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Lord Hank
Hank's not a German shepherd like the girls, but he does look rather imperious when he sits on the bench in the front yard and stares out over his domain.
Keyhole Garden Update
After 521 days of continuous production, the early summer veggies in the keyhole garden are all played out, but the mid-summer crops--beans, squash, and pumpkins--are doing just fine. The second half of summer and most of early fall is brutally hot and dry, so I'm going to give part of the bed a couple week's rest before transplanting the late summer and early fall stuff.
Video: Lunchtime!
In this video momma duck takes the kids to snack on a few tomatoes tossed to them. But when poor momma tries to eat, ol' lucky number 13 shows up with a different plan.
A Walk Among the Gourds
The hanging gourd garden is doing well in the heat. A couple of weeks ago I wasn't sure which gourds were growing, but now I can see it's birdhouse, bowl and bottle.
Risks of Organic Gardening
A reminder on this #TomatoTuesday, if you're an #organicgardener, the organisms get a share of the garden too.
Hot and Tired
We're 2/3rds of the way through summer, the heat is brutal and it hasn't rained since mid-April. The garden looks tired, but not done yet. Here's photos of how it looked on June 18th and today.
Video: Timeout with Ducklings
It's finally Friday! Here's 3 minutes of rest and relaxation with our baby ducks at their swimming pool (actually a large plastic garbage can lid) to get you ready for the weekend.
How About Them Apples?
This isn't an apple, it's a bell pepper. The parents, a California Wonder and a Chocolate Bell pepper, made these big, beautiful red peppers with a little deep purple blush. Thick walled and sweet, it's a great pepper for stuffing as well as eating fresh. Thick walled and very sweet. A good pepper for stuffing and in sauces.
Big Ol’ Tomaters
One of the pleasant surprises of the season are these Costaluto Italian heirloom tomatoes. They bear big, meaty fruit (8 - 22 ounces) in clusters of six. The plants definitely need heavy duty support because they produce 20 - 30 pounds of fruit per plant. The flavor is outstanding.
A Hanging Gourd Garden in the Making
Earlier this summer I trellised the gourds to keep them from invading the vegetable garden. Now I have a hanging gourd garden that's filling in beautifully and providing shade for lettuce in an area that usually bakes in the summertime.
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