Good Day of Pickin'

We drew a nice variety of herbs and produce from the garden this afternoon. Pictured here are carrots, parsnip thinnings, celery, chard, thyme, and sage. I was the most excited about the celery because this was actually our first cutting. We had a good bit going earlier, but the damn deer managed to get in and make a salad bar of things. Luckily the celery bounced back enough to yield a few late stalks.

Plastic Forts

With the threat of frost forcasted, Meg and I set out to cover our fall crops. The frames are made of 1/2 inch PVC and the plastic was generously donated by Meg's father, Mick. When we have more time we'll fasten the plastic a bit more snug around the edges, but this should do for the time being.



There's something about this photo that reminds me of when I was a kid and draped sheets over the kitchen table and pretended it was a fort.

Gardens Gone Wild

Remember this charming plot?



No, of course you don't. We weren't diligent about blogging, then. But I promise that's how it looked in its adorable formative years weeks.


Gone are the days when we worried that our tender little seedlings might be gobbled up by chickens or washed away by a rain storm. They've grown up, and they're taking over. I'm afraid we've lost control. The garden has no sense of its former innocent and vulnerable self, and now it has lost all inhibitions. It's beyond reason. It is completely rude.

Observe:

The beans refuse to comply. They have a lovely bamboo trellis to climb on, but instead choose to flail around in the walkways.


The pumpkins also prefer to prowl through the paths rather than stay in their nice comfortable bed.


Half the garlic apparently got loaded and passed out on the job. Maybe it will at least smother some of those weeds.


This nasturtium has no sense of personal space.


The tomatoes refuse to stay in line.


This bean plant feels entitled to climb all over whatever it wants, namely this squash plant.

And the squash. I don't even have the energy to talk about the squash.

This tomato showed up uninvited and doesn't even have the social grace to mingle with the other tomatoes. Instead it's hanging out in the middle of the the spaghetti squash.


And I don't know who these little beasts belong to, but I threw them out as soon as they started brunching on the strawberries.


What do you look so smug about? Jerk.

Babies!

The Spring vegetables (peas, lettuce) have been in full swing for a month now, and the novelty of them has worn off. We've just spent a satisfying but mostly uneventful two weeks watching our recently-planted tomatoes, peppers, squash, et al bush out and grow taller, but for the most part they hadn't really been doing anything.

But now we've got some action. The bees have obviously been getting busy with our plants, because baby veg have been popping out everywhere:











This phase of the garden comes in as a close second favorite to the phase that will begin in a few weeks, when we get to go out and eat all this stuff.

Almost ...

Countdown to tater tot casserole. mmmm.