Summer Sets Slowy In

Well, the first few eggplants have been harvested and eaten, along with plenty of green beans and tomatoes. We've been whipping up puree for 'you know who' (not Voldemort) from the beans and some carrots stored in the fridge. It's a very gratifying feeling to have grown food for a loved one.

All of the onions are harvested and are new cured. Total harvest: 24lbs of onions! According to John Jeavons, the low end of the yield spectrum for onions is about 1lb per square foot of bed space if you use his methods. Hmmmm.... I'm a bit under that... I figure I planted about 120 sq.ft. of onions, and only got 24 lbs... BUT, i did harvest a lot of spinach, lettuce, and carrots from the same beds, and I know that set my onions back pretty badly. So, I guess we'll still be buying onions from the store after a few months. I wonder how long 24 lbs of onions will last, anyways.

The garlic was much more productive, probably because I was more intentional about keeping other plants from growing up around them and choking them out. I think I had something like 32 bulbs of garlic, all pretty good size and healthy looking. Not bad for about 15 sq.ft. of bed. (Well, I don't think it's bad. Jeavons might. But I have never seen anyone get anything CLOSE to the yields he reports. Does he lie? Is he a god? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?)

The summer heat is setting in. Highs lately and for the foreseeable future are in the mid 90's.

The bugs, birds and blight have been attacking my tomatoes. :( I think i have another few 'big hauls' of tomatoes before they really poop out for the season. Oh well, I have had a lot of tasty 'maters already.

This post's pictures include:

All of the onions for the season piled up on the floor.
A couple of recent harvests from the garden.
The garlic hanging in the kitchen in a long chain.
The baby goats.


~g