Saturday, June 14, 2014

Now this is more like it

Light rain and overcast, no view at all
This morning I woke to the sound of rain on the roof. I knew the entire weekend would be unsuitable for skydiving, so I decided to go on the morning outing with the Fairhaven walking group. Since it was raining, I figured only a few of us would show up. But no, 24 women gathered to head up the Galbraith trails together. We walked around five miles or so, with a light rain at times, and otherwise it was just dark and rather gloomy.

The conversation, however, was anything but. By the time we finished, we were all in a pretty good mood and started our weekends on a very nice note. We were all glad we went, despite the weather. It was a first for this particular trail; we will be going back and maybe seeing a view of Bellingham from that vantage point someday. This weather is way more normal that the weeks of constant sunshine we've been having.
From bottom: arugula, kohlrabi, gourmet salad mix, beets, nasturtiums, borage
Not that I'm complaining. It's just that our summer typically doesn't even begin until July 5th, and there were 17 days in a row at SeaTac without any measurable rain. The sunshine has caused my garden to burst forth in a way that has surprised me. I just took these pictures, showing the abundance of my plants. Those kohlrabi starts were just put in a couple of days ago and I do hope they "take." I took out four of my six red cabbage plants because of an infestation of aphids. When I went to Joe's Garden, he told me how to deal with them, and I realized I didn't have to take them out after all: I could use a natural fungicide made of water, olive oil, and dish soap. He suggested going online and learning what proportions to use. Now I have a spray bottle filled with it and I watch my plants carefully.
My first broccoli
And look! I've got broccoli florets beginning to form, making me so very happy. No aphids or mealy worms on them so far, but I'm watching! I gathered the ripe strawberries for the day while I took these pictures just a few minutes ago. The berries are such a nice treat; yesterday I sliced them and mixed them into some plain greek yogurt. Incredibly good and hardly any calories.
Volunteer squash
We've got this squash plant that nobody is sure about, since it's a volunteer and is going crazy out there in our community garden. The yellow zucchini (which is flowering already) is in the lower right foreground. Comparing the leaves, we've decided it most likely is a pumpkin, but nobody is sure. We didn't have any of those in our community garden last year. Who knows?

Anyway, the rain should help my just-planted kohlrabi and beet seeds to do well. Oh, and I also planted some leeks, from starts, so they are taking over the area where the red cabbage used to be. I don't want to waste even a little bit of space in my tiny garden.

Well, that's it from my little corner of the world. I'll watch another episode or two of "Orange is the New Black" on Netflix and read one of the books I picked up at the library yesterday. As I mentioned happens occasionally, I had several on hold and three became available at the same time. I never remember where I first heard of the books, because I sometimes wait for weeks before I get a message about availability, and that's the story with these: The Dinner, and Time and Chance. Hope they are good!
:-)

23 comments:

  1. smiles...sounds like the walk in the rain was well worth it...and my how your garden is growing....its been smoking hot here...and humid...with wicked thunderstorms and torrential rains in the evenings...

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  2. That looks like a hike I could take. First one ever on your blog, I think!

    I like these few days of rain - means I don't have to water!

    What are the proportions for the natural aphid remover? Sounds like a good idea for our garden.

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  3. My father always used soapy water to remove aphids - or he brushed them off with an old paint-brush.
    Another method I have heard - and would like to try - is buying ladybirds and setting them loose in the garden.
    Love your garden - and your start to the day.

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  4. i love kohlrabi!

    laughed at your 'this is more like it' for the rain. :)

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  5. Okay....now I gotta ask, what is SeaTac?

    Oh your garden goodies...yum!!

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  6. sorry...that's me Hootin' Anni. I'm in my bird photo blog admin.

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  7. We actually have had very little rain here in SeaTac again, just gray and dampish. My Whidbey garden was almost burnt up from lack of rain. This looks to be a hot, dry summer.
    Your garden is looking good! We harvested a small bowl of strawberries yesterday and enjoyed them with a little vanilla ice cream.
    We spent six hours on the road today, going south for a family memorial service. I hope I can get out and walk tomorrow.

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  8. Your garden is looking great! I'm sure ours will be a mess by the time we get home, but I hope that some hard work will whip it back into shape. The spouse got the irrigation on timers before we left, but the weeds may have taken over.

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  9. I can tell you where you heard about Time and Chance DJan! ;o) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!!

    I'm sloooowly dipping my toes back into the blogging world. Although I won't really have "time" until August... But I will try to make time to write a little something about the work trip to Kenya I'm embarking on today! :o)

    I love your stories about your garden!!! Wish i could do smthg similar here. But for now have neither time nor patience, and I'm not sure it would work as well on my balcony! :p

    Hugs!!!

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  10. ha,ha I just finished watching 2 episodes of this new season as well - aah Piper, what ever is going to happen to you??
    Your garden is marvelous - ours are just sprouting and we have just had another week of cold and wet weather - I fear for the gardens in the Maritimes this year, unless we have an extended summer. 24 is a good crowd - now that would be fun. Have a wonderful day DJan to you n yours.

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  11. Your walk sounds fun, getting in some visiting while walking. Your garden is refreshing. The plants look healthy and you will benefit from the great things you chose to plant. The gardens out here are not as far along as yours.

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  12. How wonderful that your garden is bursting in all its glory. I can't believe how well your plants are doing. And the way you write, gardening is a lot of fun. Good for you!

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  13. PS...I'm back this morning, thanking you for the info I had questioned yesterday.

    Nope, you won't find an email link...I only blog. No other time allotted for me being online. And with two blogs now, it takes a lot of hours constructing and visiting.

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  14. I'm impressed with (no, actually, I envy) your garden. I read "The Dinner" last year. Great book -- always keeps you guessing.

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  15. Aphids are just nasty...hope your mix works...use Dawn Dish Soap..it has a better surficant than some others and will give you better coverage:)

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  16. Augie just told me I should tear out some of the lawn and plant vegetables. I told him it will have to wait until next year. And I'll just make room in what is now a giant flower garden. Seeing your greens, I can't wait to get started.

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  17. Looks like your group had a good time even in the dampish weather. Your garden is looking so good!

    Time and Chance is a second book in a trilogy. (I just peeked on Amazon.) Did you read the first book? You usually mention good books, I peek at them on Amazon and then add them to my library list--LOL! Looks like an interesting historical trilogy!

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  18. That rain will make your garden grow like crazy, you should have all sorts of goodies very soon.

    17 days of without rain at SeaTac? Wow! I have flown in and out of there dozens of times and have only managed to catch it twice when it wasn't pouring.

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  19. We're getting little cucumbers already here too. And tomatoes. All the rain is making things lush and fertile. It's making me a little cranky though!

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  20. Dear DJan, this posting gave me such a sense of contentment. Thank you. Your garden is "going great guns" as my mom used to say. Congratulations and good eating.

    A novelist you might like is Martin Walker. His series takes place at St. Denis in the Dordogne area of France and there are many scenes in which gardens and food and eating are front and center. The first book in the series is "Bruno, the Chief of Police." The writing is excellent. Peace.

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  21. Summer has made it to our place. I'm busy weeding, and wondering why I decided on having a house. Oh, well.

    But your garden is a delight! We planted only a few pumpkins in a garden area now covered by stones, which had been well-sprayed to keep the weeds down, for several years. I hope we can rehabilitate the land.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!

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  22. Interesting recipe for aphids. I wonder if it would work on some of our Florida pests. Your garden is flourishing!

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  23. I just love looking at your garden. Everything looks so beautiful and bug free. Sigh... Just think how healthy you'll be eating all those veggies and fruits.

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