| The Gardens In August we harvested all the watermelons. We still have about 25 melons in the cooler to sell in the next two weeks. We harvested sugar cubes as we needed them. We had lots of green beans. We obviously planted way too many of them this year. We have been selling them at auction and the CSA has been getting them a lot. We are just now beginning to harvest the fifth planting then we still have two more to go. They have grown very well this year. We have been keeping after the weeds too. The yellow beans are also prolific as well. We dig potatoes as we need them. There are fingerlings, red, yukon, and purple potatoes this year. We planted turnips, diakons and some rutabagas. The rutabagas may have been planted too late for this fall harvest, but they should winter over and we will have them in the spring. We also began direct seeding radishes, Hakurei turnips, red beets and arugula for the fall. As we finish a planting of beans or melons we are tilling and laying compost for the winter.We are still harvesting beets and carrots from the first planting yet. The third planting of kohlrobi is ready to pick for this Thursday’s market. The Tunnels We have direct-seeded spinach for the fall and bok choi transplants in tunnel one. We have cleaned out all of the first tomatoes and most of the early cucumbers. There are just two plantings of cucumbers still in the ground in tunnel one and tunnel two. The heirloom tomatoes and the cherry tomatoes are still going strong. The second planting to big tomatoes is beginning to wane. The third planting are just beginning to produce. We have been getting some San Marzano tomatoes from this planting, but the Grand Marshal red tomatoes have not matured yet. In tunnel two we planted a lot of lettuce from transplants and also direct seeded lettuce as well. They are doing well, but not quite big enough to harvest yet. The Greenhouse The greenhouse is bare. We are finished seeding for the fall. We just have one planting of bok choi and one planting of lettuce to get into the ground. All the fans have been turned off and the door is shut on the greenhouse. Fruit and Berries We are picking a lot of red raspberries. In fact so many that we needed to wholesale several flats. The blackberries have done very well this year. They are nearly finished. The black raspberries are just beginning to come on. We picked 6 half-pint today. We have been getting several half-pint of strawberries for the markets in August. The Italian plums are now producing for the fall. There are also a few Asian pears on the trees, but they are rather small. The red raspberry bushes have been cleaned out and pruned for the fall harvest and we are working on doing the same for the black raspberries. The gooseberries are also being cleaned out so they can get some airflow. The leaves of the gooseberries are turning red! Yea! That means that summer is almost over! The elderberries do not have very many berries on this year, so we are going to let the birds have them as a treat! Next year. Farm Stands and Markets East Columbia Library Farm Stand-Every Thursday from 12 noon – until 6:00 pm Fairfax Community Market-Every Saturday from 8am – until 1pm CSA The CSA is on week 17. It was a good year for peaches in August. Now we are giving watermelon and sugar cubes. Lots of green Beans! Baking, Grilling, Preserving, Canning, and Outdoor Gardening I am enjoying the lovely flowers in August, rudbeckias and sunflowers are everywhere. The lavender has taken on a deeper blue-green as the month has progressed. The marigolds are beautiful this time of year – very orange and yellow. The echinacea are still producing new flowers. I am pulling out lots of morning glory vines. They are everywhere and they were not planted by us. There are red, blue, baby blue, purple, and magenta. I have made a peach pie this month. Gregg likes peach pie the best. I also froze a lot of peaches for jam for the winter. Last weekend I made a peach shortcake. I cooked down some tomatoes for sauce last Saturday. I will can most of it, but I saved two quart to make chili in September and freeze it for the winter. We have been enjoying the sugar cubes and the watermelons. They have been very sweet and refreshing after a long hot day pulling weeds! I noticed four hummingbirds on my mammoth salvia plants near the barn. I noticed a couple of them on the nicotianas by the back porch also. There are males and females so we must have some nests somewhere. We enjoy going outside on Thanksgiving day and looking for nest that were hidden by the leaves during the summer. Hopefully we will find some miniature hummingbird nests. Enjoy the last of summer! |
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