Saturday, July 31, 2010

cycles in cycles





the garden continues to change as the season progresses which may be stating the obvious but it is still impressive to me...in june ( top photo ) the jerusalem artichokes hadn't flowered yet and the spinach, potatoes, and garlic were still nowhere near done... the arugula had flowered and was going to seed signaling that its season was about over...in july ( middle photo )(actually it is still technically july for a few more hours...this photo was taken on the third of the month) the spinach was about finished and the garlic and potatoes were maturing rapidly...the larger yam vine had topped the trellis and was growing across to the other side...the bottom photo is from today...the potatoes, garlic, arugula, and spinach are all harvested and there are cowpeas growing in their places to help replenish the soil...i had thought of a late crop of potatoes but since the only space available was the plot i had just used for the red nordlands and planting potatoes in the same bed repeatedly over-exposes them to pests and disease i thought better of it...i do have an abundance of spinach seeds yet and i do believe i will be planting a late crop of that...it is cold hardy and i don't feel like quitting for the season as far as planting goes just yet...i am having too good a time to quit and next season will see a diminuation in the number of species planted to focus in on a few research questions...more change, but life is transitory and that applies to the garden as well as everything else...i am not anymore pleased about some of the changes i face than anyone else is, but change in the garden is channeled and somewhat more controlled, even if it still faces the vagaries of climate, weather, and parasites ( pedators? are they only parasites because i have a vested interest in the garden's outcome? i'm thinking so)it represents a sort of psychological haven fromm change i cannot have a say in.

2 comments:

  1. they all got a good drink last night! Hard to believe summer is almost over...

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  2. they were getting a fair drenching at 6:30 this morning too...have a look at the photos on facebook. it was wet.

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