end of beans

Pulled the vines of purple pole beans. There are still beans growing but most damaged by cold or starting to go to seed. The pods that were dried out enough, I harvested to keep for next years' seed. A few (on the right) looked more plump and smooth than the rest, were just not dry all the way yet.

Took out the tomato vines also, and have a row of green tomatoes on the windowsill. A few are ripening.

There's a few beets left, the chard, turnips and collard greens still going. And some of the herbs: green onions, sculpit, rosemary, thyme, parsley, sorrel, chives, tarragon. And of course the lovage.

Asparagus is lovely thick and ferny- I have weeded and mluched but not yet cut back because it's still green.

Not too bad for November, my first year actually back into gardening!

work outside

I've been pulling dandelions and purple dead nettle. Think am starting to finally get ahead of the creeping jenny- the patch didn't take nearly as long to clear out this year as the last time I tackled it, and only three more pieces were showing green when I walked by it again today (pausing at once to tease those out of the ground). Cleared vinca off the smaller sideyard today, will get to the rest of it on the upper area around the lilac bush soon. 

Peonies and turtlehead are up, black-and-blue salvia showing lots of leaves, joe pye just starting to peek above the ground.

The week before when I thinned the beets, I tucked some of them back into the ground. Didn't expect a high survival rate, but actually most of them are still alive and have perked up again! So I tried the same with the carrots. The bed is full of weeds and unevenly spaced carrot seedlings, crowded here and there.

I tidied it up and all the pulled carrots that actually had some roots, put them back into the ground in blank spots, using the blade of a butter knife and sliding them into the gap, then pressing tight around. Except- I think a bunch of these weren't carrots after all, but grass of some kind? Did I just save a bunch of grass bits in neat little rows. They don't have the pretty ferny leaves. Will keep an eye on them and yank out again if I've made a mistake.

At least it looks more orderly now.

Have started eating tatsoi- there's not enough of it! and lovage, which is thick and lovely. And today had some sculpit sauteed in butter with rice and carrots. There's actually only one sculpit plant left in the herb bed- I think the winter cold did them in- and two that sprouted under the deck which I will move.

Monarda all seems to be missing from the rear flower bed, too. Just one or two, and lots of mock strawberry, where they used to be thick. I wonder if it was too cold for them (but all the echinacea are alive and well). However there's this one that was in bed 9, which I dug up and moved to the larger sideyard, so when multiplies itself I can restock the back area as well.

a few things

in the garden- not much, but there is stuff growing. One blue collard from last year, actually producing since I took all the catmint out of bed eight. (Ate most of this with salmon and quinoa for dinner). There were green caterpillars. I plucked them all off, and fed the two smallest to Tucker.

Big soft leaves of nicotiana. The borage has succumbed to something - heat a few weeks ago, or insect onslaught- but the nicotianas are fine. Self-seeded into several garden beds and since I wasn't planting, I just let them be.

Some herbs that weren't looking so great at the end of summer heat, are doing better now- sculpit, which I cut back to remove all the funny balloon flowers- 

and winter savory in particular- this one so hard to get a good picture of. I'm considering giving it a severe cutback, trying to plant the main stem as a cutting, and restart the original plant branching out further down. Not sure if I will loose it, though. In spring, maybe.

I do miss having sage and rosemary. Will have to try again with those . . . 

Look at this surprise. Even though the plants are scrawny, got their leaves eaten continually by deer and/or rabbits, and look stricken from aphids or some other pest, there's quite a few skinny little beans forming.

And these two pods look like they actually might give me the beans. It's the kidney beans I planted on a whim one day, at the wrong time of year too. Ha!

small herbs

I have potted up and planted most of the herbs. They are pathetic. I was wrong about those summer savories in the planter box. I don't think they grew from prior rootstock, but from self-sown seed. Found a number of savories down in the garden beds, where I certainly didn't plant any last year! They just grew so much better, at the right time (mine started way too late).

Now into a pot (and trimmed, which parts we ate on fish)

I was cleaning up the garden beds (don't want weeds taking over and scattering their own seed everywhere) and dug up/moved half a dozen summer savory plants and four dill. Left this one where it was. It's over a foot in height, whereas the few dill I started from seed, are barely an inch. 

I think the younger plants are really struggling in the heat. A third have died.

As for the other herbs- my sage never germinated. So I guess that seed from mother's garden is finally too old! But I got some sage cuttings from another gardener. They had been left out on her driveway (for no-contact pickup) all night, so I'm not sure if will recover. I have two large pieces with woody stems, and several smaller ones with tender young stems that I pulled off the larger. Dipped all in rooting hormone and crossed my fingers. They look super sad right now.

 It's nice to see in that bed, the winter savory recovering! (Maybe I should cut it back hard every spring) 

Sculpit is really taking over the space, I had to trim it back (need to eat it more!) You can see tarragon just behind the sculpit to the right- I'm glad that one's growing again because just finished using up all the dried tarragon from last season.

Lavender is also sprawling all over needs a serious trim (after the bloom time) and sorrel starting shooting up flowering stalks that I've been cutting off. 

