Deck - End of Day Three

The basic deck is finished.  The steps and a corner plant stand are still to come.

As a bonus, we had Jeff's nineteen-year-old helper to dig out our asparagus bed.

Deck - End of Day Two

After Jeff removed the old deck, he had to rent a jackhammer to remove the concrete ramp at the back.  Then the base went in, with the help of Ben. 

New Deck

Yesterday work was finally begun on our new deck.  Here's the old version.

By the end of the day, here's what was left.

Apple Tree Pruning

This year the columnar apple trees had gotten too tall and the branches were so long that they were bending under the fruit.  So I decided it was time to cut them back and make them columnar again.

I cut the side branches way back and topped the trees as well.

I also cut the nectarine way back.  Now we'll be able to reach any fruit and hopefully we can control the stink bugs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things have turned quite wintry.  We had our first freeze a couple of nights ago.  I've covered the dahlia bed with two big bags of leaves, then laid plastic sheeting over the whole bed. 

All the greens and root crops are still fine.  For Thanksgiving I made a potato leek gratin, with everything from the garden.  It was yummy.  Today we had white bean and kale soup. 

I still have lots of weeding to do, but right now it's too cold. 

New Herb Bed

Today I dug out all the raspberries to take to Dave and Marna.  Then I fertilized the bed and planted a row of garlic.  Next I moved my herbs from against the back of the house into the new bed.  I now have sage, parsley, marjoram, oregano, thyme, and chives.  Next spring I'll put in some dill.  Maybe something else, who knows.

I also dug up the Beckyberries, boysenberries, and four blueberry bushes to take to Dave.

Super Rutabaga!

Today I pulled my first rutabaga, to add to the soup stock pot.  I don't think the others are this big.  It must have hit a concentration of fertilizer. But even so, it wasn't at all tough or woody.

The last of the three beds has been taken out.  I pulled out the remaining beets and carrots. Now I just have to figure out how to remove the asparagus.  Even with a shovel, I can't budge it.  Maybe after we get some rain it will be easier.

I've transplanted all the dahlias into the bed the tomatoes had been in.  This will be a bed for cutting flowers.  Next spring I'll put in lots of annuals.

And the parsnips have finally all sprouted.

First Empty Bed

Today I pulled out the tomatoes.  They were getting to be tasteless, and with rain expected they'll all be cracking. 

Fried green tomatoes for supper!

The Peppers are Finished

Today I pulled out the pepper plants.  I salvaged the ones that were usable, which turned out to be quite a few.

I stuffed two for supper and cut the rest into strips to put in the freezer to become fajitas this winter.  I got enough for nine meals.

One More Plant

I promised David that I wouldn't buy any more plants this year.  We're trying to limit our outdoor watering, and a new plant needs lots of water. 

But last week Jackie was visiting, and we stopped by 13th Street Nursery.  Bad idea.  I couldn't help myself when I saw an Amsonia ciliata on sale.  I had seen it featured in an article on Gardenista about fall color.  Sooooo....  I bought one. I'd like to think Jackie made me do it, but she really didn't have to twist my arm.

Winter Greens

I've sown some winter greens in the holes in the garden beds.  In the bed where the squash was, I planted parsnips, kale, lettuce, and spinach on September 26.  All but the parsnips are up.

 Lettuce:

Kale:

On September 29, I sowed arugula in another bed. It is also up.

I've started taking out the asparagus bed, but the roots of the plants are huge.  There's no way to get the plants out in one piece.  I'll just have to chop them out in pieces.

On another note, the stink bugs have gone into hibernation mode big time.  We're killing many dozen on the house every day. 

The End of the Asparagus

Yesterday we cut all the asparagus down.  It's a little early, but it was harboring hundreds of stink bugs, so it had to go.  We were able to kill the vast majority of the bugs.

The Second Best Thing to Do with a Tomato

Chopped with kalamata olives, fresh basil, olive oil, and feta, over pasta.

The Best Use for a Tomato

Toast some homemade artisan bread, rub with garlic, spread with mayo and pesto, top with tomato slices, drizzle with olive oil.  Yummmm!

