Garden 2024 Update #11

With the end of July this brings us into mid-season for my growing area here in 6a. All of August, September and roughly half of October are left until our last frost date. It almost seems hard to believe we're already at the mid-season point but so far the garden has been mostly successful.  

Here's how things are shaping mid-season:

A common sight first thing in the morning. 

As I always say, it was really nice of me to buy an inflatable hot tub for my cats. 😂

Some of this year's potato harvest went toward one of my favorite freeze dried items: instant potatoes. Such a great way to put up food for long term or even short term.  

I make my mashed potatoes (skins on) with just milk, then freeze dry.  

These three small trays were just over 6 pounds and it all fits into a quart jar. Wild, eh? 😄 

To make mashed potatoes, I add 1/2 cup boiling water to just 3 tablespoons of mashed potato powder, a little butter & salt and pepper.   Mix well and let sit for 2-3 minutes to fully redydrate.

Last week's Mutant Tomato (has been seriously upstaged)

My single surviving cucumber vine is still producing incredibly well.  

This is part 1 of a 2 part experiment.  The old wives tales tell us you cannot clip off strawberry runners and plant them, you have to leave them attached to the mother plant and allow them to root naturally where they are.  Well, that's part 2 down below.  I clipped all of these off about 2 weeks ago and they're doing just fine so far.

My landscaping staples were far too long for this, so I improvised and used the handle ends of clothes pins to pin the runners into place inside the little pots. 

My sweet potatoes had really been stuggling until about 2 weeks ago when they finally starting taking off. I can only guess that it has something to do with the heat & humidity, which we've had in abundance over the last few weeks.  So far they're doing better than sweet potatoes have ever done in my garden so I'm happy with these results so far. 

Last year this Honey Crisp had 2 apples.  This year it has 10! 

In this area of the garden there are elderberries, rhubarb, hazelnuts, blackberries, lilacs, dill, cilantro, basil, lemon balm, butternut squash, potatoes, carrots, raspberries and hibiscus.  My goal in turning my wee piece of property into a thriving Food Forest means using every available space for growing something edible, medicinal, herbal, or all of the above.  

This Musk Mallow grows wile alongside the garage in full shade all day. 

It's not only beautiful, it attracts loads of bees and it's beneficial for a variety of medicinal uses.  

My first ripe Pink Ponderosa tomato this year.  

I thought last week's Mutant Tomato was wild, but it's got nuthin' on this week's specimen.

My raised bed runneth over. With carrots that surround the peppers. 💖

Ed says, he approves.  😁

Thanks for stopping by and taking a stroll through the garden with me. I hope this encourages you to get out there and grow your own as well!

Garden 2024 Update #8

Well, we cashed in the rain & wind for the same heatwave most of north America is also currently having.  Temps have hovered right around 95 degrees for days on end, with off & on thunderstorms (helping to alleviate the need for watering, for sure!) We've had some wild weather for June so far, from a frost warning the first week, to a heat wave 2 weeks later, but things are growing, and I'm thankful for that.  

Come take a stroll with me through the back wee garden and see how things are coming along!

Mr. Hodus, aka HoHo, supervising from afar. 

Garlic scapes will be dried and turned into a garlic powder blend for cooking.

Blackberry blossoms are so pretty 💖

Last count, there are 10 Honey Crisp apples. It's anyone's guess how many make it to full maturity! 

Of the 2 cucumber plants that survived the flooding, both produced a single cucumber each, so we're off to a very weak & slow start, but hopefully things turn around. 

Jalapenos are doing wonderfully well.  Looking forward to that Cowboy Candy!

Yellow Alpine strawberries grown from seed.  So excited to try these!

Roma tomatoes off to a good start.

I lost count of how many berry clusters there are, but at least 50+  

Last year there were only 9, so this is a wild improvement. 

Russet Potato flowers are SO adorable & dainty. 

I've added this cute little water feature on the side of the clover path leading to the cottage.  

A simple solar pump, dollar store bowl, a flipped over cracked pot & some large river rocks from the yard.  There's truly something quite magical about a stroll through the garden while you can hear running water.  All of the wildlife, cats, birds and bees love the back pond, so in my effort to beautify my space this year, I chose to add even more of what's already a success. I also have another one sitting on the deck railing for the critters that come to the feeder cam station. 

The view from my chair after a long day of work in the garden.

Fairy lights, crackling fire, toes in the sand, amazing views and a lovely beverage. 😊