Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Planting Day #14 - A Finish!


Today was a big day down in the garden. Tonight, after work, we headed down to the garden. Since this  was our 4th day in a row with the temperature at or over 90 degrees, we once again began by watering everything.


Then I dug holes and we planted the last row of dahlias. Yes, I said the last row of dahlias!


After planting the final 14 dahlias tonight, all of the rows are done. I have a total of 18 rows this year, planted with 105 varieties and 246 individual dahlia plants. Now, the first plants that I set in the ground are almost 3 feet tall. It's time to switch gears and begin tying, topping, and dis-budding. Pictured above, "Willo Borealis".

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Early July in the Kitchen Garden


With the hot weather that arrived at the beginning of July, it seems that everything in the kitchen garden is growing like crazy.


My four "Early Moonbeam" watermelon plants have all begun to branch out with an initial long vine. Since I have never grown watermelon before, I don't know if this is the first of many vines, or if each plant only produces one. Whatever the case, they are clearly loving the hot weather.


All five of the tomato plants now have pretty spays of blossoms. So far, only the "Bloody Butcher" plant has set any fruit.


The "Minnesota Migit" cantaloupe plants are also blooming each day. So far it appears that all of the blooms have been male, so no set fruit yet.


After getting off to a rough start, the "Poletschka" pole beans are now growing quite well. Many of the plants have sent up the initial vine that will soon grab hold of the tower.


I am really pleased with my peppers. I decided one of the reasons that my pepper plants have always struggled in the past was because I was over-watering them. So I have been really watching the soil, and have only been giving them a single, deep watering every 3-4 days. It seems to be working. The plants are growing well and are getting covered with blooms. This is the first set pepper on my "Creme Brulee" plant.


And here is the first set "Lunchbox Yellow" sweet pepper.


Now that we are past the summer solstice, the onion bulbs are really starting to swell. Here's a nice "Frontier" growing strongly.


The shallots are also doing great. It won't be long at all before I can start harvesting them for summer salads.

 

The "Candy" sweet onions will also be ready by the end of the month.


As expected, the Winter Squash have all been loving the heat. All three varieties are sending out multiple vines which seem to be growing by the hour. I keep having to pull them back through the protective garden netting so that they don't get eaten by the deer. Pictured above, an immature "Delicata" squash.


I also found a pretty "baby" squash on this "Queenland Blue" vine.

Not to be outdone by all of the vegetables, my morning glory vines are also growing like mad. Each day I am getting more and more blooms as the vines scramble up the tower.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Planting Day #12

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Another really hot day today. The temperature read 93 degrees when I drove home at 4:00 tonight. We went down to the garden at 6:30. It was in fully in the shade by then but it was still awfully warm when you were performing any sort of labor. We once again watered everything in the garden first and then I dug another 7 holes. I then planted the 14 holes that I dug last night. I now have 218 dahlia planted. The end is in sight, with a little bit more than a row and a half left to do. Pictured above, "Lakeview Illusion".

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Corvallis Farmer's Market


This morning we headed North 30 miles to Corvallis. Corvallis has a great Saturday Farmer's Market. They close off 1st street, next to the Willamette River, to all traffic and set up the Market. It makes for a great market location. There's plenty of room for people and dogs of all kinds - not to mention all of the lovely farm stands.


Isn't this a beautiful pile of beets ? Deep red, red, pink and golden orange.


There were lots of newly dug potatoes for sale. I am not familiar with the variety "Colorado Rose".


Now that July has arrived, the bouquets are a riot of bright colors.


A few stands were selling the first fresh garlic of the season.


July also means it's Blueberry season in Oregon.


I had to stop and support my Alma Mater. The Department of Nutrition and Food Science now makes and sells cheese. I picked up a container of barbecued cheese curds. Go Beavs!


Tomatoes are really coming on now that the weather has warmed up. I likes these pints of mixed cherry tomatoes.


This table was covered with giant "Walla Walla" sweet onions. They are another sure sign that summer has arrived in the Pacific Northwest.


Along 1st street, next to the Farmer's Market, is a public plaza. In the summer, they turn on the water jets. It was getting warm by the time we reached this spot and the fountain was full of happy kids.


The Market has also reserved a few spots for musicians.We really enjoyed this group. They described their sound as American gumbo. They sang as well as played their various instruments. A really talented group. After we left the Market we headed down to the New Morning Bakery. As a Beaver Believer I couldn't resist taking a picture of there cookies!

Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy 4th of July!



HAPPY 4th of JULY!

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Planting Day #10


A little bit cooler today. It only hit a high of 76 degrees so it made for very pleasant working conditions down in the garden. We actually started working right when I got home from work. We began by loading up the pickup truck with all of the rest of the potted tubers and hauling them down to the big garden. Once we had unloaded all of them, we took the time and watered everything in the garden.


After that was complete we started digging holes and planting dahlias. We got another 16 planted tonight, for a grand total of 182 now in the ground. I basically have 4 rows left to complete, plus a few odds-and-ends. Pictured above, two "Colwood Hope" and below, two " Alpen Pearl". Once we got back up to the house, we had a late dinner outside. Just simple sandwiches but it was perfect. There we no flies or yellow jackets to be seen and the temperature was such that it was completely comfortable to be sitting out in the evening sun. A dinner to remember.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Planting Day #9


We worked hard down in the big garden tonight. It was a little humid and made for sticky, sweaty work. We managed to get 19 more dahlias planted tonight, for a total of 166 now in the ground. Pictured above, " Irish Glow", a red Pom.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Watermelon Weather - The First 90 Degree Day of the Year


July arrived with a bang today. We hit a high of 93 degrees, our first time over the 90 degree mark this year. It finally feels like Summer and I know that my 4 "Early Moonbeam" watermelon plants are happy with the heat too. Since this hot weather is excepted to last only for a day, I decided not to work planting dahlias tonight. Instead we just watered everything well and took the evening off. Welcome July!