September 6, 2012

So, far, mom when she has been here these two days has put up 20 jars of tomato juice, with a good friend's help yesterday. A couple weeks ago, she put up 15.  And I've had some other good friends put up about 10 other pints and quarts.  We drink most of it and will be glad to have it.

She's done some dill pickles, and someone else has too, and  another nurse rather than gardener, put some green beans in the freezer, which I will be very glad to have later.  Mom did some of those too.

For the first time we took some tomatoes and peppers to the "bountiful garden" giveaway at the cancer center.  Jim thought two shoes boxes of  yellow tomatoes were too many, we shall see, if there are any left tomorrow.  We got a couple a pears and butternut squash from there yesterday.  We didn't plant any winter squash.

August 13, 2012

I am really, really very fortunate that I have friends that know their way around a garden.  Jenelle put a couple gallon freezer bags of peppers in the freezer for me today, and made tomato juice, 5 quarts.  It is also very nice to be eating cucumbers and tomatoes as we go as our nice helpers make us meals as well.

August 3, 2012

My mom came to help out here to keep the house running so Jim could work instead of look after me.  She spent most of her time looking after the garden.  Wouldn't you know it, the corn came in early, clean and good.  Between her times of working alone and Jim helping her they got 52 bags in the freezer.

Mom also canned two 11 pound boxes of bing cherries, for herself and for us. (We ate plenty, too) And, then bought more for canning for herself.  I think we got about a dozen jars, both pints and quarts.

Then, the cucumbers are growing by leaps and bounds.  We haven't had such a good year for cukes in, well, years. So, mom put up several quarts of dills for us, too.  We grow our own dill, and it will be very nice to have them.

We cannot keep ahead of the summer squash, but who ever can.  We are eating green beans, too.  If mom were here she would work on the green beans, but she wouldn't want to.

July 8, 2012

That last mentioned break didn't last very long.  Ever since then we have had 90s and 100s degree weather and high humidity.  It has been miserable.  Our garden is producing yellow squash and zucchini, and the onions are the size of door knobs and baseballs.  We have potatoes big enough to eat.

Everything is early this year.  De-tasseling started the 3rd of July, but Lynette missed the first two days because we had family here.  They had short days because of the heat, but the last couple of days have been cooler, (83 yesterday and 82 today), and they still had short days.  I wonder if this season will be a little longer because of the readiness of the corn.  We saw a couple fields today that hadn't been topped yet.

Sweet corn in a couple of weeks.

June 20, 2012

After days and days of over 30 mph gusting hot, dry winds, the weather has decided to give us a break with a very cool day in the low 60's with rain.  It is almost chilly inside, but my gardener/sister-in-law is giving my flower garden a good once over in this much nicer working outside weather. I should go out to look, but I am resting.

June 14, 2012

We've had a couple of hail storms so our tomatoes are coming on slowly. I must have planted the lettuce in a high wind because the only seed that came up was in the sidewalk.  I am assuming the swiss chard and turnips are growing, but they won't be much good because it has been so hot.  I haven't been seeing much of this summer, but June is acting like full summer already with humidity and high winds.  It is comfortable indoors.  We are eating snap peas now.  I like them fresh and cooked.  Gardening is not going to be a high priority this year with my cancer diagnosis. My flower gardens were all weeded before I went to surgery, so they are going to need some care, hopefully they won't get clear out of hand with no one to work in them.

Today is Flag Day.  My grandparents were married this day.

May 12, 2012

It was chilly and cloudy today. The high temperature was in the low 60's, but in spite of that, Jim tilled the whole garden, weeding the potatoes and peas, and finished planting the garden except the winter squash, which we will wait on for a bit, to reduce the bug damage.
So, we now have beans, three more rows of sweet corn, for a total of 8, okra, cucumbers (the ones we started from seed and transplanted didn't make it), summer squash, and a yellow tomato added to the earlier planting.
I think if we try the cucumbers from seed again, we need to cover the seedlings when we put them in the garden.
A few days ago we had frost.  Not a killing frost, but enough to burn my coffee trees in my mini garden.  They aren't supposed to see 40 degrees.  That was disappointing, it spoils the looks of the garden, and it was so nice before.  I'll wait awhile to see how they grow before I attempt any pruning.