The invasion of the leek moths a few weeks back left the garlic somewhat ravaged but unbeaten. The moth larvae seem to have been stopped up top, snipped and pinched and dug out before they had a chance to tunnel their way down through the stems, reaching the bulbs, and eating into them as well. Instead of that, the harvest has turned out just fine. The bulbs overall are a bit on the smaller side, but the cloves are nicely filled out, so…all’s well. A few weeks of air drying till everything’s woody and brown, then done!
Summer
Best lettuce!
Just watered heads of Mezquite lettuce, doing well given all the heat they’ve had to deal with over the last weeks. This is a great, fast-maturing romaine lettuce. It’s sweet and crunchy, even in full summer heat that makes most lettuces strong flavored, with a slightly bitter edge.
I grew up with mild lettuce, the standard supermarket fare that’s sourced from wherever the crop grows most abundantly. Here in the mixed veg world of the tiny market garden, no crop can expect its own perfect conditions. That doesn’t mean inferior vegetables, instead, you get a full range of tastes. Grown in summer heat, lettuce often develops a full-bodied flavor and a pleasing hint of bitterness—with a little oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, or in a sandwich, it’s a whole new, elevated taste bud experience!
Anyhow, this Mezquite variety combines full flavor with sweetness, holds up well in all conditions, matures a week or two faster than most other romaines, and is even open-pollinated so you can save the seed. As long as a roving critter doesn’t breach the defenses, like the row cover these guys spend much of their time under, they’re a treat in the making! I harvested a couple today for early tasting purposes…
Brassicas waiting in the wings
Another wave of brassicas, mostly cabbages and cauliflower, are getting a little big as they wait indoors under lights. In recent years, decent fall weather has extended a whole extra month from what used to be. So I’ve been planting later to extend the harvest. (More text to come…)
Sweet tooth
A baby cantaloupe, nestled in a tangle of vines under a canopy of leaves. Mmmm, will be…delicious. It’s well on its way to fully-matured, ready-to-eat goodness, a few weeks to go, but anything can happen. Last year, a freak localized hailstorm hit my tiny melon patch, marble-sized hail shredding the leaves and fatally damaging just about every fruit, while missing where I was at the time, just a mile down the road. Especially with our crazy erratic weather, you can’t 100% count on it until your teeth are sunk in, juice dribbling down your chin.
Munching and mating
Definitely on the good bug list, these common red soldier beetles are happily multitasking, munching on the pollen and nectar from flowering parsley, while mating. Now that’s procreation! A quick background check comes up all good for these guys in the garden: the adults are great later-season pollinators, and in addition to feasting on flowers, they eat aphids and other small, pesty insects. Plus, their predatory larvae feed on insect eggs, snails, slugs, and more. Welcome, my friends, to the show that never ends!
Winter squash spreading
Even with little sun, the winter squash won’t be kept down. What it likes to do is spread far and wide: huge leaves and vigorous vines snaking out all over the place. The big sprawl is just kicking in, flowering is underway, and tiny green baby (butternut) squash can already be found tucked away in there.
Not a buddy
Yeah, these aren’t my buddies. This season, the first time for me, rabbits hopped out of the cute woodland creature category and into Pests & Disease. At least one or two are definitely creeping around the garden, so far not damaging much, but making their presence clear with sightings and droppings. The way it seems to go, regular appearance leads to exploratory munching, then full-on devouring. Where the low-slung electric fence seems to be working for the groundhogs, I suppose bunnies might just…hop over?! Stay tuned!