2012 Before and After Garden Photos

[897tgigvib]

I have a similar problem with photos. Makes things feel overwhelming, especially since I just had 2 teeth pulled with bone fragments cut and removed. When I take photos then look at my garden the next day things have grown and changed so much.

Oats are harvested, threshing them is tedious. I need a sieve. Mrs. Kenealy beans finished almost all at once, but leaving those plants in to see if they'll rebloom. Harvested first 2 ripe Chocolate Teparies. Those need constant picking as they ripen.

Thing about Tepary beans is they need constant picking or they shatter. On the other hand, they are absolutely resistant to diseases vulgaris beans get. Immune is probably the right word. Tepary beans actually have the potential to save humanity from starvation because of that. They are also 35% protein! Great in regular ham hock bean soup and great in chiles. They are also grindable to make flour that mixes well with corn flour.

Almost all my rattlesnake got that fusarium, as did about half of my White Greasy beans, and all but one individual common bnlack turtle bean plant, which I saved seed from. Selection. On the other hand, the rest of them did not get that fusarium except one individual cherokee trail of tears.

My section of "unusuals" is really giving me the excitement. I'm getting a nice mix of flor de mayo bolitas beans not marked with the dots. I have an individual plant giving me beans I have never seen, white, good sized, with a small spray of black/grey stars. Another just began making fat purple pods among the blue/gold ojos.

Second crop of mixed greens is almost ready for first thinning/harvesting.

Yes, I just may do a round of light fertilizing with the kelp base liquid, only as a tonic to help growth continue.

More importantly though, I have a bit of recuperating to do. Those were a couple hard teeth to remove.

 

[digitS']

Marshall, I also found the "hulless" oats, tedious. I couldn't believe it took so much effort to clean the seed. Just getting enuf to cook a pot in the rice cooker was a bother.

You know, I have many times stepped into a wheat field, broke off a few heads, rubbed them together vigorously between my palms, blew the chaff away, and popped the seed into my mouth! Except for the chewing, the entire process took well under a minute.

I was joking with my retired wheat farmer neighbor that my oat crop could go for a nice big bowl of rice salad like last year. Or, the plants could go to DW's wreath-making. He said I'd better let DW have them. They are all hung & dry for her. There's enuf seed for 2013 but I gotta get back to my black-tip wheat farmin' .

Good Luck on your recovery, Marshall. I had a wisdom tooth taken out not all that long ago. It took nearly a year before I no longer felt the discomfort.

Steve

 

[rebbetzin]

Marshall, you are inspiring me to grow some native beans. We have a Native Seed store here, I have never been in it.. They sell bean of all kinds! There may be time yet to get in a crop if I hurry..

 

[897tgigvib]

native seed search is where I ordered some of my bean seeds from a few years ago. Yes, they have a store in tucson town.

They have probably the best selection of tepary beans anywhere, except maybe nordgen's seed vault north of superman's hideout.

most tepary beans are at least 95 days to dry beans. Most of their common beans are long season dry beans. They have the coolest beans for dry beans! Tarahumara Purple, and Tarahumara purple Ojo are 90 day to dry beans, a good speed for pole beans.

 

[897tgigvib]

Right now my fort knox garden is a total all out jungle...new photos soon...If I'm not back by 5, send in a search party!

the garden is kind of my boss these days...watering, harvesting...next year, some kind of soaker hose system is to be added...

 

[digitS']

Since the frost on September 11th did so much damage, even tho' it didn't really kill anything, I better get an updated photo here!

And, there's only ONE. One photograph that is -- the dahlia garden was just too protected to have allowed any damage to the plants. So, go back to that very first post and I've put in a dahlia garden picture from today!

The other pictures are from August. Why? Because I like 'em! You gotta problem with that?? Some parts of my big veggie garden looks a little sad right now . . . warm weather is back. Since the plants didn't actually die - maybe things will return to summer-normal out there in a few more days. We will see how much time they will have to heal.

Steve

 

[lesa]

Those are beauties, Steve! A friend brought me some dahlia's- hope they have a chance to bloom before the frost here. I always admire your snapdragons. Do you start them in the hoop house? I have a few planted, but I love the idea of having some for a cutting garden.... Can't believe you had frost already- that makes for an awfully short growing season.

 

[digitS']

Lesa, the snaps are the very first seed that is sown, each year. They get the jump on peppers and all the rest. Only when I've grown violet family plants, have those guys gone in the potting soil before the snapdragon "dust" .

After their start in the kitchen, they go to the big south window and then out into the heated greenhouse - when I get that thing fired up. There isn't any rush. Snaps start out really tiny.

There are many weeks of care and some transplanting that requires a steady hand but snapdragons are fairly tough plants. I mean, if I put the mature plants against a foundation wall, or somewhere like that, they could live right thru a subzero winter.

I'm on my 2nd cutting of the snaps right now. Oh, and the blooms came thru the frost in pretty darn good shape.

Steve