Some green beans, possibly my last zucchini, a yellow squash, tomatoes and one mini bell pepper.
I've been picking and canning green beans for a week now. Daily, new beans mature to the point of needing to be picked. And inevitably, because green beans like to play hide and seek, I always find a few beans swollen way past their prime and I wonder, "How many days did I completely miss these?!? "
So every morning, the question I now ask myself when I see a still slightly young bean is, "Do I leave it and take a chance on not seeing it again before it's become too tough to eat, or do I pick it now and enjoy it, even though I know with just one more day on the vine, it will likely be perfect?"
I haven't figured out the best answer to that question, so I just keep picking some and leaving others... knowing at some point this will all come to a happy end.
Giant Marconi sweet peppers (above) are producing like crazy. These are at least 7-8 inches long. I've tried in the past to grow these peppers in planters, but had little success, so it's been exciting to see these produce so prolifically this summer. If you're not familiar with these, Giant Marconi are a delicious, sweet pepper when they are fully red. Much sweeter than bell peppers. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
A week or so ago, I picked a few ripe tomatoes that had developed blossom end rot. I felt heartsick as I looked over my little kingdom of 25 tomato plants, and wondered if all would be lost.
Research told me the problem is a calcium absorption issue, and can be caused by either over or under watering. I thought I'd been watering adequately, but I decided to take a chance and water a bit more, and to water on more of a schedule than I had been.
Fortunately, either the problem resolved, or perhaps it was only those earliest ripening tomatoes that were affected. I keep watering, and check regularly to assure myself they're doing well.
It looks like I might be processing tomatoes within a week or two. At a minimum, the early ripening ones will go into the freezer until there are enough to can.
Meanwhile, some of the sunflowers are fading.
But they and the zinnia's are still at work attracting moths and bees.
And, finally, this little melon-looking thing has me stumped. I've misplaced my garden diagram, but I'm pretty sure I planted some sort of winter squash in this spot. It doesn't seem the right shape for butternut, but that's the only winter squash seed packet that appears to have been opened. It will be fun to see what it grows up to be! 😄
Time for a garden update (for my relaxed recording keeping)...
Checking on the Roma and Rutgers tomatoes every other day or so I often find new branches overladen with fruit and needing to be tied up.
A benefit of using wooden stakes is I can attach twine with a staple gun anywhere that I need it to be to get tomatoes off the ground:
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Cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen.
Zinnias and sunflowers keep the bees buzzing and the moths stopping for a drink, and hopefully pollinating squash and tomato plants. Making a mental note to plant some flowers among the tomatoes next year.
I am surprised at how small are the sunflower heads on the massive stalks that have grown at least 8 feet tall and are about 2 inches in diameter at their base. Maybe their smaller size is a good thing, though. I didn't stake these plants, and larger heads might have made them too top heavy.
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And today, we picked all the peaches left on the peach tree. Peaches were falling off and some were molding on the branches, so I decided rather than take a chance on losing more peaches, it would be better to pick all that were good and let them ripen in the sunroom over a few days - processing them for the freezer a few at a time.
Enough were ripe for eating today, and at least one baggie's worth is in the freezer right now - sliced and spread out so they freeze individually before bagging up. Visions of smoothies, mixed-fruit popsicles, and peach cobbler are dancing in my head.
I think it worked well to remove some limbs from the peach tree a year and a half ago, even though it's possibly why we didn't get fruit last summer. This spring, I also thinned the peaches when they were about walnut-sized. Three to six inches apart on the same branch is a good rule of thumb I've learned. When I removed at least half of the peaches off the tree in the spring, I wondered if we'd have many peaches to pick come summer. Today, seeing the bounty laid out, clearly there are more than enough. And better yet, many were larger and less marked with a green peach scab than the peaches harvested two summers ago.
Green beans (pole beans) have been producing for about a week now, and I'm picking some every two or three days. Not enough yet to process (I hope to get enough at one time to can some this year), but they've made for tasty eating this past week.
