Fall Garden Planting

As life is moving closer and closer back to “normal,” things are starting to get done in the garden again. All of the ears of corn have been ripped from their stocks, the winter squash have been harvested and are waiting to cure, the sunflowers were decapitated and then blasted down, and the summer and winter squash vines have been torn from their clutches on the earth.

The old is becoming new again and things are starting to get exciting once more. The soil has been turned and new fall seeds have been planted. Finally the heirloom tomatoes are starting to earn their keep. They are turning their various shades of pink, orange, red, yellow and striped patterns (I should be getting some purple ones one of these days). All of the marigolds and other flowers I’ve planted in the garden are in full bloom and everything looks lovely and fresh.

For the fall and winter garden, I’ve planted broccoli, cauliflower, various beets, leeks, green onions, turnips, Brussels sprouts, two types of cabbages, bok choy, Romaine lettuce, Butter Crunch lettuce, Endive, Red leaf lettuce, and something called Great Lakes lettuce. I don’t know if I’m remembering everything but I’ll draw another diagram and post it so that I can at least keep track of what is what and where it is. I’m going to try a variation of the garbage can potatoes thanks to the great post by Anna from Back to Our Roots. My potatoes did so great during the summer that I’m excited what they might do during actual potato season. The winter squash that I’ve already picked (Blue Hubbard, Butternut and Buttercup) will be ready to eat for the full winter season.

Things that I’ve learned from my summer garden this year:

1) Do not plant sunflowers in the actual garden. The sunflowers were the biggest culprits in the pest department and I really think they created the domino of an aphid infestation in other plants. They also are loved by the ants too much for my own good.

2) Keep control over the winter squash vines and don’t plant them next to the summer squash plants.

3) So far the heirlooms that I’ve been able to taste have been terrible. They look so beautiful yet when you take a bite, you wish you’d taken a bite from a cow pie instead. They have been absolutely dreadful. Moral: Always, plant hybrids too just incase. I’m not sure if it’s been the unseasonably cool weather or if they are just disgusting by nature. Yuck! It will be 105 for a couple of days this week so I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

4) Plants don’t like growing exclusively in compost. The organic compost that I purchased and had dumped on my site is gorgeous. It’s black and luscious looking however I’ve noticed that where the compost is thickest, the plants never grew at all. They struggled the whole time and didn’t produce much at all. The outer edges of the garden where the actual soil and compost was mixed 50-50 is where the plants are happiest.

5) Don’t grow corn in a row. Corn should be grown in blocks or a circle so that the silks can be pollinated easily. Also, I read that you can tape up the ends of the ears after they have been pollinated so that they don’t get infested with corn earworm. I unfortunately had this problem but all that we had to do is break off the first inch or two that had been snacked on.

6) Lastly, I’ve learned that everyday I learn something new and not to get discouraged. That’s why it’s best to push yourself and try things in the garden that you haven’t tried before – new varieties and new planting ideas. It all helps you and builds on what you already know. Right now I’m looking into what companion plants will work with my fall and winter vegetables.

Even if you’re not planning a fall or winter garden, remember to plant flowers that will last through the fall to keep your pollinators well fed during this time of things starting to dry out and their sources of food are getting scarce. Plus this makes your yard and garden look nice. I’m planting another round of zinnias, daisies, lavender, snapdragons, asters, marigolds and I’m not pinching back all of my basil, mint and cilantro anymore because I want some of it to flower for them.

And on a very happy note, two of the kittens have been adopted. They aren’t ready to leave the litter yet but they have a happy home waiting for them. Two others have potential homes so things are moving along. Each one of those kittens has a special personality and they have such gratitude. It sounds silly but I think they somehow understand that they have been saved and a better life awaits them.

I hope everyone’s summer garden has been bountiful and educational.

Daphne

A chapter has closed

I've turned a leaf and it’s over. Here is my resignation letter that I've submitted to my fellow executive officers and the editor of the newsletter:

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Due to increased responsibilities in my day-to-day life as well as the desire to remove myself from a hostile situation, please accept my resignation as vice president as of today.

I’ve left the board and membership in good shape for the rest of the year. With this association, I simply got myself involved in something I have no interest in entertaining. I wish you all success in whatever your desires for the association are. I have met a few good people through my time here and my thanks go out to those of you that showed me kindness.

If you wish to continue with what I’ve set in place, here is the speaker line-up for the rest of the year:

• George will present next week at the August meeting.
• Kim will speak in September in regards to overwintering hives. Further contact needs to be made with him to get the specifics in order. I would recommend doing this soon.
• Annette has agreed to speak at the October meeting. Her contact information is on the membership list but she is on vacation for the next two weeks.
• November’s meeting is an open forum Swap ‘n Sell/Gadget Night which I’ve already promoted in the newsletter.

Kathy, if you could please remove my name as the contact person on any of the calendar events, I would really appreciate it.

