New England August 2017

Here we are, folks...smack dab in the middle of summer!  And the heat is on...FINALLY!
My hot veggies are still behind but...I picked a REAL cucumber!  Along with this mornings kale/parsley smoothie fixins':

What's everyone else up to?  QB & hammock gal posted some nice garden and container photos in the July thread but I think we need an update. Especially because a little birdie tells me that SOMEone is eating tomatoes already!   

And where the heck are the missing New Englanders and their photos?
Camp?  NHGardener?  Molly?  Bigrockdog?  Ginger Blue? jenalawz? CAgirlinMA? lindeelou?  and anyone else I missed?  show us what's growing in your neck of the woods.

GB, checking in...

Thanks for starting this thread CC.

This summer has been brutal.  I've been lurking in the background, following everyone's summer progress, but haven't had the time or energy to post.  To catch you up, here's what's been going on in my little corner:

In May and June, Hubs and I scrambled to get our house prepped and on the market. We finally got it listed in early July and received an offer the same day.  We're currently under contract, fixing a handful of issues identified in the home inspection.  If all goes to plan, we'll close on 25 August...without a home to move into, ourselves.  We will likely rent an apartment, month-to-month, until we find a suitable place to buy.

In parallel, my mom had a massive stroke on June 1st. There was no paralysis (thank God!), but her vision and short-term memory have been severely affected. She was in the hospital and rehab facility through June, then was moved into a group home/adult care facility in early July. I traveled to AZ for two weeks to get her settled in the new place and disassemble her apartment.  It's been a rough time for all involved, but we have a great support network of family and friends in Tucson, to help soften the transition.

As if that weren't enough, Hub's 96yo dad has been in an out of the hospital with pneumonia and internal bleeding. He's back at the nursing home, now, but things were touch-and-go for a while.

On the garden front, knowing we would be moving sometime this year, I limited my plantings to portable containers.  It never occurred to me we would have trouble finding a suitable property buy and might have to settle in temporary accommodations.  That said, I don't have a place for my portable garden to land after we sell the house.    My plantings don't take up a ton of space, but are more than a balcony or patio can hold.  We'll see how things pan out.

In the meantime, I'm growing 24 varieties of tomatoes, strawberries, some greens (most bolting), several kinds of peppers, an assortment of ground cherries and berries, and a volunteer cucurbit (yet to be identified).  The peppers and ground cherries seem are far behind where they were at this time, last year. On the flip side, each of the tomato vines has several small fruits. In all cases, a harvest before the move is unlikely, but I still like to watch the plants and dream of what might be....

Here are the latest pics:

Bolting greens


Ground cherries:


Volunteer cucurbit:


Assorted tomatoes:






And a couple of sweet little garden visitors:



That's about it, right now. I'll post an update later in the month.

How/what is everyone else doing?
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Oh, I forgot to mention potatoes and rhubarb...






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GB, so glad to hear from you!  That's a lot of stress you're going through.  I hope you are taking good care of yourself and breathing deeply.  Prayers for your mom and father in law.

Froggie is adorable and that's a nice crop of maters you have there!  Lucky you.  I have one big green one on 5 plants, and a couple dozen green cherries on 5 cherry plants.  And that's it.   It's just been too cold here for them.  But I think that's changing now.  

Well, best of luck on your house hunt, and keep in touch when you can.

GB, that's a lot to be going through in such a short span of time. In situations like that, we tend to keep going until it's all wrapped up, and then collapse. Don't wait until then to take care of yourself, or you won't be able to take care of all the rest. I know, it's easy to say, but it's important.
P.S. LOVE that big, ruffled tomato!!!!!!!!!

CapeCoddess wrote:Here we are, folks...smack dab in the middle of summer!  And the heat is on...FINALLY!
My hot veggies are still behind but...I picked a REAL cucumber!  Along with this mornings kale/parsley smoothie fixins':

What's everyone else up to?  QB & hammock gal posted some nice garden and container photos in the July thread but I think we need an update. Especially because a little birdie tells me that SOMEone is eating tomatoes already!   

