The hour-per-day gardening project slogs on through the heat. Daily temps are at least in the high 80°Fs, and we haven’t had any significant rain for weeks. The wet spring and now-hot-and-dry conditions have thrown the garden for a loop.
The Neighbor’s Plot
Next door, my corn is growing high and the amaranth is quickly catching up. Unfortunately, the peas might have missed their window to set pods: they flowered just before the current heat and they do not like heat. I harvested the fiber flax last weekend (see more in yesterday’s blog post). I’ll be harvesting the seed flax in the next few weeks. The oats have progressed nicely from growing to starting to dry out. The groats produce a milky substance when squished, the so-called milk stage. Once they harden up, then we’ll be ready to harvest.
I’ve got to pick up the pace at this plot and spend more time weeding, but I am somewhat constrained because I can only get over there nights and weekends.
Institute Plot
I’ve gotten busy weeding overgrown plots. My favorite method is to use a scuffle hoe rigorously throughout the plot and then a pitchfork to pick up the now-loose weeds. Here you can see where I recovered the raised beds, lost for a month under weeds. I’ll be sewing fall crops this week.
The raspberries are producing heavily and we’re getting about a quart a day, picked every two days. In the time it takes to collect them, I’ve figured out a new way to trellis them for next year and I’m already looking forward to the end of picking season so I can rejigger this area.
Otherwise, the tomatoes have set fruit, and the peas have run their course. We’ve got a lot of compost working through for next year, too.
The Data
Since the last post, I’ve worked 1:06 hours per day (even with being gone for five days) bringing the overall seasonal average up five minutes to 44 minutes per day.