Dad's Apples

Two nights of frost, one a real killer, prompted me to pick the apples.




All told, I got four "perfect" Jonagolds!



There were more Jonagolds on the tree, but they are beyond my reach and also looked like something else snacked on them.



The Haralson has a few fruits, but they look pretty poor, so I left them on the tree as well.



Oh, and in case you are wondering, I call them Dad's Apples because when I first moved here and selected apple trees at the nursery, my dad chose the Jonagold - they are his favorite apple. This is the first year I've had any that look edible.

F-f-f-frost on the P-pumpkin

The Weather Gurus are calling for 25 degrees Fahrenheit tongiht. Brrr.

Time to pick those pumpkins...or at the very least

get them will covered before nightfall.

I may have to look for stray zucchinis, too.

September Harvest

Faced with a bunch of chicken thighs and gradually cooling weather, I decided to make a pot of soup last night. And even though I have store-bought carrots in the 'fridge, I opted to use all of my own veg for this batch. So out to the garden I went to pull some carrots.

None were of great length, but some had some pretty good girth.

Now that's a carrot!

Peas, onions, and purple, red and gold potatoes also filled the pot. Since my celery didn't even sprout, I had to use store-bought celery to round out the recipe.

The roots weren't cooked through until after 10 PM, so I whipped up some pita bread while things simmered, and late last night I was enjoying a toasty warm meal. Mm-mm good!

When the Family Visits

Toby loves his grandpa!

You can't see it, but the tail is going 90 mph,

in hopes of a treat.

The Trevails of a Truckless Gardener

>sigh<

I used to drive pick-ups.

I was a forestry gal and any decent woodsman (or woodswoman, for those who insist on it) has a pick-up truck. But my environmental conscience got the better of me and I replaced my last truck with a Prius.

Now don't get me wrong - I love my Prius - but it has limited hauling capabilities. At least the newer models have back seats that fold down, so that's a plus, but it doesn't help when it comes time to haul manure.

My garden needs some serious ammendments, and without an industrial-sized compost pile, I find myself faced with an ammendment conundrum. I need manure, and a lot of it. I've had several people promise me poop (horse, bison, sheep and chicken), but the promise and the actual delivery don't seem to coincide.

So yesterday I decided I would find a rent-a-wreck and rent me a pick-up. Would you believe no such outfit exists? The Truck Rental place I called, besides being a bit rude, only rents moving vans, not pick-ups, and if they did, they wouldn't rent them for hauling manure. The Farm Equipment Rental place I called does real farm equipment, not pick-ups. At least the man here had a suggestion: rent a truck and flatbed trailer from U-haul, but don't tell them what I'm planning to haul - that might squash the deal.

Who knew it would be so difficult!?!?

So, I find myself back where I started, depending on the goodwill of others to loan me a pick-up or to haul some manure for me. And neither one seems to be looming on the immediate horizon.

UGH!

I decided to dig some spuds last night after work, so I got out the spading fork and had at it. The first bed yielded a few small "Adirondack Reds", but none of the "Adirondack Blues" apparently grew. The next bed had "Carolas", many of which were good sized, and I was quite happy, until I dug up this:

"Ewwww!!!!"

It was a slimy puddle. It was disgusting. It was vile. All I could think was how glad I was I hadn't reached in with my bare hand and grabbed it.

I thought at first it might've been the seed potato, which often turns to mush as it feeds the plant. But then I found another...and another.

The "Purple Vikings" had a slimy mess or two, as well.

But the "Red Golds" all seemed fine.

Could this be The Blight?

I went on-line and discovered that yes, indeed, this is yet another symptom of The Blight. What's more, I discovered that The Blight isn't a fungus afterall (contrary to popular belief). In fact, the organism is more closely related to diatoms, kelp and brown algae. Very interesting.

Some of the "Carolas" were also speckled with a white granular "stuff". Could these be spores from The Blight? I don't know, but I have a call in to Cooperative Extension and to our local Master Gardener to see if they have an opinion. In the meantime, those spuds are in isolation.

Yes, indeedy, it's been an interesting year in the garden.