Onion Harvest

The tops on about half of the onions have fallen over, so I knocked the rest down.  I also turned off the water in that bed.  I'll leave them in the bed for a week, then dig them up and let them dry in the sun.

The Turkish Orange aubergines are really looking neat.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with them.

Melons

The melons have gotten out of control, so I decided to trim back the ends.  The paths were becoming impassible.

I cut off all the ends that had either no fruit or very small fruit.  Much better now.

I also trimmed away a few of the leaves covering the large melons, so they have more sun.

Beets

Today I pulled the first planting ( a four-foot row) of 'Cylindra' beets and canned them.  I had about 3.5 pounds, without tops.  I got six pints.

I also canned seven pints of beans, mostly from the first planting of bush beans.  They're just about finished, and the 'Blue Lake' pole beans are starting.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to do two plantings of bush beans.  It would have made more sense to plant them all at once and can them all at once, as well.

Fall Crops

Yesterday I went to 13th Street Nursery and snagged the last broccoli and the next-to-last cauliflower.  I got a six pack of each.  Also some seeds to start more.  I got 'Broccoli Blend' and 'Rudolph,' a green sprouting broccoli. I started three and two six packs of each, respectively.

I also started two six packs of 'Red Sails' lettuce, and one each of 'Valmaine' romaine, tatsoi, arugula, 'Bright Lights' chard, mizuna, and a pot of 'White Lisbon' scallions.

The 'Red Ace' beets and 'Yaya' and Danvers 126' carrots are up.

First Stupice Tomatoes

They aren't spectacular, but today we picked the first regular tomatoes, two Stupices.  They're barely bigger than the Sun Golds.

The strawberries continue to produce lots of gorgeous berries.

Aubergines and Onions

Today I picked the first aubergine, a Dusky.  Also, since I needed an onion for dinner, I pulled one that was looking like it was dying.

This morning we picked 5 1/4 pounds of Blue Lake bush beans to can.

Nasturtiums

Now that the open garden is behind us, I've pulled the nasturtiums out from under the bean teepee.   I've planted some romaine lettuce underneath it.

I moved the summer squash starts to the empty half of the sweet potato bed.

Pepper and Berries

I picked our first Gypsy pepper today.  The plant has several more nice ones coming.  The bells are quite a bit further behind.

I cleaned out the old canes in the raspberry patch and dispatched canes coming up outside the wire.  It looks much nicer now.

We've started picking the Triple Crown blackberries next door.  The place is vacant and uncared for, so we're helping ourselves.  I have one Triple Crown plant that jumped the fence into our yard.  I think I'll dig up another start.  They are not quite as sweet as the Beckyberries or Boysenberries, but they are later, and they are thornless.  They get bonus points for that.

Out with the Garlic, in with the Carrots

Today I pulled the garlic and put it on the drying rack.  The heads are a nice size. It's one twelve-foot row, 36 heads.

It's a narrow bed, with just three drip lines.  So I planted a row of beets (Red Ace) along one line, a double row of Yaya carrots along another line, and a double row of Danvers 126 along the third line.

I hope to plant Merida in late September for overwintering. 

Beans!!

We had our first beans today.  They're Blue Lake bush beans.

Today was a strange day.  It started out looking very threatening, and we even had a few raindrops a couple of times.  The sun came out briefly in the afternoon, and it got up to 81, but then it clouded over again.  Tomorrow looks like back to hot and sunny.

Some Tidying Up

Yesterday morning we decided to try to clean up at least one of the walkways in the garden.  It had gotten to the point that walking along the two main north-south paths was nearly impossible.  To add to the peril, the shut-off valves for the drip irrigation are along that path.  So we put up a piece of metal fencing along the potatoes and a couple of small fence pieces along the edge of the beans.  I then put in stakes to hold the melons back.  It's great.  Now we can walk safely back to get to the east-west beds.

The other path, the concrete one, is still tricky, but we really don't need to use it.  It's possible to access those beds from the other side.

In the afternoon I declared Beckyberry season officially over, so I tackled the job of cutting back the old canes and tying up the new ones.  It took several hours, but it's nice to have it done.  The boysenberries are not finished yet, so I left them to do later.

Flowers

The morning glory has been blooming for several days but this morning I was finally able to catch a photo of it.

The beneficial insects seed mix from Territorial has been fun.

The bread seed poppies are spectacular.  I'm hoping they'll re-seed.

First Carrots

Yesterday I pulled the first carrots, Yayas.  A few were forked, but most were really nice.

The onions are getting really big, but they aren't showing any signs of dying down.

Aubergines

The aubergines are doing nicely.

Dusky

Ichiban

And the mystery one, Turkish Orange

The Strawberries Are Back

The strawberries seem to be back on track.  There are lots of flowers coming now.  Yesterday we picked two gigantic berries.

Something that appears to be a slime mold has appeared in our front yard.

Today I sowed both kinds of summer squash in large pots.  I'm hoping they will start producing about the time the first planting starts to decline from mildew.

Three Zucchinis

Today I picked one portofino and two cube of butter squashes.  I just steamed them.

Two days ago we had the first cube of butter squash on our pizza.

I also pulled five beets.  They were delicious.

Today I planted the second planting of Blue Lake bush beans, about a third of a bed. 

Zucchini

Yesterday I picked the first four small squash for dinner.  They were the portofinos, and they were yummy.

We have tiny beans coming on the bush beans.  And the pole beans have started to bloom.  The nasturtiums growing at their feet are gigantic.

The strawberries are finally blooming again, so we should have some berries soon.  The raspberries are nearly finished, and the Beckyberries are winding down.  Yesterday I picked two large ziploc bags full.

In the front yard, the sedums are blooming, and the bees, of all kinds, are in heaven.

I think I've finally finished shuffling the plants and pots around on the deck.  I'm particularly fond of the arrangement in the green pot.  It has a flax in the back, with red-veined sorrel and white bacopa.   The variegated creeping Jenny in the urn is also working well.  The nasturtium in the blue pot has turned out to be a thug.  I've had to cut it back several times.

Garden Ideas

On Saturday we went on a Garden Conservancy tour in West Linn and Lake Oswego.  I was inspired to do some things in our garden.   Here are some ideas I came away with.  The first two are at Mike Darcy's garden and the others are at Sherry Sheng's garden, both of which are amazing and inspiring.

Heat Wave

It's been in the 90s for several days now, and most things in the garden are enjoying it.  The squash is getting closer to eating size.  And the bush beans have started to bloom.   The pole beans are nearing the top of their teepee. 

The three large artichoke plants now have small artichokes.  This one is about 2" across.

The Eureka lemon has three flowers!

The bread seed poppies have opened.

The scarlet runner beans and the twinberry have both started to bloom.