maintenance run

took an early run out to campus to weed ( minimal since parker! mulched the beds with straw...thanks parker! ) water and have a look around...it seems that things are in good order...the fall crops of kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, and sugar snap peas ( first three photos ) are all up and running...the cucumbers are finding the trellis and blooming ( fourth and fifth ) and the blue lake bush beans are coming along...there are two new asparagus spears...forty-seven altogether now...the plants are clearly happy in that bed...there are egyptian walking onions ( one anyway in the ninth photo ) and it has begun to "walk"...the aerial bulbs on the stem that has lain down will take root...something akin to a strawberry daughter plant but without the stolon...the weight of the aerial bulbs simply pulls the stem down allowing the bulbs to root and begin a new plant...there are more forming at the top of the plant so i am hoping more plants will be on the way soon...left to their own devices they will provide a bed of onions in a few seasons...the garden looks good today...stop by and have a look.

recovery

plants are pretty resilient critters and the ones in my back yard are already showing signs of recovery from tuesday's hailstorm...the yacon in the top two photos has doubtlessly seen better dyas...beat up for sure, but the tops weren't damaged and neither were the stems...so new growth continues on the tops...the potato in the third photo is just about the worst of the bunch ( and almost none came through unscathed )...lots of broken stems and withered leaves...but there is new leaf growth ( fourth photo ) on the lower stem ( which has obviously had some insect attention ) and it will carry on...i can't help but wonder how much the energy it is going to put into new leaf growth is going to impact tuber production though...the plant only has a finite amount of energy and time to work with...something will have to do with less...tomato plants weren't immune...the top of the plant in the fifth photo has had a top branch broken off but underneath, among the wilted green of the dying leaves there are still blooms...production will go forward ( and here's hoping it's warm enough this season for them to ripen on the vine )...the peas in the seventh photo have been beaten down..not broken though...and they are still producing pods...i'd post a photo of the jerusalem artichokes but they have already laughed the whole thing off and are back to their colonizing, expansionist ways...there's doubtlessly more weather on the way ( i can heat thunder right now )...rain is welcome... i could do without hail though.

tendrils...

the grape vine growing up through the elm tree at the end of the patio ( top photo ) is pretty well secured...it is anchored by a tendril at the bottom ( second photo ) and at the top ( third photo )...like all vining plants it expends considerable energy in tendrils to hold it in lace as it moves towards the sun...there are quite a few tendrils in the back yard...the winter vetch in the next two photos will latch on to anything ( including other vetch plants ) to support itself and with all those blossoms the stems are surprisingly heavy...if you look closely at the foliage in those photos you can see where the weight has bent those grass plants over double and in the fourth photo the grass stem is almost broken..relentless pursuit of light...the flowering pea plant in the bottom photo has plenty of tendrils as well but, so far, has refused to latch on to the posts i put in the container to act as a trellis...adding some twine would seem to be the thing to do...tomorrow probably.

backyard legumes and asparagus

the legumes are in bloom out there...the sugar snap peas ( top photo ) are setting nitrogen in the containers but they are meant to be eaten and will be, pod by pod...the winter vetch ( second and third photos ) is a riot of violet and it is setting nitrogen too...they are surrounding the garlic patch so we will see if the nitrogen has an impact on the bulbs soon enough...i'm letting them "go to seed" so we will have local seed for green manures in the gardens this autumn to pair up with some field peas and winter rye as a natural fertilizer/compost in the bed combination for the 2016 season ( depending, i suppose, on how well this idea actually functions in the community garden this season...there were several beds that had no soil amendments [compost, not chemicals] added beyond what the green manures provided and what was stored in the clover and winter rye i turned under a few weeks ago...we'll see how that flies and the empirical data from that will set the future course )...the last photo is of the six year old asparagus in my yard...i have not harvested it because i am letting it "fern" to 1) feed the roots, and 2) i want some asparagus seed this autumn....a few more days and it won't be recognizable as farm stand/supermarket asparagus anymore...just a six foot tall fern.

a bit of back yard progress...

it was in the 80s ( fahrenheit ) here today and some things are really starting to take hold...there is a cool down coming but i doubt it will be long in duration or impact...the plan for the ramps ( top photo ) is to just let them go and separate the bunches for fall planting into a second bed to provide ample wild onions for next season...there are spuds everywhere and more on the way...spud city and no mistake...the one in the second photo has added multiple leaves since the last post and will be producing by july...peas and beets ( third and fourth photos ) may not like the heat but they are still moving while the deep green of the winter vetch in the last photo speaks of lots of nitrogen fixation and symbiosis with rhizobia that will feed the winter rye and, if all goes well..produce seed for both to use as cover crops/green manures around the gardens this fall

openeing, closing, leafing

1.48" of rain ( 3.7592 cm )today has had some impact...that and warmer temperatures and lengthening days have added movement to the back yard...that grape bud from a few days ago is unfurling a bit quicker ( top photo )...but the blooms on the wild strawberries were all closed ( second photo )...no pollinators to attract perhaps ( no sign of mason bees yet either )...or just protecting the blooms...either way as furled as the grape leaves are unfurled...the "wild and weedy" corn ancestor ( third photo ) has developed a third leaf on several of the plants which is encouraging...the peas and beets ( fourth and fifth photos ) are looking more like peas and beets these days...and one of the extremely sprouted spuds i planted nine days ago has begun to leaf out as well...so far so good as they say...still want to see some bees...

soil + rainfall + sunshine =

a burgeoning outdoor season in the back yard....from top to bottom.. a teosinte seedling "greening' and about to produce a true leaf...a rosette-like cluster of potato leaves...a stand of alfalfa, winter rye, and long awned soft red spring wheat ( there is intermediate wheat grass out there too...a perennial "wild and weedy" ancestor to the wheat...some cross pollination of purpose? the season is young...time to ponder )...a bed of ramps ( geeked! )..garlic growing amid the winter rye and winter vetch...rhizobia = nitrogen galore...and an alien looking sugar snap pea...the season has been up and running since march...these days it actually looks like it.

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.