First Frost

We had our first frost two nights ago. Nothing was totally killed, but I took out the basil and peas, both of which looked pretty sad.

The celery experiment is amazing. New leaves emerged within a couple of days, and they are now several inches tall.

When I took out the tomatoes, I saved about six of them to use as green tomatoes. I still haven't cooked them, but one by one they have ripened on the counter, even though they were totally green with no color showing.

Off and Running

We've had two nice days in a row, so I was able to get most of the vegetable garden started. 

I planted Yukon Gold potatoes, and one bed with spinach, a few beets, and chard.  I immediately covered that bed with netting to keep the leaf miners out (I hope!).

I also sowed one bed with kale, lettuce, and arugula.  I also sowed some basil in that bed.  And I started carrots in the bed that still has some leeks and chard from last year. 

I transplanted the seedling leeks into the herb bed, although they seem really tiny.

Just about everything has started to bloom or leaf out.  The early blueberries are in full bloom, as are the peach and nectarine.  The apples and pears are a little behind, but coming. 

We're seeing several stink bugs a day, including in the house.  I even saw a young light green one. Sigh.

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. 

Pacific Coast Iris

The PC iris have outdone themselves this year.

Today I sowed three six packs of basil seeds.

End of the Melons

The melons are finally winding down, thank goodness.  We've gotten pretty tired of them.  There are still three in the refrigerator, and six in the bed.  I've given them away to everyone I know, including the FedEx guy.  But now I've cleaned out most of the vines, leaving only the few that have an unripe melon.

I plan to sow lots of lettuce for winter salads.

Now for my next project.  I'm going to pull out all the basil on this side of the tomato bed. It grew beautifully, but with the sweet potatoes and squash in the bed beside it, The path is impossible to get through.  I think I'll make lots of pesto to freeze.

Sweet Potatoes (again)

When I went to 13th Street Nursery yesterday, I found that they had sweet potato plants in 4" pots.  So I bought five.  Actually, I bought four and got one really pathetic Georgia Jet free.

I planted them this afternoon is a trench, to be filled in as they grow.

I also sowed two more rows of parsnips (four total now) and some basil in the bed under the bedroom window.  I never have enough basil.

More Things Planted

Today I planted the peppers in the tomato bed.  I also planted the small basil plants at the edge of the same bed.  The bigger plants, the ones I got at the MG plant sale, are now in pots, three plants in each pot.

I planted a couple of butternut squash starts in the front yard.  I'll need to keep them under control by pruning them back.

After several days of light rain, things are really looking good.  The beans are up and the potatoes have been hilled.

 We've eaten some of the spinach, and the chard and kale are coming along.

The new salad crops are up, and the pea pods are forming.

 The artichokes have settled in and appear to be thriving.

 The first planting of carrots and beets are doing well, and the second planting is up.

Shorts!

For the first time this year (other than on the cruise, of course) I'm wearing shorts.  We got up to 68 today with the promise of warmer still the next couple of days.

We got lots of things done today.  We put the edging along the back of the deck, just in time for delivery of our new deck furniture this morning.

I amended the soil below the deck with a couple of bags of fur sawdust and lots of compost.  I then added some fertilizer and planted six new blueberry plants.

I also fertilized the old plants.  I used Black Gold natural and organic for acid lovers.  It looks like pretty good stuff.

My basil that I started a few days ago is up, so I gave it a little filtered sun today. 

Threat of Frost

We've had a threat of frost, but so far everything is still o.k.  The zucchini, especially, the yellow one, continue to produce.

Today I dug up one of the basil plants, trimmed it back (it had lots of dead blossom stalks), and put it in a pot.  I'm not sure where I'll put it, because it probably needs some sun.

Update:  The basil plant did not do well, so it's history.  Maybe I should have dug it up sooner, while it was still healthy.