August in the garden

July went by in a blur of weeding and canning. We have put up tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn (not from the garden-- I find corn hard to grow), crowder peas, lima beans, tomatillos, cucumbers, and we are harvesting peppers. We also have pie pumpkins, butternut squash and a mystery winter squash piling up in the kitchen.

The house reeks of garlic as I try my hand at making pickles the fermented way for the first time. There is a huge bag of tomatillos in the freezer as I wait for cilantro's fall season before making salsa. There are about 30 jars of potatoes in the pantry. So I haven't been blogging, but I have been busy!

Squash bugs recently attacked Alexis' bed of luffas, pumpkins and butternut squash. She applied the pesticide powder with a picture of a cow on it after a consultation with Merrill at Stone Bros. We also got flea beetles on the eggplant. I am not sure if they're why we aren't getting eggplant. There is only one fruit on five plants. The flowers keep turning gray and falling off. If I liked eggplant more, I would look into it. And the crowders have aphids. I sprayed them with water until they came off a few days ago. I need to get out there and see if they are back.

Amber and Alexis came out a couple of weekends ago when we had two lovely 75 degree days and we pulled a pile of weed so huge that I was too ashamed to throw it over the fence into Amber and Tom's backyard. So it is still sitting in my backyard!

Oh and here is a great story. I harvested a bunch of dried lima beans and was inside hulling them. It turns out that ANTS will live in the pods. Eeeeewwwww. I would crack the pods open and hundreds of ants would pour out. It was completely repulsive.

There is lots more news, but I will stop with this excitement-- Alexis and Will and I built a top bar beehive last weekend!!! Bees will move in in March or April!

The Urban Farm goes inorganic

Monday morning before work, I went to Stone Brothers with two leaves; one from the beans that seemed to have some kind of virus and one from the tomatillos being eaten in their entirety by small, dark nasty bugs.

Merrill told me not to worry about the spotty bean leaves since they're setting fruit (in fact, I harvested the first handful of 1/2 runners Monday night). He gave me a red bag of pesticide to dust over the tomatillos. I was fascinated to note that you can also use it to dust your livestock.

So the tomatillo/cabbage bed is organic no more, but I should still be able to make green tomatillo salsa in a couple of months! And I feel better about my responsible use of a small amount of pesticide than about buying organic tomatillos from California. I'm sorry I don't have a picture to share of the fashionable figure I cut while applying the pesticide. I had my sweater tied over my face, sunglasses, and stylish garden gloves. What a way to start a week!

Oh, and to resolve the other garden news, it is just too damn hot for rhubarb. If I plant it again next year as an annual, I will have to remember to harvest it by late May.

Bad day for the garden

I went outside to check in with the garden this evening and things are not going well. A large host of tiny, wingless things is munching on the tomatillos. I will need to go to Stone Brothers and find out what they are and how to kill them. They are eating the entire leaf.

The green beans have some kind of fungus, which is turning the leaves golden in spots. Not cool.

And in the final tragedy that I noticed, the rhubarb has completely collapsed. I am not sure if it is sick or if it is just too hot for it.

In happier news, the tomatoes are doing well so far and a couple of plant have already set fruit!!!

I think that it is nearly time to harvest garlic and onions. I need to get a screen on which I can cure them.

Mosquitos wee out in force tonight. I am wicked itchy!!!!