By John, on July 25th, 2011 |
 When I planted Apache blackberries three seasons ago I thought the only thing that I needed to worry about were the deer eating the succulent primocane shoots and the birds stealing the ripening berries. But two years in a row now, my biggest issue has been the July heat which has once again taken a crop of ripening fat red berries and reduced them to withered brown turds. Most amazing is that it occurred over the course of just a couple of very hot days.
When it happened last year, I attributed the problem to insufficient watering so I expanded my irrigation system to include the blackberry patch and have been watering this year in between fairly regular rainfalls. …continue reading
By John, on May 16th, 2011 |
 This week’s harvest. The second round of asparagus is in full swing and we are taking full advantage. I sure will be sad when we stop harvesting at the end of the month but at least I’ll be able to say that I had my fill. The radish bed continues to produce a nice bunch every day or so which makes Phyllis extremely happy because she has never been successful with spring radishes before. We are now lightly harvesting the earlier varieties of our lettuces and arugula. We planted five varieties of lettuce this year and the growth rates are varying widely. The Black Seeded Simpson is definitely growing the fastest followed closely by Panisse, then Green Butterhead Nancy, and Summer Crisp. Finally the Sargeant took a while to get going but it is gaining momentum. …continue reading
By John, on August 18th, 2010 |
 As I walked through my kitchen it popped into my brain that I should post a photo of my counter top as it looks today. What this doesn’t show you are the additional tomatoes sitting off to the side in a basket, the many pounds of vegetables stuffed into my refrigerator, not to mention …continue reading
By John, on August 14th, 2010 |
 It’s mid-August and the tendrils on either side of these melons had dried up so I decided it was time to harvest them. For some reason, I’ve always preferred my watermelon with seeds. Perhaps it’s a sweeter flavor or perhaps the flavor is sweeter because it reminds me of the melons of my childhood. It’s impossible to tell from the picture but these melons are about 8 inches in diameter. Both of my girls were sweating their rear ends off at dance tonight so I surprised them each with …continue reading
By John, on July 25th, 2010 |
 This one was absolutely perfect! Unfortunately, the drought has taken it’s toll on the blackberries. I did finally extend my irrigation system to the blackberry bed but only after I noticed their suffering. By that time half of my berries had dried up and half of the surviving berries were misshapen…so I will relish those few perfect berries I am blessed with this year. …continue reading
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When I planted Apache blackberries three seasons ago I thought the only thing that I needed to worry about were the deer eating the succulent primocane shoots and the birds stealing the ripening berries. But two years in a row now, my biggest issue has been the July heat which has once again taken a crop of ripening fat red berries and reduced them to withered brown turds. Most amazing is that it occurred over the course of just a couple of very hot days. 
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