If there are further questions relating to any of the things I’ve worked on as vice president or acting vice president, please feel free to contact me via email.

Sincerely,

Daphne

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I sent this after there was a literal physical altercation between two board members at the IHOP. Ridiculous I know. It got too crazy and tempers were too high. There becomes a point when you have to ask yourself, "For what?" I couldn't find any good reason.

I think my adverse reaction was based on the timing as well. I had just gotten back from a 5 day backpacking trip which as absolutely amazing. We went to this little known cabin that was built in the 1920's or 30's by a hermit. It takes 2 days to get to and there is no trail. What this guy did was incredible and he did it all by himself - no mule, no equipment, nothing. He brought in pieces of a cast iron stove piece by piece to assemble. Each time he went to town it took him 2-4 days and it is a dangerous canyon to hike in and out of. Anyway, I guess my point is that my perspective on what's important made me have zero tolerance for people being nasty just because they were bored. It's known that this hermit made friends with anyone that treated him with respect and he was fighting for his survival every single day in that inhospitable and desolate canyon. (maybe I can post some pictures tonight if time allows)

As for the garden, it is actually on its way out or at least this phase is. It's still in full production but some of the plants are starting to die back. I've pulled out all of the potato plants to plant new ones, and there are a few other things that got yanked to reveal a naked bed. My tomatoes are just starting to turn and I can't wait to taste them. I'm going to plant some seeds for the fall this weekend.

Kittens are doing great and getting bigger and more playful everyday. They have their six week appointment this Saturday!

Daphne

Kittens

I’ve been neglecting my garden just as much as I have been my blog. I picked wild blackberries about two weekends ago, showed off what I had scored (3-4 gallons worth) and made a blackberry pie and then the plan was to work in the garden.

I heard a noise reminiscent of baby birds so I decided to go outside and what did I find? I spied five little kittens standing in the front yard of my parents’ house. They had been abandoned by their mother. Well, after talk and consideration, we realized that the mother had been eaten by a coyote a couple of days before.

Of course my bleeding heart swooped them up and then tried to figure out how on earth I would take care of them. A few hours later I had a funny feeling that there may have been more. So around 10 p.m. I went back out and found one more of them. Alas there are six. I felt badly that he was left out there by himself but that should be a lesson to us all – don’t be shy about someone offering to help.

After spending the entire weekend at my parents’ house, feeding them with kitten formula every four hours, I realized that I would not be able to give them the support and attention they needed. I called rescue organizations and they were all over capacity. I learned that if I took them to a shelter, they would be euthanized immediately because they are less than 2 pounds. What I really needed was maternity leave but I knew that wouldn’t happen.

My friend's dog, Ali and new matching companion, Tux.

Luckily after just a few minutes of frantic web searches, I found a program through UC Davis. The program is called the Orphan Kitten Project and they are so awesome. Usually, one of the resident veterinarians would be taking them home and taking care of them as part of their training but of course, they were also over capacity. I felt out of luck until they said that I could foster the kittens under their program but I would be the foster. Still stuck with the same problem of not being able to give them the attention they need but at least I wouldn’t be spending $25 a day on formula like I had been. The Project provides, supplies, food and all of the medical care including vaccines, spay/neuter and a microchip. All I have to do is raise them, take them to their appointments at my dedicated resident veterinarian’s apartment, and find homes for them.

So far it’s been very hectic but I’m so glad that I have help. Two co-workers have really pitched in and have saved my skin. One of them is home recovering from surgery so she’s offered to take them in and bottle feed every 4 hours. My other co-worker comes with me at night after work and we all feed again, bathe, blow-dry, clean bedding and make sure that each of them gets ample human cuddle time.


They’ve had their first appointment and everyone is healthy. Today they are 30 days old and just starting to use the litter box and eat a mix of wet kitten food and formula.

I did visit the garden last weekend and everything was doing great. See, it doesn’t need me. I did pull all of my beets and chard out. I’ll be planting some things for fall in there (maybe spinach and more beets).

Oh and I made a really good tasting lasagna made of zucchini (I know you understand) and Japanese eggplant. I’ll put up that recipe when I have a few minutes time. I just threw it together so I don’t really have a recipe yet but if you already know how to make things without a recipe, basically I made a béchamel, marinara sauce, homemade wheat and semolina flour pasta (rolled out really thin), sautéed the zucchini and eggplant with some olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and then I just started layering: sauce, pasta, béchamel, vegetables, marinara, some fresh chunks of fresh mozzarella. Repeat until last layer of pasta and then add more béchamel, fresh mozzarella, shaved Pecorino and fresh ground pepper. Bake at 350 for about a half hour. It was really yummy lasagna and I was really surprised that I didn’t miss the ricotta or meat. Another great way to get rid of some zucchini.


Okay back to the land of being pulled every which way,


Daphne