Harvest Monday - 22 May 2017

Hello again from Eight Gate Farm! The weather here (like a lot of places) has not been consistent, which is not good for gardening. We've had some very warm days, and just as many absolutely cold days, and especially cold nights. No hope of getting the warm weather crops in early.

For harvests, we've decided to make the following the last asparagus pick of the season. We've enjoyed every stalk, but the bed has not been especially productive, and even the plants that usually give a lot have been stingy this year. Not sure why. Better now to let the rest of the stalks just grow.

You might think that we already have enough garden space here. We have a fenced area that is 2400 square feet, plus another 600 square feet we call the "Survival Garden" where we grow dry corn and beans. But the fenced garden, which might have been perfect in its day (before we got here), is now getting more and more shaded. Plus, I've taken 2 of its raised beds out of vegetables and substituted strawberries.

When we were out in Northern California's wine country last fall, we stopped at the historic (1876) Simi Winery in Healdsburg. It is a pretty spot. There, I was completely struck by their novel (to me) raised beds:

I knew just what they were: livestock tanks!

The above bed contained a hot pepper I was unfamiliar with. I asked, and it's called "Calabrese." They let us take some, but warned us they were "atomic." I found them flavorable, but not all that hot. I saved some seeds, and now have a plant growing. It will find a home in our latest project:

You guessed it, our very own stock tanks. They measure 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 2 feet high. We bought two. They weren't cheap (about $250 each, plus soil). But they will outlive me (I'm tired of replacing worn out raised bed frames). I expect to place all our pepper and eggplant seedlings in them. No worry about shading in this spot. They even have threaded drain plugs. We filled them with a layer of rubble, then about a foot of sandy/gravelly/loamy soil, and the rest beautiful loam that's 20% compost. Should be plant paradise.

I of course will keep updating the progress of these beds. But for now, enjoy the other posts on Harvest Monday, kindly hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres.