Dry Beans

Several weeks ago I pulled the dry beans out and  put them in the garage to finish drying. Yesterday and today we shelled and then sorted them. I got seven pounds total as follows:

Cranberry Beans: 1 lb. 15 oz.

Cannellini Beans: 15 oz.

Navy Beans: 2 lb. 12 oz.

Yin and Yang Beans: 2 lb. 5 oz.

They were a lot of work to process, especially considering that, except for the Yin and Yangs, I could buy them in bulk pretty cheap. Next year I'll only plant a row of several kinds of heirloom beans. 

Status of Fall Garden

The fall brassicas have been moved into the potato bed, with a net cover over them. They're growing nicely now.

In the box with the leeks I've planted some rainbow chard and sowed some spinach. They're all small, but coming along. 

We've had some really hot weather (and now lots of wildfire smoke!) The tomatoes are happy. I picked 4 1/2 pounds yesterday and canned them today (3 jars plus a smaller one). The melons are getting close. They also love the heat. 

I pulled out all the cranberry beans that were planted among the tomatoes. The other dry beans aren't ready to pull yet. 

Late June Garden Status

After a rather cool spring, things are finally warming up. There are small green tomatoes on all the plants. No peppers or aubergines yet. After the snap peas fell over in a strong wind, I removed them yesterday. There were lots that were huge and fat, so I shelled them and froze them. Next year I think I'll try short ones. And now the cucumbers will be happy because they've been living in the shadow of the peas.

The potatoes are blooming. We've had some strawberries, but now they're taking a break. We've been picking blueberries for about two weeks, but most of them are still coming. I guess they liked the fertilizer I gave them, because they're huge. Even the new one that I just planted this spring to replace the Chandler has a nice crop. After we found a couple of stink bugs on the raspberries, I've pulled them all out. We haven't seen any since. In their place I planted some melons. They should like the heat against the house.

Both pear trees have a modest crop. The peaches are a washout again. Maybe it's time to give up on it.

The broccoli and cauliflower were a disappointment, but the cabbage is nice. I've cut one head and will cut another soon for sauerkraut. I will try them all again in the fall.

I've been doing a lot of interplanting. I've planted lots of dry beans among the roses and tomatoes, and lettuce as well. I've also just sowed some bok choi in shady spots to see if they'll work in the summer.

I pulled most of the chard, since I was spending a lot of time patrolling them for leaf miners. I have one of each color, much more manageable.

Strawberries!

Today I picked our first Seascape strawberries. They sure are good. Tomorrow we'll have some on our oatmeal.Our first raspberry looked ripe yesterday and today it has disappeared. A bird perhaps? Let's hope they leave some for us. The blueberries are showing some color, so it won't be long before we'll be picking them. I've put netting on both the blueberries and strawberries.

In the last few days I've planted lots of dry beans - cranberry, cannellini and navy beans. I've pulled up the last of the bok choi, as it was bolting. The broccoli was disappointing. I think it didn't like the recent heat. But the cauliflower and cabbage are still looking good. We've started picking snap peas.

The tomatoes all have flower buds except the San Marzanos. And both the zucchini and delicata squash have female flower buds.

Most of the pears on the trees have fallen off, but there are still a few on each one. The mandarin is just finishing blooming. If a tenth of the flowers produce fruit, we'll be inundated.

Chickpea Thief

I've been noticing that there are not a lot of pods on my chickpea plants. Now I know why. Something has been stealing them and eating the peas inside. I found the evidence. Several piles of empty pods under the plants. I just hope there will be enough left to harvest. Obviously, I won't plant them again.

Status Report - July 23, 2018

Things have really been happening in the garden.  I've harvested the garlic and two of the potato plants.  We're now getting Stupice and Lizzano cherry tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, bell peppers, aubergines, carrots, chard, and kale.  The lettuce was very good (starts from Minto Island Growers) but have now bolted.  I've just planted the third sowing of green beans

and the last two rows of carrots.

 I also planted some cranberry beans.

 The leeks are ready but I haven't pulled any yet.

I started two Kale-ette plants from seed.  I moved them to the potato bed and put them under a shade cover because it's been in the 90s.

The herb bed has been a great success.  I'll do it again next year.

The rhubarb and squash bed is doing well.

The trough planter is really filling in.

 The new bed is filling in gradually.

 And the rose bed has been spectacular.

And last but not least we just picked all the pears on the Ubileen.  It was a bumper crop!

Beginning of the End

The blueberry harvest is officially over.  We picked the last handful yesterday.  The most impressive bush was the Legacy.  It started fairly early, and has been the only one still producing for the last three weeks or so.


I've pulled out the dried bean patch.  I ended up with six pounds of dry beans.  They're pretty, and they'll be great in soup, but probably not worth the water and (tedious) work shelling them.

Dry Beans

Some of the dry beans are getting brittle, so I picked what was ready.  It was mostly Brown Dutch, with some Jacob's Cattle and a few Hidatsa Red Indian.  It was a little less than a pound.  Lots more to come.

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.

Big Garden Day

We've had nice weather, but rain is returning soon, so today seemed like a good day to really get the garden in shape.


The tomatoes were getting big, so out they went.  I put black plastic around the bottoms of the cages for a little added heat.  I cut up trash bags lengthwise, one bag for every two cages.

 The peppers and aubergines went out, under cover of a plastic tunnel, open on the ends.

I also planted bush beans, a bed with five different dry beans, summer squash, and more carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach and kale.