Harvest Time Is In Full Swing -- and Fall Approaches

The bounty from a good garden season continues to pour into the house from the garden. The tomatoes and tomatillos have triggered the production of now over 100 jars of salsa. I am turning tomatoes into others things as well, namely, pasta sauce, BBQ sauce, hot sauce and just plain canned tomatoes.  There doesn't seem to be any end in site either to the basketfulls of the red things every other day.

The canning jar tally is now at 300 and climbing from there. I have put the word out to my Maine friends and church or garden club colleagues that jars of goodies are now for sale. I am hoping many jars are sold and the money can help fund the garden needs for next year.  I still have more potatoes and onions to dig and as the photo of the leeks show, it is time to make some potato-leek soup.

My gladolias and dahlias are now showing wonderful blooms all over the Raised Bed Garden and the black eyed Susans, sedum and other late summer-fall flowers are in full display. I am still cutting the acreages of grass but not as often now. The nights are cool for sleeping and the days rarely bring sweat producing heat.  Unfortunately I seem to spend most of my time in the kitchen except when it is time to pick more tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, and greens for dinner. If I was a vegetarian I might not visit the grocery store at all!

August in Maine!

Where do I begin...the Garden Blog has been long silent due to some computer issues here at the Schlaver Seed Farm. Those problems are now over, thanks to son, Benjamin, so now I can catch up and give a report on the 2nd half of the incredible summer in Saco. This is my eight summer in Maine and the weather this year has been the absolute best of them all...even if the rainfall has been less than what might be needed for the garden.  We have had endless sun and warmth, cool nights for sleeping, far fewer mosquitoes than usual and the tomatoes are thriving!

I continue to fight a losing battle with weeds in the fairly new Field Garden. I am seriously conidering an investment in a large amount of black plastic for next year. I can anchor that on the beds, add slits and holes for the seedlings and plants and hopefully better manage the weeds as a result. The onion and potato crop has yielded a stunted, in size, harvest because of the weeds stealing the water and nutrients from the crops. This has also been the case with other veggies like the cucumbers and corn.  Yet I am pleased with what I have been able to harvest so far.  The tomato crop is mammonth and so is the tomatillo yield as well as various varieties of hot peppers so that means lots of SALSA!

Anyone that has been sitting at my dinner table this summer has enjoyed an abundance of lettuse, beets, cooked greens, beans, potatoes, zucchini, and incredible amounts of fruit like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and peaches. The freezer is filled with bags of fruit that was first frozen on cookie sheets to keep the individual pieces separated and then put into plastic bags.

As the pictures below show, I am in full canning mode now and have been for several weeks. The tally of jars is now close to 200. The first effort is always jam: strawberry-rhubarb; strawberry; blueberry; blackberry and peach.  Later will come the apple butter. Pickles begin next and so far I have done: bread and butter pickles; sweet pickle spears; dill pickles and even zucchini spears. I have a crock full of whole dills that are brinning away for a month or so before going into the canning jars.  I have made four batches of red salsa and a couple batches of green salsa and there will certainly be more of both to come. Several jars of pasta sauce are put up already and more is expected. The main variety of tomato I choose to grow is the pear shaped San Marzano, a meaty variety perfect for sauce and salsa. One batch of "eggplant Madras" is completed for a special tasty treat.

As per usual I am able to pick my neighbor Midge's bountiful peach tree of all its fruit and this year that meant a lot of work over a couple days as they all seemed to ripen at once. So jam, pies, canned peach halves, some baked desserts and a lot of peaches eaten right off the tree resulted.

A very special event happened this August. I was given the honor of spending a full week alone with my grandson, Cotton.  This was his first time away from both his parents at the same time and he passed the test with flying colors. Fortunately he is so used to the Schlaver Seed Farm that it was like his home away from home in Brooklyn. We had a great time together digging potatoes, watching spider webs, picking Japanese beetles off the grape arbor, and eating blueberries and blackberries right off their bushes.  He loves his sandbox and all trucks and toys here and kept very busy. Of course, preferred that I, "Pops," was right there playing with him. To cap off a fun week for this almost three year old, we took the Downeaster train to Boston and then after a subway switch from North Station to South Station, boarded the Amtrak train for New York City.  He was thrilled to see his folks again but enjoyed his first of many trips, I presume, for a "summer camp" adventure in Saco.

