Today Al and I finally got the chicken wire around the blackberry patch. The heat was oppressive! The temperature was 93 with a real feel of ten degrees higher due to humidity. The shade wasn't bad, but the work was in the sun. Now that the job is done, the chickens can free range instead of being fenced in on nothing but compacted dirt.
We have been able to harvest blackberries every few days, but they aren't producing as well as I would like. Never-the-less, the handfuls we are getting are for the most part good. Next year, I anticipate even better production.
Last weekend Andrew and some other young men put up a trellis, and while it was greatly appreciated, it will need to be redone because the space between the cattle panels is so large I can't reach the berries. However, it has helped to temporarily get the canes up off the ground. I desperately need to make sure they are watered daily and mulch needs to be applied again.
Meanwhile, the garden is producing plenty of cucumbers and squash right now. And while I can't really get into the mass of growth to see how many squashes are growing, I did see this beautiful Lakota squash the other day. I was highly surprised. I did plant several varieties in a close space, but this was to see which performed better in my area with the pest pressure I have. While the squash bugs have been at it, I think the plants definitely grow fuller and healthier when they are NOT trellised.
The tomato plants are all growing really well. The guys put up the trellises last weekend and I was finally able to get them tied up. They have already grown a foot or more since last week! But, the peppers are just not growing as tall as I had wished they would. I was hoping for a good pepper year so I could preserve some, but as of now it doesn't appear they will. That obviously can change.
Caleb and I planted another round of green bush beans. Those in the green towers are not producing the amount I would like to see. We get five a day which is hardly enough to feed one person. I am hoping the beans do better in the raised beds than in the green towers.
The perennial bed, which is still being worked on, is doing pretty well, but dries rapidly. The new strawberries are struggling to make it in the heat, which means I need to mulch them with something soon. I have plenty of leaves along the edges of fencing and will use that instead of cedar wood chips. Watermelon and cantaloupe plants are doing really well as they snake their way over the railroad ties and into the wood chips. The various herbs and flowers keep growing along despite the Japanese beetles making lacework of the leaves. I have to keep reminding myself that it is a work in progress. I try to pull weeds and Bermuda grass every time I am out there. AND, on a funny note, the plants I pulled out thinking were weeds, ended up being my ground cherries. I did put them back in, and they struggled for a week, but are flourishing now!
There are a lot of disappointments this year, but I try not to let it get me down. I think I am doing much better this year when it comes to planting and growing. Every time something gets removed, something else goes in. Like the garlic, for instance, which was removed and the bed planted with popcorn. Or the cabbage and broccoli that made way for potatoes and sweet potatoes. Oh, and the carrot beds which opened up for green beans
Well, as much as I would like to keep chatting, I lost interest - again. So, I'll sign off without finishing the update.
(I can't guarantee there are no spelling or grammar errors, but I am working on not worrying about all the technical things.)
take it easy and pace your self. DR
ReplyDeleteThanks for update Rachel you’re doing great!
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