours have generated close to 1,500 comments (some commenting more than once, of course, but still, that’s a remarkable number.)
@JPL: Glad you heard back from the folks at MARC. I sent them an email asking them to credit my donation to the memory of Tunch but haven’t had a response yet. Thanks for sharing their message, and glad (not surprised) that donations are “pouring in.”
OzarkHillbilly
@c u n d gulag:
I got nothing to add except so very sorry John.
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: Yea, I’m glad t hear that but not surprised that so many folks we respond.
btw My stepmother is going to Churchill to see the polar bears.
raven
would respond
SiubhanDuinne
@raven: What a wonderful trip! I hope she takes lots of pictures that you can share with us.
JPL
@raven: Yes. I sent mine a few minute before eight and received a reply within ten minutes. I didn’t open my email until this morning though.
jenn
@JPL: I suspect they’re inundated and it may take them awhile to process everything!
JPL
@jenn: After reading about Tunch, I sent my donation and the email and turned off the computer, which is why I didn’t see the response until this morning. I’m sure they responded quickly because I sent it early.
The world will be a better place with all the little Tunches that are saved with our donations.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven:
Good for her. We should all do it while we still can.
Raven
@OzarkHillbilly: yea, she’s 73 and quite adventorous. She also is into hot air balloons!
Raven
@JPL: I wish I had logged off.
OzarkHillbilly
@Raven:
Sounds like my mother. Her last few years were seriously curtailed by my father’s Alzheimers, but they had a good run.
cmm
We got a pretty good harvest from the squash plants we planted in early May–about 12-15 yellow squash, zucchini squash and pattypans–but their productive life was cut short by squash borers. By the time my partner did surgery to remove the nasty squishy things, the squash plants were so mangled that she opted to pull them up and plant something else that will hopefully have time to grow and produce by September. Our tomatoes are coming along nicely, 3-4 different heirloom varieties plus one volunteer of unknown origin that popped up in the back yard next to the (unsuccessful due to drainage issues) keyhole garden. My GF theorizes that seeds or a seedling must have been in the soil and compost she had obtained to make the garden. Despite being completely accessible to the chickens during their free ranging periods, and being thoroughly neglected, we have had several tomatoes off the stubborn thing and more coming. Next: blueberries just over the horizon.
Oh, and the squash borers’ victory was short lived as they were promptly consumed by the very happy hens. Ha, ha.
Raven
@cmm: Our blueberries have peaked!
OzarkHillbilly
After I mentioned picking blueberries last week somebody commented that the best blue berries they ever had was on a trip thru the Ozarks. It got me to thinking about the “best evers” I had had over the years.
My Aunt and Uncle had a resort island on Lake of the Woods and when I was a kid my parents would take the 5 or 6 of us kids out to pick blueberries on one of the nearby islands. We always had to bring a dog for the bears because they wanted the berries as much as we did. The dog of choice was a little 20 lb. beagle. Best bear dog ever. She once treed a sow and 2 cubs and would not let them come down. Had to lock her up in one of the cabins just to get them off the island. Those were the best blueberries I have ever eaten. Little blue balls of flavor and sweetness.
But that was not the best thing I ever ate up there. The walleyes topped them by a long shot. But they were not the best thing I ever ate up there either.
The best was a sack of Iowa sweet corn my old man had stopped and picked up from a roadside veggie stand that we ate at 9 pm that night when we arrived at the island unusually late. I remember eating ear after ear of corn that was sweet and juicy and dripping with butter. Nothing had ever tasted so good, and nothing since has ever tasted better.
Raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Minnesota ?
gelfling545
@Mary G: I have had my kids place some of my large pots up on a base of cinder blocks to minimize bending which is getting tough for me. Also I got a very nice resin/plastic?? raised planter at our local Wegmans for @$35 which is chair height and the planting area is about 16×36 in. & about 10 in deep. I use it for lettuces & alpine strawberries near the back door.
Botsplainer
@raven:
I did that a few years ago – it is really neat. Food is good there, accommodations spartan, scenery a little bleak. We saw everything from bears to owls to silver foxes. Even had a red fox wander within five feet of us, curious about what we were up to.
