Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Autumn Garden

Here is an overview of our garden, taken while standing on our native lawn.The planted tomato bed (as opposed to the abundant volunteers found all over the gardens which produced earlier than any I planted :)I think I purchased a mismarked plant, because I don't remember planting any romas... but these are definitely sauce tomatoes. This one is called Ping Pong Pink. I bought it in honor of the pink pong tournaments that run rampant up here on the hill. Turns out it is a really delicious and beautiful tomato. Lucky!





2 views of this bed: Patypan style squash, eggplant (which remains a non-producer covered in flowers), a new batch of radishes planted with a certain recipe in mind. The long vine in the second photo is ___ something I forgot to mark so I have no clue until it produces. Dang it.



Kale, artichoke, 2 zucchinis (one of which is pretty much done, the other is just getting started for a bumper crop), some kind of melon that I forgot to write down, hanging here in the close up. It is a musk melon of some kind, very tasty. Also a little patch of radishes that have been picked over by the birds.
This bed is pretty funny really.... it is a teeny carrot patch crowded by broccoli plants and beets. You can tell that we have been pretty keen on the beet greens by the looks of the barren land of stems LOL. Always makes me laugh a bit when I see them like that. They fill back in so quickly though. Bumper crop of green beans, the (largely unproductive) pepper plants, spinach, borage, parsley for the companion quality of it.Fresh bed which had housed our green beans all summer. Now it is planted with hardneck garlic, salad scallions, more beets, and a few scraggly carrots. Next to go in are the cabbage plants... I think...
2nd crop of rhubarb this summer, companion planted with columbine.

The children's garden, mid-deconstruction. I just harvested all the corn and began pulling out the stalks (not easy). The cerinthe, marigolds, and tomatoes are still pumping out their last little hoorahs.
THE pumpkin vine!
This was the one we selected to be the big grower, unfortunately today I noticed that the vine has split, so this is as big as it will get. I didn't have my usual toddler model to gage it's size, so my Croc stood in.

Nopales fruit
THE FIG! YAY!! Fruits are still completely green and I'm hoping to have some left when they are ripe. I say *hope* because Colven pulls one off at least once a day to "check it" sigh... This is our blueberry raised bed. These plants are supposed be good producers in our area, but after 2 years of water and food they still look like this :( This is our future asparagus bed I decided this summer. We'll still try with the blueberries, I'll pop them out and move them somewhere.
The nanaberries and strawberries. The nanaberry vines which produced last year are about to be cut back and all the new vines which are now on the ground will be tied onto the trellis.



Our first grapes!
(why didn't I plant seedless??!)











The newly pruned herb bed. Next project, taming the wild jungle above it.



Here are our older chickens, I was trying to get an image of them while they were all cozied up together while napping but one saw me and alerted the others so they all came running since I am the barer of all things delicious LOL
This is Lulu, a friendly and docile gal! She is my favorite so far, right down to her crooked little comb :)












"The replacements" aka the young chicks that replaced the ones Cyrus' f-ing dogs ate. Still a sore spot and as yet unresolved dynamic in the family (even extended if you can believe that! the nerve...).

4 comments:

Tamra said...

Aww they're adorable. That is really sad about the chickens. I'd be pretty nervous about dogs that did that too! Big hugs and I hope the chickens remain safe from the dogs.

Shauna said...

How on earth can you even THINK of eating LULU?!?!?

haha

I could never name my food.

They are still supposed to be food right???

Erin said...

Thanks Tamra! I hope so too.

Shauna LOL we probably won't eat Lulu right away haha. If she remains so friendly I'd keep her for a long time if she becomes broody and likes to produce chicks.

Marlyn said...

I LOVE the pics of your gardens always!

LOL about Lulu.