Sunday, August 26, 2012

Garden

A cold and wet spring has put the garden behind schedule.  It is looking pretty good but with some of nights dipping into the low 40's and high 30's it's likely some of it will not mature.

There are lots of pumpkins.


The beans are producing well and we expect to pick them until frost.


There are a handful of arctic kiwi fruits.  There are two plants, a male and a female.  They both grow to beat the band early in the spring only to get pruned back by late spring frosts.  It's a yearly ritual.  These vines are reputed to bear 100 lbs of fruit a year.  I think I would be happy to pick 1 lb. 

There is no chance of getting a covering on the greenhouse this late in the year.  Cow cumbers and pumpkins on this side and tomatoes and cantaloupes on the other side have outgrown the boundaries by yards.  There are pumpkins growing to the far left in amongst the Zucchini.  In the foreground left are the radishes gone to seed, these are being given to the chickens.  Also the several varieties of lettuce just past the radishes are still producing and providing for good salads.


I am not sure what variety these cow cumbers are but we call them ghost cumbers because of their very light colouring.  They are not quite as good as regular varieties, the peel being a little tough, but are a novelty.


Some of the Early Girl tomatoes have turned orange since this picture was taken.  Crossing my fingers that we will get tomatoes.


I culled the old apple trees that never were able to mature fruit before winter weather.  I will replant come spring with trees that ripen fruit in August or September.  This one, a variety of McIntosh, I think, just barely makes it in time.  It is heavy laden and looking good right now.


We picked the Lodi apples yesterday and got about 6 boxes.  A very nice harvest that will go for applesauce and pies.


The Dolgo crabapples are looking good, as they do every year.




1 comment:

  1. We need to pick some of our apples soon as well. We plan on skipping cider this year as it is an "off" year. So we will be making applesauce & pies too. The pears should be ready in a few weeks. Usually mid-late September. Hoping to can quite a lot this year.
    I am also going to try my hand at homemade baby food soon.

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