Sad News

The blight has taken another plant. I had to get rid of the 'Sweeties' plant the other day when I noticed it wasn't producing new growth, and most of the tomatoes that were previously growing had stopped. The stems were turning brown and I decided it was time to let it go.

I sprayed the Fertilome again last Thursday. There were new blight spots but it wasn't spreading like before. It's been rainy, so I haven't been able to spray it again, but I plan to maybe do it this afternoon. The fungus has slowed down but it hasn't stopped. I think it's just a humid, rainy year and we planted our tomatoes too close together. Next year we will hopefully have better luck.

Our peach tree has exploded, on the other hand. It's giving us tender, sweet fruit that I can't get enough of. Some of them have been eaten by worms but not so bad they can't be salvaged. I'll just have to be careful and cut out the parts that are worm-eaten. Some of the ones that have fallen on the

ground had somewhat moldy pits, but I've only found a couple like that. I've read where that could be the result of too much rain, but who knows? If you do, please comment below.

I plan to can a bunch of peaches, freeze some and eat even more fresh. I may even make a peach pie or cobbler.

The tomatoes are still coming, I'm just not getting as many as I had hoped. I think that is because the plants are too close and they weren't allowed to spread out. Also, I read where pruning the plants of the suckers helps the plants focus on fruiting instead of producing leaves and stems. I didn't start doing that until later on. Also, the blight seems to be slowing down the process and I only get one good harvest from a plant before the blight takes over completely and I lose the plant.

I've lost two plants completely but two others that were affected are producing new growth. That's a good sign, I think, but I'm not sure either will give me any more tomatoes. One of those plants was the 'Black From Tula' and it had  some big, beautiful, red and blackish tomatoes but squirrels got to them. I went out to pick them and they had already been torn apart from those furry little robbers. I hope they enjoyed them! Next time I won't try to let big tomatoes like that vine-ripen.

Although we've had some problems, it's all a learning experience. I'm having a lot of fun figuring things out, researching and getting my hands dirty. I feel like I can only get better and that makes me excited for next year. I think I'm going to try to get some seeds going inside on my own this year. Ryan and I also have plans to expand our garden and spread it out a bunch. I think I'm going to move my herb garden and plant more of a variety. I love drying them and cooking with them because the flavors are much fresher that way.

I'm excited to get canning this year. Peaches will be first and I'm hoping I'll have enough tomatoes for canning. If not, I plan to get some from the farmers market or maybe friends who have too many. The families I've gotten produce from in the past had way too much rain this year and not enough luck. My mom's friend has an apple tree that will be ready in the upcoming weeks, so I'll have some apples, too. Can't wait!

Lots of Rain Makes Big, Leafy Spinach

I didn't think we would be harvesting our spinach quite yet, but, it was definitely time. We could have let it go for a few more days, but we can already tell there have been a few bugs in our garden and we decided the longer we left the spinach there, the more they could eat instead of us. I don't know much about growing spinach, but I do know that it tastes amazing! It's better than the stuff I usually buy at the supermarket, too.

I read in a couple places that you can cut your spinach, feed it, water it and it will grow back. Here's one article I used, http://goo.gl/8OXJo2. Only, they say, it won't be as sweet the second time. That's OK. I intend to try it out and see what happens. This is an experiment so, what the hay? I'll try it. So we cut the entire plant off, but I think we may have cut them a little close to the ground. When I went back and re-read some of the articles I was using, I noticed it said 2-3 inches above the soil... oops. This article, http://goo.gl/8cKYot, says to only cut the outer leaves so it will grow back. We cut them pretty close and we cut the entire thing. I guess we shall just wait and see what happens. I put a bunch of compost over the spots where we cut, (which was pretty much all of it), and watered it well. I also used this article from Mother Earth News, http://goo.gl/RNLySC.

Cut spinach plants

We cut some cilantro, too, but not all of it. Ryan and I decided we want to let it continue to grow until it bolts, so we can harvest the coriander seeds. I've never done any of that, either, but I'll make sure to document it all for next time, and for you, of course! Please feel free to comment below with any tips or helpful advice about harvesting coriander seeds. I'll take all the help I can get.

One of the holes form the squirrel

With the harvested cilantro, I made some pico de gallo and wow, it was fresh. Really, the entire garden smells like the cilantro, so I was already overpowered by it. But, when I cut into it, it was even stronger, I loved it! Our garden is organic and we haven't used any pesticides of any kind and I feel like that is contributing to the way our produce feels. I feels clean, like I wouldn't even need to rinse it if it weren't for the dirt all over the leaves. This is the truth. Part of what I'm enjoying the most about this gardening experience is knowing what has been put on my food and knowing I'm not eating chemicals. The cilantro almost felt squeaky to me, it's weird, but I like it. It's so shiny, too. I think I'm addicted to this experience.

I found some proof that we have had a squirrel rootin' around in our beds. It must have happened this afternoon because it wasn't like that this morning before work. The only way I know is the soil is nice and soft and I could see his little footprints all over the place where he dug. He didn't dig up any of my stuff, but he dug little holes all over the place, including in my basil pot, so I hope he didn't disturb any of the seeds I just planted. He also kind up dug up the entire row that wasn't planted, so I'm not sure what exactly he was doing, unless he was hiding something there. I sure hope not.

After reading and doing some Googling, I found some information about squirrels. I bet he got some of my basil seeds, because he dug right where I had just planted some. I know he didn't get all of them, but still, it's kind of annoying. I couldn't really find any wonderful solutions, except maybe using my dog to keep them away. There are some sprays that could be made with peppermint or capsaicin, but you have to make sure you don't get it on what you intend to eat. I may ask around and see what has worked for people in my area before I decide what to do.