OzarkHillbilly
@Raven: No, Ontario. We always crossed the border at International Falls/ Fort Francis and went to the gov’t dock at Morson. Their camp was at the mouth of Fish Narrows out by what is now Lake of the Woods Provincial Park (was not a park back then) which IIRC was about 12 miles from shore. If you saw a boat out there, they were either one of Tony and Betty’s guests or Indians fishing, hunting, trapping, or harvesting wild rice.
The year I graduated High School, I got to go up and work there for what turned out to be their final (1/2) season.
Omnes Omnibus
@MikeJ: ‘Tweren’t me.
currants
@Mary G: This place (Gardener’s Supply) has a lot of options? The soft-sided ones aren’t bad, but do get a little sloppy/tippy.
NobodySpecial
@JPL: Point of order: There are no ‘little Tunches’. This is a fundamental law of physics.
Schlemizel
We got rain Friday night/Saturday morning so I went out and weeded the flower gardens – a very large job. It was humid as hell & I was wringing wet in 5 minutes but I got through it. Filled 2 35 gallon barrels packed down with weeds. The gardens look a lot nicer today.
I have a ton of asian lilies, the first bloomers have been done for more than a week, they are mostly red and orange, The whites and peach ones are in full glory at the moment the lavender and and gold ones are almost about to pop & the tigers are a week away yet. I love the progression. As for the day lilies, the Stellas are full of blooms along with some yellow ones. The maroon & gold ones are just finishing up and there are several others that will be along shortly. The heritage one have never been so loaded, I think they struggle without enough water & this year has been really wet so they are taking full advantage.
The county is going to dig up the road out front & say they will rip up at least half of our front gardens. They are sending an adjuster to figure out how much we will be compensated for the loss but all the work & time spent to get them to where they are today is just more depressing and I don’t need that. There is a better than average chance they will end up killing our cherry trees, which also had a bumper year. They just really got established and started producing in the last few years.
I’m still trying to ignore politics, I just can’t take it any more. The garden work was a nice respite but last nights new here was sort of the cosmic payback I feel every time I get away
MomSense
Damn, I really wanted to wake up and feel better this morning. I’m going to head out to the garden and try to work some of this anger and sadness off. I want to thank everyone who is donating on behalf of Tunch and John. I just can’t do it right now. The old lab is having some health problems so we have some vet expenses to manage.
I had to turn off the tv because they keep playing some of the @%^&***%(*)&%$ statements from interviews with the defense attorney and I just can’t listen to that BS.
Southern Beale
I finally got around to spraying the garlic oil yesterday. My garden now smells like an Italian restaurant. LOL.
JPL
The local news had a clip of Zimmerman’s brother on TV fearful of his brother’s life because of vigilantes. Maybe I should give him the benefit of a doubt because maybe he doesn’t know what that term means. George needs to explain it to him. Is the Zimmerman incapable of remorse?
NobodySpecial: ha! John named Tunch after a football player, but I expect there will be a few rescues, named in honor of the best internet cat ever.
Southern Beale
Your modern conservative movement, summed up in one pseudonym.
Schlemizel
@OzarkHillbilly:
Oh gosh – there used to be a place just a little north of us (35 minute drive) that had the stand right out in the field. You could watch them harvest the corn and bring it into the shack. That freshness makes the corn so much better.
I have picked blue berries in several locations around Minnesota. The bear deal was only a problem up near Leech Lake. We never had a dog so we would go in pairs with one picker and one lookout. It was always hot & sticky so switching off gave everyone a breather. Only ever had one encounter & the bear had an interesting reaction. He sort of stood up & looked at us for a few seconds, then turned & ambled off. We left him plenty of berries though.
beltane
There was major rioting last night. Alas, it was not the African-American urban uprising the wingnuts were hoping for, but some of the whitest people on the planet engaging in ritual violence: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/13/northern-ireland-police-loyalist-rioting How stupid are these people.
John O
It occurs to me that the only thing that’s going to make me feel better about all this recent horror is hearing how MARC did with the news.
I predict record days.
SiubhanDuinne
@Southern Beale: Just read that on your blog (I get it by email). That was a good catch on the name! And yeah, what a contemptible craven coward.
