After converting a patch of lawn into a kitchen garden, building the soil over five years, and growing lots of delicious veggies, had to give it up. Gophers invaded for the first time Spring 2019 and ate everything. This spring installed 210 square feet of raised beds with a hardware cloth bottom to keep those little buggers out. Once the bed frames were done, added straw bales and conditioned them for 6 weeks before adding compost and a soil topper. So far it seems to be working.
chocolate habanero
I’ve tried growing habanero chilis the last couple of years with little success. This year is looking up — likely due to the unusually warm summer. Good to see a Chocolate Habanero making an appearance…
garlic harvest day
Garlic fresh from the garden…now for the month-long cure. Fresh garlic is mild compared with its cured version, and tasty in its own right. Curing the garlic by hanging with stems and roots attached in a cool, dry space concentrates and intensifies its flavor. The cured garlic can be kept for many months, and cloves from the best heads can be planted in the fall for harvest the following summer.
saving seeds
Letting some of the romaine that did well go to seed this year. Will save the seeds and try replanting them next season. I saved seeds from broccoli, tomatoes, and chilies last year. Most of the saved broccoli seeds successfully germinated this year. Only a couple of the saved tomato and chili seeds germinated, so will have to try those again this year. The goal is to develop hearty local varieties by saving seeds from my best producers year after year.
missing the bees
Seeing first-hand the difference in the garden between having honeybees and not. My hives didn’t make it through the winter, and the backup plan to capture a swarm didn’t work out this spring. Last year with honeybees on site, virtually all of my vegetables got pollinated and yields were high. This year I’m seeing about a third of my vegetables withering on the vine unfertilized. I did get a number of visiting honeybees while the cover crop of crimson clover was in bloom. During that time, the garden was looking full of healthy veggies. This winter I’ll order new local bees for the spring. In addition to being cool little
July 30, 2017
eggplant flower
First year I’ve planted eggplants. Flowers are stunning!
rainbow garden harvest
Purple cauliflower, carrots, summer squash, broccoli, and garlic. Making a rainbow for dinner….
fruit in the new orchard
These Starkrimson cherries are almost ready. Can’t wait to try them! Many people don’t know northwestern Montana grows some of the best cherries in the world, with dozens of successful orchards surrounding Flathead Lake. I picked most of the green cherries off the trees I planted last spring. According to the nursery where I got them, the second year the tree should be putting most of its energy into building a strong root system and filling out rather than producing fruit. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to leave a couple of clusters, though.