garden brainstorming

Background info, why garden? 

We do garden, and lots of it.   This year we grew many, many vegetables.  Also, the apple trees are starting to bear fruit, but the late frost in May didn’t do any favors.  Additionally, the cherry trees produced copious quantities of tart, dark red pie cherries.  The raspberries are ongoing.  We grow the heritage type which is an everbearer.  So many berries, we eat some daily and still have a big bag full in the freezer. The onions particularly were great, some of the Sweet Spanish style approaching softball size.  Peppers were a disappointment, however as some of the lambs got out one day and ate them down to the nubs.  Damn them!!!  I got even for that as they all went to market last month, ha, ha.  The tomatoes are brilliant this year, so big and juicy. 

But, by far the best this year was my honeybees!  The girls really have had a great year, making plenty of honey for themselves to get thru the winter, but making enough extra to allow us to get over 80 pounds of honey for the year.  It’s just awesome!  I attribute the cherries, and tomatoes along with the other crops to the fact the bees helped pollinate the flowers so much.

The main crisis this year was not the plants, but I being injured and having back surgery at the end of July, which you know is just about the busiest time of the season.  We worked this by having relatives come and help with the harvest of some crops, and also with daily operations, so I could recuperate a bit. 

Finally, as we inch closer to autumn and the end of the season, we get our apples and nuts.  The hazelnuts are doing well, giving lots of nuts and the walnuts are looking real hood this year. Wait till they fall, pick them up, husk them and let dry a bit, then crack them and ohhh boy, th joy of fresh black walnuts.  They are so good.  Along with that, its time to clear the garden from this year, put the soil to bed, to speak, let her sleep through the winter and get everything ready for a hopefully productive season next year.