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right now

Aug 9, 2010

Harvest Monday & A Peek at BFF's Garden!

Harvest Monday, and I'm on time this week!

Quadrato d'Asti Rosso Peppers, Mini Bells, Cukes, Raspberries & Blackberries, Yard Long Beans, Fourth of July, Orange Wellington and UFO Heirloom Tomatoes. It almost appears as if the pot of Orange Wellingtons that blew over in the storm are only half dead, it's possible since I crammed 3 plants in there. There are some attached to green leaves that I left to ripen more, but these I picked off completely dead vines, luckily they ripened a bit from green, but still not the flaming bright orange they should be.


On to more exciting things:
Meet "L"! She is my go-to gal for everything imaginable and I don't know what I'd do without her, her hubby works with mine so we frequently find ourselves navigating deployments together. She used to live next door and we started gardening at about the same time, learning as we go. She had the BBQ the other evening we went to. Of course she found me snapping pictures of her garden and cries "oh NO!"... oh YES, I'm a blogger, right?! Ha! I'll probably pay for this later, I even pirated a picture of her off her FB account since I don't have too many (why is it us girls are always so absent in photos?!). I assured her my readers love ALL gardens, and like peeking at them the way some people go through medicine chests at cocktail parties! To tell the truth, hers is great, and whose garden really looks that good in mid-August in triple digit heat anyways?

"L" and her boys, same age as mine! Let's give a big "hell yeah" for the Midwestern girls, I'm from MN and she's from Iowa, it's always nice to have friends from the same "homeland" in the military. But does Iowa explain that damn Kohlrabi she likes? Blech!

Here's the garden!

Hers is a standard lineup of raised beds and she uses the fence to full advantage tying everything up, this works great except for watermelon as she found out when it smashed through the fence into her neighbors yard without her realizing it for awhile LOL!


Of course she was embarassed of the above pic but it's not the state of the vines that caught my eye, it was how that squash is so brilliant in spite of it all and her ingenious use of an old mattress spring as a trellis!

Love the use of a teepee to span 2 beds for extra space

Fun Fact: "L"'s favorite garden tool is a steak knife from the kitchen and you can usually find steak knives jabbed in the beds randomly, LOL


Her compost area is shockingly neat and tidy!

Here's the 4 boys playing together Saturday night, they have been together pretty much since they were all born, so they are actually more like cousins than friends!

OK, I'm hitting "publish"...I'm sure I'll get a phone call soon... No one is safe from blog fodder.... LOL

14 comments:

  1. That is so funny! I think "L" has a nice garden and composting system. Now, she just needs a blog, and will be set...

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  2. Other folks' gardens are perfectly acceptable to blog about (especially since I have little to show for my own garden at this point). :>)

    I discovered Kohlrabi in Wisconsin. It's been so long since then that I can't remember whether I like it or not. :>)

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  3. L's garden is lovely and sooo neat and tidy! whew! Impressive. Good friends are so wonderful!

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  4. I like the garden, and the knife sticking. :)

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  5. See, L? I told you they would have nice things to say!

    I can honestly say she is the only other person I know well here in VA that gardens, can you believe it? She manages a part time job as well as her full time mothering and all that goes with it, so I wouldn't expect a blog from her, but I am amazed and proud that she makes the time for gardening and getting healthy food on the table, it seems to be a rarity these days.

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  6. That's a great garden! She's good at thinking "outside the box". Great use of bed springs and cool teepee to save space!

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  7. Conny, how in the heck did Kolhrabi escape my northern upbringing? I'm kind of glad it did :)

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  8. Congrats for being on time Erin! L has a very nice garden. I agree with EG..now she needs a blog!

    The little ones look like they are having a great time in the pool!

    Hey, we are going to be in VA for a week on a family vacation. I think that we are leaving on the 21st. I really want to go to Norfolk while we are down your way. I haven't been there for almost 50 years!!

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  9. Mmm, Kolhrabi... maybe it is an Iowa thing- I don't grow it but we usually get a few from my parents.
    Tell L that as an Iowan, I'm proud of her garden- it is MUCH neater and weed free than mine, LOL!!
    I agree with the others- talk her into blogging and she can join the party!
    Judy

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  10. That garden of L's is NUTHIN' to be ashamed of! Looks pretty darn good to me. And A LOT of garden to boot for someone who is often solo parent to two kiddlies and works part time.

    Thanks for introducing us to L and her boys, Erin. It's good to know you have her friendship and support. (It's so hot and humid here tonight I wish I could jump in the pool with the boys!)

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  11. Nice harvest Erin! I'm still waiting for my bell peppers to turn red. And I wish I had grown long beans this year. Oh well...maybe next.

    I love to visit other people's gardens...always a great source for new ideas. That is one serious compost area. Mine is a joke in comparison.

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  12. Oh, she's not the friend you gave the artichoke plant to is she?

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  13. Robin, 50 years! I am sure a lot has changed!

    Judy, I will tell her, she thinks her garden is a mess, but I keep telling her that's what it's supposed to look like! If it's too neat then you aren't growing a vegetable garden, it's more like a flower bed :)

    Mama Pea, I don't know what I would do without her here, she is one of those people you could go 10 years without seeing and drop in to her house like no time had passed and be welcomed with open arms LOL

    Thomas, yes! She is the one I gave the artichoke to and it's HUGE, while mine died months ago! I forgot all about that I should have taken a photo of it, I think it's all the way at the far end of the garden.

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  14. That is so awesome that you have such a good friend near by that shares your interest in gardening and who has boys the same ages as yours. Fantastic! I like her mattress spring in the garden, what a great idea!

    BTW, I posted about your blog today in my post!
    http://nycgardening.blogspot.com/2010/08/sustainable-seed-company.html

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