We are now up to 3.3 inches of rain after that last few minutes of hard rain. Would have been nice to spread the rain over a couple of weeks….but I’m not going to complain!
Monthly Archives: May 2013
Friday PhotoEssay
How about all that rain this week? I’ll be honest that excessive rain comes with its own problems in the garden, but I can’t complain too much yet. If we’re getting 3 inches of rain a week all summer…well…there are limits. That should help with the Cheney Reservoir though. We could only be so lucky in that case. We ended up with 3.3 inches yesterday, and we really saw the benefits of our drainage system, as we had no standing water in the garden at all.
Here’s the whole garden today. The main visible difference is the addition of the straw mulch, although there are many more changes when you get closer!
The sugar snap peas are continuing to produce just enough for a little snack when you walk through the garden. I guess that’s the point of the Snack Garden, right? Read the rest of this entry
Easy Herb Bread
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 cup sliced black olives
1 tablespoon cornmeal
Roll out pizza dough as if making a pizza. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with minced garlic. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with herbs. Sprinkle with black olives. Roll up jelly-roll fashion. Place on greased cookie sheet which as been sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with cornmeal. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Slice and serve hot. Makes 1 loaf.
Rain…
The rain gauge says 2.5 inches…and counting!
Checking Up on the Garlic Trial
I know I’ve been promising this update on the garlic for over a week now, and some of this information is already a little bit out of date. Still, there are some interesting differences that we’re seeing!
This is the Purple Glazer, a Glazed Purple Stripe hardneck variety. It was just starting to bulb up 10 days ago, and there was no sign of scapes or of much die back on the leaves. In the picture it looks like maybe one leaf was starting to die.
Next is Maiskij, a Turban semi-hardneck garlic. Supposedly the name means “May,” which might explain it’s early character. The bulb is a good size and has a very attractive purple color on the developing bulb. It had about 3 leaves yellowed when this picture was taken, and they are getting very close to 5 leaves that have died back now. (5 dead leaves is the trigger for harvesting and beginning the drying/curing process.) It was also just starting to put up scapes (it is finished with scapes now). Turbans sometimes don’t produce scapes, so I was a little surprised to see them.
This is Siberian, a Marbled Purple Stripe hardneck variety. As you might guess from the name, this one prefers colder climates. It had not bulbed up very much and most of the leaves are still looking very green. The stalks are definitely bright green today, and there have been a few scapes on them just this week.
The Demo Garden Blog 