The Tough Chores
When it comes to gardening, the toughest chores for me are pruning back the herbs before they’re completely finished blooming. It’s always hard to cut back the few remaining blooms because the bees love them so much. Of course I know that they’ll come back quickly and provide a second flush of bloom before the snow flies, but that still doesn’t make this chore any easier.
Yesterday was the day for most of the tarragon to get pruned. I have three plants that are still in their prime, so those remain. It’s funny how placement of plants can determine their bloom time. These few plants starting blooming two weeks after the first flush of tarragon, they’ll keep blooming for another week or two before I cut them back.
Another reason to cut back blooming plants is to avoid too much self sowing. Some plants, herbs in particular, can become rather invasive if allowed to set seed. I always cut back the catmint, oregano, tarragon, hyssop, and the other herbs to avoid too many seedlings popping up. I still end up with a few from late blooms or flowers that I miss.
What garden chores are most difficult for you?
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Friday Favorite: Seeing Results
It’s nice to see results for our efforts. Sometimes in gardening it can seem like they are slow to come, especially when you are trying to improve your soil. I’ve been working on the soil in the back garden for two summers now and when I harvested garlic I could see a noticeable difference between the areas I had added amendments, chicken litter, cover crops, and compost and areas that I didn’t do anything to.
On the left you can see the original soil, on the right the soil I have been working on improving. Below you can see the original soil’s texture in the top image and the improved texture on the bottom. Notice how the clump of soil in the bottom image holds together, the top one is powdery and falls apart.
I notice a huge difference in the moisture retention in the areas I’ve improved. They need stay damp for much longer than the other areas. I’ve always said that gardeners grow soil not plants. I spend the majority of my garden budget on quality compost and soil amendments. The results are quite nice and the plants I do buy grow much better as a result. I can hardly wait to see how the soil looks in 10 years!
How is the soil in your garden? Have you noticed an improvement throughout the years?
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Golden
I was out working in the garden two nights ago and noticed the beautiful light washing over the goldenrod and queen anne’s lace. There are no way that words could describe the beauty of this moment, I was happy that my camera was by my side.
Goldenrod gets a bad rap for causing allergies, but it really doesn’t. It’s the ragweed that blooms at the same time that is the culprit for seasonal allergies. Goldenrod is an important plant for pollinators, especially for monarch butterflies. I encourage you to let it bloom and thrive in your garden if you have it.
What beauty are you noticing around you this week?
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Planting fall Crops
A month or so ago, someone said they couldn’t believe that I didn’t can vegetables for winter eating. I used to can, but I no longer go. I grew up in a canning family, we canned everything under the sun and ate on it all winter long. I guess I’d just rather eat a little more seasonally and I’d rather spend my time in the garden rather than in the kitchen over a canning pot.
Over the past five or so years I’ve been working on growing a wider variety of vegetables in smaller amounts and in different seasons. Trying to expand the season that I’m harvesting from the garden rather than using from the pantry. I also try to grow things that don’t need preserving, more root vegetables, cabbages, and the like.
So far I’m doing well with my efforts, we’ve been eating only garden fresh vegetables for the past five months and will continue to do so until at least late November. Once I have a greenhouse we should be able to shorten the hunger gap a little more. I’d also successfully grow chicons, which we can harvest in the dark days of Dec-Feb. Yesterday I planted a lot of things that will feed us in Sept-November: broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes that you pull and hang in the basement, beets, carrots, herbs, and many other things.
There are a few things I will always can, tomato soup, roasted tomato passata, tomatoes, and a few jars of jam for Mr Chiots. Other than that, you’ll find me in the garden.
Do you can your garden vegetables? Do you grow cold hardy or heat tolerant vegetables to harvest during your off season?
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Friday Favorite: Harvest Season
I love this time of the year when the garden is in full swing. There are things to harvest daily, not just in small amounts like in spring. It’s the season for harvesting armloads of garlic and buckets of potatoes, both of which I did yesterday.
All the spring planted beets are coming in, ready to be pickled into delicious goodness. I’m always in full swing of planting for fall harvest, loads of lettuce, broccoli, peas, cabbage, scallions, and herbs are germinating in soil blocks to be ready when there are empty spaces in the garden. It truly is a wonderful time of year!
What are you harvesting right now?
