Saturday, August 22, 2015

Farmer's Market

Well, I've been too preoccupied with life to blog, but it's been a great summer with beautiful hot weather and lots of sun. Here is a shot of Mike's table at the market today. Hot sellers this time were sweet corn, sour gherkins (which he finds to be a helpful attention getter for passersby wondering what they are), strawberry-raspberry jam, and cucumbers.

He's had some pest and disease issues this year: tomato and onion blight, voles chowing down on large, otherwise perfect sweet peppers, and Japanese beetles swarming the raspberries. But he's still getting a good harvest, and looking for new ways to fight the pests. He kept discovering dead beetles around my geranium, which apparently causes a paralysis to beetles when they ingest it, so I anticipate he will be planting a lot of geraniums next year. He has some traps and natural repellent for the voles. He will replace all of his tomato stakes to help prevent the spread of blight to next year's crop. 


It is really exciting to see all of the stuff going on in his garden, like the mini orchard planted in the corner of our yard and the beautifully ripening clusters of grapes. I don't get a chance to get out there very often, but when I do I am really overwhelmed by just how productive his garden is, despite all of the weeds!

There are always things we wished we had done differently every year, things we should have planted, or planted earlier, or watered more, or weeded or fertilized more faithfully. But considering how full our plates are with my full time job and Mike caring full time for the kids, I think we are doing really well, and I'm very proud of the fruits of his labor! 

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I'm a flower enthusiast married to a man with organic farming dreams. We're enjoying developing our own outdoor paradise in our first home, with 3 little gardening girls by our side. When not spending my free time gardening, I'm recording our memories in my pocket page scrapbooks.