Those mischievous gnomes!

Morning harvest

The reward of a mornings work.

Click any image to enlarge

Hens a laying...

Borage in the lettuce bed. Lots of pollinators enjoying it.

This the east facing lettuce bed. I had to take this way back.

Clippings of the flowers are in a bucket of water.

Look at the size of that stalk!

Borage in the sun...

The Swiss chard, spinach, chive, brocolli are all thriving well.

As is the margeram and camomile's at the far end.

Looking toward the west side of the shed...

The bok choy in flower (for seed) is hiding behind the other borage that was trimmed after this shot.

The celery and the beets foreground.

Bok choy seed stalks, there are several plants still growing yet.

The broccoli it is now mostly gone to seed, save for a few heads left yet on side shoots.

This seed stalk healthy is harvested to dry for nest season.

Now this like to kill me. 

Yes folks those are the steel arbor sections you gave us. I saw this in my minds eye, suppose sometimes I ought not to pay attention to that minds eye but this time...well it is the cats meow

5 tomato plants here

 one heirloom brandiwine

2 yellow pear

100's a salad red

one beef steak for burgers in the summer

Now flowers over here will yield many good pollinators and lots of summer tomato.

Another borage

French marigold, seed pod heads in hand are hard to see.

Harvest to scatter this week.

Kale trimmed and carrots harvested left soil to till to plant the onions.

A few here and a few down on the other side of the kale.

now a little bit of blood meal and some nice light potting soil mixed in to my well composted earth...

Onions to harvest end of summer for the fall and winter months.

I got the hoses coiled and boy is my back tired from that one. One of the many skills gained in childhood working in the family gas station. I often got stuck with that job. Taught me well though.

This guy was laughing at me and causing mischief the whole time I am sure of it!

Noticed him as I was getting ready to close the work down.

Now how did those kids get up there?

The old braniwine heirloom made it through the winter. 

It was given a bit of Epsom salt and some bone meal to get the issues under control.

You see the other gnome?

this is broccoli raab seed almost ready to shell and store for next season.

Now I did this once had all of these folded after washing them. With some confusion over dew point thinking it was low temp to come one night I laid them out to cover. Now they will need attention again.

The tomato field got a good layer of chicken dung and pine shavings.

Well better get on with the day.

I have had a good 45 minute rest. 

Ye ha!

Harvested the Brandywine Heirloom Tomatoes

Harvested the Brandywine Heirloom Tomatoes because we have another hard freeze tonight and they are splitting. Look at the size of those toms and they are a good 3 inches tall.
They will ripen on the counter.

Seets to sprouts!

click image to enlarge them

A garden tour gave me great hope yesterday the plants were still alive
The celery made it through transplant and the heat of the day.

This morning the beets gave ruby hope to crops in the harvest of all this hard labor...
Planted 7 days...after soaking the seeds in water overnight

Yesterday the turnips were also part of the cure.
Indeed life goes on.
Planted 7 days before germination.

Under umbrellas the radish wished me good day yesterday and show growth in even this one day, planted 7 days ago

Joyfully the pan squash have survived under the sheet my MILove gave us.
I used it to give the shade that kept life in the 107* temperatures.

The radish delineate the parsnip row, but it will be weeks perhaps before the parsnips begin their assent to the heavens and the decent to the depths of long healthy root.

It is a joy and a encouragement to see life come to
BEE BLISS to me.
It has been a long way way too long hot summer.
This summer began with a goal for a garden extension.
The goal in progress is come to success!
I have kept my vision.

Planting center bed main garden

Good morning
So this day begins with planting a trellis to grow the winter squash vertically.
After watching several U Tube video's This sounds like a great way to go.
The trellis still needs a little repair but it is in. It will yet need to be secured and made to be a little more sound for the squash will become very heavy.
The trellis was a gift from my husbands folks...

Study! now the summer squash do not need to have the seeds soaked overnight
However the winter do, as do the peas and beans.

Center bed has a long list of seeds going in.

Beginning far north center bed.
the sunflowers went in yesterday...
Then

Squash Winter Vegetable Spaghetti cucurbita maxima HEIRLOOM
90 days due....
Some sprouted Aug 13

The other side of the trellis will be
Butternut a gift from the earth last year unknown variety

The hill is
Pumpkin big Max Cucurbita maxima
120 day due.....
Sprouted Aug 13

Down center three rows 12 inches apart
Corn Sweet (se) Bodacious Lea Mays var rugosa (hybird)
75 days Due....
A few sprouted Aug 13

Outer edge along both long sides
Cosmo Bright Lights Blend Cosmos Sulphureus
HEIRLOOM
Three foot tall butterflies

Outer edge to the right (e)
Bean Pole Blue Lake Phaseolus vulgaris
60 days due....
Some more to transplant soaked and inoculated in kitchen widow sill still growing Aug 16

Front of bed on pea poles
Pea Shelling Progress #9 Pisum sativum HEIRLOOM
58 day due 2nd wk of Oct.
Not planted yet still growing in inoculate at window sill to be transplanted
Aug 16th

Under the peas
Turnip Purple Top White Globe Brassisa rapa HEIRLOOM
50 day due last wk of Sept.
Not planted yet

Undecided due to space
carrot and radish


chopped the clods and mixed int the mulch/manure

mixed in compost too

Gardeners gold!
This is a good yield happily
It was a bit too neglected during the bad heat...

so rich!