And where the heck are the missing New Englanders and their photos?
Camp?  NHGardener?  Molly?  Bigrockdog?  Ginger Blue? jenalawz? CAgirlinMA? lindeelou?  and anyone else I missed?  show us what's growing in your neck of the woods.

Nice looking cuke there, CC! Love all the shades of green on that plate.

 " Especially because a little birdie tells me that SOMEone is eating tomatoes already!" You mean me? "   I did have that one Stupice, and some cherries the other day. and there are probably a couple of others that will be ready tomorrow. I'll try to take pictures then, but today rain is threatening, thunder is rumbling, and I have a lot of big trees in my back yard, so I haven't checked the garden today. Standing next to the electrical conduit trellis frame when lightning is nearby makes me a little scaredy cattish.

What a great intro CC, the pics are great. My camera needs a workout, probably this weekend it will get it. 
I have always liked the end of the “Dog Days of Summer.” When I was growing up, I thought the last days of summer were the “Dog Days,” the hot days of no school were so fun in the water and summer veggies were in full throttle- all the watermelon you could eat at the beach and park picnics that everybody went to. We all wanted to celebrate for no other reason than to enjoy summer. Any secluded pool, lake, creek or pond was your friend, to swim or fish, and sometimes both.
The ancient Romans came up with Dog Days, because the hottest days of summer seemed to occur when Sirius rose with the sun, starting in the first few days of July and ending on the 11^th day August. Quite a bit of difference in their Dog Days and mine, seriously, does it matter? What is a couple of weeks amongst friends, even if we are centuries apart from each other?
Here in New England we are in the deep greens of summer, those three H days (hot, hazy, and humid), and the afternoon popup thunderstorms that dazzle us with spectacular views and water our gardens. We are starting to reap the benefit of our labor in the garden, and our lawns grow exponentially with the rain. The prehistoric dragonflies are in their entire splendor and go after the mosquitoes as they entertain us with the wing dancing in the yard. This year, we eye the berries and look for the early ripe ones to taste as they are just about to all ripen at once.  Bee Balm is tall and in all of its glory, the bees are happy too. Bright red cardinals seem to sound off everywhere, but are shy when you look for them. The summer dark bronze color of the Snowshoe hare makes them appear as a big rabbit in the yard, and they seem to be less shy for awhile.
We like the summer night sky, it isn’t too hot or cold, and the calm entertainment of stars and the milky way, adding in satellites and shooting stars bring about a since of contentment before we have to go to bed because we have to work in the morning.
I am in full battle with the J Beetles, I am unmerciful to them as I rescue the pole beans, cucs, and beet greens from their onslaught of destruction due to them cloning upon death, almost like a scenario out of a low budget syfy movie, I WILL WIN!
Soon I will be bringing out my canning equipment, I hope I can use my pressure canner this year, it has been a while (years!), and this year I want to go full bore on dilly beans, seems like all my friends are were impressed with last year’s batch and are asking for more and some are asking for the recipe.
I watch as folks stack the last of the fire wood, and some of us make sure our snow removal equipment is up to snuff so we don’t get caught off guard when that dreaded white stuff comes. And it never fails, some old codger will say, “snow is right around corner, only a few months away!”
Now I like to sit back and just enjoy the day, the evening is my time after the sun goes behind the trees. I  get to feel the cooling breeze and enjoy watching my garden. This is one of those “serious” times that don’t “dog” us down, and makes life worth it. 


GB, I hope the best for you, my thoughts and prayers to you and your family and to your search for a new house and the path that gets you there.

Big Dog, your post brought me back to the summers of my childhood, and all of the best things about them...feeling, at that age, that summer went on forever, going fishing with my Dad, and bringing home whatever we caught and eating it for dinner, waiting for the sound of the ice cream truck, heat lightning, sleeping on the porch (because no one had air conditioning back then), lying on your back in the grass and looking at the clouds, watermelon, playing endless variations of jump rope and tag, popsicles dripping down your chin, picnics, swimming until you were pruney all over, and one of my favorite pastimes, reading. I'd take out books from the library and spend the long, hot summer afternoons lying in the shade, on the grass reading, Kon Tiki, or Ajax, Golden Dog of the Australian Bush. And now, all these years later, I have a connection with those days. I try to spend time every day, lying in the hammock on my screen porch, reading. It's something I never found time for when I was working...I always felt guilty, but now it's one of my greatest pleasures. And I placed my SFG just outside the screen porch, so that I can see it from the hammock.

