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.