Twiggybet1's Blog

Busy Days
Aug 25, 2008 | 8:45 AM PST

Boy, time flies when you're busy...It's been almost 3 weeks since I blogged, and longer since I updated on the garden.  What's been going on in the garden?  Well, around the 6th or so of this month, I put up boards to blanch the celery.  It appears to be doing really good:

This is the first year we tried growing celery.  It is planted in a compost-filled trench about 6" deep, with an extra water supply tube running between two rows.  The leaves on store-bought celery don't look this lush and large.  I have pulled a few stalks when I need to use some.  I saved the leaves and dried them in the dehydrator.  I am going to make my own version of home-made all-purpose seasoning with them

Another first-year attempt in the garden, sweet corn.  We had just started getting a few ears about the same time that I blanched the celery.  Here is the very first picking of our corn:

It was so delicious!  I'm glad we grew it this year. 

About this time every year, the garden starts to look overgrown and like a mini vegetable jungle.  Yes, I know, I tend to plant things pretty close, tending to take advantage of all the available space.  But I mulch between the rows early before the plants have a chance to fill out, so that later, when the jungle-stage comes I can find a place to step, and I tread carefully. 

 

In the picture above, you can see the pumpkins (which I thought were either zucchini or cukes, see earlier blogs mentioning wintersowing) are crowding over into sweet potato territory, which are in turn crowding over into potato territory.  No worries here, I don't need to get between these rows right not, as none of them need harvesting right now.  And they look happy together, don't you think?

We took a little mini-vacation of sorts recently.  Hubby and I just celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on the 16th.  We left town on the 14th, leaving dear daughter in charge of the household.  She swears to me she kept up the watering schedule, but I know she didn't harvest anything.   Hubby and I went through the garden and harvested as much as we could just before we left, to share with relatives we would be seeing.  We planned to look at vacation property not too far from where most of my family lives.  Their growing zone is about 2 weeks or so behind us (and a bit shorter to boot).  The difference between my sister's garden and my own is amazing.  Her garden is much smaller, comprised mostly of containers and raised beds.  She is renting, and the owner had made the raised beds.  She wanted some things in containers so she could take them with her if they should happen to need to move before the growing season is over.  She had just started to get a few tomatoes when we were there, and had yet to get any green beans, although she had loads of blossoms. 

Anyway, for our anniversary, we went to a murder-mystery dinner that was held in a park, under the park pavillion.  A catered event, reservations ahead of time, but not too fancy, nice and casual.  My sister and brother-in-law went also, and my brother-in-law was ask to play a part in the mystery.  What a riot!  Too bad we forgot to bring the camera with us, but I suspect he wouldn't have appreciated too many pictures anyway.  Earlier in the day, he and hubby went fishing and BIL was stung on the face by a wasp, and so his cheek was swollen.  (I found out later that this was hubby's fault:  on the way back from fishing, they stopped to check out a boat for sale.  Hubby rocks the boat, apparently to see how solid and seaworthy it was, and disturbed a nest of wasps.  Mean, angry wasps!  Well, hubby and nephew start running away, and brother-in-law didn't quite get the memo in time!) After the dinner, hubby and I spent the night in the area hotel, in the King jaccuzi room.  Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Sure beats sharing my nephew's bedroom back at my sisters.  We spent sunday having a cook-out with the rest of the family back at my sisters. 

We ejoyed seeing everyone, it's amazing how much the kids grow from one visit to the next!  In the picture above the boys are showing off goofy glow-in-the-dark "glasses".  Below, a picture of hubby holding the youngest grand-nephew, he's just 4 months old:

I don't know why I couldn't catch him smiling, he is such a happy baby and is usually all smiles.  He seems to think my husband is a riot.

We returned home on the 19th.  We came home to a garden loaded full of produce.  This is what I harvested the following morning:

 

Rhubarb, assorted peppers, assorted tomatoes, broccoli, and beans.  I guess the beans aren't slowing that much after all, and I am really questioning if the sungold and juliet tomatoes are indeed determinate varieties.  Besides what's in the picture, I got a couple of nice heads of cabbage, and made 4 pans of cabbage rolls.  They are in the freezer.  I have also been busy canning the tomatoes and green beans.  One cloud in my sunning sky raining on my parade, though.  Something has discovered the corn, and has been helping itself:

Doesn't that look terrible?  At least 2 dozen ears were ruined, and we keep finding more ruined every day.  I am not sure if it is squirrels or birds or both.  But the little boogers got more corn than we did!  I will have to see what can be done and do a better job next year, if I want sweetcorn.  In the mean time, hubby and I picked everything from the rows that could be salvaged.  Now that there isn't any corn left, I hope the pests don't turn to the tomatoes and squash! 

Until next time (and I need to make it more frequent so my blogs aren't so darn long)

Happy gardening!!!!!