Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Working in the Garden

Hullo! This past week, we had a few glorious days of sunshine before the rains came... so it was time to work in the garden. I cracked the whip with my humans and made sure that a bunch of projects got ticked off the to-do list!

We finally pulled the plug on the basil. It was under some plastic for the last few weeks and did remarkably well. But it was time to harvest it. Mmm... pesto! Have you had Pesto Chicken Tomato Feta Pizza? Beary good.

Pretty good basil harvest here...

Our tomatoes are still happy under their plastic sheet. They are turning red at a nice rate.

And this... this is our accidental tomato plant (1 plant) that is growing along the wire fencing on the side of the garden compound.

It makes THE most amazing tomatoes... beautiful clumps and the ripe ones taste soooo good! We are going to try and get some seeds...

We also harvested the last of the red cabbage... and all of our delicata squash. The delicata was accidental... and tastes like butternut but better.

We also picked the last of the yellow beans. These are going to be seeds for next year.

And... a massive carrot!! Or one could think that based on how wide it is...

But it was only 4-5 inches long. Oh well... They still taste amazing. Oh... and that garlic... well, we are planting garlic today! But first... we need to build a new garden bed.

Which meant a trip to a local sawmill where they sell rough-cut cedar straight off the green chain. Excellent. For $72, we got five 2x6x12 pieces. Just what we were looking for. Next time we'll have to take grampa along... he used to work in a sawmill and we think he might be like an old warhorse once he sniffs the wood!

Here we go... the cedar smells great.

And the garden plot is ready to go....

*** saw... saw... hammer... drill... saw... grumble.... drill... saw...***

And... voila!!! A new garden bed. That was quick.

Now we need to fill it with soil... so that meant a trip to the local soil supplier. We got 1/2 cubic yard for $14... That was a LOT of rubbermaid containers (the big ones... not the kitchen-sized ones).

Whew... well... the soil is in the bed and we thought it would be enough but... not quite... So we put a divider into the bed and stocked up the garlic side with soil.

We'll have to get more soil for the other side next time.

And then it was garlic planting time... 32 hard neck cloves went in the ground and 8 soft neck cloves...

There we go... garlic is all planted and watered!

Now it's time for a break... I think they should make a beer called Thirsty Bear!!!

10 comments:

  1. Wow, when you say "Crack the whip on the humans" you weren't kidding. Those raised beds look great - nicely done.

    Word on the street is that volunteer tomatoes taste better than the starts.

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    1. Thanks! I think volunteer tomatoes are sort of like back alley deals... things you get for free, always feel/taste better!

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  2. Wow! That is a lot of gardening work, and it all looks beariffictastic! Our basil got sick in September and all died (strange). Your new garden bed looks amazing too! Great job!

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    1. Thanks guys! Sorry to hear about your basil. Apparently lots of other gardeners around here had poor basil crops as well. Not sure what we did right...

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    1. Er... well. yes. It's actually the same basil plants, just the final harvest of it. We had picked the leaves three previous times and it kept producing more. We are drowning in basil...

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  4. I love the second to last picture with your shadow (at least I think it is your shadow).

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    1. Oooh yes! That is my shadow... I didn't even notice it. You have beary good foxy eyes.

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  5. I figured it was yours or Spooky's.

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  6. Could you please explain what you mean by "accidental" tomatoes and squash? If it is food, there is no such thing as an accident but that is just my understanding...

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