This post is part of a seasonal community sharing series, Grow Together Tuesday. You’ll find posts from myself, and award winning gardener Monika Thiessen, of Prairie Girl Pottery. I love seeing what others are doing in their gardens, and since most of us aren’t neighbors, let’s peek over each other’s virtual fences, be inspired, and learn from one another! Post a link to your weekly garden notes, updates, photos, and more in the comments – any time this week!
Balancing Act
Kris Antonius
The past couple weeks have been full – well, to be honest, the entire summer has been full. I’ve recently been feeling a bit torn between the goodness of work in the garden and the motivation to nest and prepare for a new school year – trying to find a balance between outdoor and indoor work.I got so motivated that this weekend I decided to offer a free e-course on managing the mountain of toys that grow as our kids do. The e-course, along with a brief but moderate head cold, have me so occupied I’ve had hardly any time in the garden.
I walked outside today to find the top-heavy corn had been beaten down by the recent harsh rains. Cabbage moths (I think?) are eating the young tat soi plants, and some kind of spider has set up camp in several plants around the yard, as well as window sills, and apparently somewhere in or close to an opening in our home (as I have seen two inside already).
Not all is so sad in the garden, though. I had an impulse to pull out the dill plants and when I examined the seed heads closely, I saw dozen upon dozen of ladybugs still remain, most likely happily noshing on the juicy aphids that set up camp on the dill a couple weeks ago. We’ll definitely leave the ladies to their business as long as need be.
Corn, zucchinis, beets, potatoes, carrots, beans, and tomatoes are all growing well. We’ve got beans spread all around – on the chain link fences, up the bean tipi, and climbing up stalks in two gardens of corn. The workhorse strawberries are still producing, though the raspberries are wrapping up for the season. What else? Well, the grapes are blushing, and we ate the two lovely apples produced by our front yard apple tree. I heard it was a bad year for apples. Anyone else experience this?
Mike brought in a tomato that was so large, the kids asked if it was a pumpkin – and an actual pumpkin is growing away in the back garden – perhaps there are others yet to be seen. Towering basil, bushy lemon balm, dancing lavender – the late summer garden is so abundant! We finally cashed in a gift card for a food processor to aid in dealing with the zucchini (the stripy one is Guatemalan Blue Banana) and making a few batches of pesto.
Our kitty took a liking to a special spot in the bean tipi and I was able to capture that moment for the kids. I’m sure they’ll be carrying her over there to keep them company later this week.
What’s going on in your garden? What recipes are you concocting? Share with us in the comments!
