Atypical Harvest

Garden update, etc

[Post too long for email, mostly pics]

Returning from the Boundary Waters, the above picture was the second harvest. That plastic container is a 4gallon fresh water container I cut the top off of and use as a wash basin for dishes and clothes on my camping trips. It is full mostly with beets. I processed the basil with olive oil for pesto. The onions I harvested only because I let the compost pile grow too many weeds, and I accidently weeded them. That is just thinning a small number of the carrots. Those two melons were not ready yet. I harvest about 30lbs of food every few days.

I didn't even know I could grow a full head of cabbage by mid July. Makes me wonder how big these could get. The potatoes behind them got hit the hardest of the four patches, by Colorado potato beetle larvae. I’m still killing larvae, a month after the worst of it. The potatoes seem to have recovered though, and are forming potatoes.

It might look an indefinable mess, but…cucumbers on the left, yarrow forefront, behind the yarrow, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, brussels, potatoes, artichoke, dill and zucchini.

These brussels I planted early and they are already putting on sprouts. Bush beans on the left, beets on the other side of the sprinkler, onions, carrots, tomatoes back left. Hollyhock on the right.

My artichoke experiment worked. Artichoke is a biennial that can’t survive the winter here. But if you start them from seed under lights in February, then put them outside at 40 degrees for 10 days it triggers the fruiting cycle.

Onions, carrots, tomatoes.

Winter squash.

The pond is looking like a pond.

Harvesting kohl rabi.

Some rodent is fond of beets. I noticed one with damage before I left for the Boundary Waters, I came back and 80% had been chewed on. Whatever it is eats all of the beet above ground. We put out live traps but as soon as I harvested all the damaged beets the damage stopped.

The feeling is every bit as if a human stole them.

Pie pumpkins.

I was at the 80 and found a few chantrelles, as well as lobster, boletes, fly agaric, red russula, and about 20 other different kinds besides. I didn't harvest anything but one fly agaric.

Spent an evening with Sharine of Sharine Creates, and her husband Ron. They are on a 52day journey around the country and stopped by for a visit, from California where they live. Great people.

The squash and melons are climbing the trellises, but most of them are like bush habit, though none were described that way, so I am training some of the vines and letting others crawl.

More potatoes and cabbage.

Thistle 7 feet tall crowding the fence like they want to see what is going on, or get in. On the left is the compost pile with the onions.

This is what I am bringing back to the Boundary Waters, for the men’s Rendesvous. I gave the equivalent of a third of this to my sister. That again is just thinning the carrots.

I have two weeks off as plant distributer says I have NO HOURS AVAILABLE, from July 15-30th. I told that to one of the guys at the garden center and he replied, “do they want all the plants to die?” I came back from the Boundary Waters and half the plants especially the trees and shrubs looked half dead. These two weeks should finish them off. I guess I don't have to be there for the great cull. My last day I gave a lot of people a steep discount.

Meanwhile I am in Minneapolis picking up my nephew and his friend (both boy’s dads are deadbeats) for the Rendesvous.

When nephew and I sat down to eat after packing his clothes, he asked me what I wanted to watch on his TV. I told him watch whatever you want, as I always find that most instructive. Speaking of atypical harvests, Behold, Mrwhostheboss, with 15.5 million subscribers:

At some point nephew expressed dismay when a commercial came on, “eerrgh, I HATE the commercials,” he said. I looked at him like he was crazy. “mrwhostheboss is nothing but one long extended commercial. All he does is sell stuff. At least the commercial admits it’s a commercial.”

It will be good to get nephew to the edge of the wilderness, if only for a few days. Though lucky him he will have a cellular signal to watch his commercials.