The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

August lunch

August lunch

August is probably the tastiest time of the year on our farm.  This week, we've enjoyed the first lettuce and red peppers, and the fall round of red raspberries are starting to be nearly as copious as the blueberries we've been enjoying for weeks.  Three cups of berries per day make perfect desserts.

Celeste figWe're still eating tomatoes and cucumbers and watermelons (although they're starting to decline), and have plenty of summer squash, green beans, and Swiss chard that will continue to go the distance.  We're nearly at the end of our spring cabbage and carrots (which currently live in the crisper drawer of the fridge), but fall crops are all growing like gangbusters and promise to replace the spring round soon.  In fact, I saw the first pea flower Monday!

What am I watching with an eagle eye?  Our fig bushes!  Last year, the first fig ripened up at the very beginning of September, and I'm looking forward to tasting the first few Celeste figs (along with bowlsful of Chicago Hardy) later this year.

What are you enjoying and looking forward to seeing soon in your own garden?



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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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What variety blueberry is that? Is it consider a mid or late season? Any hardy kiwis this year?
Comment by Brian Wed Aug 27 09:56:38 2014
Canning tomatoes... and tomatoes... and more tomatoes! So far about 80 lbs of tomatoes (working on them right now). Cantaloupes unfortunately had all of the leaves suddenly die. Hoping that I can still get a few more out of the patch. Don't have a clue as to why they died. And cornworms (?) are eating up my sweet peppers! (Grrrrrr...) Peas are coming in but the fall lettuce and radishes have given up the ghost. Sigh...
Comment by Nayan Wed Aug 27 14:29:25 2014

Brian --- We're eating from several blueberry varieties right now: Southern Highbush, Delite, and Climax (with some from Briteblue earlier in the season and a few from our northern highbush Atlantic and Herbert yet earlier than that). I'd have to google to see which season each is supposed to be, but they're supposed to span the seasons overall. You might also enjoy last year's blueberry variety post for more info.

Unfortunately, no hardy kiwis this year after all. :-/ The few fruits that set this spring dropped, which I'm hoping is just the way many young woody plants drop their first year's try. Next year will tell...or maybe our male will bloom then and the issue will be irrelevant.

Comment by anna Wed Aug 27 17:55:52 2014





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