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Hi Everyone,
Today is the last day of Pollinator Week—truthfully I do not know much about it, but decided to take the opportunity to spend some time in my favorite garden spot right now and check out the local pollinators. I have really enjoyed taking visitors to the East Garden so that they too can enjoy the beauty of lush zinnias, overgrown Tithonia, wild Bright Lights orange cosmos, towering mullein in bloom and a wall of multicolored sunflowers. I hardly ever carry a camera with me—but this time I purposely went to take pictures and harvest some ripe melons. It was easy to get pictures of the Gulf Fritillary butterflies, some wasps, and moths—but to my dismay I missed the hummingbird and the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly. I have never seen a butterfly fly so quickly—but this one had the zoomies. I also learned something else about myself—I would rather enjoy the flowers in the garden in their lush habitation than inside the house in a vase.
Last Sunday was the first day of summer and if you have had any doubt that summer has arrived then all you have to do is step outside for a few minutes. It is hot and humid outside—and I am not complaining for I would rather enjoy the heat than suffer the cold. I am amazed though that I can be sitting down in the shade and be pooling in sweat due to the humidity. The temperature at 6:30 tonight was 101 with a heat index of 113. One of the ways we Floridians survive the heat is the afternoon thunderstorms. Yesterday afternoon the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped to 76. Mom took advantage of the cooler weather to work in her courtyard garden—but I headed upstairs to my sewing room to finish another dress.
The Market Gardens are done for the season, and it is time to clean up the beds and “tuck them in” for the summer. The South Tunnel was cleaned up a few weeks ago, but last week I focused on the North Tunnel. I had Micah pull out all the heavy plants—the spent collards and kale. I pulled up the lettuce that had gone to seed because it got bitter in the heat before they were even big enough to eat. I grew some lemon squash this year—but it was not true to seed (even though I bought brand new seed). Instead of being yellow lemon colored balls, they were green and yellow striped and didn’t taste that great—so we fed those plants and old squash to the chickens (actually we fed everything to the chickens—they had a smorgasbord). Once the old vegetable plants were out then I weeded the beds. It took a few days—because it is VERY HOT inside the tunnels. There are eight beds in each tunnel and I managed to get everything cleaned up but the half of one row where I am growing plantain for my salves and another bed where I am growing celery, carnations, calendula, and statice flowers. The flowers are mostly spent and a creeping weed in invading underneath them so I am contemplating pulling them up too. I am not watering the South Tunnel—sage and thyme are the only plants growing in it and they are growing on the edges so they get watered by the rain. They are Mediterranean herbs and they like life a little more on the dry side. In the North Tunnel the plantain is growing in the dead center of the garden, therefore I have to water that tunnel. Since I have to water it I decided to go ahead and plant some okra in one of the rows—and they are already up.
A month ago I harvested 230 pounds of red potatoes—and they need to be canned. A friend was over two weeks ago and saw our jars of canned field peas and reminded us that she really wants to learn how to can. I was very quick to inform her that she should come and help can the potatoes—and she was very quick to agree. So the date was set for this last Thursday. When I was done milking the cows I came inside and emptied the dish washer and then I filled it up with 55 wide mouth pint canning jars—and then I had to wash some by hand for I needed 64. Our friend showed up at 1:00 and she and Micah peeled potatoes while Mama set up the canners and I cut the potatoes and filled the jars. It was a little after 2:00 when enough potatoes had been peeled and I sent Micah outside to mow (for it is “summer” as Micah says). Mama continued to fill the jars with water, poke them and get them in the canner. Audra helped me cut up the potatoes and pack the jars. It was around 4:30 before Audra headed home—two canners were done and we had enough jars filled with potatoes that we were able to run each canner with another batch before dinner. Audra loves to garden—so of course we took a little bit of time to detour through the flower garden. I am not sure that we really dented the potatoes—so if you want to learn how to can (or just want to hang out with us peeling potatoes one afternoon) then please accept my invitation to join us in the kitchen canning potatoes—just let me know and we can set a date!
Serving you with Gladness,
Tiare