We are pulling ripe plants and fruits as they appear mature. Sometimes, we are a little too early, but, that happens when we can't see what's inside.
First of all it is strawberry runner time. Strawberries will send out runners across the ground and "replant" themselves. However, because we have ours in pots, we can bring bags of dirt up to the runner to simulate the event. This is how we do it. We do not cut the runner until the roots take hold in the dirt. Then we need to keep the soil really wet to ensure that the new little plant survives. This is an easy peasy way to get new strawberry plants for next spring.
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| Strawberry runner in fresh dirt for root growth. |
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| Let the new growth peek above the soil keeping it wet. |
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| A new plant on its own |
I harvested 1/2 pound of green beans from our first plant. It is on the downhill side of producing. However, of the other two bean plants that I replanted, one has survived and is now thriving, so we may have more beans later in the fall! This is the first harvest of the carrots. There will be another in about two weeks to finish off that planting. The fall harvest will likely be in early October. Tomatoes continue to ripen and the few apples that we have this year are ready. The other harvest is the corn. Can you tell what we will be having for dinner tonight?
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| Today's harvest from green bean bush |
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| One-Half of the Carrots planted |
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| Tomatoes and part of a ripe apple |
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| CORN! |
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| Sweet 100s |
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| More the sweet 100s |
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As you can see, we do NOT plant a lot of anything that we grow. We do not see any reason to over plant because we hate to be wasteful plus it takes up precious space. Some things will be dried for use later in the year, like herbs. Oregano that I totally cut back last month and thinned out is coming back in force, so we will get a third harvest this fall. Also, it is time to cut the dill flowers for drying. I keep topping the basil so that we continue to have a fresh supply all summer. I LOVE a little fresh basil on my hamburgers. I have dried some basil for cooking this winter. This year I used a clean fry pan screen set on top of a colander. In the photo below, I outlined some of the dried leaves that will be thrown out because those leaves that turn a funky color tend to be bitter.
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| Oregano Fall Reboot |
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| Dill Flowers & Basil |
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| Drying Basil |
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