Beans planted

The old (1994) seeds did not germinate so I planted 32 pole beans this morning after soaking them overnight. You may ask why I had bean seeds from 1994? I guess that shows how much I like green beans... but I received a special request from family members for them, so Aunt Mary provided Purple Trionfo Violetto and Emerite Haricot from Pinetree Gardens. With luck we/they will be eating green beans by the end of September.

I harvested the first quart of basil from our garden and noticed that the cherry tomatoes are starting to flower and fruit.

I also (finally) got the grape trellis up so the grapes have something more than a metal stake and protective fence to grow on. The Japanese beetles are much reduced after daily swims in rubbing alcohol, but they have still taken their toll on the foliage.

I ate the first raspberry yesterday from our raspberry patch. It reminded me of my grandfather's raspberries on Whidbey Island, Puget Sound. I remember eating them with cream and sugar. What a treat!

New planting of lettuce

A new batch of lettuce(80), kale(8) and chard(8) was planted on July 19. The 32 everbearing Ozark Beauty strawberry plants have been producing about 8 berries per week for the past two weeks.

The day lilies and pink spirea in the front are finished blooming, but the gladiolus are putting on a good show.

First of the next lettuce

We gleaned our first harvest from the lettuce frame that was planted in June. DeAnne made some great pesto with arugula from that frame along with some basil that Aunt Mary gave us.

Last night I soaked some chard and green bean seeds and placed kale and lettuce in a wet paper towel. I was planning to do mini-soil blocks for the lettuce, but haven't found the time to make the soil block mix. This morning, I pulled most of the peas and planted the beans in their place.

I left the cover off of the new strawberry bed for a couple of nights and found most of the leaves gone, most likely from the woodchucks.

Last of the first lettuce

On the 5th, we cleaned out the last of the lettuce that was planted during the warm spell in March. It is noticeably bitter, but not too bad. I applied about a quart of COF (Complete Organic Fertilizer) and top dressed both frames with half a bag of Bumper Crop in preparation for the next crop.

The salad frame that was planted in early June is almost ready for selective harvesting. I have decided to stop using the mesclun mix because I have a lot more radicchio than I need. I would like to have more control over the lettuce varieties. For the next salad frame, I will be starting seeds indoors and then transplanting them out once they are an inch or two tall.

I gathered about a 4' pile of weeds from the backyard that I will use to build a compost pile this fall. When the compost pile is built, these weeds will become the carbon supplemented by fresh nitrogen rich greens and microorganism rich topsoil.

Youngest daughter heard the first cicadas on June 28, I first noticed them on the 30th. I have been dropping Japanese beetles in rubbing alcohol for about the past week. This seems to be controlling the population and defoliation of our grape, cherry and plum leaves. The mornings are noticeably quieter now that the bird mating season is winding down.

We have gladiolus, lily, pink spirea and mullein blooming in the front. Next year, I would like to add some bee balm, echinacea and other flowering perennials.