And how dare you remind me of the "S" word!  I'm reminded of it all too often, when I have to squeeze by the snowblower in the garage to get to my car. But it is a good reminder not to complain about the heat, because all too soon, we'll be complaining about the cold. So thanks for the memories, and bring on the dog days, and let's enjoy them while we can!

Rock and HG ... I enjoyed your writings!

Succession planting of cukes, and sugar snap peas planted for fall sprouted today.

So fast. I'll need to shade the peas if I don't want them to fry in August.

Oh, and my pocket hose bit the dust while I was in the middle of watering the SFG. It's only about 3 mths old.

That's OK, I can drag out the Martha Stewart tonite or tomorrow and carry on, albeit with a heavy hose to drag around. Those pocket hoses are so light.

CapeCoddess wrote:Succession planting of cukes, and sugar snap peas planted for fall sprouted today.

So fast.  I'll need to shade the peas if I don't want them to fry in August.

Oh, and my pocket hose bit the dust while I was in the middle of watering the SFG.   It's only about 3 mths old.  

That's OK, I can drag out the Martha Stewart tonite or tomorrow and carry on, albeit with a heavy hose to drag around.  Those pocket hoses are so light.

Know what you mean about hoses. I had a black rubber hose that was at least 15 years old, and never a problem, but it was 50 ft long, and it almost pulled my shoulder out of the socket every time I reeled it in on the hose reel, so I traded it in for some pocket hoses. I've found that the cheapest ones don't last very long. But I sprung for the more expensive one, with brass fittings, and so far, so good. It's been a couple of years, and no problems yet. I get mine at Ocean State, do you have them up your way? Man, it sure is nice not to have to drag that heavy hose around any more.

I got mine at Ocean State and it has the brass fittings.   If I can find the receipt I can get my moola back...or exchange for another one.  

We have one more brass fittings pocket hose but it's on the other side of the house and the mother uses it.  She's 85 and needs the lightweight more than I do. Even on crutches I'll have an easier time pulling Martha Stewart around the yard than she would without the crutches.

CapeCoddess wrote:I got mine at Ocean State and it has the brass fittings.   If I can find the receipt I can get my moola back...or exchange for another one.  

We have one more brass fittings pocket hose but it's on the other side of the house and the mother uses it.  She's 85 and needs the lightweight more than I do. Even on crutches I'll have an easier time pulling Martha Stewart around the yard than she would without the crutches.

I bought this 2 maybe 3 years ago:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1803212&KPID=957044&cid=CAPLA:G:Shopping_-_Garden_Hose&pla=pla_957044&k_clickid=a5aaca6d-52ed-4676-a37a-6f86279bb8fd

It is lightweight and durable.  Not as much flow though due to narrower gauge.  I love it.

trolleydriver wrote:Rock and HG ... I enjoyed your writings!

Ditto!  And literally staying out until the streetlights came on!  Riding bikes.  Going to the city pool on the bus from the neighborhood park--left at 1:00pm, returned at 5:00pm.  Free!

Ginger.....Good luck with your move. I know its a hard time but in the end, you will have a new home and lots of garden space. Fingers crossed for you. Wishing good health for those in your family with issues.
My 4 container tomato plants are still only greenies. I keep hoping for some color, but every day I check and every day they're still green.
I love seeing the photos of everyone else's garden. Keep up the good work.
We had our annual Bar-b-Q yesterday in mid-80s temps and sunshine. Great day here by the river. Good food. Good company.

My first planting of thrown together old beets seeds is starting to ball up after I watered them with borax a few weeks ago.  Not much in the way of greens with these tho.  I miss that.

My second planting - all Chioggia -  has sprouted, just days after planting.  I think that's due to soaking overnight first and remembering to water daily after planting.

