Heating Up

Clothes on the line, one of my favorite things

Its been hot. And I mean like 95 degree in the middle of the day and it being 85 degrees in the house hot. We just got some relief in the form of daily rainclouds rolling in around 2pm. But we have gotten little rain from them. Things are dry. And did I mention hot?

A nice stand of corn. It's about 3 feet high at this point.

Strangely enough, the garden seems to be handling the lack of moisture well. I have some yellowing leaves on the bottom of a plant or two, but nothing major. I have been harvesting spinach for over a month now and have several packages in the freezer for use in quiches and baked Italian dishes. I have noticed a considerable difference in the soil in this third year of gardening this plot. It is much finer and easier to hoe. But it also runs off easier. So when we do get rain by some miracle, I have to re-establish row lines and check for erosion. I'm letting the smaller weeds take over some of the row vegetables to keep the soil in place and provide some shade to hold in moisture.

Woad seeds drying

My Woad did very well, but I neglected to get any harvested before the blooms turned to seed. Next year hopefully I will get a chance to dye some wool with it's leaves. Woad contains the chemical which is present in Indigo. The plant where the blue dye that is used for blue jeans comes from. I had plans for home dyed yarn and cotton for clothing. But I have tons of seeds and the plant is very hearty. So I will continue my experiment next year.

 

The Broccoli crowns get larger even from dawn till I check the plants at dusk!

The garden is a place of meditation for me. I routinely walk it's short rows and check my plants for disease, insects, and damage. It is therapeutic to see the daily changes that my vegetables make on the road to maturity.  And of course the best part is harvesting after all of that hard work and enjoying the satisfaction that the food on our plates came out of hard work and love.

Lilly and Sachi spend their days in the shade, and graze at night. Smart girls!

Tomorrow I will go to the local tailgate market and offer my wares. Produce is already coming in there, and I hope to bring something tasty home that was grown here in our own little corner of the universe.