Rain!

Today we had .22 inches of rain, the first since the first week in June.  We have a chance of showers for the next several days, so we're hoping for a lot more.  The rain barrel in the front is about 80% full, and the first one on the back corner is full and spilling into the second one. 

In the stink bug department, they have started appearing on the front wall of the house.  It's a month earlier than last year.  About the only thing left that they seem to be interested in is the asparagus.  I was hoping they'd run out of food before hibernation time and would leave for greener pastures.

Downsizing

I've decided that it's time to downsize the vegetable garden.  So we plan to take out the three beds closest to the deck.  The first to go is the potato bed.  It's empty, so we dismantled it.

The next bed has asparagus, which will be taken apart when the plants die down.  I'll try to transplant some of the roots into Dave's garden.  I'm not sure how successful it will be.  They're awfully big.

The third bed has carrots and chard.  I'll probably leave it at least through the fall.

Once all the beds are out we'll mulch the area.  

Potato Harvest

Today I dug up the Yukon Gold potatoes.  There were lots of really big ones, and very few small ones.  The total was 32 pounds.  On top of that, I figure I probably dug another ten pounds in the last few weeks.  It isn't close to last year's harvest of German Butterballs, which was 150 pounds, but it's plenty for us.  They don't keep very long.

 And the best part is there is no sign of the problem I had last year.

I also picked a second Artemis melon.

First Melon!

Yesterday I picked our first melon, an Artemis.  It's a charantais type.  It was very good. 

The Ambrosias are still a way off.

Raspberries are Gone

I've finished trimming all the cane berries.  The raspberries have been cut down. 

I've now found stink bugs in the chard.  I guess they're getting desperate.  But I really feel like we have them on the run.

We're still getting a handful of blueberries, mostly Elliot but a few Chandlers as well.  The strawberries are picking up production. 

Beckyberries and Boysenberries Trimmed

I've now trimmed all the Beckyberries and Boysenberries down to the ground.  There are no leaves, which means no stinkbugs, but it may also mean no more berry bushes.  There is a chance they may not come back.  It's drastic, but it seems like the only way to get a handle on the stinkbugs.  As soon as the yard waste can is empty I'll do the same with the raspberries.

Little Green Apples

The Golden Sentinel apples have been falling for about a week.  They're small, but some look ripe.  I think I'll make a tart.  Also, the first North Pole apples fell today.  They are much larger.

Today I picked the first Aunt Ruby's tomato.  It's hard to tell, but I think it's ripe.  We've had Cherokee Purples for about a week now.

I continue to patrol for stink bugs.  I've now removed the cucumber vines, as well as some of the blackberry vines.  I'll finish that job next week.  My hope is that if we remove all their favorite plants, they'll move on.

The Battle Continues...

I've now taken out the pole beans.  They were being badly damaged and there was no way to reach the upper vines.  The last stand seems to be the cucumbers, which we have been patrolling religiously. 

The bean bed has been planted with more kohlrabi, a row of beets, and a row of spinach.  I've removed the largest planting of basil (I had delusions of making pesto) and planted a short row of chard in the space.  I found stink bugs in the basil. 

I've found an occasional stink bug under the netting in the tomatoes and the peppers, but so far the damage is minimal. 

Lots of Happenings

The battle of the stink bugs continues.  They have started in on the beans, so I've pulled out the bush beans a bit early.  The pole beans are still there, although we haven't picked any yet.  I'm trying to keep them clear of the little beasts.  Here is where the bush beans were.  I've now sown some kohlrabi.

And here is where the bush beans are, along with lots of stink bugs.  I'm hoping they'll all bake, and then in a few days I can dump them into the yard waste.

My plan for next year is to grow only bush beans, maybe three small plantings, and cover them with netting. 

The black zucchini is not looking good.  The leaves are turning yellow and drying.  I would say maybe they aren't getting enough water, but the yellow squash is very healthy.