We had some good rain earlier in the week, and oh my goodness, did I get attacked by mosquitos one morning after it rained the night before! I was only out in the garden a few minutes before I noticed I was being swarmed and bitten. I got back to the house as quickly as I could and sprayed myself down with bug spray, but later it became obvious I was too late. My arms had provided a feast for the blood thirsty insects. For some reason, they left my ankles alone this time. I'm thankful for that little mercy, and I'm immensely thankful for Benadryl cream. It's not exactly a miracle potion, but it does help tame the itch for a while.
Looking forward to a weekend of beautiful weather, and possible rain to start next week. It's a nice reprieve from the too-hot-too-early days of recent weeks.
Just popping in to say all is well here. Things are growing and blooming, and I can't believe there is only one week left in May.
The strawberries came on at least three weeks early this year, and suddenly this week, we noticed the tart cherries ripening. We didn't get cherries last year, but looking back, I can see that they've come ripe a full month earlier than they did in 2022.
Between some routine medical appointments this week, I've just been a pickin' and a grinnin'. Strawberries and cherries. Each in their own time is satisfying. Both of them together... well, let's just say, I wasn't ready for this.
As of today, though, I'm done picking cherries. The birds get what's too high to reach, and we will be content with what we have.
We have enjoyed what is becoming our traditional "first pickins' cherry cobbler".
I expect the strawberries may only have another week or so - if they have that long. Between you and me, I will not be disappointed when the strawberries stop producing.
The summer garden is finally (mostly) put in. It's not a late garden, but it took nearly four weeks to get it all done. Having said that, maybe that's not a bad plan going forward. Just doing a little at time, however long it takes...
Here's another experiment we're trying with garden mulches:
I learned online (from several sources) that shaved pine bark makes a good garden mulch. It comes in large shrink wrapped packages, and we scored a deal on four bags that were ripped and taped closed, and discounted 50%. This stuff is pretty cheap anyway, but at 50% off Tractor Supply was practically giving it away. So all the tomato and pepper plants, and some other random stuff that hasn't yet sprouted has all gotten this shaved pine bark mulch treatment. The tomato and pepper plants are looking good, by the way. Two did not survive transplanting, but I had two more waiting in the wings to take their place.
I still plan to plant some summer squash seeds - somehow I thought I had leftover seed from last year, but there was only one lonely summer squash seed in the packet when I cut it open. Why did I save one seed and tape the package shut?!?
This narrow raised bed section of the garden finally got worked on one day this week. Honestly, I hadn't done anything with this space since moving here:
Between the wooden sticks (above), I've planted some Lemon Cucumbers, and pickling cucumbers that I hope to train up the trellis. The walking onions, arugula and two different types of radishes are at the other end of this raised bed. I planted some more lettuce seeds on this side of the arugula yesterday, that might just sprout next week with the cool weather that's forecasted. I'm not really expecting lettuce to be successful planting it this late, but reports said this seed (Little Gem) does better in the heat. We'll see!
About half of this raised bed spends some time in shade in the summer, so I'm not sure what else I'll plant in here. If you've had success with any shade tolerating/heat loving veggies (or even flowers - though not impatiens) I'd be interested in hearing about it.
With all the strawberry and cherry picking there has also been some preserving going on. That will be another post, and hopefully by the time I post about it, I'll have figured out how to make beautiful low (or no) sugar jam. My first batch tastes good, but it doesn't look quite like I want it to. I may have cooked it too long. Making good jam is a process, I'm learning..
I hope your spring is looking beautiful where you are!
As I've harvested and pitted cherries, I've been enjoying thinking about how I will use them in the upcoming months.
That said, after freezing 6 bags with 2 cups each before the cherries on the tree appear to have finally passed their peak this year, I will happily let the birds enjoy what's left on the branches. Pitting these small tart cherries is quite a chore - especially with my hand issues.
Meanwhile, I enjoyed making (and we thoroughly enjoyed eating) a simple cherry cobbler last weekend. It's a pretty standard recipe found in lots of places online, but here it is in case you're interested. Next time I'm going to follow the suggestions for doubling the recipe (or I suppose, I could just use a smaller baking dish) for a thicker cobbler.
It was the first dessert I've had in over three months.
And I do believe it was worth breaking my sugar fast for.
