Harvest Festival

tomato pie

cukes lead to pickles

hexagonal tomatoes

humongus watermelon

sunflowers and daisies

homemade Veggie juice

pumpkins came early

lavendar - foraged from neighbor

edamame

baba ganoush (eggplant dip)

japanese beetles are back

Japanese beetles, also known as popillia japonia, are invaders that we truly need to prevent and control. They love to feed off of the yard's life, defoliating leaves and fruit. I was going to town with a spray bottle full of soapy water and olive oil. Last year, the beetle defoliated both cherry trees. I hope to stop them this year before complete destruction occurs.

strawberries - every week

About 12 berries - 1 pint this morning with waffles.

strawberries are here!

Oh yeah!! Strawberries are popping out. It will be a bumper crop. We netted the bed yesterday to keep birds away - they are very greedy. The first two were delicate and sweet!

freeze warnings

It's been a week of frost and freeze warnings. The beds have been covered and the fruit trees are wrapped. The warm March meant that many plants are ahead of schedule. I'll try to get a picture post up sometime.

strawberries

In a flurry of activity this weekend, Alexa and I have planted our strawberries. There are ten plants of 3 different hybrids. The continuous watering system consists of 2liter soda bottles with a small hole in the bottom that is filled with water. This also has the added benefit of provided a local microclimate to warm the area and prevent frost damage. This is one of the new "lasagna" beds with cardboard laid over the lawn, mulched leaves/grass, compost, peat moss, sand, and some garden soil. The PVC pipe allows us to cover the box with plastic for a greenhouse effect or with netting to discourage birds from harvesting our berries.