The First "Haircut" Of The Season

The temps here dropped as the cloud cover came in and I was off like a bat outta hell on my bike shooting down the stretch I call, "The Green Tunnel"...there was no time to loose.
Ride with me in the video below.


I made it to the lottties in what seemed like a record time, having gotten green lights all the way.

The weather has been very hot and uncomfortable here of late and driven me to such lengths as making the fruit popsicles and setting up a new sitting place under what is now fondly called, "the Arches". A cool place with lots of shade and a bit of a draught (when the wind is right) located on the wood chip paths over where the two large wooden arches live.

I was taking the chairs over to the Arches yesterday and whilst treading on the path, I felt it give way in a certain place. A soft place, giving way to the weight of my foot. I didn't think much about it but when I returned to get the table, I noticed that the chips were moving. I stopped, knelt down and started digging into the chips with my hands. I thought that is one heck of a cricket or earthworm that was moving the chips like that! We do not have sun-terrainean denizens like the cicada larva here or anything large enough to disrupt the chips. The chips are lying in a small, shallow trench lined with root suppressant cloth, so I reasoned that it wasn't anything from "the deep".

The moving had stopped now and the chips in that area were all disrupted. I realized that I wasn't sure where I had seen the movement exactly. I just sort of began sifting the chips like Ickabod Crane and his coins...digging in deeply and bringing my hands upwards and letting the chips fall through my fingers.

I decided to sift a stretch of path about 3/4ths of a yard long. My curiosity was beginning to get the better of me now. My partner had become bored and headed off to the greenhouse to begin working with the toms, chirping over her shoulder, "...and when little boys are through playing in the sandbox, they can come over this way".

"No, but I saw and FELT something quite unusual here", I retorted.

"Ja, ja", she went, in the most unbelieving of tones. I chuckled, blinking and imagining how this whole episode must have appeared to someone else.

Right! Nothing there, I may as well finish setting up the Arches and head over to the greenhouse, I thought.
I did that and ran a couple of beakers of water and left them there for "after".
I gathered-up a big plastic trug, a ball of twine and some scissors and headed over towards the greenhouse, walking on that stretch of chip path one more time. Walking slowly, carefully....pressing the messy chips down flat again. I saw nothing, felt nothing.

I got over to the greenhouse and reported the news (that was NO news). My report elicited a chuckle and , 'Ach boy, it must have been the heat".

I crept into the small, hot greenhouse and knelt onto my knees and began removing "thieves", as we call them--"suckers", of which there were more than a few.
Where do these things come from?! I had just removed them three days ago, and now they're back! ARGGGGH!

Well, these Ferlines were not only going to have the dieven removed, but they would undergo a serious "haircut" to remove a percentage of unnecessary leaves, in order for the plants to concentrate on fruit development/enlargement.
Here are the plants waiting for their trim on the right.


I do not know how long it took, but my shirt was soaking wet by the time the job was done. The first trusses were very low to the ground this year and that was where I started with branch removal.


After the job was done, I had a look at the handiwork. An inspection is always necessary, you know.
The trusses were well clear of the ground and all the lower branches were removed and many of the upper ones as well. I was pleased with the result of this first pruning.


We removed an enormous amount of greenery from those plants and if you see the pics now, it isn't immediately apparent just how much is gone, with the exception of the lower stem. Have a look at this bushel-sized trug and it's contents piled-high.


Well, the air can circulate better now...but on the left side of the greenhouse were the little toms that somehow found their way into a pack of seeds labeled, "Legend". These are apparently NOT Legend tomatoes, which is a large, red and fleshy sort.


I am letting that lower truss mature further before I remove it and photograph it. I am going to confront the seed company with their quality control error.
This is a blunder has cost me. I was planning to plant the fleshy Legends to make a tomato concentrate for soups and sauces. I do this every other year...not I can make myself happy with those sweet little orange delicacies. Nice for just plucking and eating, or salads...but that is not what my goal was.
I consciously never grow this sort of tom because they are in no way "resistant". I only grow resistant types because the blight is so prevalent here (even in greenhouses).
The little orange fruited plants are a tangled jungle themselves. The worst got thinned-out for ventilation purposes.