I certainly have no regrets!
I'm curious if you like cherries and if so, what do you like to do with them?
I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. May was a good month. Very good, in fact. I enjoyed taking some pictures of spring flowers, and finally after a very rainy and chilly spring (which I loved), we finally put in half of our garden the third week of May.
We also had out-of-town and out-of-state visitors in May, and that was pretty special. The asparagus patch went totally "to fern" by the end of the month, just as the strawberries started ripening. We started picking strawberries and I got some in the freezer before the end of the month. So glad I did because reading below you'll understand that my strawberry picking got cut short and we turned the task over to any friends interested in a "you pick" experience. Most of the rest of our little strawberry patch harvest is taking up space in several friends' freezers for them to enjoy later.
And now a cherry tree is producing fruit. A tree we didn't even realize was a cherry tree until last weekend. The fruit is some sort of sour cherry - a bit tart for eating fresh, and on the small side, but I've read that they should be very good in baked treats and in smoothies, and they perhaps make the best cherry pie. I'm not particularly a fan of cherry (or any fruit) pie, but I might be game for making one using cherries from our own tree. Or maybe a cherry cobbler.
My thumbs have become very sore again, so I saw a hand surgeon in mid-May. X-rays show that the cartilage is completely gone at the basal joint on my left hand, and nearly gone on my right hand. Surgery should provide a fix, and up until recently I was looking forward to having that done, but for the present I'm seeing how far a cortisone shot will get me. It appears it's not going to get me very far. The joint pain and ache throughout my wrists still get to be too much when I'm active, so mostly I'm just not testing the limits of my hands very often. The pain is very real, and I'm ever so thankful there is hope for getting back more full use of my hands.
Yes, May was filled with good and interesting, and some promising things.
And then, to finish off the month, there was a most memorable Memorial Day when all the good things took a back seat momentarily as I made a trip to the ER. I'd been in serious discomfort since the Friday evening before, and when nothing brought relief or sleep or the ability to eat solid food for three days, I finally gave in to exhaustion and pain fatigue and asked Hub to drive me to the ER. The whole experience was a little more involved than I'll go into here because I can't seem to write about the interesting stuff without including the mundane stuff and before I know it I've written a tome. So the fun stuff I'll keep to myself and this I'll keep brief.
Two weeks ago tonight I was in a recovery room contentedly sedated, eating scrambled eggs - my first solid food in four days after a miserable weekend (plus some) that finally resolved in my having a very inflamed gallbladder removed. I suppose the reason my gallbladder was inflamed was because I had three large-ish stones fighting for space inside it. The whole package was so big that the surgeon had to enlarge the original incision to remove the organ and its contents. And thirty-six hours after I arrived at the ER I finally got to come home. Sore, but happy to have surgery behind me.
That said (and really, I share this in case it's helpful for someone else), from the time all the stuff they gave me at the hospital was out of my system 'till a week out of surgery I was in a world of hurt, but after a phone consultation with the surgeon's office, I traded a fairly useless-to-me narcotic for Gabapentin (for burning pain where the gallbladder once was), and replaced an ice pack with a heating pad on spasming muscles where the incision was. Once I did those things, I was pretty much golden. Doing those two things produced a nearly overnight turnaround in the pain - just a week ago.
I can still feel my innards - a bit bruised and battered, and still healing. When I even slightly over do it I feel remnants of a burning pain (like when we put in the second half of our garden on Sunday, and when I picked cherries this morning - I hurt tonight), but believe me... I haven't been vigorous doing any of this. I'm taking it extremely easy in my estimation, but I have a post-op appointment tomorrow, so I'll see what the doctor has to say. I'm really hopeful that soon I'll be feeling more or less back to normal, but I'm trying to accept that it may just take me longer than I'd like.
And now since I'm trying to keep this short, I'll just finish up with some of the pictures I've taken over the last four weeks:
The backside of April is upon us, and I'm feeling behinder and behinder. Or maybe I'm just being impatient. I've been wanting to plant some seeds in the garden for weeks now.
