From faithful commentor, Marvel:
Over this-away, things are looking UP (i.e., stuff’s growing and happy). We’re looking at another heat wave (90s) this weekend, so watering & harvesting continue to dominate our outdoor activities. Can you use a metric ton of heirloom tomatoes?????
The cabbage (and cauliflower, broccoli & kale) are doing well under their fabric row covers — we’ll be making soups & stews in coming months, grateful for having had the time, space & energy to plant a Fall garden.
We’ve spread last year’s leaf mulch & planted a couple of cover crops (tyfon & crimson clover) in Area 51 — this was the first year we planted in that reclaimed space and the soil did a good job — we’ll try to keep a good thing going out there.
This is the first time I planted late-season shelling peas — I found a variety that’s supposed to withstand Summer’s heat. So far so good.
The quinoa is riot of color. It’s the same variety as the one we planted last year (“Cherry Vanilla”), but SUCH a flamboyant streak this crop’s got!
Finally, the Scarlet Runner beans [top pic] are still pumping out flowers & pods. This’ll probably be my last year growing this kind — I like regular old pole beans better. Since SRs are perennials, I might let the below-ground contingent over-winter in place & transplant it as an ornamental somewhere next year.
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How are things in your gardens this week?
TaMara (BHF)
That’s just an amazing garden!
Schlemazel [was Schlemizel till NotMax taught me proper yiddish!]
Mentioned in the previous thread – the county is taking our flower gardens for road expansion. We are digging & distributing several hundred bulbs, rhizomes and roots to distribute to friends & family. I hate it, all the work of garden maint. but without the prospect of beautiful blooms out my window.
Katherine
we “garden” in the desert / SE Utah / no mean trick, let me tell ya / so we are now eating the weeds / bind weed, mallows, purslane, etc / they are nutritious and so easy to grow, smile / we also harvest in early spring tumbleweed babies
Violet
I’ve been very busy in the garden this week. Every evening after the sun gets low enough that I can stand the heat I’m out in the garden until it gets dark. Taking out all the spring/summer stuff that got ignored while I was caring for my parents. Planted a few fall crops–bush beans and carrots. Also just cleaned up various beds that had completely got overgrown–the ones at the front of the house, by the front walk, etc. It’s been a massive undertaking and doing it in 95 degree heat with almost 100% humidity and mosquitoes has been a real chore. Has to be done though. It does look a ton better!
raven
The princess got her drip irrigation system finished. It was one of those gigs, like weed eating, that I am not trusted to do. It’s been really dry but I had to mow this morning anyway.
PurpleGirl
Love the pictures from Marvel. It’s a beautiful garden.
Maybe next year I will try to have plants on the terrace again. My first summer here on the 17th floor I tried to have some plants but they burned up in the full, all-day sun.
Elizabelle
@Violet:
How are your parents? Forgive me for not keeping up.
Violet
@Elizabelle: They’re better, thanks. I’m still doing quite a bit for them, including changing my dad’s bandages a couple times a week. But overall improvement. It’s just slower the older you get.
WaterGirl
@Schlemazel [was Schlemizel till NotMax taught me proper yiddish!]: I saw that earlier, just didn’t know what to say besides “heartbreaking’.
I am having flashbacks to 9 of us (guys and girls) living in a big house when we got out of the dorms. For two years we had this wonderful grassy area on the empty lot next door, where we all played games and played with our dogs and hosted our outdoor parties.
One fall day, 18 months after we moved into the house, bulldozers showed up, razed the whole thing, and put in a parking lot. To top it all off, that was the day after my 9-month old puppy had been killed by a car, and I was sitting in my little window spot, crying, looking out at our grassy area where Mellon and I had always played… that’s when the bulldozers showed up. So awful.
So Schlemazel, I feel your pain! And mine, too, even after all these years.
Elizabelle
@Violet: Good to hear. Best to the parents, and to you.
Marvel’s pics are beautiful. Always enjoy her contributions.
Don’t have a garden per se, but 2 neighbors and I met to clear weeds (lots of them) from the yard of a neighbor serving in somewhere in the Middle East via the Army Reserves. 90 minutes, over by 9:30 a, and it was very satisfying weeding and seeing the garden’s outlines emerge again. Will be easy to keep up for his return.
Plus, it had rained hard last night, and was cool and lovely this morning.