SuperHrefna
I was away visiting family in cape cod for part of the week, but luckily my garden survived and I even picked my first two zucchini ever after I got back. This is my second time trying to grow them, the first time I got all male flowers and no zucchinis. Last night I made chili with my zucchini, a green pepper, some corn, onions, tomatoes, black beans and kidney beans and it was delicious. I’m looking forward to a summer of home grown zukes! I’ve lots and lots of green tomatoes ( especially on my New Yorker, but even some on my Brandywines ) but no ripe ones yet.
SuperHrefna
@beltane: endlessly, fathomlessly stupid. I suppose that after the Irish economy cratered we should have expected a resurgence of the troubles, but I stupidly hoped that maybe we could move beyond this.
Scout211
Sweet corn is now being harvested. I planted an extra sweet hybrid this year that I remember from growing up in SE Iowa. Our neighbors had a farm and sold it daily on their front porch. I loved that corn. It is called candy corn or maybe it’s spelled kandy korn? Anyway, it is yummy. I planted 2 rows and we are eating it nightly.
The ambrosia melons are ripe now and they are also quite yummy. Tomatoes, yellow crooks and eggplant are also being harvested.
Beans are done for the season and I am planning to start some winter squash in its place.
I plan to expand my fenced garden enclosure next year and add at least 3 more raised beds. The fence is essential, even after we put up a fence around the perimeter of our 5 acres this year. One of my melon vines went through the garden fence and within a week, the parts that were outside of the fencing were completely gone–even the unripe melon. The perimeter fence keeps out the deer and keeps in the free range chickens inside, but the rabbits (and probably the raccoons) still find a way in.
debbie
@Southern Beale:
Another coward with zero true courage. The bigger the swagger, the smaller the dick. Every time.
OzarkHillbilly
@Schlemizel:
I have a Leech Lake memory: We were at the beach, all of us kids and my mother, and the water was FULL of leeches, so much so none of us wanted to go swimming. My mother got so frustrated with us (she desperately needed us to burn off some energy) that she looked at us with maximum disgust, said something like, “Oh grow up!” jumped in the water and swam for 5 or 10 mins. Of course, when she got out she had 3 or 4 leeches which she removed with little fan fare. Not sure that really helped her cause tho.
Not Sure
@Mary G: Well, we have no water bill, since we live kind of off the grid in that regard – we have a well in the back yard – and it has been raining more ore less non-stop since Father’s Day, so we’re woefully backlogged on yard and garden work. Yesterday, I finally got around to weeding the raised bed where the brandywine tomatoes are growing like crazy. I staked them all up, and saw that there were a half-dozen or so golf ball sized tomatoes on them. You might say, “that’s it?” but that’s pretty much par for the course in central New York. We don’t get to plant our tomatoes outside until the end of May.
As we speak, Trixie the three-colored kitty is on the edge of the desk demanding that I pet her. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost her; she’s such a joy to have around. My condolences to you on your loss.
Anyway, the Three Sisters are hanging in there. The surfeit of rain has gotten to them; the squash and pumpkins are looking rather sickly and yellowish, but I guess if the weather goes back to something closer to normal, they’ll be okay. The corn is looking a little better; the only reason it’s tolerating all of this is because it was planted in mounds like the squash. And the beans, Kentucky Wonders, are loving all of this, and are climbing all over the corn, as the Great Spirit intended.
I think we’ll be digging up the potatoes in a few weeks. The rain caused the tops to grow into a more or less solid hedge of crazy green, even though my wife made sure not to plant them too close together. I’ll guess we get a couple hundred pounds of taters this year.
The cherry tree was heavy with fruit this year, again owing to the rain, and what didn’t get made into pie filling (yummy!) went into the freezer, or are soaking in vodka in the fridge.
All in all, too much rain is much better than no rain, like last year, in which it was a million degrees outside and everything was burnt to a crisp. Our wild black raspberries shriveled up last year, and this year the fruit is plump, if scarce because if you don’t get any rain, you don’t get many new canes. We have new canes this year a quarter inch thick at the base, so we’ll have jars and jars of jam next year.
c u n d gulag
@Southern Beale:
I doubt Ol’ Howie ever even saw a “bush,” let alone “felt” one – except maybe in a magazine or clicking through internet p*rn.
