The Short List! Chore Log Week #4 of July
Whew, things are really going to have to be short listed this week, as here we are, many days late with the chore log.
Hubby and I ran away from home for a few days of r&r, as our Baby Girl (yes, I know she's in her 20's ;) was able to stay and help out with puppy sitting and plant watering. One cannot take a 'Little Lilah everywhere, much as I would love to, nor can one walk away from gardens and greenhouses that need watering daily. Good thing we have a lovely little baby girl!
It was truly fun to get out there to snoop around at some of the lovely, little nurseries in the greater Victoria area. Much prefer to shop at and support these wonderful, out-of-the-way, little mom and pop nurseries to the big chain stores, especially at this time of year. The big guys tend to carry and sell very seasonally, whereas the little guys sell fun stuff throughout the entire growing season.
I highly recommend, if in the area, that you all go scope out Down To Earth Gardens and Nursery in Metchosin. Such a super cute place with incredibly great staff and great plants! Also, check out Lynne's Little Elf Garden Centre in Langford. Totally fab plants, plus an amazing gentleman on staff! He loves to talk plants and show you where to find all the really great, fun stuff!
We also hit a few gift shops and antique barns along the way.... got some great little treasures for both the home and the greenhouse. What fun! If you buy tomatoes from me next month, you will get to see, up close, this great antique scale I found to weigh my goods! Chemainus Antique Emporium!
And boy... I sure am lucky that the Mister doesn't mind poking around at these obscure little places with me :)
Lavender and Cream Perennial Bed
Is starting to look really good. The Pee Gee hydrangea's have filled right out, the Bloodgood Japanese Maple has a lovely shape and form to it, and the perennials are filling in, too.
- still needs a bit of weeding, those thistles just keep coming up.
Long Perennial Bed
- Remove Salal
- Thin out Lupin seedlings
- Add llama manure to roses? Hmm, do I have enough?
In The Potager
Yay, we are now harvesting potatoes, carrots, beets, lettuce, peas, onions, shallots, kale, basil, cabbage, cucumbers...
- Too many raised beds to water daily, water half the beds one day, half the next... repeat till summer ends ;)
- Lift the garlic and lay out to cure, under the carport. Garlic needs to cure in the shade as it will cook and spoil in a sunny spot.
- Daughter has harvested the last of the strawberries, now they all need to be cut back, weeded, thinned out, runners removed in Honeoye bed, runners planted in Totem bed.
- Pull winter onions and set out to cure.
- Think I am now ready and able to thin out and cut back the Dianthus, finally!
In The Greenhouse and Nursery
- Still watering daily
- Fertilise one week with Reindeer Liquid Seaweed as a foliar feed, the next with Gaia Green Tomato food.
- Harvest cukes
- Deadhead roses and perennials
- Sweep daily, pull weeds, rake as needed
- Remove Lungo della Cina cucumber as it is just growing bitter fruits and is very prone to powdery mildew, therefore spreads it to the other cukes.
Bonus task ... Make pickles in the new (to-me) antique pickle crock that I found in Chemainus on our r&r trip!
Going to try Bobbie Flay's Fridge Pickle recipe first!... but more on that next week!
Small Fruits Bed
- Try to remember to water pumpkins weekly
- Harvest the black currants
Our Fruit Orchard consists of a few apple, pear, plum and cherry trees...
All of the fruit trees are very young, some going into their second summer, some into their third, so we do not yet expect much, if any, fruit off of them as of yet.
The entire property is only 2.5 years old, having started completely from raw land.
However, the cherries did actually fruit a wee little bit this year, so we were able to harvest a few handfuls each, of Rainier and Sweetheart cherries this past week. What a lovely feeling indeed :)
Holy Moly Macaroni! Cut back these really happy Striped Marvel Marigolds!
Allow the tomatoes to see some sunshine!
Hubby and I ran away from home for a few days of r&r, as our Baby Girl (yes, I know she's in her 20's ;) was able to stay and help out with puppy sitting and plant watering. One cannot take a 'Little Lilah everywhere, much as I would love to, nor can one walk away from gardens and greenhouses that need watering daily. Good thing we have a lovely little baby girl!
It was truly fun to get out there to snoop around at some of the lovely, little nurseries in the greater Victoria area. Much prefer to shop at and support these wonderful, out-of-the-way, little mom and pop nurseries to the big chain stores, especially at this time of year. The big guys tend to carry and sell very seasonally, whereas the little guys sell fun stuff throughout the entire growing season.
I highly recommend, if in the area, that you all go scope out Down To Earth Gardens and Nursery in Metchosin. Such a super cute place with incredibly great staff and great plants! Also, check out Lynne's Little Elf Garden Centre in Langford. Totally fab plants, plus an amazing gentleman on staff! He loves to talk plants and show you where to find all the really great, fun stuff!
We also hit a few gift shops and antique barns along the way.... got some great little treasures for both the home and the greenhouse. What fun! If you buy tomatoes from me next month, you will get to see, up close, this great antique scale I found to weigh my goods! Chemainus Antique Emporium!
And boy... I sure am lucky that the Mister doesn't mind poking around at these obscure little places with me :)
Lavender and Cream Perennial Bed
Is starting to look really good. The Pee Gee hydrangea's have filled right out, the Bloodgood Japanese Maple has a lovely shape and form to it, and the perennials are filling in, too.
- still needs a bit of weeding, those thistles just keep coming up.
Long Perennial Bed
- Remove Salal
- Thin out Lupin seedlings
- Add llama manure to roses? Hmm, do I have enough?
Picked up some lovely Llama Poop at the Farmer's Market in Duncan :)
Yay, we are now harvesting potatoes, carrots, beets, lettuce, peas, onions, shallots, kale, basil, cabbage, cucumbers...
- Too many raised beds to water daily, water half the beds one day, half the next... repeat till summer ends ;)
- Lift the garlic and lay out to cure, under the carport. Garlic needs to cure in the shade as it will cook and spoil in a sunny spot.
- Daughter has harvested the last of the strawberries, now they all need to be cut back, weeded, thinned out, runners removed in Honeoye bed, runners planted in Totem bed.
- Pull winter onions and set out to cure.
- Think I am now ready and able to thin out and cut back the Dianthus, finally!
These are my 'Winter Onions' with the two types of garlic in behind.
Let me know if you are interested in buying some fresh garlic ;)
- Still watering daily
- Fertilise one week with Reindeer Liquid Seaweed as a foliar feed, the next with Gaia Green Tomato food.
- Harvest cukes
- Deadhead roses and perennials
- Sweep daily, pull weeds, rake as needed
- Remove Lungo della Cina cucumber as it is just growing bitter fruits and is very prone to powdery mildew, therefore spreads it to the other cukes.
Bonus task ... Make pickles in the new (to-me) antique pickle crock that I found in Chemainus on our r&r trip!
Going to try Bobbie Flay's Fridge Pickle recipe first!... but more on that next week!
Hot Cocoa floribunda rose
Small Fruits Bed
- Try to remember to water pumpkins weekly
- Harvest the black currants
Our Fruit Orchard consists of a few apple, pear, plum and cherry trees...
All of the fruit trees are very young, some going into their second summer, some into their third, so we do not yet expect much, if any, fruit off of them as of yet.
The entire property is only 2.5 years old, having started completely from raw land.
However, the cherries did actually fruit a wee little bit this year, so we were able to harvest a few handfuls each, of Rainier and Sweetheart cherries this past week. What a lovely feeling indeed :)
Sweetheart and Rainier cherries from out own little fruit trees :)
Huge Lemon Oxheart tomatoes
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