On Thursday morning I didn’t get up until 5:45AM. I checked mail and then headed out to the gardens around 7AM. I got to work on the remaining tomatoes, getting them pruned up off the ground and removing any signs of late blight.
Then I deadheaded the basil. There was basil interplanted with the tomatoes and the very last thing planted was a row in front of the gate. By the time they were planted, they were pretty sad looking. About half died and I had a few spares in the cold frame that had done better, so I replanted some in the row. The row has done a good bit better but will never be as good as those in the tomatoes.
I thought to harvest what was left of the parsley. I had forgotten to ask my helper friend for more hot sauce. But I was really worn out from the humidity and had trouble breathing.
A close up of the bee and its bright red pollen sacks
I walked around and got my photos and got my notes then cleaned up and went inside. I had to rest for an hour or so then went out and harvested the squash and cukes.
The summer squash has tapered off a little, still getting 2 from the zucchini, and got about a dozen cukes. The 2nd summer squash plant on the east side only had 2 small ones that I left. But there are a LOT of flowers on it.
The cukes are looking particularly bad now and even though they have lots of small ones, I don’t know if they will get big enough soon enough to manage the 40 I need for a batch of bread and butter pickles.
The humidity and heat really did me in on this second foray to the garden. I sat down for a while and then got up and got a shower. I made some lunch and just felt really horrible.
The white pumpkin had escaped the fence and grown a too big pumpkin for me to put it back in the garden. Since then it’s grown 2 more.
My #4 helper arrived at 1:30PM and took the squash to the Survival Center. Then she watered the house plants and gave the bathroom a thorough cleaning. I was just in my chair wishing I could take a nap…
I had called the optician that takes MassHealth and learned that even with a doctor’s letter I can no longer get progressive lens for my glasses. And even if I could get the lens, they will not allow me to use my current frames, only the ones available through the program. Sigh… New progressive lens are about $230 through this provider. But he’s farther to the north, so I need to contact my doctor to see how much they charge for the lens.
It looks like I will be getting the cider press out this year, probably in September to make cider for making vinegar. It’s been quite a while since I made vinegar and I’ve been out most of this year.
The feverfew I left in the Anne raspberry is about 4½’ high and nearly as wide. It’s certainly produced even if the raspberry hasn’t. We must get the raspberry whipped into shape this fall. It wasn’t done last year and has been producing not much, which the chipmunks mostly get.
My #4 helper left around 5:45PM and I made supper, closed the house against the coming rain and was in bed by 8PM.
On Friday I am hoping I will feel better as it’s to be cooler. I want to get a flowerbed cleaned out. My #3 helper will be here and I hope to harvest beets or parsley, depending on how I feel.
