Friday, September 30, 2022

September's Garden (2022)

The war rages on. Word has spread far and wide that my garden is a free-for-the-taking candy store and every pestilence imaginable has arrived to wreak havoc. There have been casualties on both sides, too many for me to recall. It is not waning but has accelerated. This week the enemy brought out the big guns - a rabies-carrying, cricket-stealing, nighttime bandit, skunk digging machine.


My brother saw the picture and claimed it is a cute, adorable kitten. (He is a cat person.) I vehemently disagreed since I can smell the difference from the porch.  (I confess to accidentally trapping the neighbor's cat who now hates me and refuses to catch any of my mice - the cat not the neighbor). I told my brother if he would agree to get a rabies shot I could ship it to him. He hasn't responded. 

Such an adorable face.

The good news is that most of the garden has survived the onslaught of destruction due to my daily replanting of the damaged spots so the final fall ingathering is in full swing.  All must be completed before the first frost which is scheduled to appear around October 15th. Summer vegetables remaining are Lima beans, Dixie Butterpeas, green beans, peppers, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, banana melons, wax melon, bitter melons, eggplants, okra, winter squash, one or two tomatoes, and various herbs. 

First, the Lima beans will be picked, shelled, and frozen for winter meals. Never have I grown Lima beans this prolifically.  They have always been in the shady part of the garden but since they now receive full sunshine and horse manure, they have covered over the dead Orange Icicle tomato plants and the pathway arch.  The sweet potatoes beneath have joined the beans on the support fence.



The second row of Lima beans gets less sunshine and so has been easier to contain.  Due to constant trimming, it is still possible to bend down and walk through the arch.


The enormous growth has shocked me because each side of every arch has only about three plants.  


This past spring the seed companies were sold out of Lima Beans and there were only about twenty saved in my collection.  Everything was planted in hopes something, anything would sprout. Underneath the leaves, they are covered in pods. I am overjoyed.


Next, the Dixie Speckled Butterpeas will be harvested.  When my fingers get sore from so much shelling, I fill up large bowls full of bean pods and sit them in every chair.  No one (company included) is allowed to sit down unless they shell beans.  Anyone removing a bowl to only rest receives glaring looks from me as I slave away over my large bucketful of bean pods.


Not everything has been a success.  For two years now, the Fordhook Lima beans have not matured. Last year's failure was attributed to being planted late but this year they went out earlier.  Either way, they don't seem to be able to produce beans before frost. Their pods are still flat. They will be ripped up and thrown in the compost pile for the horses to make off with over the fence.


Peppers are very frost sensitive and are next on the list. Their branches have begun breaking because they are laden with much fruit.  Depending on the variety, some will be pickled, others frozen, or dehydrated for seasonings. 


Winter squash will not store through the winter if they freeze.  They need to be washed and set on the front porch to dry where they can be whisked into the house at the first sign of a cold snap. I peeked under the leaves and was disappointed because there doesn't appear to be many. This chore will be done as the frost clouds are rolling in to give anything left as much time as possible to fully mature.


Sweet potato vines turn black after the first cold night but the potatoes underground can survive a few days. Being under the massive Lima Bean fence will make this chore challenging. However, it was wasted space below the tomatoes and so became an extra row available for planting.  First, the beans must be picked, the vines pulled away, the strings that attached the tomato vines to the fence snipped, and those vines removed.  The arch over the walkway must be unwired, the fence unhooked from the posts, and pulled out. Everything must be rolled up and stored behind the shed area which needs to be sorted and weeded. The sweet potato vines will be removed so digging can start. Lastly, the potatoes will be washed and cured on the front porch before being stored in boxes for the winter.


The various green beans will continue to produce until a hard frost kills them.  As the days shorten and the sunlight lessens, they slow down. They are stored in the refrigerator until there is enough for a canning session.


Maxibel Green Beans have been a huge surprise.  They were planted in the spring, became covered with small pods, then stopped when the blisteringly hot summer weather arrived. They never recovered and were ripped up. 


About six weeks ago I threw the seeds in the ground to keep from dumping them in the compost.  They grew rapidly and are covered in beans! 


