It feels like late summer outside today but it's too soon for that. This morning I saw a plum with one bite out of it on the front grass so I know we're getting close. Squirrels never wait for anything to get ripe, do they? I just picked a peach, a pear, and a plum from the back yard to ripen on the counter. Because I couldn't wait either.
The grapes need a lot more time, I love watching them turn from green to blueish purple. These are St. Theresa, a seedless variety that is unbelievably prolific with no special treatment at all. Nothing around here is babied, once in the ground.
In the dye garden, the indigo needs more time, too -- it's only about 18-24" tall and should grow to 3-6'. Woad has been easy to grow and seems to be a plant that instills confidence in the gardener -- like radishes and marigolds. The blue plate is a water source for the bees who live three feet away. There are also a few purple carrots for dyeing (like Nat) but the rabbits have left me so few it wasn't worth taking a photo. This is our first year ever with rabbits and it's been interesting. It may sound heartless but I sort of hope our depleted fox population has a resurgence soon.
I didn't plant the safflower, it's from birdseed, but there may be just enough blossoms for a small dye bundle if I wait a little longer.
Yummy and colourful produce yeahhhh
ReplyDeleteTell me, those lovely circles of stones around the plants, do they deter snails or anything?
They look so great anyway, even if they dont do anything constructive lol
oh it all looks so good and sweet. i have purple carrots in the ground (not many). how do you know when they are ready to pick?
ReplyDeleteLyn, thanks -- the stones were just a way of helping the indigo plants when they went in the ground -- I had the sense of trying to keep them warm because it was cold outside then. I guess I babied them a little!
ReplyDeleteDeanna, you'll see the shoulder of the root peeking through when they start to mature. I've never grown purples before but am wondering if they are left to get really big, will they still have a good amount of color or is that best when they are immature to mature? I can't wait to see yours when you harvest them, you'll have to take the role of teacher for the rest of us purple carrot growers!
ReplyDeletei don't have very many but don't see the shoulders yet. i will keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteyou take the most beautiful photos...
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you, Deb. :)
ReplyDeleteYour yard is so inviting and serene. With regular carrots, if you leave them in the ground, they just continue to grow. There comes a time when they aren't as sweet and are a little tough. I don't have that problem here since we eat them so quickly, but my Gram had a truck garden and she would have huge carrots in the fall/winter. You can sow another crop of carrots now. This is usually a more prolific crop if your area has hot summers. It is hot enough to germinate, and the days will (hopefullY) become cooler as they grow. I bow to your moon wisdom as to when would be the best time to plant. My spring crop was washed out due to all the rain, so I am hoping to get some in the ground now.Nat had a tut on dyeing with the carrots if I remember correctly. Our squirrels don't wait either. I noticed the walnuts on the ground this morning and tooth marks on the husks. Silly guys! I always leave the ones at the tippy top for them. Have a beautiful time in the garden!
ReplyDeleteI noticed purple carrots at my farmer's markets yesterday, I was tempted, but didn't get any as my basket was full and my purse empty! How will you dye with them Peggy, I'll be sure to get some next week and have a play.
ReplyDelete..and for Jeannie whose carrots were washed away, a local gardening tv show had a little story on growing carrots and radishes...fine seeded veg...in guttering, propped up on some bricks. I thought I'd give it a try, I never seem to have success with carrots, they either wash away as well, or the ants take the seed, or I don't have the soil fine enough and they grow all distorted.
I love that we're all talking gardens and growing, and you're all summery and I'm having winter!
Jeannie, thanks for reminding me about Nat and purple carrots! She's who I learned about them from. I just put a link up there to one of her dye posts.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try reseeding like you advise -- I need to get some chicken wire to put over the bed to keep out the rabbits. I was so happy and excited to see those cute little rabbits at first, if you can believe that.
Hi Nanette, yes I love the garden talk, too! I'm going to give the purple carrots another whirl, that technique you saw could be a way to deal with the rabbits, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteNat is the one who started dyeing with purple carrots in the first place and I just put her link in the post. She had several posts with gorgeous outcomes. This will be my first time so I can't give any advice.
Your fruit is beautiful! Especially lovley with a bit'o branch :)
ReplyDeleteI've now redyed that tablecloth and when to wash out the dust and smell and ...ooops there went all the dye too!!! I don't think I'm too good at this dying thing! But I sure like seeing everyone elses results!
I keep planting safflower and the slugs keep eating it. Sigh. I'm going to be planting all my "winter" crops over the next couple weeks. Red cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Swiss chard, carrots... And as a crazy experiment, more cukes just to see if they will grow fast enough to ripen. Don't think I"m going to get grapes this year, they are still so small. :(
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy -- hey, don't give up on that tablecloth. Is it cotton and did you mordant it? Sometimes it's good to let it age for a few months before washing, too. Hard to wait, I know. Cotton, I'm learning, is just harder to dye, period. The learning curve is gently sloped, thank goodness. ;-)
ReplyDeleteDeb, slugs and rabbits and the best-laid plans! I love knowing all the crops you're planting and I think it's good to give new things a try even if the odds are against them. Keep us posted.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI did plant safflower and nothing came up, also I planted blue carrots to use for dyeing, they came up but not much happening in the way of a actual carrot. We have such a drought here even with watering it's a bad year.