snowy halloween garden

After a day of melting, this is my garden. We got about 3 inches of the white stuff on Saturday. Way less than other places to the west of us.

A big branch fell in the backyard that will need to be cleared with a power saw. I hope the weather warms and stays snow-free at least til next weekend so I can clean up my gardens. I was still picking peppers and basil last week and had done minimal clean up. I guess its time to prepare for winter!

happy halloween!!!

Skippy is taking it easy this Halloween!

halloween pumpkins

My mom has been asking me what to do with pumpkins. I like to keep them out for decoration until Halloween and then start cooking with them. Pumpkin bread and pumpkin soup are my favorites.

snow on thyme - much too early

My gnome who tends the thyme is shoveling out a dusting of early October snow. Much too early! Some places west of us got inches of snow. Ours melted by the time the sun rose to mid morning.

today's harvest

I picked the last of my cucumbers, eggplant, poblano peppers and cherry tomatoes, then pulled the plants out and added them to the overflowing compost bins. Broccoli continues to produce little side shoots. I picked two lemons from my Meyers lemon tree, which is still outside.

Today's project today was to clear out the cold frame, fertilize and turn the soil, then and put the top panels back on. We replaced the old ripped plastic on the panels with some nice new green house plastic that I got by mail order. My experiment this fall is a couple of fluorescent lights in the frame. I have a nice tray full of seedling greens and there isn't enough sunlight any more to support growth. Still nice and warm, so I will see what happens.

Belmont wild life

There seems to be an explosion of wildlife in suburban Boston. Maybe it is just that I'm noticing it now, and didn't for the past 20 years. But, it sure seems like a new thing.

The other night I was gazing out the bedroom door (just for the fresh air) after dark and a fox ran right up the middle of road! Very thick fur, big plump tail, held straight out behind with a white tip.

Then the next night I was watching again and I must have seen 5 rabbits cross the road. OK maybe it was the same rabbit going back and forth. Later the screech owl was doing a quiet warble from across the road.

Today, Skippy and I went for a car wash. When we finished at dusk, there was a wild turkey in the lot next to my car. Its a really busy place with noise and bright lights. Skippy rolled his eyes at the bold turkey. I snapped photos then he flew up into a tree to roost. (Skip and I were both thinking about Thanksgiving dinner I think....)

To top it off, just now I was looking out the window for no more than 2 minutes and 2 'coons ran across the road.

While I have seen rabbits and coon and turkeys in town before (not foxes or owls) it seems amazing to see so many, so easily. I am very glad they are finding useful habitat here!

today's harvest

I haven't been working in my garden much at all in the past couple months. My new business is keeping me very busy. The garden looks a bit unoccupied. Some weeds here and there. Little birds helping themselves. Old squash vines and corn stalks lying in the beds. But gardens can be very happy on their own. Late fall green are growing. And my harvest is still delicious. On Tuesday evening Skippy and I stopped by and filled up a bag with vegetables as fresh as they get.

I found one last patty pan summer squash, leeks, lots of small broccoli sprouts, potatoes, a few small beets, cilantro, mizuna, and arugula, a few small heads of lettuce, and a really heavy head of purple cabbage.

vacation

We had a fantastic weekend at the Inn at Crotched Mountain in Francestown NH. It was a relaxing weekend - we hiked and dined. They have a "dog-friendly" inn - Skippy loved it too. He ran in the big fields and swam in the brook. What fun!

They have a lovely backyard with several apple trees, a peach tree, and a nice vegetable garden.

Here are photos of the Inn and our hike nearby: Vacation slideshow

Here are photos of their garden: The Inn's garden slideshow. I look forward to a return visit in mid summer!

today's harvest

Today's harvest: lots of broccoli and green peppers and chilis. (I gave most of these away before I took this picture.) Also, a big leek, a Benning's green tint patty pan squash, red Thai hot peppers, and a couple beets.

I also harvested a nice big pear today. Still green. I hope it will ripen well. I have read that pears should be picked green and ripen off the tree. I hope this is right. I originally had 5 pears set on my 2 young espaliered trees in my community garden plot this spring. Three disappeared back in August. One disappeared last week. So with one left and cold weather setting in, I picked the last pear today. (I think the others were picked by passers by. Next year I will devise a net or extra fencing to protect them if I get more fruit to set.)

pumpkins on the steps

skippy

fall photos

watermelon martini!!

This was the most crisp and sweet watermelon I've ever tasted! It was small but really yummy. My cantaloupes didn't ripen fully, even in the long hot summer we had this year.

aerial after the storm

We were lucky and have very little damage in my yard from hurricane Irene. My rain gauge says we got 3.3 inches of rain. The town of Belmont had a number trees down and power was out in some areas. Tomorrow I'll check out the other side of town where my community garden plot is. This area is low and sometimes has flooding.

hurricane irene

Liz at bisforbread.wordpress.com asked

Hi Kathy!