My garlic chives are doing okay, but the green onions I started got nipped by cold one night, or withered in heat one day. Hasn't been the greatest year yet. Most of the parsley died- I have one seedling left in the pot I moved them to

Of all the thyme, just two small plants alive. Also potted up now.

The fenugreek all died, but two more of the seeds sprouted in the tray (I hadn't dumped the starting soil yet) so I hope those will make it. Fenugreek is one I always seem to plant too early and then struggle with.

But the basil is doing great! 

Of all those that grew, three lived and that's enough for me.

So the herbs I have: winter savory, summer savory, tarragon, sculpit, dill, basil, sorrel, a small amount of thyme, one parsley plant and maybe sage- if it recovers at all. And the bay leaf tree! Also chocolate and ginger mints, and the established pot of chives. Not too bad, but I hope also for fenugreek and wish to plant rosemary yet again.

in the garden space

tarragon is emerging

and winter savory is alive after all, but only just barely. I cut off a ton of dead stems.

I'm pleased with the sculpit- there's been plenty to eat from at least once a week.

Sorrel has grown in thick again- looks like the deer have quit invading my yard temporarily (I scattered the soap shavings and hair again). But I haven't eaten this plant this spring- I used to have it as a fresh green alongside a pork roast usually, and we just haven't had that often of late.

Rue is regrowing from a cutback I gave it a few weeks ago. The bricks on this little bed have gone all wonky, leaning and crooked and full of gaps. I wonder are the plant's roots pushing them outward, or did I just set them poorly the first time. Really need to get out there and dig them straight with a proper little gravel layer underneath.

Not in a garden bed- elsewhere on the edge of a perennial patch- my rhubarb finally got harvested! This is a day after I cut about a third of the stems, and made one small pie. It was so tasty. I got no picture, we ate it so fast.

spring herbs

A few days ago I posted pictures of my herb bed last summer. Well, here's what is actually green right now. Sorrel! I'd have more of this to eat if it wasn't for the deer.

Next to it, lemon balm still alive under there. Don't know why it cheers me so much each spring to see these things growing again- they do it every year- but yet it does, enough to take pictures and admire.

Sculpit- enough to start eating it again. Just had some the other day, with onions as a side dish to pasta.

I still don't know why my winter savory is not doing well. I didn't even eat any of it this season. Only a few green leaves on the whole plant-

most of it dried up and sad like this, or naked twigs.

Lavender is doing great, though!

I'm not expecting my sage to regrow, sadly- that one also hasn't done great lately. And I'm going to have to restart green onions again. But hope to see the tarragon and lovage come up again.

it's been a while

I kind of lost interest in keeping this blog going- I don't seem to have many readers, and nobody to talk about plants with. Didn't feel the need to track when things get started for the right timing to go in the ground and such (as reminders to myself) anymore. And then I had a setback, minor car accident, sprained ankle, on crutches for three weeks- so things got shoddy out there. Overgrown, neglected. 

However today I finally was able to go out again (my ankle strapped, I'm allowed to do "light walking" now) And there are things to note.

First, here's a picture from months ago. After our spring heat wave, it cooled off again and I actually got a decent amount of lettuce. We had fresh salads for weeks, plus I gave some away. The heads were beautiful thick green rosettes in the garden.

Where the lettuces came out, I planted the tomatoes. They had waited too long, some lower leaves were wilting so I pulled those off. And then remembering a tip from a gardener I read, removed more lower leaf petioles, planted the tomatoes deeply, burying half the stem. Watered on planting, then left them alone for ten days. This encourages stronger root system and what do you know, I think it worked. I have only been out to water once since (due to being laid up) and the rain has been enough- the tomaoto plants look fantastic. I tied them up once to some poles, they are sturdier than usual too. Either the deep planting and witholding water at the start helped, or the soil was richer than usual.

My turnips are also doing great. We've been eating them- made a new dish just last night. Turnips simmered until tender, mashed with onions and a bit of sugar, stirred w/eggs and baked in the oven. Surprisingly good. It's the first year I've actually had good turnips- not dry or tough. Even the bigger ones I pull are tender when I slice them up, almost buttery. And they're still not bothered by much, out in the garden!

Can't say the same for other things. I went out to cut greens for dinner and instead cut and heaped most of the entire bed of chard into the compost pile. It was all mottled pale sickly from leaf hoppers. (Why are such aggravating pests so darn cute? This year they're dark grayish purple with bright blue or red eyes). I could only keep the youngest unblemished leaves to cook with, but hope that a lot of the leaf hoppers got removed with the mass of chard foliage, smothered under leaf mulch and grass clippings in the hot compost pile!

My beets are swarming with whitefly. I cleaned up the worst pale and dead foliage, doused them with soapy water, but need to go get some actual insecticide. In the next bed over, garlics have all fallen over, and scapes are reaching tall. But I don't think they're ready to pull yet. Not enough watering? Too much heat? 

I removed all the pea plants- saving some for next year's seed. Of the shelling peas, there was only enough for one meal. However, they were really good! Into those empty beds today I planted out the cowpeas (to grow up the trellis), bush beans (only two, the rest succumbed to heat and neglect while still in pots), two yellow summer squash, and a third of the amaranth 'calaloo' seedlings. The rest are still too small for transplanting. 

