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| The geraniums thrived this summer. |
Mid-summer days have been hot and humid. For several days last week, temperatures hovered near the 100 degree mark. Then came the rain. My flowers loved it but it's too late for the vegetable garden. Early cold and rain and then the excessive heat will make harvesting this fall a non-event. I will have tomatoes but nothing else. Last year I picked over 35 eggplant. This year I picked two. Last year I froze 10 quarts of green and yellow beans. This year, only one row out of five even grew. Last year I had enough beets to pickle. This year I roasted just a handful for one dinner. Last year I jarred 14 pints of pickles. This year I had no cucumbers. There are a few sad looking peppers on the three plants that survived and one celery plant is just big enough to harvest. We will plow the ground over in the fall and start again next spring.
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| A daily picking from last summer's bounty. |
I'm off to the farmer's market for weekly fruit and vegetables. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get some farm stand surplus to jar for winter consumption. Prices are higher this year as even the farmers with their acres of crops suffered weather-related losses. Perhaps I should host a dinner for those fellows in Washington and their purse-holding Big Business lobbyists. I could teach them a thing or two about frugality.
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| This year's daisies smiling at the sun. |
8 comments:
i wish someone would...i wanted to vomit watching the news conferences last night...fresh veggies from the farmers market sound wonderful...
I have bought a few items from the stands I pass. My beets were slow and turned pithy.I have eaten my fill of corn.I don't put up much as I did when my kids were home.
I'm sorry you're going to have a poor harvest this year Pauline. The weather has been very trying for you all over there, hasn't it. Here in England we had a drought, followed by plenty of rain. The farmers complained but then the farmers are always complaining. Here in my vegetable garden, all is well. Out in the fields I noticed the wheat etc. is ready to harvest but it doesn't look as tall as usual.
Love your daisies, such beautiful plants!
I welcome you to my Blog for an update to my grandson today. How is your grand-daughter doing?
I'm so sorry about your vegetable garden, but oh my gosh your geraniums and daisies are gorgeous!
A difficult growing year --
And if they don't grow for YOU, who are they growing for? A lot of tomato sauce, then ----
Boy, that's disappointing, isn't it?
Y'put all that work into it and watch it all fizzle.
Our (really, Husband's) garden is doing pretty well all things considered. I should be out picking beans and zucchini right this minute. But if I pick them I'll have to do something with them and I'm tired.
You Yanks plow in rows, while we Brits plough the rough ground.
Brian M - it was not a good summer for gardening. Even the vegetables from the farmer's market are not as tasty as usual.
OOTP - I have been canning and freezing produce since childhood. Now and then we have a year like this one when nothing much grows.
Star - your Dylan and my Bean are growing like weeds!
Barbara S - I've never seen such massive blooms on those geraniums. They've thrived in this weather. There are only four large pots of them and each plant is several years old. I cut them back and bring them in for the winter.
J - I am not sure even the tomatoes will ripen - they're small, hard, and still very green. Sigh.
June - I'll come and help. I'll bring my chocolate zucchini bread recipe!
B - next year I may plant just a patio garden!
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