September and October
September and October I could hardly believe my eyes but the leaves of the acorn squash looked crinkled and the edges were brown, FROST! Date: September 8.
Being a California native I will never get use to September being harvest time in my garden in Cle Elum, Washington! The peaches had just ripened to be picked the week before! The last frost last spring was in May! This year I am promising myself to remember there are only 90 days of summer. This the third week of September I must harvest all the sage, thyme, parsley, basil, oregano, celery, and squash (not pumpkins or squash with hard shells like acorn, even though the leaves and stems look dead). I need to cover spread the compost to protect perrenials and mark where my potatoes are so I can dig as we need. I don't leave my pumpkins on the ground because the rain, which has also started, can cause them to rot. I do leave all picked apples and squash under cover where the cool crisp nights will keep them fresh. All the wildflower seed heads need to be cut and distributed. I need to check the wild bee boxes and see if all the tubes are full. Frost didn't touch my tomato plants because the deer ate them first, but if they hadn't been eaten, I could have cover my plants with the green tomato fruit or I could pick them green, place them on newspaper in a cool dry place or I could leave them to hang on the dead plant in hopes that the last few warm sun days will ripen them before the hard frost and snow! Collecting frost deaden leaves and small twigs and building compost piles are all part of the work of September and October. Also this is time to evaluate the successes of the 2007 garden and begin to plan where to plant tomatoes where the deer can't eat them!

Abundance in the Garden

Abundance in the Garden: August tips

By the first of August the gardens spreads filling every corner with leaves, blossoms, vegetables, and fruits. Pick everything as it ripens. Continuous harvest, picking and eating or freezing and canning will prolong the abundance into fall provided you continue to water and the sun continues to shine. An application of blossom fertilizer (the middle number of the NPK label) will help invigorate the plants. Look for a natural fertilizer designed for blossom production because they have longer lasting effects. Liquid Alaska Fish makes a great one for blooms.

There will always be squash that grows beyond bounds. Overgrown squash won’t have as much flavor as normal size, so chop it to noodle size and pour on the pasta sauce or bake it like lasagna. I also like to stuff squash. Microwave squash halves, then stuff with a mix of rice, cottage cheese and some spices, and bake with grated cheese on top.

This year I am going to buy tomatoes and try freezing them. The deer have eaten my tomatoes that I hid amongst the potatoes and they ate all my potato leaves for the first time ever! So hiding tomatoes in potatoes did not work well! Fortunately I have Pike’s Market for local tomatoes.

If you want large pumpkins, you will need to pinch off the ends of a runner. Once a pumpkin has set and is several inches in diameter, cut off the end of the runner so no other pumpkin can form on that branch. Can’t help with melons because I have never lived where it gets warm enough long enough to ripen.

I have never taken a picture of my vegetable garden. I think I am embarrassed because I grow should a free form willy-nilly garden. I experiment on how to hide the tasty vegetables from the deer, so the garden by this time of the year looks like a jungle where a machete might be needed to find lettuce and celery. Pick, eat, can, freeze and enjoy!

Wildflowers of Pardon My Garden

Wildflower Daisy, Aster and Fleabane: Asteraceae and Erigeron

This is a broad classification and could include Chrysanthemum and Black-eyed Susan and coneflower and all the sunflowers.. These are all flowers with centers and ray like flowers. Fleabanes bloom spring and early summer. The thin multiple petal rays distinguish the fleabane and the nodding weakened bud and stem. They add color to the spring garden but don’t make good cut flowers. Asters on the other hand that bloom in the summer and fall make excellent cut flowers. The Oxeye daisy, easily propagated by seed is considered a weed by some farmers. Here in Washington it is a non-native plant but is a form of English daisy. The Oxeye daisy blooms earlier than the aster and is white while often the aster is blue, pink or purple.

Oxeyed Daisy, Greenfield, New Hampshire




Aster, Fleabane, Greenfield , New Hampshire

References

As I develop these writings I will periodically try to give notes to books that I use as additional references to my own experiences. The notes on wildflowers are being referenced from " The Big Book of Northwest Perennials" by Marty Wingate. This is a beautiful factual guide with lovely photographs highlighted by a focus on " choosing, growing and tending perennials". All the photographs used my postings are ones I have taken. The photos, unless otherwise noted, will be of plants grown in my own garden in Cle Elum, Washington or in my son and daughter-inlaw's garden in Greenfield, New Hampshire.

Wild Flower Rudbeckia

Wild Flowers; Rudbeckia, Asteraceae Black -eyed Susan; Cone flower

Like yarrow, Rudbeckia comes from the Asteraceae, aster daisy family. Deer and elk rarely eat it while butterflies and bees are attracted to the abundant pollen. This picture was taken in the west corner of your drain field and was standing alone 18 inches high. Here in Washington at Osprey these bright flowers start blooming in hot weather July or August. At your home in New Hampshire late June seemed to be hot enough for the Black-eyed Susan in your garden. Rudbeckia make great cut flowers and cutting will prolong their bloom, but don’t pick them all because they can be propagated by their dry seeds in the fall. Leave some of the strongest blossoms for seeding next years plants. Either allow the seed to fall in place or collect seed in late fall after the flower head has become dry. Collect seeds before the autumn rains start by rubbing with gloved fingers on the dark center of the flower. This can be hard. The flower heads are hard and the seed is small. I like to sprinkle the seeds immediately. I scratch bare earth and sprinkle the seeds and cover lightly with loose soil. I have had great luck with this method provided I choose a good location where the new Rudbeckia will get full sun and some moisture as it is not as drought tolerate as other asteraceae family members. These flowers add lots of bright yellow color all throughout a wild flower or cut flower garden. Enjoy!

Yarrow for Wild Flower Garden

Wild Flowers; Yarrow Achillea Asteraceae

I took this picture while we were working in your garden. We have grown Yarrow at Osprey with great success. Here are my tips for growing it in your garden:
Yarrow – Achillea Asteraceae – Grows best in full sun, well drained soil, even in rocky drive ways and sandy soil. Yarrow attracts butterflies, ladybugs and other beneficial insects into the garden. Can use as cut flower but does not smell great. Propagation can be by seeds spread in the fall from the dried flower heads or by digging and dividing the roots either in the spring or fall. Warning Yarrow can be invasive and spread by thick underground roots preventing other wild flowers from taking root, so cut back flower heads, and thin and divide in areas where you would like other flowers to grow. Take heart this wild flower is rarely eaten by deer and elk and does make a good cut flower.