Backyard Garden Plot Pictures – Week 39 of 52
We’ve been experiencing some cold and soggy weather here in Western Washington the past few days and I’ve been lazy and haven’t done too much gardening in the last 72 hours.
We’ve been harvesting Bok Choy over the last 2 weeks and now it’s starting to go to seed. I think I’ll try and get out there today and harvest a few more leaves before I toss the rest to the chickens.
The strawberry runners I transplanted a few weeks ago are doing great, but the beans I was planning to dry are not doing so well. I think I planted them a little too late because they are still green. 🙁 I need the pods to turn yellow before I can harvest them so I think they may just end up rotting before they’re ready.
The bean tepees and squash vines are on their last leg. I’ll go ahead and leave the tepee poles as they are until it’s time to harvest all the squash, so I don’t disturb the vines.
I cleaned out the greenhouse last week, but I still need to re-plant the strawberries that I grew in gutters this summer and get the rest of the plants to the compost pile.
I’m thinking about setting up a few garden boxes for next summer in the center of all that bark. There’s a pretty big slope to deal with but I think it might look kind of cool.
The kale ans Swiss chard is doing great but I still need to get out there and put chicken wire over the top of the chicken run.
I think I’m going to wait until the last possible moment to harvest all the pumpkins and squash. If it keeps raining I’ll have to do it sooner than later, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
The raspberry patch. It’s finally looks pretty decent over there. 😉 Now the big question is, do I move the raspberry patch to another area in the garden, or keep it there? Hmmm. It’s something to think about.
How is your garden doing? Are you done for the year?
~Mavis
This years garden is being sponsored by the awesome folks at Botanical Interests Seed Company. You can check out their website HERE, order their new 2013 Garden Seed Catalog HERE, or visit my online boyfriend Ryan’s blog HERE.
Up for a tour? Read about our behind the scenes tour of Botanical Interests Seed Company.
MILDRED lane says
what is the ground covering between your raised beds? thanks
Mavis Butterfield says
landscaping fabric with mulch on top.
PattyB says
You’re becoming a real farmer! =)
Carlye says
I planted my fall seeds last month – cilantro, carrots, onions and lettuce. I still have okra, green beans (not many) and hot peppers…oh and bell peppers coming. I like in Chattanooga, Tn so they weather is still warm. I would love a little of that rain you are getting.
Paula says
Mavis, can you rig some sort of tarp over the beans to keep the rain off of them? FYI, I’ve never been successful with growing beans to dry no matter how early I plant them. The rain always rots them in the end. I never got around to planting any this year, but if I had, I was going to try the tarp idea.
Michele C. says
Mavis- Would love one of the T-shirts “Online Boyfriend Ryan” is showing off! Love it! Could not find it on the website!
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Michele C. I have one left in an adult {Men’s} Large if you would like it. It’s the only size they were printed in. If you want it email me at onehundred dollars a month @gmail.com {spaces removed} with your mailing address and I’ll ship it off to you later this week. Happy Sunday.
Michele C. says
You’re the Best!
Diane says
Mavis, I was having the same problem with some of my shelling bean vines – too wet, too cool for them to dry on the vine (plus I didn’t have enough room to pull the vines and hang them upside-down to dry the pods). So I pulled up the vines, stripped the pods off, and laid the pods out in my greenhouse on top of old sheets to dry out of the rain. They don’t dry completely, but they dry enough (I ran a little space heater every now and then to help drive out the moisture). Once the pods have dried and shriveled up a bit, I bring them inside, shell the beans, and finish drying the beans on racks or baking sheets. It takes a while but seems to be working well. I’ve tried using the dehydrator, but that seems to shrivel up the beans, so I’m just letting them take their own sweet time for now. Worst case is, you could cook up the partially-dried beans and then freeze them – better than throwing out all that good food.
Amy says
Absolutely beautiful garden! I enjoy the watering cans hanging on the fence!