It’s been almost a month since my last post. There’s been a lot going on. L’s uncle died a month ago and he went to Minnesota for several days to attend the funeral. I’ve had health issues — I actually went to the hospital last week for a CT scan — though I’m glad to report that it’s nothing serious and I’m now feeling much better. Well, in that regard anyway. I think I’m coming down with a cold at the moment, which makes me a bit anxious because I have a business trip to Baltimore next week.
We’ve been in a pattern of chilly mornings and pleasant daytime temperatures. Not sure if we’ll get another heat wave after fall arrives, but it’s entirely possible. But for now, we’re pleased to have good weather for working out in the yard.
L rented a tractor last weekend to take care of some long-overdue projects.
The main projects:
- Pull out the grapevine supports, which were embedded in two feet of concrete.
- Clear the massive weedy patch where the raised beds once were.
- Scoop and distribute the pile of woodchips from our recent tree work into the front flower bed and the side of the house.
- Pull out the clothesline.
Mission accomplished on all. I am particularly giddy about there being mostly bare ground where a giant patch of weeds existed not even a week ago.
Of course, now I have to worry about controlling weeds in this spot until we can build the new raised beds. I want to keep the same profile, more or less, but with fewer beds, an outdoor sink to rinse vegetables, and a fence surrounding the garden.
L created an additional project because of the tractor. He was driving over one of our bridges, and it collapsed under the weight. Thankfully, he gunned it and made it across before ending up in the creek bed — getting a tractor out of a ditch would have been an ordeal. But the bridge needs to be rebuilt. Just as well, I suppose. It was pretty rickety to begin with.
I did some fall planting while L was in Minnesota. Obviously I have no raised beds, but I found a kiddie pool at Big Lots for $3; poked holes in the bottom; filled with potting soil; and planted mesclun mix, chard, beets, and spinach. These are all cold-hardy plants that are perfect for fall planting, and they are doing very well.
I have started thinning out the seedlings. The lettuce and chard in particular are growing like crazy.
I don’t intend to use the kiddie pool method in the future, but it works in a pinch.
Blackberry season is over. Sadly, I only filled one gallon-size freezer bag. Last year, I think I had at least three. The apples are on their way out now, though we still have several dozen of them on the trees. I made a couple batches of applesauce, apple chips, and apple pie filling. And that’s about all I can manage. A lot of the apples are smashed on the ground (thanks to our lawn mower), and the yellow jackets have been all over them. (The neighbor’s two horses and two donkeys got some, too.)
I have probably never mentioned this, but sunflowers are my favorite. I planted dozens of seeds this year. Only two sunflowers came up — a tiny chocolate cherry sunflower and a massive one that grew taller than our house.
In general, though, the flower beds were a total disaster this year. They were taken over by weeds, and I really want to make the beds smaller and more manageable. That’s a project for another time.
Random photos from around the farm:
Karyn Johnson 
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