Sunday, October 16, 2011

Sunshine...what more could a girl ask for

Look at that sunflower against the blue sky
I liked the sunflower picture so much, I thought I'd try it in the header. What do you think?
I have not seen a cloud in the sky today. It is cool. 10-13 degrees or so. I couldn't get outside fast enough. I put on my rubber boots and red plaid flannel (warm) shirt. Tied my hair up in a pony tail. What a vision. First stop, the greenhouse. I noticed that the basil was getting some dark spots. I'm not sure if it is the cooler temperatures or the humidity or both. I cut it down to a few inches and piled it in the basket. I also noticed some very wet mushy tomatoes as well. Unsure whether blight is afoot, or just being colder now. I took the last tomato plant out of the greenhouse. I put all the tomatoes, red and green, in the basket. Next stop, the gardens.
The sorrel has really taken off
The remaining tomato, Lemon Boy, looks fantastic. A beautiful plant and the tomatoes look splendid. A few are ripe, so I put them in the basket. I'm going to use my dehydrator to preserve/dry them tomorrow. The last batch I made in the oven were burned to a crisp. Sigh. Back to the garden. All looks well with the raised beds, but I am going to get another bale of straw to mulch the strawberries and garlic beds.
I managed to get a full 500ml jar of pesto from the basil I picked today. Oh joy.
Salad Bowl lettuce going to seed hopefully
Blueberry bushes turning beautiful red

16 comments:

Mark Willis said...

The sunflower picture makes a great header - very distinctive!

Hazel said...

Hi Erin. Thank you for your recent comment on my blog. I have had a quick browse of your blog and it looks interesting so i have become a follower. Because i am a new greenhouse owner, I will be trawling your back posts and looking forward to anything about a greenhouse.

elaine said...

Looks like you have everything under control, your cool weather is practically high summer in the UK

Jane and Chris said...

I was wearing my plaid flannel shirt yesterday, a hand me down from hubby, so there is plenty of room for layering underneath!
Jane x

Pam's English Garden said...

Dear Erin, You reminded me I need to mulch the strawberries. Winter is rapidly approaching here in PA, too, so there's lots to do. I love your blog - glad I found it. P. x

Bridget said...

There's just nothing like your own pesto. The blueberries are a beautiful Autumn shade.

Gardeningbren said...

I love the sunflower header....such a great photo! Sounds as if you had a good garden day.

Erin, thanks for your kind words on my blog, it made me feel very special.

Erin said...

Thank you Mark. Your opinion means a lot to me.
Hi Hazel. You are very welcome. I LOVE the hat. I'm glad you like greenhouses too. When you read the archive greenhouse related postings, you can see what my poor greenhouse has been through. It was a disaster, but I have no before pictures. What was I thinking!! It was literally full of overgrown tropicals and had, I dunna, I'm guessing...hundreds maybe thousands of slugs that had been living the life of Riley in sluggie paradise. I saw the prep and placement of your greenhouse. What have you put in it?

Erin said...

Hi Elaine...that's hilarious!!!
Hi Jane. We should post pictures and see who looks...hmmm...the best?
Hi Pam. Welcome. Isn't blogging a blast. I had no idea it would be so wonderful connecting with gardeners everywhere. I've got some of the best ideas from blogs. People have MUCH better ideas than mine. :-)
Hi Brenda. What you do is nothing short of amazing. You are definitely in the top three blogs I read. I really look forward to going in and seeing what you're doing. I'm glad you like the photo. The sunflower is eight feet tall so I had to stand way back and zoom, so I wasn't sure of the quality until I saw it. Yayyy.

HolleyGarden said...

Love your new header! How cheerful! Cooler weather certainly is coming fast. And I love the pic of the blueberry leaves turning red. I don't have a blueberry plant (must remedy that!) so I didn't realize how beautiful they would be in the fall.

Erin said...

Hi Holleygarden. I'm glad you like the new header. I highly recommend blueberry plants. I've put mine along the edge of my deck to grow bushy and hide the underneath. I have planned to put a hedge there, but in my vegetable growing frenzy went looking for something hedgy that was a fruit. I have mulched them with redwood, which will acidity the soil. I had heard that they turned a pretty red, but I'm really surprised just how bright they are. I planted Reka and one Bluecrop. You need one to be different. Enjoy!

Indie said...

Beautiful sunflower! There's nothing like a gorgeously sunny, cool day!

Erin said...

Thank you Indie. It was incredible. I got so much done this weekend. Oh...weekend for me is Sunday/Monday.

Carolyn @ Carolyn's Shade Gardens said...

I think the sunflower looks gorgeous in the header. You have been very busy and I envy all your produce.

Erin said...

Thank you Carolyn.

Greg W said...

I think the sunflower looks great! I found your blog from the 'vegetable growers' section on facebook.

I'm in Utah zone 5 or 6, depends on who you talk to, and we are yanking our plants out and preparing for winter. Looking forward to following your garden and checking out the rest of your blog.