Nine okra plants managed to survive my many mistakes and made it to the finish line. It was enough but more would have been better. They are so tall I have to bend them over to reach the highest pods. The last couple of cool nights have slowed them down so they will stop producing soon. Until then, the pods are being battered and frozen or dehydrated for soups.  A few have been pickled. 


The wax melon has finally grown a melon. It is supposed to be as big as a watermelon, not the size of a cucumber. This is not living up to the seed catalog hype. However, it has a few more weeks to go so maybe it will make it. Maybe?


Whenever an empty spot becomes available, a seed has been dropped in.  This cucumber just started producing a few days ago but it is welcomed since the others are almost finished.


A Banana Melon seed was tossed in the empty spot left open after the Purple Russian tomatoes died.  It has grown up the fence so the melons must be supported with a net.  Whether it will ripen before cold weather is unknown but it was worth risking a seed for the chance of a vine-ripened melon out of season.


The odd assorted bits are gathered and canned into either leftover surprise soup, jars of mixed vegetables, or chopped and put into fresh salads.  Nothing is wasted.


Work on the winter garden is progressing.  I'm holding off planting seedlings until the war is won. In the spring it is easy to recover if something is destroyed but there is no reseeding in the snow. It took eight plantings of seeds purchased from three different companies to get this row of beets to survive. It feels like winter will arrive early this year and I am trying to get ready.  


15 comments:

  1. I saw many similarities to our garden. Multiple plantings of beets for one. I finally gave up planting them in the garden, and started some in pots, which are now in the ground. Last look, it appeared one was chewed off, but if most make it, I'll be happy. We've had pepper branches breaking too. I've done a couple more rounds of tying up, but you can't do much when it's taller than the stake. I had good luck in the past with cutting the okra tops back, once they got to my maximum reach. They seemed to produce well despite it. We often catch a scent of skunk in the mornings here, which drives the dogs crazy, but I'm not sure if one has ever made it into the garden. Hopefully, the fence keeps them out, though the deer and rabbits have free reign. Let's hope '23 is an easier year for gardeners!

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    1. Thanks for the comment that you have had difficulties getting beets to grow. I thought it was me. First I lost them to rabbits but the short fence stopped them. Then it was pill bugs, spraying the soil with mineral oil stopped them. Then it was summer and I think the soil was too hot for the seeds. I thought about starting them in cups but I wanted a huge amount and that seemed to be lots of work; however, since when is gardening not a lot of work!

      Next year, I refuse to be fooled by the tiny little pepper plant seedlings. They will be planted up against a support fence because they will get big. The stakes I am using aren't strong enough to hold their weight.

      You would know if the skunk made it into the garden because they dig holes. Trust me. You can't miss them.

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  2. Your garden looks wonderful! I understand how the sweet faced little skunk found it irresistible! Maybe an early Christmas present for your brother? Do you grow anything over the Winter? I am in Chattanooga, and have dinosaur kale in the garden that is finally recovering from the bugs eating it in the summer. It will continue during the Winter, but I am wondering if there is anything else I can grow this Winter.

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    1. Oh Susan, there are over 250 vegetables that will over-winter in our area. Look above on this page and click on "Winter Garden". You can read about my past gardens all the way back to the beginning. I will be more than glad to help you get started.

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  3. Wow, you've had quite the adventures! And those lima beans...wow!

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    1. I had no idea they would grow that much since they never have before. I thought the vines would get so long and then stop but they haven't plus they keep branching out. When one seed catalog got some new varieties back in stock this summer, I ordered more for my next garden not expecting this much success. Next year I am thinking about putting one seed in a pot at the bottom of the steps of the back deck to see just how long it would grow. Wonder if it would cover the house top?

