herbs and tomatoes

Finally have a few large tomatoes to pick- I get them early and let finish ripening on the windowsill (otherwise the squirrels eat holes out of them). Some are oddly shaped this year! 

There is also an oddity in one of my basil pots. A seed came up looking the same as all the rest, but grew tiny leaves. They have the same flavor (maybe a little sharper) just small for some reason.

As for the other herbs, well some have failed me. Dill is pretty much done- gone to flower and now dying off. That's usual. But my pot of summer savory on the deck, only has two surviving plants out of the six or eight I stuck in there. The pot of dill never did well either, and the parsley is only a few small leaves, really struggling. These did so much better when in planters on the deck railing.

Chives, thyme, basil and mint are doing well. Tarragon is sprawling in the herb bed (this French type doesn't seem to grow upright like the Russian one did I had before), sculpit is putting out its balloon flowers, and green onions continue growing. I hope to eat more of those soon.

cold

Last night a serious freeze. All the more tender plants came inside again- 

tomatoes fill the cage

sharing space with some of the new things I haven't figured out where to plant yet- the asters, lobelia, blue-eyed grass and rattlesnake-master

In the smaller cage on the bench, seedling trays where summer savory

and hyssop- so very tiny!- have just come up. Basil also began to sprout

Outside I had already put in the ground some obedient plants, and they were very droopy so put cloches over- it helped them perk up immediately as you can see the next morning

and then I also covered them one more night to save from the freeze and they did fine

things growing

First true leaves of parsley!

My tomatoes have grown taller than the coldframe.

There's a few nights of frost still expected, I'll have to bring them in.

And move the plant cage again- it's now out on the deck protecting some things from my cat! I put a bit of fencing around the lower part of the deck railings, so the cats don't lean out so far looking like they'll jump. They really like hanging out on the deck with us now. But Eliza chomps all the plants. The foreground pot in here is of sprouted wheat I pulled out of the mulched beds and stuck in dirt for her- but I have to keep her from chewing it down to nothing, give her access to it only occasionally. Also protected are- thyme, chives (which she chewed a lot of) and dill. The mint pot is unsheltered, she leaves that one alone.

I also had to block her from getting onto the greenhouse shelves and biting plants in there. With the coldframe window.

The cats especially like being on the deck right now because there is a bird nesting under one corner of it- on top of that carpenter bee trap I hung.

Today I managed to get a few photos of it- I think they're house finches. The male has a rosy chest and head.

From above, you can put your eye to a crack between the boards and see straight into the nest- five small very pale blue eggs. I can't wait to see the baby birds hatch! 

one more sowing

Probably the last one of the year. Pole beans straight into pots in the greenhouse. Summer savory, basil and hyssop in starter trays on top of the fridge. Sage just pressed onto the top of seed starter mix, lidded with plastic and set by a window.

Outside, I dug up the smaller of my two lovage plants to take to swap next week- one plant is really far more than I need, and the bigger one sure is thriving. In its place I put the two smaller dill plants that were still in their little pots. (So now there's two in the garden and two in a large pot on the deck). Come fall I might dig up the larger lovage entirely, move it to be more centered in the bed. Right now it kind of crowds the edge.

potted up

Dill

seedling progress

Two days ago my beets started sprouting 

along with something I wish wasn't growing- the sticks of virburnum I used as pea supports. Well, that tells me I could just shove trimmings in the ground to extend the hedge!

Tatsoi and tokyo bekana have grown their first true leaves- I'll probably plant them straight out into the garden (skipping potting up)

My collards,

chard

and lettuces all have first true leaves also. (Lettuces are not doing so well as the others).

Had a few mishaps already- I accidentally dropped two seedling trays facedown on the floor. Rescued these tomato seedlings and they seem okay after a few days- although now I can't tell which are the sweetie 100's and which are the black cherry tomatoes!

The other tray I faceplanted had chives and dill- they didn't fare so well. (But these I can tell apart).

So I made some mistakes, but here's something that's gone well: that patch of grass I sowed in the backyard where there's a sunken spot (in the fall). It's greener than anything! (see the surrounding "lawn").

I am honestly quite surprised. All these years I thought I had done well to mix grass seed with compost and ashes, or to scatter just compost and ashes to feed the lawn. This grew far better, and stayed way greener, and looks much healthier. Forget saving ashes for the lawn anymore. Pro mix and a handful of compost, on top of bare clay soil seemed to work! 

new project

My dill has come up! 

And I have been painting bricks (cinder blocks) to replace old rotted edges on beds 7 and 8. I thought I was all set with five or six days of dry weather to work in, plenty of time to take it at a casual pace and have the hours of drying time between layers needed.

Then the forecast changed and now it's going to rain on wed so I have to haul all the bricks inside and move them back out on friday when it dries up again, bah.

It was hot today- 85 degrees. I've been taking the seedlings out of the greenhouse each day now to sit on the table in the sun- but I had to move them into shade this afternoon.

first freeze

was last night. I spent the last two days raking leaves and picking up more pin oak acorns out of the grass. Put some leaf litter/grass clippings mulch around and over some of my plants just as it was getting dark yesterday- the new rosemary, sweetspire, hyssop (which also got cut back to two inches), wild geraniums, lemon balm and tarragon, etc. 

A few days earlier I had spread the compost on all the garden beds- it was just barely enough. I didn't have any left over to feed the ferns, hostas or other yard perennials. Now I'll have to spend this afternoon cutting down the plants killed by frost, that just look icky- the coleus and celosia, the black tatters of leaves on monarda and joe pye stems. Other things that just look dried up, I'll leave be until spring. 

