Holiday Sunday

An outdoor dinner. Garden basil and oregano.
Moved the chives and garlic chives that Judy gave me last year. Maybe they’ll like this spot better.
Uzbek golden, little, and New Kuroda carrots.
Gram helps me get seeds out.
Fall seeds planted of cabbage, mizuna, greens, and cauliflower. Tomatoes and peppers for overwintering. And a few pots of Roman chamomile for the front yard ground cover.
This is where I shall attempt peppers and tomatoes over the winter.
This goldenrod was already here and is doing very nicely.
A giant 1″+ horsefly on a backyard window sill.
Never going outside again.
I lied. Outside again. Chiltepin peppers.
Frostweed doing alright after it died back earlier in summer.
A little spider got this Eastern Tailed-Blue on the englemann daisy.
Texas mallow blooming!
The non native clematis. I’ll clean it out over the winter.
Okra flower
A bumblebee on the okra!

Even wilder Saturday

Okra flower keeping its banker’s hours.
Taco week leftovers include garden potatoes and garden sweet peppers (a few mini bells and one Jimmy Nardallo sweet pepper) and tomatoes in cheese sauce.
Wet dog helping me water.
A kind friend who was moving gave me a string of solar lights which I put in the trellises today.  They have a switch, so I can have them on only as needed, so we don’t distract the night bugs from their business.

Friday dinner of mostly garden tacos

Thursday evening, the Chef began preparing spices for meat in slow cooker. Two jalapeños, one chimayó (top).
Mmm tacos. Everything except meat, tortillas, cheese, and spices are from garden. Beans are the last of last year’s California black-eyed peas. Potatoes are this year’s kennebec white.
After dinner, Paula and I did some garden harvesting. New for the season are Alabama black-eyed butter beans.
Also new for the season are slippery silks pole beans.
While we picked, the ice cream maker machine worked hard.
Vanilla with blackberries from home. Thanks Mom for sending some home with us!

Caught in the act

Clematis terniflora flower
It turns out the mystery vine on the trellis is Clematis terniflora which is invasive and non-native. Gotta go!! That’s valuable bean trellis.
The Chef preparing okra for frying.
Okra plus breading for frying.
Dog and cat look at dinner of okra, meatloaf, and french fries.
Briar and Gram were very intrigued by the smells of dinner.

Almost caught up?

The buffalograss in spots with more dirt and grass trimmings over it is sprouting!
I pulled up a single sprout from here and it had the seed hull attached, so definitely the right plant.
Peruvian ground cherries!!
White currant tomatoes on nachos last night.
Salsa verde enchiladas intrigue Gram.
“ew, loud smell” he didn’t like them but we did!!

A week ago Saturday

Very excited to have a Gulf Fritillary in the yard!
I hope it found the passionvine in the back yard.
Made more salsa verde.
The Chef helpfully cans.
Ruff day gardening, need a nap.
Mail call!! Fall/winter peas, trying new ones.
A wildflower and an herb.
Trying again on parsnip this year with fresh seeds.

Winter indoor gardening ideas.

Sprouting and preserving

The sterile wheatgrass cover crop is sprouting!
You can see the slower germinating buffalograss seed hanging out.
I have especially put a lot in the narrow places where the water runs off from the raised beds.
The grass with the red zinnias.
Both chimayó and jalapeño peppers. Neither super hot.
Everything from the garden except for garlic!
Yum! Salsa verde complete!
Picked green beans for dinner while waiting for salsa to finish simmering down.
The Chef takes over for canning, my department is just vegetables, thank goodness.