Sukkah (A Little Late)

This year's sukkah certainly belongs on the blog. I took pictures when I put it up, but haven't gotten around to posting until now. Better late than never (at least it is before next year's sukkah.

I started with the gourds that I managed to grow by simply leaving last year's gourds around the tree in the back. Sure enough, I got a plant, and quite a number of gourds. (Described here.)

The really cool thing is that it is possible to put these up without cutting them. I left a couple of vines with the gourds on them, and just draped them over the sukkah's roofing. Worked great.

I also put the leftover sunflowers to good use. Even though the birds ate all the seeds, the heads were still impressive, and they are on long and stiff stems. So I draped them over the roof and pushed the sunflowers through the schach.

Here's the sukkah's entrance:

with a sunflower and some gourds by way of greeting. And here's a view inside:

There's one of the sunflowers, and some gourds in the background behind the light.

A view with decorations:

These were provided by our neighbor's preschoolers and toddler. No question but that they make the sukkah. Every sukkah needs decorations made by kids. Really, I need to rent out children to decorate once we become empty nesters next year.

Been Awhile

Between fall holidays, the fact that the garden is winding down, and my desire to include pictures, I've been neglecting the blog. Even though I've got a few interesting things.

First, the garden in fall:


I cut down the sunflowers (and more on their fate in another post). So everything looks short. The tomato plants may look droopy, but they are still producing a few tomatoes. And I'm still losing some of them to fungus. Next year I'll spray! There is still some basil, and lots of parsley. I don't have time to freeze it all (or make and freeze another batch of pesto). I will regret this during the winter.

From another point of view:


I'm not sure there is a "before picture" from this angle earlier in the blog. But there used to be butterfly bushes next to the fence on the right-center. I started to prune them for the sukkah---they need to be heavily pruned---and ended up removing them. Which I have been meaning to do. My plan is to fill in the space with red currants which sound really interesting, easy to grow, would fit in the space...and are not attractive to birds! Anyway, that's the plan.

Meanwhile, I've already started next year's garden! At least one part of it. It was time to plant the garlic, and I've now dedicated a row to it (21 cloves, to be precise). And I used fertilizer. Believe it or not, I've never bothered to fertilize when I planted the garlic. I got smaller than usual bulbs this year, which got me thinking, however. Which is usually pretty dangerous.

Slowing Down

As the weather gets cooler, production slows. But doesn't stop. We're still getting some tomatoes (although about half have black spots that spread and make the fruit inedible.) There's still lots of basil. I used over six cups two weeks ago for a couple of recipes, and it wasn't like I was lacking it today. I'm drying it in the oven--why buy?

I got a zucchini this weekend as well. The plants are hanging on, although the fruit doesn't always grow very big. Still getting raspberries, although not as many as a couple of weeks ago. Other things are beginning to go brown.

My next outdoor project is building a sukkah, and the garden will provide some interesting schach this year. Like the sunflower plants, and maybe the ornamental squash, which got huge---but is now dying. It's only after I take the sukkah down that I will finally (probably in late October) pull up the remaining annuals and finish getting ready for the winter.

It's Still Summer. Isn't It? Isn't It?

I guess it really is fall. The weather has turned colder, still warm but not really warm enough for most of the plants in the garden. I notice that the tomatoes don't turn ripe as quickly, and the beans don't seem to have produced anything in over a week. I am still getting raspberries (not quite as many, but enough). However, I can see the end of the year coming.

The birds ate all the sunflower seeds. The empty heads hang down from the plants, some of which are 6-7 feet high. I will cut these down when it is time to build our sukkah.

I pulled up the cucumber plants, which were mostly dead. So much for "County Fair." Next year I may try planting at different times, so that some of the plants will go in after the beetles are active.

It was a great year for basil. I've made pesto a couple of times, a pesto-infused chicken dish, and I dried some for the winter. There's still plenty more. Also a lot of sage.

I'm still getting tomatoes, however. Also some interesting squash.


These are all from one plant. I left the ornamental squash we got from the CSA last year near a maple tree, and now I have a huge squash plant producing these things. So I guess our Sukkah theme will be squash! Too bad I can't figure out how to eat them.

Now I have to plan the endgame. Actually, what I have to plan is planting the garlic. Which is really staring to think about next year!

The Perfect Harvest

The raspberries are coming in very nicely, indeed. I seem to get 10 to 12 ounces every few days. I am ignoring the fact that some of the plants are growing in places they shouldn't because I like getting the raspberries so much.

Of course, as I pick raspberries, a few ripe ones fall off into the pachysandra below. I hate this. I hate losing any of the produce I've put so much time and effort into growing. Until this year I was jealous of every tomato (I got enough this year so I don't have to feel that way anymore). Each zucchini and cucumber is like a prized possession. And having something happen to anything I grew just when it is ready to harvest seems almost cruel to me.

It turns out that we just read about this in shul. Last week's Torah reading includes one of the admonitions that we should leave something in the field for others (Deuteronomy 24:19-21). I always found this an interesting idea, since it goes so much against the grain of modern business. The lesson (to business executives, not gardeners) seems very clear---don't try to extract every bit of profit or efficiency out of an enterprise.

Maybe it even makes sense from a gardening point of view. It is at least a reminder that, for all the hard work I put into the garden (or not, as is the case with raspberries), it took more than me to reach the stage where I can pick beautiful black zucchini or ripe tomatoes. Not begrudging the berries that fall before I can pick them is, perhaps, a way to acknowledge that I am a partner with God in this hobby.

Let me just note for the record that I am not a partner with rabbits, and I see nothing in halacha that requires me to share with them.

(More on the laws of Peah here.)

Adventures in Food Processing

It looked like a lot of tomatoes...so I tried canning them. I should have taken before and after picture, as the large amount made 3 pints. And I think it actually should have made less. I notice that the bottom inch of each pint jar is all water, which I assume means that I should have crammed in more tomatoes into each jar. Oh well. At least the jars sealed properly and look like they will keep well.

When The Gardener is Away, the Garden Grows

Another trip, and, although I was able to leave a Deputy for a few days, the garden managed without my care for about a week. Surprisingly, the plants don't really need me at this point. They produced cucumbers (which all got too big, very sad), zucchini, and lots and lots of tomatoes. In fact, I seem to have met my tomato goal. I have so many that I didn't really worry about the dozen or so that had started rotting by the time I got back. I just chucked them in the compost. There are plenty more right now.

And while we were away, the raspberries came in with a bang. Here's the result, along with a little watermelon:


That's 11 ounces of raspberries, which is kind of a record. There are plenty more. Did I mention I like raspberries? Plus they are easy to grow, and the birds don't seem interested in them.

The watermelon is small (was small, I should say, as it was enjoyed by me and my deputy). I have another like it and one more larger one. Why do I get so few watermelons?

The sunflowers have also come out, and, in some cases, already gone to seed. I didn't really get the spectacular set of sunflowers I wanted, maybe because of the type. Also, a couple have toppled over. It looks like the birds have discovered them, so I'm not sure whether I will get any seeds. Two years ago the birds didn't touch the sunflowers. What changed?

I've planted beans where I had the garlic, as much for the beneficial impact on the soil as for the beans themselves---although we've been enjoying them. I think I will also try fall peas. Haven't had a lot of luck with fall crops in the past, but maybe this year will be better.