Garden Club Visits The Farm

On Thursday evening July 8th The Saco Bay Garden /Club (SBGC) held its monthly meeting at the Schlaver Seed Farm to hear from two Master Gardeners involved with the the Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) Program:  http://extension.umaine.edu/york/programs/master-gardener-volunteer-program/plant-a-row/  My gardens are the most extensive among the SBGC members as to vegetable growing so was the logical setting for this presentation.  Thirty plus people showed up to walk around my gardens, hear the presentation and share in so tasty nibbles.  I served a large sheet pan filled with home grown rhubarb made into pie-like squares and also had a couple remaining 2009 jars of both red and green salsa from last year's harvest. The club members kindly overlooked all the weeds to enjoy the growing vegetable and flower plants. I welcomed all the advice and suggestions offered as well.  Thank goodness I have a long driveway for there were many cars to park! This meeting happened two days before the bi-annual SBGC Garden Tour that viewed ten area gardens. That tour was a big success even though the rainly deluge of that day hit about noontime. The SBGC web page is:  http://sacobaygardenclub.com/

It is "Officially" Summer Now and Very Welcome!

Today was a bit rainy so I am inside taking a gardening break and thought it was time for a Garden Blog update. The almost perfect weather year continues in Saco ME.Even though the vast gardens here continues  to trigger endless gardening work, I am happy and confident of the harvest already at hand and to come in the weeks and months ahead.

The Field Garden strawberry beds had their first productive year and I ended up with 18 quarts of tasty berries in this early harvest year. The Raised Bed Garden with the two very mature strawberry beds is now taking over the ripe berry duty so the harvest continues. 21 jars of jam, frozen berries and some strawberry- rhubarb pies and lots of simple berry eating has already happened with the first 18 quarts. Fresh rhubarb has been picked once and is about to yield the second harvest.

The Raised Bed Garden has already yielded broccoli raab (rapini), turnip greens, radishes, lettuce and arugula and soon some fresh peas will be captured. The blueberry harvest due to begin in late July looks VERY promising. The 100 plus garlic plants have produced curly scapes and when the plants turn yellow/brown that harvest can begin, also in July. I am anxious to see how big the garlic heads will be as the manure rich Field Garden might just produce the best results for me to date. I am still using garlic in the kitchen from last year's harvest. 

I reluctantly  stopped harvesting asparagus after a solid month of good eating. For the health of the plants and next year's crop one can't be greedy after all. I planted a new row of plants this year as well so the volume of harvest in two year should simply be spectacular. 

The weeding burdens are relentless though, especially in the Field Garden. as it is a long term task to let gardening dominate that 120 feet by 85 foot garden created there after decades of weed growing freedom.  I continue to try to keep on top of it and to add more wood chips to the garden paths. The power company was busily cutting branches along Ferry Road recently to protect the power lines and I scored two huge loads of their wood chips. I have enough for the next couple of years for sure now. They offer me a free weed barrier, source of nutritional mulch as it breaks down over time and a visual appear to paths and flower beds.

So now I am waiting, watching and working hard hoping the 60 tomato plants, rows of onions and potatoes and sweet potatoes, many variety of beans and countless other vegetables grow and grow. The flower beds don't wait until July and after to satisfy though, for phase two of the year's blooms now abound. Some new plantings near the front porch complete the new look just fine thanks to Julian's hard work on his Father's Day visit.

The Memorial Day Report

  The Memorial Day holiday prompted a full week's stay for Julian, Roxi, Cotton and Roxi's dad, Ken visiting from St. Louis So Ferry Road saw a burst of activity and lots of fun and good eating. As per usual Julian and Roxi did tons of work on the homestead.  Planting, pruning, weeding, lilacs adding fragrance to several rooms inside, meat cooking in the smoker, and domino playing late in the evening. Cotton, now three months short of his third birthday had a ball, endlessly digging in the sandbox. He rarely stopped running in the yard, playing, or looking for worms and spiders to take a nap. As the photo below shows he once fell asleep on my lap looking at videos on the computer. He is a busy boy and a joy.

The flowerbeds by the deck always are revitalized and improved by the creative energy of Julian and Roxi as these photos certainly show. The pond received a new pump and fountain as well. No chipmunk has moved into Roxi's little hobbit hole but time will tell.  Their visit lasted long enough to sample the first pickings of strawberries, arriving about two weeks early this year. They enjoyed the first rhubarb pies and the taste of home grown asparagus a couple times.  Since they left last Thursday I have picked more strawberries and the first radishes. An abundance of lettuce, broccoli raab and the first turnip greens are due for pickings shortly.

A major home improvement has been accomplished this spring...a new roof on the house! Yes, a new 30 year shingling of the roof was completed this past week by a great local contractor that may well be the regular handy man I will turn to in the months and years ahead for other projects as needed. I think the "sandlewood" color is a good addition to the look of the place.

