dichotomy

unmistakable signs of autumn are visibly creeping into the garden...along with the maize die-back ( aided by our furry friends ) the tomatoes are beginning o wind up and the cucumber/bean wall ( top two photos ) is beginning to turn...an improvident grasshopper ( third photo ) is prowling about for a meal...their presence is another indicator of the lateness of the season...and yet the garden isn't ready to call it quits for the season yet...the second spear the resilient asparagus plant threw up is beginning to "fern" and help feed the roots to ( hopefully ) winter over...and the sugar snap peas are producing...pods...so there's life out there yet...we will be getting out into the garden ( irregardless of the swarms of mosquitoes )over this coming weekend to begin preparing it for winter...removing those plants whose season is clearly over and creating space for green manures, cover crops, and for some fall planting red inchelium garlic...there is enough to provide at least twenty plants for next season...we will plant this weekend and then mulch the beds as the season cools...always work and planning going on...the garden never sleeps...just slows down a bit.

thirty two days

a month ago the jerusalem artichokes were in full bloom and looking every bit the member of the sunflower family they are...today the blooms are gone and the vigor of a month ago is fading as the plants' energy is absorbed in setting tubers..fall impinges ( top photo in each pair is from july twenty-sixth...the bottom photo is from today )...the cucumber/bean wall looks fundamentally the same...but the cucumbers are weary and the geraniums on the right hand side of the box aren't feeling so hot either...there are still lots of beans to harvest in there and the vines continue to bloom...and that will continue for some time yet...but the overall picture is one of increasing fatigue...i see fall green manures and cover crops sooner than later.

the three sister's giuild and their immediate neighbor

the three sisters' bed is coming along..there are several well defined ears of maize in there and all the plants have flowered...in yet another first beans are appearing on the vines in the maize plants...so two thirds of the intended denizens have made an their presence known...the squash plants are blooming but no squash yet...that will ( hopefully ) be a post in the near future...meanwhile back at the bean/cucumber wall cohabitation is going on as more nascent beans have appeared and there are some reasonably large cukes hiding out near the bottom of the wall...always sneaky devils, they pop up unexpectedly and, seemingly, overnight..there will be bells and whistles when we see squash..stay tuned for more reports.