Harvest Monday

Here is this years potato harvest. The harvest was a little dismal. I didn't plant a lot of them and what was planted had a rather low yield. The ones I planted in my half-barrel did the best by far.

This weeks main garden task will be to plant the garlic. It is rather late to plant garlic but in the past I have had good results from late plantings. I also have to get my season extenders in the garden. I cleaned them all up last weekend. There is not much point in planting them at this time but I should be able to get something growing in them by late February.

At the moment all that is growing in the garden is broccoli. I'll have to check what is worth harvesting this week.

Happy Gardening Everyone!

Some Photography

As mentioned in my last post, I have been shooting like mad for the past few months. I have capture all kinds of birds lately! Either I have been really lucky or I have been spending entirely to much time with my camera. Following below is a selection of shots I have on my Flickr page:

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-tailed Hawk, Juvenile

Turkey Vulture

Great Horned Owl

Red Breasted Grosbeak, Female

White Tailed Deer

Giant Swallowtail

Mute Swan Family

Eastern Bluebird, Juvenile

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle, Two year old

Bald Eagle

Black-throated Green Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Pied-billed Grebe

Osprey, Juvenile

Sanderling

Black-bellied Plover

Great Egret

Black-crowned Night Heron, Juvenile

Black-crowned Night Heron, Juvenile

Green Heron

Baltimore Oriole, Female

Baltimore Oriole, Male

Red Headed Woodpecker

Red Winged Blackbird, Female

Common Gallinule

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane Colts

Sandhill Crane

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Cedar Waxing

Mute Swan

Garden Update

It sure has been a while since I have done a post! The garden has slowed considerably in the past few weeks and I have been consumed with photography this season, hence the blog neglect. Overall this season was so so, good thing there always is next season. There is not a lot left in the garden at the moment, the only thing ready for harvest at the moment are potatoes & peppers. In terms of fall crops I never got around to starting any so the garden will be quite quiet this fall. There is a nice patch of spring broccoli that is starting to produce again though and I will at least try to sow some fall greens. Everything needs a good clean up as well including the blight stricken tomatoes. Below are a series of harvest photos I found on my drive, taken since my last post.

Harvest Monday

This weeks Harvest Monday includes the following:

• Two Roman Candle tomatoes, grown from seed shared by EG
  
• Two Feuerwerk tomato
• Two Mortgage Lifter tomatoes (Excellent tomato, the one is the size of two hands!)
  
• A bunch of Japanese Black Trifele tomatoes
• Two Cherokee Purple tomatoes
• One Pink Berkley Tie Dye tomato
• A bunch of Velvet Red cherry tomatoes
• Three small heads of my funny looking broccoli
• Three Adam's Gherkin cucumbers
• A couple handfuls of Dragon Tongue beans

The garden has really started coming into its prime now. It has been a long wait but at least it is starting to pay off. Next week should bring some potatoes, peppers & green pole beans. The pole beans have taken ages, I planted them at the end of May and they are just starting to set now! Good thing gardening teaches patience.....

Harvest Monday

I am getting my Harvest Monday post in quite late today. As you will see below I am finally harvesting tomatoes. It has been a painful wait this year. I should really learn to not grow all late producing heirloom tomatoes one of these years....

Here we have Feuerwerk, Pink Berkley Tie Dye and Japanese
Black Trifele tomatoes. There also is a group of Adam Gherkin
cucumbers. I am really not fond of the cucumbers. They taste
good but they are really prickly to pick, like a cactus.

This basket-o-maters includes Giant Belgium, Cherokee Purple,
Japanese Black Trifele and Pink Berkley Tie Dye tomatoes.

Now for the prized piece, A Hillbilly Potato Loaf tomato.
These truly are the best tomato ever made and the first one
of the season! Even though the yield is very low I keep growing
them because they taste so good.

Lastly a couple heads of my strange broccoli. They are all
growing heads like this this year. It is almost like it wants
to turn to cauliflower. Tastes fine at least.

Harvest Monday

Here goes another addition of Harvest Monday. It has been a slow garden this year but things are picking up now.

These are the first tomatoes of the season, a handful of
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes. Looks like by next Monday I
should have actual full sized heirloom tomatoes.

A full basket of Dragon Tongue beans. These always do well
in the garden. Looks like my Blue Lake pole beans are still
taking their sweet ass time.

Two quarts of cucumbers were ready for harvest. This basket includes
Adam Gherkin F1 and Rocky F1, both are Parthenocarpic varieties.

This evening I harvested my Cascade Hops. This is their
second year and they are doing very well. They will be dried
and used to make beer. I am still waiting on the Nugget
and Goldings hops to mature.

Lastly the first head of Broccoli. These took ages this year
and are coming in kind of strange. It would appear broccoli
does not like cold springs followed by hot humid summers.