While the cool weather and spring rains are welcome, they have made it difficult to get outside much and take care of things. The weeds are flourishing! Maybe I'll make some serious progress on them this weekend as it's supposed to be sunny and in the 80's. A little hot for my liking in April, but there's a promise of more cool weather next week, so I'm not going to complain. Much.
I've been busy and distracted the last couple of weeks, but most of it isn't really blog fodder. We did celebrate four birthdays earlier this month (for which I have no pictures - I get so little cooperation when I try, I've all but given up). Our birthday celebrations anymore generally include eating out at a restaurant of the birthday kid's choice, followed by games at someone's home. It was a couple of weeks ago already that we went to a Sushi Club for all-you-can-eat sushi, and then back to two sons' apartment to play the new-to-us game WAVELENGTH. A fun game that gives lots of opportunity for making conversation.
While it's more interesting than it may appear, here's a demo of WAVELENGTH in case anyone is curious:
And now I hope I don't bore you with more pictures of spring. Though I must warn you, this surely won't be the last such post. This week we turned a corner into it being downright beautiful here. While there are spots on this property that need some serious attention to landscaping, I'll share the areas that I'm taking special pleasure in right now.
It was in the 60's and gorgeous on Wednesday. Between doing some weeding and cleaning up most of the straw mulch from the strawberry bed above, and rain storms later in the evening, I visited my friends Jack and Ruth (Ruth, some will recall, is a woman I provided companion care for for several years. She is in a nursing home now). I don't think Ruth knows who I am anymore, but she is just as sweet and welcoming as ever. Visits these days give me opportunity to get to know Jack more. These two are a treasure.
But back to the strawberries. Caring for a strawberry bed is a totally new experience for me. So far, it's not been hard, and best of all - they're surviving! Looking forward to having some to share.
Our Asparagus patch is in the foreground above. Notice some spears tall enough to harvest? They'll show up again later. The larger garden area is in the background. I plan to remove those onions by sometime next week, and plant some vining things that (hopefully) will make use of the trellis. I have plans to try pickling some cucumbers this summer.
My plant ID app tells me that irises are growing in this mess of weeds beside the detached garage above. I started weeding this area late Wednesday afternoon, and now I have visions of some additional flowers planted in this bed. Maybe some old fashioned zinnias or sunflowers. Or both!
These rose bushes are in serious need of some trimming, I think. They were beautiful when we moved in last November. Figuring these out will be a new experience, too. YouTube is getting me brave enough to start making some cuts soon.
It's impossible for me to tire of watching the birds play in the Redbud tree in bloom just outside our den window.
They all take turns flitting from the Redbud tree to the birdfeeders.
And this Japanese Quince Shrub came into glorious full bloom this week:
I don't know why my cell phone wants to turn it into something that looks like an impressionist painting, but it's all I have for now. Hopefully, I can get some better pictures of the sweet flowers on this bush with my DSLR before they've finished their run.
And, I was almost giddy when my plant ID app identified two smallish dogwood trees flanking this Japanese Quince bush. They are just beginning to bud out. Pictures of those will follow in a week or two, I imagine. Edited to add: Turns out the trees that flank this Japanese Quince are not dogwood, but one is a peach and the other a sour cherry. No complaints about either!
My heart just swells with how pretty things are looking right now. Even the weeds can't diminish the pleasure all these flowering trees and bushes are bringing this spring.
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Continuing with the spirit of "New Things", I must continue just a bit more discussing asparagus.
I had my first harvest!
And now I know mid-late April is when they are likely to make their appearance in our backyard.
There were only about eight or nine spears tall enough to harvest, but that was just enough to enjoy them one evening earlier this week. They are definitely better than anything I've bought in the grocery. Brighter tasting, very crisp. I even ate one fresh, rinsed off, but without cooking. I prefer them cooked a tad, but raw was totally edible.
Stirred in some olive or avocado oil (I don't remember), sprinkled with sea salt and roasted in the air fryer/toaster oven for just a few minutes, these were delish! And now I can't wait for more to grow tall enough to cut.
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I don't think I'm going to keep tallying all my New Things, but I'm still taking note of them. And gratefully so. I'm finding that noting new things really is something of an act of gratitude. Especially when all the new things are so lovely...
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