So I'm actually going to attempt a third planting today - all Cylindra. They are soaking in warm weak black tea with a kombucha gooby in it now.  No, I don't know if tea or the gooby helps or hinders, it's just what was on  my desk here at work when I decided I wanted to plant them.  So in they went to soak.

trolleydriver wrote:Rock and HG ... I enjoyed your writings!

+1  We have a couple of poets!

Times were so different when we mature folks were growing up. I'm sure our folks thought things were going to hell in a hand basket, what with Elvis and Chubby, shoes without socks, McDonald's with change for a dollar . . . But, we could walk or ride in the dark without being afraid of a drive-by. If you wanted to talk to a friend, you called them on the one house phone or went over to their house. Home Ec and shop were offered in school. Sigh

GB, I'm so sorry you and your family have had a rough summer. I hope things improve and you find your new home soon.

Thank you Rock and HGal for the fond memories.  Being on the downhill side of life, I remember those times well.  Life was lived at a much slower pace without the technology of today, and much missed by this individual, personally.
Days when your legs did the work when bicycling, and not the bike, when big dill pickles came in huge barrels at the corner mom and pop store for a nickel, where you could keep a tab running at the corner store and pay at the end of the month, when we walked two miles or three in the city to school instead of taking buses, thru heat and cold and snow which I believe made our immune systems stronger and I remember those little stores and the owner writing your figures on the brown paper sack to total up your purchases.  
On the other hand, I don't miss keeping a fire going in the kitchen stove only during the day and waking up to an icy cold house where I slept under 2 thick comforters without even my nose sticking out in the cold, to hanging blankets over the kitchen doorway to keep the heat in that one room, to having to heat water for a tiny bath in pots on the kitchen stove and taking our baths only once a week and a sponge bath in tepid water the other days.
 I'm addicted to central heat and to having at least a window a/c for those really warm days when in days past it was the accordion-pleated paper fans or the really modern appliance, an electric fan that moved the air only marginally when the heat and humidity was oppressive.  
On the techy side, there's the ever present texting. on-line games, and phoning even at mealtimes.  How sad.  For us it was a time to exchange ideas and the happenings of our days and the plans for the morrow.

I still enjoy revisiting my past and the grandkids marvel at how we ever managed to survive our times.  I, on the other hand, worry for their futures.

With those thoughts, lets hit today.  My container garden follows:

As you can see, still greenies here in Maine since I planted these in early June intead of May which was my usual timing.


A closer view of a Better Bush tomato in their green.  


Here is the Patio tom and as you can see, fruits almost as large as Better Bush which surprises me.  I thought the Patio, a very short plant, would have tinier fruits.  I can't wait to taste them.

Woo hoo quiltbea, those are some nice looking tomatoes!

Mom & I thought we were going to be sharing our first tomato, a Sungold, today. But squirrel had other ideas and this morning I found the remnants one box over amongst the new beet sprouts.

CapeCoddess wrote:Mom & I thought we were going to be sharing our first tomato, a Sungold, today. But squirrel had other ideas and this morning I found the remnants one box over amongst the new beet sprouts.

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

War!
Blushing Supersonic in panty-hoe.

This is a first ever in my garden! I've been working for years toward this.

CapeCoddess wrote:War!
Blushing Supersonic in panty-hoe.

This is a first ever in my garden! I've been working for years toward this.

LOL, yeah, let 'em try to chew through that panty hose!!! And you have zucchini!? I've got to get back to the jungle and do some exploring to see if I've got any hiding in there yet. Let me just offer a suggestion. Have you tried crushed red pepper? I get some at Ocean State, and sprinkle it around the perimeter of the SFG. I've got squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits, and none of them have touched my veggies...yet. I use a good amount of the pepper, so far so good. I'm not sure it's the pepper that's keeping them away, but I figure it can't hurt, and it's cheap. Good luck, here's to winning the war!

I get nervous about pepper in the garden, HG. Don't want poor Lilly (my cat) to get it on her paws and then wash her face. Also, the neighborhood dogs get to come over and chase her round and round the house occasionally. She lets them. Helps her to keep her girlish figure. I wouldn't want any of them getting it in their eyes or anything.

Dr. P (urine) works most of the time but I've been remiss about putting it around.