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  4. The skunk does look like it could be a cute and fuzzy pet, but that's just looking at it from a picture. Banishing it from the garden must have "stunk." :) Keep fighting the good fight.
    Fordhook Lima Beans are slackers. Rip 'em up! On the other hand, hooray for prolific Lima Beans!
    ...I should avoid visiting you for a few weeks until all the beans are shelled. Go ahead, glare at me. ;D

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    1. We will give you the gory skunk details when we see you in person. It was horrible. Dad refused to get it out of the trap. Said he had had enough and would never set another trap again. I replied without a trap we couldn't have a garden - too many animals want it. I couldn't bare it if my (grown-up) babies went hungry. They must have fresh vegetables when they come home to visit. I would do anything for them since I love them so much so I handled the skunk body pieces (shot gun splattered it and the scent gooed out everywhere). Sigh. If only they loved me enough to help shell Lima beans.
      Miss you,
      Your loving Mother
      PS: If shelling Lima beans is too difficult, you can help chop the jalapeno peppers. I have rubber gloves, eye goggles and a respirator you can wear.

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  5. Gosh you are having a challenging year in the garden! What happened to the skunk? Your garden still looks so productive!

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    1. I didn't say because it is quite horrible. They can't be released alive because they kill chickens and also eat their eggs. We are surrounded by farms that have livestock. They also might carry the rabies virus which is deadly to dogs, cats, humans and other animals. If you catch rabies, it causes a horrible death. People who get it usually die. We couldn't get close to the skunk for fear of being sprayed so Bill shot it from a distance and of course, it splattered. That contaminated the soil and the vegetables in that corner. Scooter is not being allowed near that spot for a while since I can still smell the scent even though I have hosed the hole area down three times. I wore rubber gloves, opened the trap and dumped it into a plastic trash bag. It smelled so bad my eyes watered, I gagged and fought back throwing up. Stuff will be disposed of in a big fire. Bill opened the front door of the house for me so I could get inside without touching anything to shower, wash my clothes and afterwards disinfect the bathroom.

      Now you understand why I didn't want to share the nasty details. Skunks are extremely dangerous and we can't allow them to destroy our garden or bite Scooter. He has been vaccinated against rabies but I don't want to take a chance since there is no cure for dogs.

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  6. Your garden is very productive! Gardening seems very adventurous. What a story! 

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    1. Margi, I don't make these stories up! I yearn for a calm, quite and dull life. Trouble seems to always fall in my lap.

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  7. You made me chuckle with the conversation about the skunk photo between your brother and you! Your garden looks so wonderful. So much hard work shows through all of the bounty!

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  8. What's the difference between 'lima beans' and 'Fordhook lima beans?' I was forced to eat these as a kid, and never liked them that much. (Too mushy inside the covering of the bean for my taste.) So hooray, you got a ton of these... I guess.

    Why not just shoot the skunk? That's what my dad always did. Skunks were terrible on farms; they not only messed up the garden, but would eat eggs and kill the chickens. (I know -- bad girl. You don't have chickens, anyways.) After what you went through, I'm guessing you wanted to, anyways.

    As always, enjoying your monthly reports on the garden. It makes up for my pathetic excuse of one...although it did much better, after the grasshoppers moved on. (Still going, but we're due for a kiling frost any night now.)

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    1. Lima beans have different varieties. The big vining ones, which I love are Calico (red and white), the next smaller ones are Black Star (black) and Jackson Wonder (all different colors). The Fordhook (lime green) are a bush variety and I like their flavor best of all but am going to forget growing them. I also grow Dixie Speckled Butterpeas which are a round speckled bush lima variety. They all taste similar but have slightly different flavors, color or texture. The mushy inside squirting out as I chew is what I like! Glad you don't like them - leaves more for me.

      Bill did shoot the skunk. I tried not to mention it in the post because non-country people don't always understand how horrible they can be. We set the trap because we didn't know what was destroying the garden. It would dig under the fence and do lots of damage before getting close enough to set off the motion detector alarm. We kept moving the alarm around but it was outsmarting us. Getting out of bed night after night at 3:00 am to go outside in the freezing cold with a loaded shotgun to hunt around in the dark is not something we can do fast. It would quickly runaway before Bill could get close. The trap did the trick. The skunk wasn't the last sorry to say. We are still having trouble with other critters. If you want to read the gory details, check my reply above to Down By The Sea. You will see how much damage they have done in the next post. My winter garden will be much smaller than last year's.

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