In the last couple of days I've started rutabagas and parsnips in the bed where I harvested the garlic.  I've also started several more rows of carrots and four six packs of kohlrabi.  I've finally picked some ripe tomatoes (Stupice) and there are lots of peppers.  There are also a couple of Japanese aubergines that look ready. 

The Beckyberries and boysenberries are finished, and the blueberries are winding down.  They all ripened earlier than usual with the heat we've had. 

Cucumbers!

I picked our first two cucumbers two days ago.  They were a bit small, but very tasty.

Today I picked two more cucumbers, a bit bigger.  I also picked the first tomato, ping pong ball size.  It's from the plant I thought was Sun Gold.  I'm pretty sure it's actually another Stupice. 

More Stink Bugs

Today I made a cover of nylon netting to cover the tomatoes.

 I made one for the new Sun Gold tomato, too.


 

We've been finding stink bugs on our corn, which has been looking good.  So far we have seven ears.  We're doing patrols several times a day.  Now that we know what to look for, we've found them in all stages, including hatching eggs.  

Stink Bugs

Today I noticed a couple of stink bugs on the nectarines.  I looked at others, and it seems they have all been damaged.  Every one has tiny strands of sticky stuff oozing out of them.  I'm leaving them for now, but I suspect we won't have any nectarines this year.

I did some research and found a website that lists all the crops that are at high risk of stink bug damage.  It's pretty much everything I grow.  Maybe not greens and carrots, and there was no mention of squash or peas.  So my plan now is to protect the tomatoes with netting.  The beans will have to be on their own.  I haven't seen any stink bugs on either the tomatoes or beans, but I have seen them on the corn.  By the way, so far we have seven ears coming. 

Garlic Out, Rutabagas In

The garlic has pretty much died, so I pulled it out.  There were 32 heads, most of them huge.  I have 18 of last year's left, exactly half of what I planted, so I think 24 might be the magic number next year. The garlic is now drying in the garage.  Then I added some fertilizer and compost to the empty spot and planted rutabagas in about two thirds of the row.  I'm hoping to find some parsnip seeds and plant them in the rest of the row. 

I've also planted a row of snap peas, in the same place as the spring crop. 

I'm hoping to find some kohlrabi starts.  It's a bit late to start them from seeds.

Beans and Squash

Finally we have our first squash.

We have many more coming quickly.  I was able to remove one of the zucchini plants,  but the yellow squash plants (Cube of Butter) are so big and close together that I can't separate them.  I may try to top one to cut back on production.  I hate having so many that will surely go to waste.

The bush beans have also started. 

The pole beans are not far behind.  They've already reached the top of their trellis.

The peppers are really doing well.  They're loving the heat this summer.  But so far no ripe tomatoes.

Peas and Potatoes

Today I pulled out the snap peas.  We've had so much hot weather, with more to come in the next few days, that they looked as if they were finished. 

After a visit to Randy's this past weekend, and having some of his early potatoes for supper, I thought I'd fish around in my potato bed and see if I could find anything. David and I easily found five very large Yukon Golds.  I can't wait for the real harvest in a few months. 

There are some summer squash coming soon, and the tomatoes have yet to ripen.  The bush beans have flowers, as do the cucumbers.  I've picked a couple of peppers, one bell and one Gypsy.

Bloom Day

June 15 is garden bloggers Bloom Day, so I thought I'd post my own blooms.  Here's what's in bloom today.

The yuccas is just starting to bloom.

Two clematis are in bloom, 'jackmanii' and 'Lemon Bells.'

The Hydrangea serrata  'Omacha Nishiki'

Philadelphus.
 

Campanula persicafolia.

 Breadseed poppies.

'The Oregonian,'  just finishing.

Nepeta 'Walker's Low'

Sedum 'Angelina.'

Another sedum, maybe 'Matrona.'

Two helianthemums.

Yarrow 'Moonshine.'

Echium amoenum.

Various echinaceas.

Perovskia.

The last few blooms on the ceanothus 'Victoria.'

Turkish poppy.

 Lavender.

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'

and 'Rozanne.'

Verbascum.

Mammilaria zielmanniana.

And Gloriosa lily.