In the Garden: July 2007 Archives

I have been so busy this week, that I haven't had the chance to get out into my gardens. From the kitchen I could see that there were cherry tomatoes ripening, and we're having salad for dinner tonight, so I made the trek out to harvest a few of them.

Some rotten little rodent, or bunny or deer is taking one bite out of the bigger tomatoes. I doubt seriously that we will have more than the three we have managed to collect so far because they are just too tempting. Maybe I can find a strip of hardware cloth to wrap around the tomato cage. That might protect them from the livestock.

As I walked back through the herb garden, I brushed the basil, and its scent filled the air. I stopped to pinch off the tops of the plants, to try to keep them bushy, and to delay the flowering. Basil tastes better before it's energy goes into flowering and making seeds.

We've had light showers the past two days. The water has helped everything, but we need still more. We seem to be in a pocket of drought that has hung over us for at least three years. I know that friends in the East and in Kansas are worried about flooding, and can't wait for things to dry up. Send that water this way!

If it's not raining early tomorrow morning, I may have the chance to get into the gardens again. We can hope. The worst of the week will be over tomorrow morning, and working in the gardens would be a lovely way to wind down the week.

Soon it will be time to make "Farmer's Tomato Pie." I'm just waiting for the home grown, or local tomatoes to ripen. Yummmmmm!

It's summer, what can I say??

I had a lovely time in the garden on Sunday. Usually I go out early in the day, between 5:00 and 9:00, but I overslept last Sunday. I went out at 10:00 and worked for three hours. By the time 1:00 rolled around, I was more than ready to quit, but I'd had a very satisfying morning.

I went out this morning to take pictures to make it easier for you to understand what I'm writing about, and discovered the battery on my camera was dead. I prefer early morning for herb garden pictures because you aren't distracted by shadows and the colors are gentler. It just wasn't to be. Maybe I can get the pictures later today.

I finished cutting back the chives, and I'm halfway through the oregano. I clipped off the top of the basil to keep it from flowering, and brought the leaves in to make pesto, and I harvested the first of the cherry tomatoes.

I also cleaned out the east walkway inside the garden. If you wet the chat down first, it's not a bad job. I left one of the poppies and two other groups of volunteer plants that are growing in the walk, at least for now..

Since I never remember to take before and after pictures, I left the west walkway until I could get a picture. There's still some work to be finished from this Spring's renovation, but it's minimal. Eventually, I hope to add more chat to the walkway, and we might even consider laying the bricks that are supposed to cover the chat.

Once I've finished the weeding, I need to mulch the herb garden. It will help to keep moisture in and may save a plant or two if I fail to water regularly.

The chipmunk that lives at the back door decided he didn't like the rudbeckia that I had planted above his home. He burrowed around two sides of it, and it was in pretty bad shape, so I moved it into the herb garden. I have two lavenders to plant, as well.

I suppose when you look at the list of things I've been doing the word "WORK" floats through your mind. Well, it IS work, but the grounds look so nice once it's done that it seems like a worthwhile way to fill my time.