The continuing good weather with a nice mix of rain, sun and warming days gives all indication for a great garden year. The next few weeks will focus on more and more vegetable planting and weeding as well as the beginning of the canning season with strawberry jam. The potatoes, onions and sweet potato beds look especially promising and now there are 33 tomato plants in cages and counting, for more need to be added.  The various perennials are starting to show their colors with the first roses, peonies, lupine, irises and other bursting forth. All the winter pondering and anticipation of spring and summer is at hand!

The Summer-like Spring Continues

The great weather continues with only a brief interlude of a frost one night. No real damage on the homestead as no fragile plants have been put out yet, only seeds planted so far. Since it has been warm so early some Maine farmers were at risk for  their various fruit blossoms: strawberries, blueberries and fruit trees.  But all is fine here. The strawberry crop looks to be a bountiful one this year....many white blossoms and now berries forming.

As you can see below, the azaleas finally are blooming.  My plants are along side the garage and are in the shade a lot so seem to bloom later than most around this area but they are worth the wait. The next photo is of the wisteria in the archway by the raised bed garden. Its bloom this year is a mix of white and purple and there are many, many blooms.

The nighttime temperatures are nearly 50 degrees now or above and the days are near 70 or above in the ten day forecast so it was definitely time to put out the greenhouse and add all the plants that have been started inside the house. Hopefully the tomato plants and other things will now experience a big growth spurt as the weather is so good there really can be put in the ground soon, possible even before the usual Memorial Day planting weekend.

 

The last two pictures show the creative log rack that my neighbor Pipe Smoking Paul invented many years ago. He lent it to me to use to cut the many pole of wood I had gathered than needed to be cut into stove-sized pieces. These pictures are before and after shots  In a matter of minutes the chain saw turned it into cut logs. I actually did three rack loads of pieces.  I now had my winter of 2010-2011 wood supply all gathered and should easily have over three cords ready for seasoning all summer and fall. I do have quite a pile of these newly cut logs and some others logs that do need splitting into smaller pieces though.

Some new plantings this week include snow peas, sunflowers, and acorn squash. I have cleaned and prepared some additional planting beds so am ready to plant more beans and other things. The potatoes have now emerged in their rows and the onions are flourishing nicely.  The asparagus is simple wonderful this year. Four meals so far and counting. I expect to make the first rhubarb pies just before the family arrives from Brooklyn for a week long visit over Memorial Day.

May Flowers and Vegetable Gardening Flourish

April was a perfect weather month in Maine but May seems that it might even top that phenomenon. The first week is ending and only two modest rain events so far but a lot of sun and warm temperatures. Hence I am planting more early crops than any year so far.  I have planted sweet corn; various beans for drying in the fall, namely pinto, cannellini and red kidney; kale; arugula; turnips; carrots; radishes; lettuce; Italian dandelion green; Swiss chard; scallions; green beans; beets; and broccoli raab. The onion sets planted recently are all growing very visibly and the potatoes are starting to emerge. I have now served asparagus for dinner three times!  The strawberries are growing well and the four beds of them are full of white blooms and the beginnings of small berries. The peas are emerging nicely as well and the rhubarb is close to the first harvest and that means some rhubarb pie.

I have used all the wood chips recently acquired and completed a few Field Garden paths with them after putting down some black plastic. I could use another couple truck loads of chips, easily. I have now resorted to covering the paths with leaf mulch now so that some of the essential paths are covered between the permanent beds of strawberries, asparagus, garlic,, rhubarb. etc.  It is important to create these weed barriers and buffers for the sake of the garden beds and to lighted my weeding load somewhat.  The Raised Bed Garden has wood frames and more years of existence so weeding is quite minimal. I believe the pictures below gives you some sense of the effort I speak of.  Note the garlic in the middle-right of the first picture, now a foot tall and looking like a bumper crop.  I bet the cow manure added to the soil will trigger larger garlic bulbs when harvested this July..

The next picture shows the first stack of wood right behind the fence and convenient to the deck and hence, the door near the wood stove. I will have the three pallets arranged there all covered with stacked firewood when I complete the cutting  to size and splitting of the wood awaiting that finishing in my wood staging area. You can also see thick leaf mulch spread before the pallets and fence.  This weed infested area in the past will become a nice place for some flowers and bushes when the mulch successfully kills off the weeds.

Lastly, I thought I would share some photos of the glorious colors of the spring flowers now blooming all over the place. The Raised Bed Garden is bordered with a wonderful display of tulips that seem to be more beautiful as each year goes by.  Behind the tulips the first five beds are almost completely planted.  Some closeups of lilacs, grape hyacinths, and creeping flocks seem to be the best way to share their bright colors. To me the prettiest spring "bloom" is the tasty green asparagus...so worth the wait and short season each spring. You can almost see it grow more each day. Hopefully, I will be able to harvest some regularly for the whole month of May.