July 2025

S M T W T F S
  1 2345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

August 30th, 2022

elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Tuesday, August 30th, 2022 06:45 am
August's weed growth is overwhelming, but no weeds are germinating - the spring and summer ones are done, the winter weeds haven't started. So once things are pulled out, the areas mostly stay clear.

This weekend i did get some serious mowing of stilt grass done and some clearing of the high grass in the orchard to begin to transform the high grass space to a wildflower space. It was always meant to be wildflowers: instead of seeding what i hope will be low growing plants, i will buy plants (that i have already paid for) and not worry about the low growing aspect: the high grass hasn't been too much of an issue.

Figs are going gang busters. Last night i just got low hanging fruit, some falling apart ripe, and had enough for another dehydrator tray and spur-of-the-moment-jam (this morning's spoonful reveals its fine but i should reduce the lemon juice and low sugar pectin to let the fig come through more). Plus continued snacking figs. The wasps were working on some of the high figs: i have enough to not worry.

Other produce is less abundant - i guess i didn't understand just how much the drought was affecting plants. Next year, i think i'll have effective watering in place at the start.

I have hopes for the sweet potatoes, although the "scarlet" ones are in a bed i haven't managed to water well. There are four good sized winter squash. I'm giving up on the squash plants in the garden soon despite their rambling everywhere. The cube of butter keeps wanting to set fruit: i assume the virus is affecting it. Maybe i'll leave that one plant and see if it was the heat, but i need to have some space ready for strawberries in late September.

The corn breeding project continues: some of the dent corn picked up the purple from the pop corn. I needed to have been more attentive in hand pollination: the one stalk i did handle well did successfully cross. There is no rational reason for me to be doing this as there are several blue dent corns, but the multicolor selected for purple pop corn \ is the one seed i have saved and selected since moving here. I've given up on it popping: hominy and nixtamalizied corn are next. Crossing the with a white dent corn keeps it "mine."

Okra are just now seeming to pick up some production. There's a hot pepper of some sort - cayenne, i hope -- that has managed to set fruit despite terrible weed pressure. And the Ashe County Pimentos are also setting fruit. I want to try digging the Corno del Toro and an Ashe County Pimento up and over wintering them. Maybe next spring i will be more aggressive about not just seed starting but getting plants out. The first fruit are setting on the Homestead beefsteak tomatoes.

The sochan is growing gangbusters: i will need to learn how to really use it. And the jewels of opar have been great. I'm just getting a sense of how to use it in cooking.

And the elder thicket bean plant (Phaseolus polystachios) is a ... terror. I hope i like them. This is its third year, and it has overwhelmed its corner, a mass of vine and tiny lavender flowers, swamping the sunchokes (yay) and the established sochan. I look at it and remind myself - that's one plant. And some seed did take on the orchard fence, and at other places in the garden. When those plants go like this one... I think the fencing can take it. The point of it being perennial is well, maybe it will be low fuss and reliable. AND if it really takes along the orchard fence, maybe i'll just rip it out in the garden? (I wonder if an established rootstock would be able to withstand deer pressure.)
Tags: