Early Fall Garden Pictures
Aug 30 - Sept 11
Welcome again to the garden. It is harvest time, in earnest.
This was the largest of many harvests of tomatoes. Five different kinds of regular tomatoes: early treat hybrid, big beef hybrid, brandywine pink, cherokee purple, roma, Burpeeās long keeper. Three different kinds of cherry tomatoes: citrine, sunrise bumblebee, chadwick. Aug 30.
The artichoke flowered. I harvested an early batch and roasted them but they were underwhelming, so I let them go with the intention of trying to get them to over-winter. I will cover them with a lot of straw and see if they come up, more mature next year.
Rose mallow, the only one that grew around the pond from a pack of flower seeds.
This one was at the garden center.
Sept 05. I picked most of the onions as the red ones started to rot. I think I will grow a lot more white and yellow next year.
The pond.
Poppies etc on the fence.
Aug 07. The watermelon are tasty, but not very big. Some of the melons did well, a few did not. I will have a plant report in about a month.
Heavenly blue morning glories on the fence, peppers foreground, brussels right, tomatoes on the left extending to the far fence corner.
The heavenly blues are just beginning to flower, Sept 10.
I started building a root cellar. A post about that soon. If things go well it will contain about 150lbs of squash, 50+lbs of carrots, at least 100lbs of potatoes (I might have about 300lbs total), 30ish cabbage at about 120lbs, and a lot of canned goods.
Hollyhocks with Ganesh and some pollinators. I saw more pollinators the last month than I have in many years - a good sign.
Sept 10. I pulled up four potato plants, about 15lbs: Caribou, Katahdin and Red Nordland. The katahdin are quite good baked, but I expect them to be amazing mashed.
And for the morning of 9/11, the first heavenly blue morning glory.
These are my favorite posts of yours! I go gaga for the pictures. Your plants are really healthy. I'm sure it's that good soil that has sat untilled for awhile, not to mention the cow patties or whatever aged manure you mixed in. I notice the lack of disease on your plants even well into the season. (Of course we're all prone to taking the most flattering pics, but still.)
The Upper Midwest seems like a marvelous place to garden. About 25 years ago when I had massive vegetable gardens with a girlfriend in upstate NY, on an old horse farm, we'd get harvests like this.
Fantastic that on only 1/3 acre, you were able to get all this stored food for yourself, and you mentioned before that you gave lots away as well. It goes to show that you don't need much land for food production at all unless you intend to have larger animals. You could do this on a large enough city or suburban backyard with proper attention to the soil and plant nutrition.
Do you keep any chickens?
Can I quit my job and come be your gardening student next summer? Will work for vegetables and flowers. (Only half kidding!)
On a more serious note, I am hoping to buy a house in the next year and conversion of most of the "grounds" into raised beds to make gardens like this is a primary goal.
Your photos sure make me smile!
Thank you.