merefaith: discipleship in the ruins of empire

Today I had the good pleasure of plucking 47 cherry tomatoes from my four plants. All together, I've pulled off nearly 100 tomatoes so far with a good chance I can double that amount before the plants are shot. I also pulled off the second and final round of bush beans (a much smaller crop) and the last of the peas, yanking those plants off the trellis and piling them for compost. Right now, I have some surprisingly resilient lettuce that hasn't been killed off by the heat. Some strawberries are appearing at a strangely late time of the year. My onions continue to sit there and I keep wondering whether I'm doing a good job with them or not. The single eggplant apparently refuses to grow past the sprout stage, with my pepper plant as a comrade in stubbornness. Chives, mint, leeks, and basil continue to do fine. I wonder when my okra will start significant growth....

Kelly and I also successfully planted shrubs in our new sheet-mulched beds around the edges of the house. Significant members include a juniper bush, butterfly bush, and a camellia. Two quince plants will provide fruit that, while bitter raw, makes great preserves. And it finally RAINED so our rain barrels are recharged again. We will get two more in the near future, though.

I need to order some seeds and plan for my fall crop. I hope to grow kale and pumpkins as new crops. I'm also going to order Gene Logsdon's Small-Scale Grain Raising. Imagine growing your own grain crops in your backyard!! I personally find that quite exciting...

Labels: Agrariana

Posted by Chris Schelin on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 at Tuesday, July 07, 2009 | Permalink