Greetings, All.
I have not read the previous posts, so I hope everyone is well, and keeping cool. Did you see the map of northern Europe and Scandinavia? Freezing temperatures!
July is hot this month in MN. With temperatures and humidity in the high 80s, I am losing a pound every day from sweat. But, it comes right back after drinking cold water. Sigh.
We have been harvesting our first fruits: snow peas, green beans, lettuces, and fruits. I think the original strawberries have died and it is time to start a new bed from the runners. We had enough this year to freeze some. I used the internet to research how to have a continual strawberry harvest and one site suggests a three year bed-rotation. Knowing that, we will dig and enrich a new bed each year for the next three years. We have the space, and certainly the runners. Our black-capped raspberries are very late this year, probably will not get many at all. After looking at the wild berry patches, there will be a bumper crop next year if the new canes have their say. We have done four batches of currant jelly.
Peas: After trying to raise the “English Shell Peas” for several years I stopped. All of that plant, and pod, for just 3 – 6 peas. So I doubled the number of snow peas instead. The plants are prolific, pods are huge, easily chewable even if not cooked. My intention is to have a lot of snow peas in the freezer for stir fries this winter. There are still some coming, but I am going to plant another row for fall harvest.
I planted one bed, on the same day, with two kinds of green beans. One half is the traditional Blue Lake bush bean, and the other half is Provider Bush Green Bean. The Providers, with their purple flower, are two weeks ahead of the Blue Lake with their white flower. I can tell which is which because I planted flowers between the two types. I am weighing what I get from each kind so I know which will be a better green bean for us. We usually get too many green beans for what we can eat, anyway.
Gave some fresh green beans and peas to some relatives that just love them.
The cabbages are looking good as is the Pak CHoy, and one bed of broccoli. I planted three of broccoli to see which is the better variety for us. I know I planted Brussel’s Sprouts and Cauliflower, but I don’t know which bed they are in or what they look like. New type for me. We’ll see how they work out. So far no Cabbage moths.
A pocket gopher has dug into the garden and working its way through. I hope it just keeps going. So far all the plats are safe.
We are looking forward to visiting with a former colleague. He was a student under my husband professorship. He lives in Brazil. His wife, and daughter were exchange students and the daughter ended up marrying a classmate here. It is always nice to get a perspective from another part of the world. It also humbles me because they all speak multiple languages and we do not.
We went to my G-Son #3’s summer orchestra concert. It was in a park under a pavilion and despite the day’s rain and humidity, it was very pleasant.
Some old friends met us there, too. He has had two bouts of esophageal cancer, had part of a lung removed and is on oxygen and seems very frail. She has lost several teeth and had two knees replaced. We may be getting older, but we are still moving. I had not seen they in twenty years, and although our bodies have aged, the comaraderie, friendship, and sharpness have not.
“Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.”
Take care friends. Her is hoping that the temperature, summer weather, blackouts, heated rhetoric, etc., balances out so we can keep on prepping. Stay safe and cool.