Onions

The onions have still not started to fall over, but I decided to harvest some to dehydrate.  I pulled a dozen nice big ones.  After first attempting to chop them by hand, I figured I probably would be there for the rest of the day.  So I used my little Cuisinart chopper.  I cut them into smaller pieces, then pulsed them four or five times.  They were not quite as neat as the ones chopped by hand, but they'll do.  I filled all nine trays.

Here's what they looked like after drying, about six hours later.  I have two quart jars full.  I'll do another batch later. 

Boy! Does the garage stink!

Hazardous Beans

Both the bush beans and the dry beans (which are actually also bush beans) have gotten out of control.  They have spilled into the path, making walking hazardous.

So I pulled the outside plant in each row of the bush beans and trimmed a few extra long tendrils.

I put a couple of stakes into the end of the dry bean bed and zip-tied two bamboo sticks across them to hold back the plants on the end that were in the path.

I've also promised myself that I will not leave the hose out in the path, but I'll either wind it back or at least line it up neatly next to the concrete path.

It feels much safer now to walk in the garden.

Beets & Beans

I pulled the first planting of beets and canned them.  I still have a short row of Cylindras.

I also planted the last batch of bush beans.  I put in two rows, as far from the previous planting as I could get.  The first planting is still producing, but at a slower rate.

I also pulled some of the first planting of carrots.  I pulled this Purple Haze carrot. It's the longest carrot I've ever grown.  Note the spiral root.  I guess it hit the clay at the bottom and decided to corkscrew into it.

More Carrots

Most of the lettuce has started to bolt, including the romaine, so I pulled it out.  I left the Red Sails and Black-seeded Simpson, which are still good.  In the empty space I planted two four-foot rows of Purple Haze carrots, covered with Reemay.

I transplanted the fall vegetable starts (broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) to 4" pots.  I also gave them a boost with 1 tsp. fish emulsion in a gallon of water.  And of course, they're under the netting.

I picked another big bowl of bush beans and froze them. 

Lots of Beans

This morning I picked a large bowl of bush beans (Provider).  I used two pounds of them to make dill beans and the rest went into the freezer.  This is from the first planting.  The second planting is blooming.

After removing the netting over the blueberries a week or so ago, we've discovered that the birds are now sampling all the ones near the tops of the bushes.  So we've put the netting back, but just over the top.  It seems to be slowing them down considerably, although a few of the ground feeders (doves and towhees) are still going in.  But they don't eat many.

State of the Garden

Here's what the garden looks like today.  Not seen is the bed behind the asparagus, which is now empty.  I've pulled out the snap peas and kale, and dug the garlic.  It's now on a screen in the garage.  I have 36 heads again, which is probably too much, as I still have quite a few left over from last year.

In the past I've always had two plants of each squash variety, planted together.  I'm already being overwhelmed by summer squash, so I've pulled one of each out.  I think we'll have plenty, and I won't have to feel guilty composting squash we don't eat.  And maybe the air circulation will help keep the mildew at bay.

I've also pulled the bush cucumber, which wasn't looking very bush-like, and one of the climbers, so now I have just two.  I think that will be plenty.  Lots of tiny fruit on them.

The bush bean rows are still too close together.  We've started picking them, and there seem to be lots, so just two rows of each planting should be fine.  And maybe just three plantings instead of four, spaced wider.

 The aubergines and peppers are doing really well. 

The golden bell is looking golden, and the 'Pinot Noir' has been purple almost from the start.

Pizza Night

We're back in the from-the-garden pizza business.  This is the first one with our zucchini, although the tomatoes are from the store.

For lunch we had a wrap made with zucchini, the first aubergine, and peppers, all from the garden.  I sauteed them with some onion, and spread the tortillas with hummus.  Yummy!

Berry Report

Today we picked all the berries, and here's the report.

The boysenberries are pretty much finished, but there are still some beckyberries to come.  The beckyberries started a little earlier and produced a bigger crop than the boysens.

The raspberries have slowed down, but there are still some of the single season ones coming.  The loganberries are finished.  They were a bit of a disappointment.  There were not a lot of them, and what there was were hard to pick.  They need to be picked while they are still somewhat red.  I'll give them another year to prove themselves.

The marionberries are finished.  They were a little more tart than the others.

The prime-ark blackberries continue to produce.  There are even some flowers on them.  David doesn't like them, but I do.  They have more of a traditional blackberry taste.

The strawberries are picking up again, after a brief hiatus.  There are quite a few flowers coming.

We picked lots of blueberries today.  The Earliblue and Spartan are finished, but the Jersey and Legacy are just starting and have loads of berries coming.

The Chandlers are huge.  There's no way I could use them in muffins.

First Zucchini

So maybe I rushed it a little.  But here are the first summer squash.

First Tomato

Today we had the first tomato, a Stupice, as usual.  There is also a Sun Gold that looks ready.

I picked a small bell pepper two days ago, and there are quite a few that are close.