Then planted out on the sunny sideyard my few tithonias for the year. And I only have three cardinal climbers, which is sad. A few weeks ago my husband saw a hummingbird come by and scout around the deck. But my cardinal climbers weren't planted out, and I think the black and blue salvia isn't flowering yet either, so there was nothing here for it.

It is nice to still see the wrens, robins, sparrows, cardinals, blackbirds and grey catbirds busy around the yard and garden. And the skinks! They come upon the deck. I only have one cucumber plant that survived the period of neglect, it's in a deck pot. My carrots aren't doing too great in pots, they keep drying out if I am not able to get out and water. My sweet peas died. 

But I am glad that the rosemary and stevia survived the winter, and this year the fenugreek I planted is doing well. I have it by the sliding door to the deck and often bend to catch its scent when going in or out. Summer savory in the deck planters is doing great, and parsley- have been using both. Most of the herbs have come back well- thyme came through the winter indoors, sculpit and tarragon out in the garden have grown, I did plant one new sage because the old two didn't survive the transplant when I added broken rock to the perennial bed. And my green onions all failed. The older ones never regrew this year, I started a few new but they died.

I like the catmint (not same as catnip) in the garden, so this spring when I had to trim it back (sprawling all over into the space where collards grow) I stuck a bunch of cuttings into little water jars to try for new plants. I had over a dozen cuttings, but only three actually grew roots. The rest just got moldy. (I did change the water out, but probably not often enough). Those three got planted today too- two against the fence between the patch of joe pye weed and the row of shiso (which is looking nice). At least I think it's shiso. Maybe this year I'll get brave enough to try eating it. The third one I put also against the fence but in the back, between the yarrow (tall and floweirng now!) and my kinda sad camellia. 

It was nice to see a bright glitter of blue skittering around- the small brilliantly colored wasps that frequent my joe pye weed, and are predators of japanese beetles.

One of my jacob's ladder plants has grown so much, doubled in height! and it had the most beautiful sky-blue/violet flowers. But the other one is overshadowed by yellow salvia spreading out from under the skirts of hydrangea nearby. I thought it had died but found it getting smothered. Pulled out some of the salvia to give it room. I'm going to have to start thinning that stuff more.

That's my update.

today is cold and damp

Perfect for digging and moving things. I dug up nearly the entire perennial herb bed (sparing only the corner where bunching onions grow) and raked in three scattered layers of broken rock. Leftover fragments of stuff my husband brings home from fossil-hunting trips. It was a heap on the back patio and now it's dug into my herb bed. Because I've read that they prefer rocky soil.

The sorrel was getting quite large so I took some divisions off the sides of the clump, but also accidentally broke off nearly all the leaves. However it seems pretty robust and I think will grow back quick enough. It's now in the far corner alongside the onions. Lemon balm replanted to its right.

The middle is rearranged- left here it's winter savory and tarragon, sculpit in the middle, two sage plants on the right.

Most of it doens't look like much right now, but the winter savory (which got a trim) has tiny leaves sprouting in its tangle of stems,

and the sculpit is only scraggly because I've been eating it.

Lavender replanted on the other end.

I tossed a finally layer of broken rock over the surface after replanting, and then tucked all the leaf litter back in place- because we have a temperature drop again this week, with nights just below freezing. 

winter greens

It has been very cold nights, some down into the low twenties, but often warm again during the day. The leeks I left in the garden didn't last, but the few green onions left are still okay, and I can still pick to eat sorrel, winter savory, sculpit, and purple dead nettle in certain sheltered spots. What I tried to grow in my little greenhouse- only part worked out. Nearly all the pots sprouted- but the lettuces are doing very poorly and leggy. Lack of light, or the soil was too poor, or it's just been too cold for them to thrive. Tatsoi I only got one good plant, but that one's doing fine. Haven't eaten it yet because I wish there was more. Chervil all growing but are slow to put out their first true leaves. Dill is okay and I've used some of it. Tokyo bekana is doing well!

A bit spindly, but grew much better than anything else. I actually picked some to eat just yesterday, glad for a bit of fresh greens. 

Maybe if I do this again next year, skip the idea of lettuces (unless I start them sooner) and just do the cabbage and spinach relatives.

last beets, herbs

Pulled the last few golden beets from the garden.

Finally cut some herbs to hang and dry. 

I don't have enough parsley or thyme to do this, and the summer savory suddenly died, but there's a decent bunch of sage. 

What's really done well this year is the tarragon. So I cut several bunches of that. 

Also one small bundle of lavender. To make sachets. 

Cut back the sorrel in the garden, because it was overwhelming the sage and winter savory nearby. 

Still eating some sculpit, but the salad burnet didn't did well here. In fact I forgot it was there, and never ate any of it. 

My digital camera is having issues- I have lots of photos on it but can't move them to the computer. So this will be a journal without pictures for a while. Which isn't nearly as fun.

Edit add 9/18- Found my husband has a little usb device that can plug the SD memory card from my camera straight into computer. So I retrieved all my photos and am updating the posts now!