I wonder if you've come across any helpful advice for how to prepare a garden for Hurricane Irene this weekend. We're in western Massachusetts and are of course harvesting all that we can, but I'm finding few other tips online. Do you have any suggestions for how to save our squash, brussels sprouts, etc. from the deluge ahead?



Good luck with the hurricane - I hope you'll enjoy a martini when it arrives!



Liz

Great idea about that martini!!! A super idea for a storm.



About the garden - I just made sure there was nothing that could blow around. I took down my umbrella and stashed it under the squashes. I brought my drinking cup home from my community garden and took down my bird feeders and a wobbly old bird house. I picked the apples from my tiny tree since they seemed like they were nearly ready, the squirrel was eating one, and I was afraid they would blow off. (I left my pears on my tree.) Another gardener at the community garden took down her pole beans - mostly because they were pretty much done already anyway. (I left my pole bean teepee up.) And I harvested what was ready.



Here in Belmont we are to the east of the storm. I'm not expecting much wind or rain tomorrow. I think flooding may be our biggest problem. Our community gardens and my basement sometimes flood in storms. We'll see. I hope all the gardens to the west of me fare well.



I'm looking forward to a day inside tomorrow while the wounds blow and the rain falls. I'm thinking I'll make eggplant parmesan and maybe stuffed zucchini. Also a batch of cucumber pickles and maybe some red sauce. That will keep me busy.



Let me know what garden preparations you have made. Or what you plan to do during the storm.

this week's harvest

apple harvest

I picked all my apples today. A bit early. The squirrel had started eating one (he thinks they're ready!) and hurricane Irene is coming in tomorrow and I don't know if the wind might blow then around. The 20 heavy apples seemed so big on my little tree! Some branches were weighted down almost to the grass.



I've read that apples ripen up after picking. They sure look pretty! I'm admiring them in a bowl on my table.

more fungi

What a humid summer!



My apples have fungi too. Black mildew on the fruits. The good news is that it washes right off. I picked all my apples today (a bit early) and they washed up perfectly.



Tomato fruits and squash leaves have mildew too.

tomato spots

I have every type of spot on my tomatoes this year - except late blight, thank goodness. Big spots, small ones, orange and brown and black. The damage is pretty much limited to the fruits and is not on the leaves or stems of the plants.



Its been perfect weather for fungi this summer - hot and humid. But I think much of my problem is that I planted my tomato plants too dense and between tall popcorn and sunflowers that reduce airflow. Other gardeners in our community garden have nice tomatoes that they planted with lot of airflow. Next year I will do this too....

apples on the tree

There are about 20 apples on my dwarf Fugi apple tree this year. All are getting big and red and I'm tempted to pick one soon. I can imagine the crisp juicy bites!



All summer, the apples have been covered with plastic baggies and I just removed them last weekend. I took them off on Sunday because it seemed some of the fruits were getting some black fungal/mildew growth. Its been such a humid summer that I think I have every type of fungus growing in my garden somewhere this year.



The risk for the uncovered apples now is that the squirrels might find them before I pick them. Once they start to sweeten up the squirrels get interested. I'd like to leave them on the tree to ripen as long a I can. SO I'm watching out.

first pumpkin

Is there a good way to know when pumpkins are ready to pick? I usually pick when they are deep orange or the stem is hardened.

Ah! sunflower

August is for sunflowers! I love all the tiny little flowers gathered together into one great big sunny ring of yellow.



(Wikipedia says there are 1,000-2,000 little flowers per head and that H. Vogel proposed in 1979 that the polar coordinates of their arrangement is modeled by r = c \sqrt{n}, \theta = n \times 137.5^{\circ}.)



Our community gardens are full of many 15 foot tall sunflowers this year. They stand above the fence tops. The sparrows, goldfinches and chickadees are singing as they flit among them.

Ah! sunflower, weary of time,

Who countest the steps of the sun,

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the traveller’s journey is done;



William Blake P. 1793

Skippy

my plot

Garden notes:



Very late peppers and tomatoes. And small onions. That's from planting outside too early this spring into my cold frame. An experiment.



As usual, my garden plot is way overgrown - I like to squeeze in as much as I can.



Beautiful popcorn, potatoes, garlic and eggplants. It may be a good year for my melons finally - fingers crossed as they continue to ripen and grow.

ripening melons

A nice hot summer and I have my first ever melons ripening! A Charentois and a San Juan. I think maybe a watermelon or two will ripen also. I can't wait to try them!!



How do I know when they are ripe???

Judy's butterfly garden

I've never seen a hummingbird moth before. My sister helped me identify it. Amazing!



Judy owns the community garden plot next to mine. She planted a butterfly garden along the path for everyone to enjoy. Its a moving experience of buzzing and color. Every time I go to my plot, I walk by and marvel. Last weekend I had my camera and took a bunch of photos.