Beans, tomatoes, and greens

This is a shoulder season in my vegetable gardens, maybe a bit earlier than normal, as mild weather has slowed tomato and pepper ripening, and fostered early sowings of fall greens and root crops.I've pulled up most of the tomatoes, which were fading, aside from the cherries, which just keep going,...

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Fall in mid-August

It was an amazing day -- cool dry air blowing through.   Highs in the 70's.  This is September weather, even in the mountains of Western North Carolina.We had delicious costata zucchini squash from the garden as part of dinner tonight -- the first squash of the summer. Totally curious, but I'm grateful. They were delicious.It's really time for fall veggie change outs, but what am I...

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Cleaning up for fall

I'm almost done "excavating" the main vegetable garden and the satellite garden in the Piedmont of their cloak of over-summering crabgrass.  It was thick, and more abundant than I'd ever experienced before, thanks to the exceptionally high rainfall this summer.Evidence of deer and spotting of woodchucks (one has taken up residence under the garden shed) means that defensive measures need to be...

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Fall is coming

It was a lovely evening here in the mountains of Western North Carolina.MORE rain during the day, but the evening was nice -- cool for this time of year and the crescent moon was evident - beautiful (but no Perseid meteors to be seen).  An evening to be appreciated, too, as we're back "down the hill" later in the week to start fall semester.Two of the largest raised beds are ready to plant...

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