[gardeners] Re: Hello
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Thu, 15 Oct 1998 15:49:15 -0700
Nope, y'all are still on the list. Remember that this is a low volume
list, only about 120 members so far, although we gain a few each week.
Stop lurking and start talking gardening. <VBG> Some of us are in that
rare hiatus between crops and garden cycles.
Garden content: The lagenaria gourds are still bearing and we're
harvesting about two edible gourds per week, about all we can eat
ourselves and a few to give away. The fall radishes are producing and
the green beans are making little beans. The chard, lettuce, New Zealand
spinach, and a couple of other things got washed away right after
planting and we have replanted twice. The second time we got another
gulley washer and the neighbor now has greens coming up in his backyard,
the third time to plant and the seeds are just now coming up. Thank
goodness for a very long growing season. The fall cukes are about big
enough to start harvesting but the tomatoes are just now blooming.
Plenty of bumble and mason bees hanging around so pollination should be
good. With the cool weather we've had for the last week or so the herbs
are looking good. If I don't get called by a client I intend to harvest
oregano, thyme, Mexican Mint Marigold (currently blooming), epazote,
winter savory, and garlic chives for either freezing or dehydrating.
Still have basil, purple and green, left from spring. I deliberately let
it go to bloom to attract bees and it's still blooming and smells good
when crushed.
The kumquats are starting to turn orange and we will probably eat the
whole crop just standing around the dwarf tree. This is the kumquat's
first year so the crop is not large. The Ponderosa lemon has 12 extra
large fruit remaining. They are so big I had to remove more than 10
others so the limbs wouldn't break. Looks to me like about 2 dozen lemon
pies and a couple of gallons of lemonade on there. If you're not
familiar with the Ponderosa lemon it is the one with the giant fruit and
they're more round than lemon shaped. I'm seriously debating buying a
dwarf Meyer's Lemon too.
The sunchokes, aka Jerusalem artichokes, are still blooming and are
about 10 or 12 feet tall, effectively hiding the neighbors steel
building that backs up to our rear fence. Kinda poked around under some
of them the other day and the tubers are just starting to get bigger so
figure harvest is still some time away. The okra is still producing but
not as mightily as it did during the hot weather, just enough to season
a dish or two every couple of days.
Did I mention that life is very good? My son just emailed me some more
pictures of the latest grandbaby. Why do all 6 month children look like
Winston Churchill? ;-)
George