Here I amended again with my mixture (see yesterdays post) NO NITROGEN this is a low nitro bed.

Using the window This image shoes the corn row ending.

The cosmos will keep the corn safe and add pollinators
*BEE BLISS*

Going on three hours of labor and the heat is too much for me.

Peas, squash and beans
seeds to soak overnight.
Tomorrow is another day in the garden this one is heading inside.

Cucumber,squash,radish to seed,carrot,chive and basil with nasturtiums around. Sunflowers at head of center bed to shade.

Well there ya go them's the plans for the far north bed of the main plot
:)
The soil has had a load of horse manure and mulch mix.
Earth was turned and broken up.
Levels were made and a recessed bed established for water conservation.
This is a low nitrogen bed

Time for seed.
My dead line for planting this bed was 8/15
It is in on 8/6
hooah!

On Monday I gleaned the free page of craigs list found mulch and then found horse manure all for free.
A little gas for the truck and a lot of sweat and effort.
My Darling husband helped me night before last to empty the truck
Our method was two parts mulch in the wheelbarrow and then one of the bags of manure. Two more parts mulch mixed in the wheel barrow.
As he was doing that I took fork to earth and turned and hoe to earth to break clods.

This is the last of it for the raised bed took a lot of it and the center main plot bed the rest, after the north end had it's fill.
The East wall of the main plot will use up the rest of this.

Raised beds need to be mixed up so the soil and mulched manure is not in layers.

Here is the plan Stan...:) harhar

After study on the needs of cucumbers and squash I began in earnest to get the seed in.

The companion charts told me what would enjoy each others company.
Also the study of nitrogen needs matched things up.
The blue high lighted page is the companion guide

HERE I go!

Cucumber needs be hilled up as does the zucchini

I love this tree it was to be used as a gift project that never occurred
I dig it in and set it up as a trellis of sorts

Following my plan that was based upon many hours of research.

click on image to enlarge

Left to right

far left outer edge and back of the cube is
Japanese Soyu Burpless Cucumis sativus
HEIRLOOM 65 DAY due 2nd wk of Oct.
sprouted Aug. 13th

Hilled in the center of the left side is
Black Beauty Zucchini Cucurbita pepo
HEIRLOOM 55 DAY due 1st wk of Oct.
Sprouted Aug. 13

Center hilled on each side of the trellis is
Cucumber Marketmore Cucumis Sativus
60 DAY due 2nd wk of Oct.
a few sprouted Aug. 13

Flanking the zucchini in the furrow is
Carrot Asian New Kuroda Daucus carota var sativus
HEIRLOOM 75 DAY due 3rd week of Oct.

Horse shooed around the Marketmore is
Chives common Sllium Schoenoprasum
HEIRLOOM on going

At the head of the center row planted to shade the cucumber
Sunflower Mammoth Grey Stripe Helianthus annuus
HEIRLOOM emerges 10-15 days


Far right side

Around the back wall toward the right behind the tree too
Cucumber Homemade Pickles Cucumis Sativus
55 DAY due 1st wk of Oct.
Sprouted Aug 13 only one or two

At the foot of the tree and in the hollow there is
Squash Summer Scallop (Patty Pan) Blend Cucurbita Pepo
HEIRLOOM 55 DAY due 1st wk of Oct.
Many Sprouted Aug. 13

Along the front edge right side is
Basil Italian Large Leaf Ocimum basilicum
HEIRLOOM on going


Now scattered at each corner are a few
Radish Cherry Belle Raphanus sativus
HEIRLOOM 24 DAY due 1st week of Sept let go to seed...

These will be left to seed to attract insects off of the cucumbers and squash.

Scattered at wall edge all the way around
Nasturtium Jewel Mixed for pollination
due mid Sept.

*BEE BLISS*

As I was just a half an hour out from completion I heard thunder.
I was so focused in deep thought and prayer (my thing while in the garden) it surprised me

By photographing the beds I will have a permanent record of seed set.

NEVER STEP ON YOUR SOIL!
see the board this is straddled and then used to step on.
It diffuses the weight and keeps soil loose.

see the drops on the plank :)
Seed Packets are now safe from weather.

About this time My Boy came out to see me

The tin cans on the stakes two fold purpose to keep your eye safe and to keep the birds uneasy when they light nothing says get out of my garden like a tipping can shifting under the bird.

Although the center bed had more to break up I rapped it up and the tinkle of drops began to come.
I felt a big hug for the prayers of the morning were deep and personal
My heart being dug and hoed like that soil becoming more fertile for the seeds being sown within me. There is a time for all things.

As I sat a spell I watched as my boy set up a track an obstacle course to play with his car on. Now funny thing when your in the garden and time slows...You see so many deeper lessons. You see even in obstacles the planks had to be set just right in order for the greater pit falls to be avoided. He had to make sure the board were set up just right to make the course run as directed.
God must be pretty busy teaching and building things up to set us just right to make it through the obstacles we each face.

Well I gathered the books and papers, seed packets and camera and was off to the porch when.

It began JUST THEN to rain lightly
a refreshing sort of very light big drops release.
Sorta like tender tears that fall big when ya see what your suppose to see.

NOTE when I spoke of salting the earth I was speaking in poetic term...I mean to sprinkle the amendments as one would salt.