Otherwise, yeah, perfect monicker for a 49 year old man, with an IQ lower than his age, and a maturity level that even JHS boys, would shun.
jnfr
@Mary G:
Gardener’s Supply has a lot of different elevated garden beds at the link. You might find some good ideas there.
I sat on the couch last night and sobbed my heart out for nearly an hour. My tomatoes and peppers and eggplants are growing fine, but I think they’re crying too.
jnfr
@currants:
Oops! currants beat me to it. That’s what I get for responding before I’ve read the whole thread.
Poopyman
So much rain here in Southern MD that the garden has a LOT of green, but the biggest crop so far has been the mosquitoes. Worst year I can remember,and they’re vicious.
@Mary G: You would probably do best with beds raised about 30″ and on legs so the chair can slip underneath. Is there a garden club nearby that might build one for you? Or you could contact the local scout troop to see if someone is looking for his Eagle Scout project.
Best blueberries were a hillside full in Maine when Mrs. P and I were on our honeymoon 20+ years ago. I suspect it was the circumstance as much as the fresh-picked flavor that make ’em “best”.
Schlemizel
A freind sent me this – its a letter from the House GOP corrected by former High School teacher & current Congressman from CA, Mark Takano. It is great!
http://i.imgur.com/JDzuIua.jpg
currants
@jnfr: *grin* that’s usually MY trick!
I got my original raised beds from these folks, who were great to deal with. (VT, small, family-owned.) I’m thinking about getting another set, smaller size (originals were 4×8, so now I’d get 3×6) and putting them on top of two beds in the back. Purpose: strawberries around the lower edges! (Though I’d probably never be able to keep the squirrels and chipmunks out of them.)
SuperHrefna
@Mary G: I absolutely love my earthboxes, I have six, and thy are perfect for fruiting plants like tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, etc. They are self watering ( just fill them up til the reservoir overflows), water conserving ( the same cover that means no weeding, also stops the water from evaporating so fast) plus, they come with optional raised pant stands which might be just perfect for you: http://earthbox.com/index.php/earthbox-accessories/garden-stand.html Although I mut admit I have never tried the pant stand and I do note tht the small print says the plant stand shouldn’t be usef with tall crops. But earth boxes in general are fab.
bemused
Wild blueberries and strawberries are to die for. The wild strawberries are a bitch to pick even they are large (for wild ones, that is) and you find a patch loaded with them but they are so damn tasty. Both are ripening here in MN now and our new puppy, going on 4 months, has discovered the joys of berries on her daily walk in the woods just slurping them up. Yesterday she looked quite adorable with with a pinkish, reddish streak across her face.
OzarkHillbilly
Now that I am over my shock at the death of Tunch I suppose I could mention the garden:
Still there. Beans beans and more beans. The purple kings are producing now with the blue lake set to begin producing in a week or 2. Still getting plenty of eggplant every day and I have been freezing it every 2nd or 3rd day. Hot peppers every where. Strung up about 6 feet of cayennes already. Going to can a 2nd bunch of jalapenos today, and the Anaheims have set a # of peppers and I think this year I will harvest my first ones.
The sweet peppers are still struggling but I have another 6 or so bells set. Still waiting on the bananas (I already warned my wife about them)
Picked my first tomatoes yesterday (finally!) of what I am afraid will be an aborted year for them. I seem to have a blight of verticillium and fusarium (soil borne fungal infection) moving thru them. Don’t know for sure where it came from as this is the first year I have had it. The compost maybe. Did everything by the book, but I can say that the book was wrong about the spacing, 3′. I need to spread them out to 4′ minimum for air flow as for the 2nd year in a row they have grown so thick it is like a wall of greenery. That and pruning for airflow. So far the only ones unaffected are the romas. Gonna have to be a lot more picky about the varieties I plant for at least the next 5 years or so.
