A cool-summer garden in August. The beans and runner beans have decided to participate, and the sunflowers at right, are adding height. Don't ask Risa about tomatoes, though, or you'll have a serious whiner on your hands. Next year the green house stays up all summer!
In this view you can see that the corn (we punted and went for the old standby, Bantam) might just make, and there's fruit on all the winter squash vines, though it's running way behind.
We've harvested and cured about fifteen pounds of assorted garlic.
What is this stuff, you ask. Well, we've an incurable infestation of Japanese knotweed. Yes, you can eat the shoots, but there's always something on hand we like lots better, and the poultry agree with us. Sheep and goats like it, but we're between those. We demand that most things on the premises make themselves useful in some way; so we harvest the knotweed for compost, beanpoles (believe it or not) and -- kindling. These foot long pieces will dry nicely before winter, and furnish a kindling that will light directly from the match and burn long enough to get the smaller firelogs interested.
Here are a couple of pics from 2009 to help whet your appetite for scrounging this kind of poor people's bamboo:
Today, the first blackberry harvest! And of course there's always lots of duck eggs.
Majia here
ReplyDeletesorry about the links not working.
I see that Alexander Higgins has all the cities plotted on 1 webpage
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/04/12/realtime-epa-radnet-japan-nuclear-radiation-monitoring-every-us-city-single-page-16511/
Very helpful link.
Appreciation! I see from these there has been a burst of stuff recently, but I didn't find it on my dosimeter. I wish I could test for cesium in food ...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas for notweed. Whoever thought it not a weed was seriously confused. The pasture over the back fence has an infestation. I'll try it as kindling. I'd be too scared to stick a shoot into the ground as a bean pole.
ReplyDeleteI saved your picture of Wickiup Plain. I have one of my older and his sweetie in that spot from August two years ago. It was hot and we baked. Quite worth it for the swim in Moraine Lake--some of the best swimming I've found anywhere. Not sure I'd want that this summer.
You will see in the picture the fresh poles have been installed upside down for safety! None of them sprouted, unlike the willows, which were relocated after bean season and are now being coppiced. This was an emergency, since then we have only used brown-dead ones, but are gradually replacing them with maple.
ReplyDeleteYes, there was deep snow all around Moraine! Brrrr. So happy to hear from you; all the best. <3
knotweed honey is supposed to be medicinal ... you need some bees. Lon.
ReplyDeletebeautiful gardens love love
ReplyDelete