potato project 2014 V

i stumble don another unused pot and so went out to plant another purple valley for the seed potato project and finished just before yet another round of rain hit the area...all of the pots i am using have ample drainage holes that i drilled in the bottom but it has been s saturated with rain here recently that the pots are waterlogged and i am afraid the tubers will rot...particularly the ones that were cut and calloused...were they calloused enough? i propose to go fishing around in those pots to see...they shouldn't have sprouted yet and even if they have a little time out of the pot drying shouldn't hurt given the circumstances...there is more work to do here on this project before month's end...i still have ten drops to find homes for...i may be purchasing pots yet this season.

pod corn and purslane

the potted pod corn that grew from fern's seed has been successfully cohabiting with purslane for most of the season...and it has begun to flower ( a few days after the pod corn in the community garden...but this time i think it's because it was planted a bit later )and, with luck, we will see some ears...there are half a dozen other plants scattered around the yard so we have a but better chance of production than just these two would provide...the community garden pod corn has nascent ears...waiting for the ones out back.

a bit of a pounding...

somewhere i read that there was 3.8" of rain from yesterday until this morning in northwest indiana...well..my rain gauge says we got 5.4" in that period with a memorable 2.25 from 4:50 until about 5:30 yesterday evening...pretty much windless...a straight downpour...lots of water falling from the sky and water isn't light and it doesn't really compress...so i went to the garden after work to see what happened and there was some damage...the corner box on the washington street side lost a sunflower plant ( top photo ) and, as it fell it took out a jerusalem artichoke...the flowers in ellen and shannon's box ( second photo ) took something of a pounding too...nothing broken but the plants are beaten down a long way from their upright position on wednesday...more than one maize plant had developed a lean ( third photo ) and some tomatoes have found the ground as well ( fourth photo )...as if this were not enough to move on with i also discovered mole tracks ( bottom photo ) in the lawn around the beds...not in the beds ( yet )but those critters are after our worms and i ,for one, find that most displeasing...still the garden is a resilient place as we have discovered recently and continue to find.

...but the news isn't all bad.

the pole beans are still producing away and there are a few sugar snap pea plants up ( but not nearly as many as were planted...something of a puzzle...the back yard is chock full of them and they were planted the same day...six miles couldn't make that much of a difference, could it? )...a few beds down the jerusalem artichokes are done flowering and will be turning all their attention and energy to setting tubers...another month or so and we can begin digging...and sharing.

one for fern

another of the pod corn plants grown from seed the garden's friend fern sent from out west has come into full flower and there are two plainly visible ears on the two flowering plants...will the squirrels find them as delectable as the other members of the zea family in the garden? stay tuned...i am not a bee sort of guy but i am thinking that the pollinator in the last photo isn't an apinae family member..but what do i know? fern's the pro...whatever it is it is serving a valuable purpose in the garden.

resiliency

on the fourth of june i transplanted some asparagus that has germinated in the spilled compost in the bed of my truck to one of the beds in the community garden ( top photo )...within eight days it had shocked so badly ( second photo ) that i chalked it up for lost and moved on...the beds filled in and there was a lot going on...i thought about them some and i am planning to have a chat with ellen and rebecca about naturalizing some seed form the pgp in a few beds soon because i'm inclined to think we need some true perennials out there...but my expectations for the transplants were low...i have never had a great deal of success with starting asparagus that way...then yesterday after i watered ( a task that today's weather seems to have rendered pointless ) i roamed the beds taking photos...the season is showing signs of relaxed production and a few things are already harvested so the foliage in the beds is thinning...so what did i discover ( as if you didn't know where this was leading )...a couple of the transplants not only survived through the dry july, they seem to be doing quite well thank you very much...i am pleased and there is another batch in the bed of my truck that i may be inspired to transplant somewhere...the garden is full of surprises...tenacity and perseverance too...we are all determined in our own right.

somewhat past middle age

we're sixty day into summer with another thirty-four yet to run and the garden is beginning to show its age in places...the maize is still being stalked by the squirrels...this was expected...the last of the potatoes ( top photo ) are beginning to show signs of finishing up and the blooms are beginning to fade on some of the jerusalem artichokes as they begin to seriously set tubers...then again the beans are running strong and the cucumbers ( second photo as if you didn't know what that was ) are still producing as well...in other beds there is young spinach up ( third photo ) and there are alien looking sugar snap peas ( they come from pods after all ) poking up through the soil...the season is aging but it isn't used up yet...stop by there's more harvest and the preparation for winter to come.