Final Harvest

This is it.  I harvested the last few vegetables still out in my garden.

Evenings are getting quite chilly, so unfortunately it was time.

This time of the year is always hard for me, especially now that the harvest is complete and my garden is empty, desolate again.  Six months of emptiness...

I left St. Francis out there though, to protect the garden.

I also began composting earlier this summer, so hopefully this means that come springtime, there'll be some nutrients that I can put back into the soil that has been so fruitful for me.

Thank you Lord for making things grow.  Thank you for the harvest.  Amen.

Potato Yield

I harvested a good half of my potatoes today.

I counted 22 potatoes.  Some of them XL - twice the size of a normal potato.  Potato plants are incredibly prolific: I planted 4 potato plants, and will yield in excess of 40 potatoes in 4 short months.

Gardening - An Update

So we're over halfway of this year's gardening season. In fact, I got my first mini-harvests already, of beans and carrots, primarily, although I did harvest a few potatoes and zucchini too.

Here's a lovely picture of my Asian lilly in full bloom.

I'm perhaps most proud of my basil!  Marco and I've tried it a number of times already on our pasta concoctions.

Plants Are Up

Seeds are planted, and in fact, seedlings are up already.

On the menu this fall:
* zucchini (2 plants)
* potatoes (4)
* broccoli (2)
* carrots (many)
* garlic (2)
* red peppers (3)
* tomatoes (5)
* green beans (2

Salsa

Made salsa today, from my own garden tomatoes.  It's a great feeling, planting, growing, harvesting, and then enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Harvesting My Garden

Below is a picture of what will likely be the last bit of harvesting of this summer's work:

I still have a few tomatoes left on the vine, but the cold may very well get the best of them.  The days are still warm and sunny, maybe 10-12C, but the nights are a different story...

I've had to cover the garden with tarps for a few weeks now, as the nights are getting to nippy.  My zucchini plant is still going too, but not much is growing.  In fact, the leaves are getting mouldy from the cold.

Potatoes Are Up!

Here's proof!

Other veggies are up too: onions, zucchini, and green beans.

One of the most interesting things I've learned about myself since moving to the prairies is how much I enjoy gardening.

Gardening Day

Yesterday I planted my garden.  I got outside around 10:30am, after sitting on my front porch and reading Pope Francis' The Church of Mercy for a while.  It was enjoyable reading, sipping my coffee, soaking and in the warm rays of the sun.

It took me awhile to work out the garden layout.  I wanted to make it a beautiful space, not just a functional place.  To accomplish this I planted some pampa grass, sunflowers, lavender, and an Asian lily in the corners.

I also incorporated some walking space, so that I have a place to stand on when tilling and weeding the ground.

Below's the layout.

The weather's still rather chilly, particularly at night.  I trust that in the coming days it'll warm up.

After finishing the garden I mowed both my front and back lawn.

Then, Amanda - my newly found neighbour-friend - and her friend Dan dropped by for a bbq.  I cooked up some burgers and put some veggies on the grill too.  Amanda brought a salad, and together we had a nice evening meal and conversation.

Thank you Lord for the simple pleasures of life.  I pray for a grateful heart to recognize more of these moments.  Amen.

Gardening...Almost Ready

This past week I've been shoveling topsoil into my new garden box virtually every evening after work: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and yesterday afternoon.  In total, I shoveled 297 buckets of 15 litres each (4 yards) into the box.

Here's what I plan to plant this time around:

* corn
* zucchini
* potatoes
* tomatoes
* red peppers
* garlic
* carrots

I'm also considering:
* beans
* peas
* pumpkins


To give the garden some colour I'm adding:
* lavender and pampa grass, both perennials
* sunflower

The weather's still a bit too cold at night so it's not quite planting season yet, but based on the warm temperatures lately I might be ready to go in two weeks' time.

Vegetable Garden

So about a week ago I had a local landscaper build me a vegetable garden.  About 16' x 6' by 1'.

I figured that I'd need roughly about 4 square yards of topsoil to fill the box.  Earlier this week the topsoil - a 'triple mix, of earth, manure, and peat - was delivered, and today, after 230 buckets of hard shoveling, carrying, and dumping, the box is now filled.

Each bucket was about 15 litres worth, and much to my surprise, I still have about a yard of dirt left.

I'll sell it on kijiji.  Or maybe my neighbour'll buy it off me.  She needs to do some yardwork too...

A New Growing Season

Today after work I planted the following vegetables in my new (community) garden plot:

* corn

* carrots

* zucchini

There's a little space left for tomatoes and potatoes too; will plant them next week.

Another First: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I made my first chocolate zucchini cake today.  It turned out fabulous.  I used this recipe from the internet.

On a slightly downcast note: today was cleanup day at the community garden.  All my plants are now uprooted, gone.  Mind you, many of them had already withered, after working so hard to produce fruits.  It seems like they spent all their energy to produce, and afterwards, they are too weak to continue.

Gardening has been a thoroughly positive experience.  I've applied for a 10 x 20 for next summer.

Success stories: zucchini, potatoes, green beans, carrots, and corn

So-so: peas

No-gos: onions, watermelon

Next year: go with the things that worked, and try tomatoes and red peppers also; try onions again: it seems to have been an off year

Salsa!

Another first: salsa!

20 pounds of tomatoes, 8 onions, 7 cloves of garlic, 5 big green peppers, 4 cans of hot jalapeño peppers, and a plethora of other juices and spices.

The result, as the last picture below shows: 26 jars of salsa!

It took 4 of us 3 hours to make the concoction.  Each of us gets 6 jars.  One jar goes to the instructor, and one for the coordinator of the community garden.

Bring on the chips...!

Food In Due Season

I've been a witness to Psalm 145:16 this summer:

"The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season."

June 8: small potato plant.

June 17: peas and onions.

June 25: plot N2.  On the right, onions and peas; to the left potatoes (and watermelons, although not visible); above the potatoes are green beans and zucchini, and to the right of the zucchini is corn.

July 10: zucchini and green beans at the bottom left; corn right above it; potatoes at the bottom right.

July 15: lush growth.

July 23: First zucchini harvested.

August 3: first green beans, peas, and onions harvested.  More zucchini.  Watermelon's looking good, about the size of a softball.

August 12: Corn's looking great.  Watermelon's now the size of a futsal.  Zucchini's a size 12 men's shoe.

August 15: Days are getting shorter.  Picture taken at 8:20pm today.
 

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable." - Psalm 145:3.

Big Zucchini

I had no idea that zucchini plants were so productive!  No wonder a common thing I hear people say here is "Only grow zuchini if you've got lots of friends."

Not only do zucchini plants produce in large quantities; they also produce in large sizes!  Saskatchewan earth is rich alright...

I look pretty happy and pleased with myself in the picture.

I'm going to advertise my growing skills by sending this picture to all my friends on the west coast.  Too bad my friends and family are so far away...

They're Up!

Three weeks after I planted my vegetable seeds, the plants have found their way up, the've broken ground!

Here's what they look like.  Potatoes:

Watermelons:

Peas:

Corn:

Here's what my plot, "N2", looks like.  Note my workplace in the background, immediately in front of the highrise in the centre of the picture:

The tomato and carrot seeds have not yet sprouted.  I hope they're coming up soon!