Pictures from compost spreading day, just because it looked so rich. Momentarily- as soon as this was done, I put leaf/grass mulch over the copmost layer. I could tell the soil had been neglected past two seasons- removing some weeds before spreading the compost, found the soil was hard, dry and somewhat compacted. Maybe that's why I haven't seen squirrels digging in the garden so much this year. I thought it was because the hawks and owls passing through our yard more often had taken some of them- but maybe also because the soil just wasn't as soft and inviting, when I hadn't been mulching and feeding it. Well, now it got that treatment again.

another angle- still just as empty.

There are some things still here, though- rue looks great, as if re-flourishing since its little trim

Borage coming up in bed one also has lovely bluish hue, robust leaves

Nicotiana in a few scattered spots

This tall one next to the dill has been blooming like crazy

other side

The dill is over my head again! I would cut the umbrels for more dried seed, but they're still green yet

Here's a smaller dill alone in bed three. 

A few small leeks in bed ten. I'd like to eat them, but want them to grow bigger first.

I cut some bug-riddled leaves out of the lovage, and that looks better now 

My new rosemary looks rather pale. I trimmed it a bit more (using for tea), the leaves look all faintly speckled as if from aphid bites . . . 

The blue sage still has tons of color, though quite a few flower stems are gone to seed now

I found a few bees on them- I think affected by the cold, because they were moving very slowly

but that allowed me to get quite close

I also brought in a lot of potted plants against the cold, and put the young beautyberries in the mini greenhouse to overwinter (never got around to planting them). More pics soon.

Why do I tend to forget how much I love gardening, until I'm out there again? Tidying things up, seeing the richness of the turned compost, digging my fingers through the soil, leaning against the sun-warmed bricks of the bed edges, just feel so content and happy in what I'm doing. It's good work.

structure

I've been working a lot outside- the cooler weather plus my improving health makes me delighted to be outside for hours getting sweaty and sore muscles. It's great! But not a lot of work to do with plants, although I'm pulling weeds, raking, trimming stuff per usual. Straightening garden bed edges, where some bricks had fallen out of alignment over the past few years. And digging small rocks with flat edges into the ground, to make a "mowing strip" of sorts around the base of the beds.

A few days ago I started this task: putting a flat path in the one garden area the lawn mower won't fit. Between beds four and five (which is the small square one with just rue), straight down between beds three and six (the perennial herbs). It's the annoying area where I always end up pulling tons of weeds by hand, trimming grass with scissors or a knife, and getting struck by rue (from just brushing against it).

So I had all these narrow cinder blocks, the kind with two holes through the center. They're the same dimension as my garden bed edging bricks, but my husband picked them up (free) for me not realizing I couldn't use ones with holes. Various reasons. Had them sitting around for over a year, trying to think how to make them work for the garden edge- fill the holes with cement and make them solid? put in as-is with a flat stone cap? plant stuff in the holes (don't like that look)? never satisfied with any ideas so they'd been on my porch holding up a planks for a makeshift bench. (Useful, but not a nice look either).

Then I asked my husband to cut them all in half lengthwise with his wet saw. And I dug them into the ground with the flat sides up, packing clay and small broken stone under the hollows. One cracked in half because I dropped it, otherwise they feel pretty solid- firm to the ground and not rocking. Mostly. 

Next job -yesterday- was to straighten the bricks on the outside edge of bed 10. Which was the most crooked of them all. Quite a bit of work, but very satisfying. I must be a real garden nerd, I love pulling the edges off and seeing the darkness of the garden soil, from my compost enrichments. Even though in this bed it's kind of shallow (because of the initial stick layer, which has broken down by now).

I laid a string line this time to get the edge straight. 

It was also satisfying to see that, in spite of some wedges I had shoved under the bricks to level them the first time around being wood- which rotted away- the clay soil under them was pretty compact and smooth, flat surface once I brushed away the dirt that had sifted down through cracks. I think it was mostly the pushing of roots, motion of insects and shifting of dirt from gravity, that had caused the bricks to get crooked.

Now fairly straight- not perfect, but good enough for me.

I keep thinking I ought to dig all the edges out, make a narrow shallow trench around the beds, fill with sand or fine gravel, and set the bricks again on that, for a proper base. Just didn't have the energy, time, or want the expense of buying more materials the first time I did all this. Wonder if I even need to. The rest of the garden edges are in good shape still, only a few more I might pull off to straighten- and I am pretty sure they're all ones I had wedged with wood shims. Now I wedge with small flat rocks or just packed clay soil. It stays pretty firm. 

Also satisfied to see they've held up well, where the bricks are under/against the soil. The sealant and paint layers have not worn off (in four years). 

After all that, I went back to finishing the path. I'm really pleased with it- so I took a lot of pictures, from all angles! It's nice to walk on.

After walking on it for a day I realize I'm probably going to take the trouble to lift half the path again and re-dig so they sit deeper. It slopes down and then goes up again towards the outer edge of the garden- following the land- but is too shallow between the rue and bed four. Bed five with the rue needed almost all the bricks pulled off and re-set. They were very wonky. I had to chop a lot of roots- I think their pushing is what made the edge go crooked. 

Trimmed the rue back quite a bit before starting work, and even then I brushed against it too many times, so went inside and washed my hands, arms and face with rubbing alcohol and then soap and lots of water, hoping to stave off a skin reaction. Interesting to see when I exposed the soil in the rue bed, it was paler than in the other beds- not so black, but still darker than the plain red clay soil. Because this bed I don't feed compost, it just gets some grass trimmings and leaf litter mulch in fall.

Looking straight down it. See how tall the dill umbrels (green)! This is after I cut it back twice earlier in the season. It's really growing crazy in the cooler weather now.

From above. I spy another brick on the short edge of bed three, that needs straightening . . .

While doing all that digging, I pulled three large dandelions. Nice straight roots the width of my finger, so I cleaned, scraped and roasted them for tea. Hadn't done that in a long time.