Still waiting for my squash to flower. My own fault as I did not get them in until way late. My lettuce is done for now. Maybe put in some BS Simpson or Grand Rapids to see how they tolerate the summer heat, otherwise it will be fall before I get more.
Poopyman
@currants: I’m a fairly limber, active guy and I think 4′ wide beds are a pain in the ass. Mine are all 3′ now and they’re just fine.
SectionH
@Mary G: I see several ppl have ideas for raised beds for you. Here’s another. We’ve had very good luck with City Pickers. These are 2′ square tubs on wheels. They have a well at the bottom to prevent overwatering, and you water through a tube on one side. They’re only 12″ high on their wheels, but no reason you couldn’t put them on tables. They cost $30, which is a bit cheaper than the Amazon soft-side things you’re looking at, even if you got some $10 tables for them. The Gardeners’ Supply things look nice but seem damn pricey. Home Despot sells the City Pickers (I know, but Amazon ain’t no saints, either…). We have a large yard, but crap soil, and now have 4 City Pickers. We love them. They’ll be coming with us when we downsize to a much small place next spring.
ETA: I see you have even more suggestions now. I hope you’ll keep us posted as to what you choose and how it works.
OzarkHillbilly
@Schlemizel:
HAhahahhaahaaahhaaaheeeheeeheee Gasp gasp wheeeeeeze….
I needed that. Especially after all that happened yesterday. Thanx. Really.
Mike in NC
@Southern Beale:
Perfectly sums up why this guy will soon get elected as a Republican congressman in this insanely fucked up country. Look in the coming weeks for scores of stories about “stand your ground” bills being introduced nationwide by asshole nutjob Republicans from Maine to California (linked, of course, with measures to ban abortions, jail gays, etc.).
Welcome to Modern America 2013.
beltane
@Mike in NC: And then you get people wondering how “they” hate us for our “freedoms”.
rikyrah
wonderful pics
always enjoy the pics of this weekly thread.
since I have no talent, I respect those who do.
stinger
@OzarkHillbilly: Lovely stories, thanks. The kind of thing I needed to read after yesterday.
scav
@Mike in NC: They’re now no doubt going to srart attaching abortion riders to all those post office naming bills they’re usually so busy with. The 91759 Patricia Batchelor Memorial Substation and All Your Wimminz Letterboxes Belong To Us Foreverz motion is carried at 2:03 a.m. by acclimation, Bang.
Karla
The milkweeds I started from seed this year are really coming into their own, and the mature plants from previous years are robust and blooming. The extended winter meant they and most nectar source plants came up late, though. With that and the decreased monarch butterfly populations from how hard last year was, I’m not seeing any monarchs around to make use of them. I’m hoping they’ve found somewhere to breed, and that I’ll have enough nectar sources to support them when they pass through in early September.
stinger
@Schlemizel: My sympathies in advance on the loss of your cherries and other garden spaces. It happened to me a few years ago, though I hadn’t cultivated the area as much. They widened and straightened a back county road, and now the family farms are turning into commuter acreages, and the traffic has quadrupled and the roadside trash x10. Just got back from picking some up along a 1.5-mile stretch, in fact.
stinger
@Schlemizel: Loved it! Thanks for sharing. (I’m also a former teacher.)
keestadoll
@OzarkHillbilly: For your faltering tomatoes, try Actinovate Fungicide. I discovered it last year and it’s a GOD SEND! It’s a granular that you mix with water, or (as I have done) sprinkle a bit at the base of your tomato plant and water deeply so it leeches down to the roots. Warning: it’s pricey, but a little goes a long way. Good luck.
SIA
@JPL: I sent MARC a note too because I never saw the place to put Tunch’s name. Thanks for sharing that about the donations pouring in. A silver lining in a very large, dark cloud.
SIA
Anne Laurie, thank you for thr garden post every week. It’s soothing especially today.
RAM
@Not Sure:
For whatever reason, the railroad hasn’t been through spraying Agent Orange or whatever the hell it is they use to kill vegetation along the tracks this year, so our raspberries came back nicely this year. And unlike last year, we’ve had plenty of rain, resulting in nice, plump berries.
Haven’t been over to the other side to see if the blackberry canes are still there; I’d rather eat raspberries.