Happenings

What's new?

Recently returned from a week long hiking-centric trip to New England. More of mountains and vegan Maine to come.

The garden did quite well. The beds were cleaned up over the weekend and are now ready for a rest. Next year I hope to start earlier and go well into the fall and possibly the winter with some crops.

Despite the blight plaguing much of the area, my tomatoes produced very well, in my opinion. A little more than 5 lbs for my first year doesn't seem bad to me.

Long Island Cheese Squash - my pride and joys, as they should be since they devoured most of the space in the garden with their vigorous vines (next year I will attempt some pruning and better trellising to curb this issue). Two ten pounders, one twelve pounder, one fifteen pounder and a baby for decoration. Don't they resemble wheels of cheese?

A total harvest of about five pounds of carrots. They got very fat but not very long, probably due to the rocky soil we've got here. I didn't dig down very deeply when I constructed this particular bed. Carrots next year will go in my new double dug bed and will perhaps be a bit longer. I was concerned their size would affect their flavor negatively, but they were quite juicy and sweet.

Lastly, despite being in the midst of our semi-famous biannual used book sale here in Ithaca, I had to rush out and buy this one new. Normally I'd be disappointed to discover a cookbook has no photos, but I don't think it will be an issue with The Urban Vegan. The recipe descriptions are enough to entice - I can't wait to dive in!

Flower Power Friday

A post dedicated to my front yard and the flowers therein...


zinnia

daylilly

shasta daisy

coreopsis

bee balm

astilbe


more photos [here]

The Great Garden Update

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my garden. Unfortunately, I got a bit of a late start this year. There was a fence to construct. Then, of course, there was the issue of me not knowing what I was doing...but all that aside, plants are doing well. The cool wet weather has been more springlike than summerlike, so I think that's worked in my favor.

Raised beds seem to be the method du jour. J and I constructed two 4'X8' boxes out of 2"X6" pine. It's worked fine, though it takes a lot of soil to fill each one. I have alternate plans for next year.

What you see above: Oregon Trail shell peas, parsley, white sweet alyssum, Wonder of the 4 Seasons lettuce, Red Core Chantenay carrots, Italian pole beans, and California Wonder red bell peppers.

Above is bed number two, which showcases my rustic trellises, made from branches salvaged from our yard. I like the way they look, but the nature of the material makes it hard to plant in rows and get plants to climb the trellis. Next year, I may break down and make something a little...straighter.

The big leaves are plants I'm quite excited about: Long Island Cheese squash, so named because it resembles a wheel of cheese (don't worry, it's vegan). Also in the bed are zuchinni, lemon cucumbers, pinwheel marigolds, and nasturtiums.

I dug a circular plot for the tomatoes and basil. Since I started all these plants from seeds, the tomatoes started their lives indoors. I was worried when the leaves got spotty and wilted, but I put them outside anyway, hoping they'd come back to life. In about a week, they perked right up. Now they're going strong - I have high hopes for lots of little tomatoes (Principe Borghese, the traditional variety used for making sun-dried tomatoes).

Baby basil, sharing the tomato bed.

Future cheese squash! Hopefully...

The peas got a rough start when a rabbit broke through our deer netting and bit the tops off all nine plants. We've since erected "rabbit guard" - metal fencing on the exterior of the deer netting. So far, we are bunny free and the peas have made a remarkable comeback, even if they're a little late.

Heirloom lettuce close-up. Today I plan to clip a lot of this so we can have our first homegrown salad.

Finally, these are Italian pole beans with carrots in the background.

Hope everyone is enjoying July and getting lots from their gardens!