Rainfall
- 7th: 1.27"
- 16th: 0.03"
- 18th: 0.48"
- 19th: 0.51"
- 20th: 0.03"
- 21st: 0.47"
- 23rd: 0.14"
- 24th: 0.14"
- 25th: 0.35"
- 28th: 0.11"
- 29th: 1.03"
- 30th: 0.04"
- Total: 4.6 inches
Temperature
- range of nighttime lows: 64 to 73°F (18 to 23°C)
- range of daytime highs: 82 to 95°F (27.7 to 35°C)
- greenhouse, with the shade cloth: never got over 90°F (32°C)
Weather Notes
- The month started off like a typical July with highs in the mid-90s F (low 30s C). The nights were unusually cool, though, with frequent overnight lows in the 60s F (upper teens C).
- Then the rain moved in and the daytime temps dropped 10 degrees for the remainder of the month. Nighttime temps remained cool. All welcome!
Planted:
- last of the sprouting sweet potatoes from the pantry
Harvested
- slicing tomatoes
- cherry tomatoes
- green beans
- blueberries
- lambs quarter
- daikon greens
- summer potatoes
- rugosa rose hips
- oregano
- basil
- thyme
- rosemary
- wheat
- buckwheat
- okra
- peaches
- pears
- peppers
- black turtle beans
- cucumber
- walking onions
Preserved
- blueberries, frozen
- wheat, frozen
- lambs quarter, canned
- rose hips, dehydrated
- pizza sauce, canned
- goat mozzarella, frozen
Photos
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| daily picking bucket |
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| harvesting the summer potatoes |
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| air fryer roasted potatoes, okra, and walking onions |
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| blueberries (from the big bush in the pasture hedgerow) |
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| blueberry pie |
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| tomatoes |
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| Tomatoes we don't eat fresh go into the power blender with herbs, onion, & green pepper for pizza/spaghetti sauce. |
Then all I have to do is bring it to a boil for canning, add salt, and process.
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| pizza sauce, season's first jars |
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| July salad: cherry tomatoes, lambs quarter, and goat feta |
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| lambs quarter sauteed with carrots and onions |
Last but not least . . .
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| Our original African keyhole garden with sweet potatoes and Egyptian walking onions. 4 o'clocks are to the left, and our front yard blueberry bushes are behind. |
That's it for my garden. How is yours doing?
Garden Notes: July 2024 © July 2024
10 comments:
Wow! Your potato and blueberry harvest are much better than ours this year. Any tips on getting an abundance of berries?
Wondering what you do with the buckwheat, as I have some growing as a filler in my flower beds.
We got over 2 inches of rain yesterday, so it will be a sloppy mess out there today. I may try to work on water diversion around the chook runs. There is always something to do!
Daisy, I'm wondering if it's been too wet for potatoes (?) Mine were planted at the top of the garden, which dries out fastest. Honestly, i was disappointed in the harvest; hoping for more. Even so, I'm glad for what I got.
One thing about blueberries is that the birds love them! I got a much smaller harvest this year than previous years because of that. Next year, we're going to use netting on first the cherry tree, and then the big blueberry bush.
I do find that very few things produce consistently from year to year. I haven't been able to discern a pattern to that (in terms of temp and rainfall). They seem to have minds of their own.
Oh, the buckwheat! Buckwheat is a great cover crop and soil conditioner, so there's that. I do harvest the groats and make buckwheat flour, although I'm still working on the best way to process them for that.
Leigh, New Home 2.0 actually has a climate for blueberries, so even though I am not growing them I am getting them for half of what I would have paid this time last year. It is definitely a treat!
I had forgotten you had an air fryer. Although not a huge fan of technology, I have to admit that getting one was a great thing at our household. I have developed quite the task for air fryer asparagus and brussell sprouts.
TB, that's good news about the blueberries. Maybe when you get settled into a more permanent house situation, you can grow your own! They are such a treat to have freely.
I'm not real keen on the air fryer either. It was an excellent price, I had some gift money, so I bought it on a whim. I much prefer oven frying in my toaster oven, but I've got it, so I use it for a few things. We used to cook hotdogs in it, and then give them a final air-fried toast in the buns. Pretty good, actually.
My sister has an ongoing relationship with her air fryer. I just haven't got the fever. Maybe I am just too humbug?
This year has been the best summer garden since I moved in and had a first garden in 2020. I have planted and harvested cantaloupe, slicing and pickling pickles, summer squash, turnips, Celebrity tomatoes,blueberries,zucchini, a very small (2 year asparagus) amount but yummy eaten raw while working in garden. I still have pole beans to harvest, lemon cucumbers, radishes, peppers and potatoes. And in August/September a hearty amount of Black Mission figs.
Before everyone gets excited I need to be transparent. I am eating from the garden but won't likely have enough of any item to preserve. With the exception of my figs. I was so bummed from the first few years and my dismal showing of the winter garden I didn't plant enough. But with my new found confidence the winter garden and the coming summer of '25 will see an increase of both numbers and variety.
Take that weird weather!!
Goatldi, my vote is that the air fryer isn't worth it. It's just another fad. The convection aspect does help with cooking time, but a convection toaster oven would do the same and be way more versatile.
Sounds like your garden is doing great! Congrats on that. Like you, our harvest hasn't been spectacular, but we've had great fresh eating. The exception is the tomatoes, which we can't keep up with but want pizza sauce anyway. Hopefully, my cukes will start to do something.
I hope your summer garden continues to do well and that your winter garden out shines your expectations!
We just got back from our vacation and filled up a basket last night with eggplant and yellow squash. Today on my list is to pick the green beans and tomatoes if and when it stops raining. I'm not going to complain after four years of severe drought. I also need to check on our okra. It is starting to produce pods so I want to keep an eye on them and pick them while small and tender, something that was always impossible with our farm garden which we only visited once a week.
That must be some blender! And some great pre-sauce :) And I love the blueberry picture too. Most days now I pick and add a few blueberries to my oatmeal, and it feels quite luxurious.
Ed, what a treat to have your garden in your back yard. And I know that the rain is especially welcome. It keeps everything happy!
Quinn, the blender is something I glad I got. Pricier than the ordinary kitchen blender, but worth it. I'm saving days of time and cooking to make sauce now!
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