Overhaul

As part of our transition to non-heirlooms, we've ripped out a bunch of our sickly squashes, radishes, and other crops. We've now got a bunch of empty spaces for the seedlings we've recently started.

Before we do add the new seedlings, we're going to mix in some ashes, rabbit and chicken manure, and compost. After remulching and mixing in some hay to prevent soil compaction, we'll go ahead and put in our fall plants.

Flax

A few months ago we started some flax plants which we've finally picked. I'm planning on turning them into fiber to spin or weave through a process called retting. By soaking them in water, the fibers eventually break down enough to separate them into individual fiber.

I'd like to figure out if there's a way to do this with bamboo, one of my favorite fibers to knit with.

Re-treating powdery mildew

So after the baking soda treatment burned our squashes afflicted with powder mildew, we researched some alternatives. We decided to try a 20% mixture of milk and water.

There wasn't an immediate effect like with the baking soda, but some of the treated plants are looking better. We're going to have to retreat pretty frequently, but so far, it looks good.

Leaping flames

A couple months back, Mr. Dennis provided us with the materials to build a small fire pit. The weather has finally been cool enough to start lighting some fires, which we've really been enjoying. There's all kinds of downed pine and oak around here, and plenty of palmettos to get them started.

Taylor gets such a kick out of playing with fire, and I love just relaxing next to a blazing fire. It's a wonderful way to relax after a long day.

Second Nature: A Gardener's Education

I'll admit it. I am a sucker for Michael Pollan. I started by reading The Botany of Desire, and quickly read through The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. This past weekend I just finished reading Second Nature: A Gardener's Education.

It was a very entertaining and diverse read, and quite beautifully written. He focused a lot on flowers, which isn't a huge interest of mine, but he did include lots of information that pertained to both. One thing I particularly liked was how broadly he used the word garden. In one chapter, called The Idea of a Garden, he talked about a pine forest near his home that suffered from a devastating tornado. Local citizens wanted to just leave it be, and let it regrow however it happened to. Pollan went and talked to local professors and ecologists about primary succession (the way that ecosystems regrow after a disturbance), and they stated that the forest would most likely be overtaken by invasive species. He left us with this quote, "Often, in this day and age, a landscape that bears no mark of human intervention will require some amount of human intervention."

Leggy Seedlings

Taylor and I just got back from Massachusetts, and forgot to put our seedling trays in a sunny spot before we left. We came back to these very tall, stringy seedlings.

I think we're probably going to scrap these cabbage seedlings, and try again.

Pole beans!

All of our limas, black eye peas, and soy beans have gone down the drain, but our pole beans are still holding out. We're seeing a few mature beans on the vines, and plenty of flowers and baby beans too.

These are a climbing variety, and I think next season we'll try a burgundy bush.