Here's a
link to the July Garden Photos I took
Soon I hope to post some fresh pictures, perhaps specifically of the zinnias, which are now blooming like bombshells. There is nothing like giant zinnias for floral exuberance. A large glass vase contains an explosion of them now on the kitchen table.
Attack of the Killer Squash Bugs and A Necessary Evil
Squash bugs have been the garden's bane this summer. They have been attacking anything in the squash family, and killed several members. They killed all my cucumbers (slicing and pickling) long ago, and, most recently, one of the Ambrosia cantelopes has succumbed. Sadly, it was producing some nice melons, and one was
almost ready. Yesterday I picked it, because it looked ripe, however it has a sour smell and taste, so I won't eat it. The remaining seemingly healthy cantelope plant looks great, as does the yellow crook neck squash. Both have fruit. The pumpkins are fighting bravely, not yet dying, but with many withering vines, and some fruits appearing to turn orange prematurely, in my opinion. I worry that they won't be nice, like the cantelope wasn't, because of "ripening" because the plant is dying rather than that it is time. Does it work like that? I don't know. That's what it looks like is happening. The questionably ripening pumpkins are quite small. The several Sugar Baby watermelon plants appear completely untouched by all of the squash bug excitement and are thriving, with several little melons coming along beautifully.
In July, after the demise of the cucumbers, I decided I should become more serious about fighting the insect pests, and have sprayed (according to directions!) weekly with Sevin since then. No, there will not be a fashionable "organic" cachet attached to my produce. Sorry, folks.
Well-meaning folks often ask ~ knowing little else about vegetables than that they see two types offered in the store (regular and "organic") ~ they ask "are they organic?", or worse yet, "and...they
are organic?" as if it weren't otherwise worth the trouble. I often think these folks are just not familiar with the daily challenges to raise healthy happy food and that to educate would be to bore them, with a long, long lesson. If someone really want to know, I will discuss it, but it's not a favorite topic. I would prefer not to spray, but draw the line at losing plants. Under my current circumstance, spraying seems a necessary evil. This food will still be fresher than anything else I can find anywhere (usually I use what has been picked very, very soon after harvesting, often within literal minutes), and is probably less sprayed than regular grocery produce. That is my line of reasoning.
I've had some corn and it contines to come in at a slow pace. The plants look a bit spindly, but have ears. The corn is delicious, both the Silver Queen and Sweet Bi-Licious are as delectable as they ought to be, but it is not going great guns in the productivity category. I think it has to do with where they are planted. It is a more dense and moist location, compared to last years' corns' location.
The potatoes became ready in late July/early Aug., and I've been harvesting about 5-7 pounds at a time ~ several plants' worth ~ as I use them. I need to go ahead and get them all out before any should start to rot, but have been lazy so far.
Bean Season
Unlike last year, the green beans this year seem to have taken a vacation in production. This is odd, considering that last year was considered a year of great dryness. Last year I had an unbroken record of not needing to buy any green vegetable from the grocery store from the time the beans first produced until the plants could no longer be sheltered from freezing. For a time, I covered them and continued to harvest them through light frosts.
I should add that this year's vacationing bean plants are a first planting of bush beans (Tenderette, specifically). Last year, the first wave I planted and harvested was of Kentucky Wonder pole beans, so maybe the comparison is not fair. Last year, Tenderettes were a second wave. This year Kentucky Wonders are the second wave, blooming vigorously, and nearly ready. I also have a third wave, of Tenderettes going strong, about 8" high or so.
The Big Freeze
My bean freezing experiment was a total flop. I incorrectly blanched for 1 minute (not 3, as my book says) and, when thawed and cooked, they are much worse than grocery store frozen beans, mushy. I will try the correct 3 minute blanch method and see if they are better. If not, I may need to resort to canning green beans to put them up, which is obviously going to turn out a less fresh-seeming product, but truly an okay food well worth eating, in this picky person's opinion. We do occasionally eat store-bought green beans, and these would surpass those, one just must remember not to compare them to freshly picked beans.
Tomato Time ~ Got
Lycopene?
Unlike other fruits and vegetables, where nutritional content such as vitamin C is diminished upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. Lycopene in tomato paste is four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes.[see the above linked article's, "Dietary Sources" section for more detail]
Soon, I will also be soon putting up some tomatoes.
Have I reported that all of the chickens are no more now? It's been a few weeks now. It turns out that something vicious (and probably in the mink/weasel family, from the looks of things) was sneaking in and killing the chickens. We think this because of the way the last one was (unsuccessfully, the body was stuck) dragged out, towards a small hole in the chain link and the way of the killing. Two of them when horribly mutilated, were found alive (though not very), apparently soon after attack. Still, we don't
really know. We won't get more chickens until this pen is more fortified. With many things on our plate, it is not a big priority. I sorely miss the fresh eggs, anyway, for baking and cooking. Store-bought so-called "large" eggs seem so puny and anemically pale, but I can't bring myself to pay around $2.70 for free-range, larger eggs that probably have yellower yolks.
On a More Cheerful Note ~ Real Purity and Freshness
One more thing on the agricultural front ~ the peaches are starting to ripen! They are still a little on the firm side, but taste and smell like just what they are. Peaches are my favorite fruit, and one I never eat when not pure and fresh to my standards.
Fresh, to me, means, not out of season for my geographical region, or, if in season, not chilled or refridgerated after picking. I use this same standard of freshness with regard to choosing sweet corn. I feel that cool storage, even for a ripe, fresh fruit or vegetable, affects the quality of the food.
Growing up, I learned that you get corn for a meal about ten minutes before you want to eat it ~ that is, pick it right when the water to cook it is just about to boil.
Instead of buying pre-picked roadside corn, sometimes I saw my family ask to buy ears of corn taken right then, please, off of growing stalks. We wouldn't necessarily spring this on someone we didn't know at least somewhat, or anyone not selling the corn right out of their cornfield, but I took the point. Even fresh corn lying on a farm wagon is not "fresh", compared to what still is photosynthesizing!
So, hooray for the season of fresh food! Hooray for the harvest!