There are going to be hundreds of these little toms if the blight does not set in. I am going to be a bit worried about those this year. What I should do is pull them out and get rid of them before they get sick and infect the ferlines.

Well, it was time for a rest now and some water. A Pause, well deserved. I was now midday and my tummy was rumbling at an embarrassingly high level of Dbs.

"Was that you"! I heard from over at the water point.
"I'm empty", I called out.

"Mmm-Hmmm" was the stoic reply.

"Sheesh! Why, I'll scare-off the wildlife, if I don't eat soon", I said.
She shook her head, grinning as she ran water into the kettle.
"As much as you eat, and never gain an ounce, it's ludicrous".

My turn to grin! hahaha.
"Genes", I peeped...."It's all in the genes".

Back over in the shade of the Arches, I flopped down in the chair and picked-up a gardening magazine, lifted my windswept cup to sip some water.
Realizing that I had forgotten to bring the "food bag", I stood up to go and get it...but the sarnies were on the way. I sat back down again.

The tea and sandwiches were good and it was reasonably cool there, but there was work to do.
Over in the new garden, my partner decided that she wanted to remove the enviromesh from over the caulis and broccoli. I couldn't believe my ears. All that work to protect them...and now remove it?! I was astounded.

Well, she had been complaining how difficult it was to give water and harvest with the net in place. She mentioned that she would have harvested the day before in the heat, had the net not been in place. it was an obstacle in her eyes.
She said in her own defence that she noticed that most other people did not use nest. I pointed out that they sprayed their plants and that the wood doves eventually ate all the leaves and florets off the plants....but she was determined, and as agreed--she had the final word on veg gardening. I have final say in the flower garden. It's a situation that works well when the discussions are heavy and become intractable.

Over we went and off came the net. That net wasn't off one minute...literally one minute when the first two mating Cabbage Butterflies appeared. Too much.
"We'll just pick the caterpillars off.", she cheerfully remarked, noticing me clenching my teeth as my narrowed eyes followed the dancing lovers above the brassicas.

Thinking back to the lunch pause, I said, "You wanna know what is ludicrous--doing the horizontal mambo above the restaurant....that's what is ludicrous. I can almost imagine that I see them thumbing their noses at us as they play". I was not amused.

Time for another pause.
Once back over at the Arches, I sat and cooled-off. and picked up the magazine again.
It was hot and I soon began to succumb to the heat...and the printed words...I kept nodding-off.
I made an adjustment on the chair and settled in for a noontime nap.
I closed my eyes...opened them and closed them slowly a few times, like slo-mo film. Finally I'm just about gone... I barely remember hearing the sound of a distant plane.......the birds........the heady fragrance of the Philadelphus and roses......going...........going....scratching.
Scratching?! One eye opened. There it was again.

I eased to a sitting position and leaned leftwards and looked behind me where the sound seemed to come from in my half-sleep.
I looked around...blinked. Looked down. Nothing.
What was that, I wondered.

I reclined again. and began the glorious drifting again.
Scratch. Scratch-scratch.....

I jerked erect! Looked behind me, in the Buddleja and down. Then Scratch-- The path undulated.
"Eh"!? I emitted.
I watched keenly as the chips moved up and down in the same place on the path.
I set the chair aside as I kneeled down to watch. I began removing chips a few at the time. My curiosity was in overdrive now.

A few more hand fulls of chips moved and I saw the furry back end of a beast. I removed the rest and saw that it was a mole. He just sat there and did not move, so I called out to get me a trowel as I kept an eye on it. I decided that I would scoop it up and flip it across the canal and train tracks and onto the far bank.he could take up residence there. I hope that he wouldn't undermine the tracks and cause a train derailment.
I heard guarded chuckles in the background as my imagination was in a fantasy freefall.

But wait. The back end of the little beast wasn't moving...only his front paws.
I reached down and took one of the back feet and there was no movement. You don't have to be a board certified Neurologist to realize that his spine was broken. Tch!

"He will have a prolongued and unhappy death by starvation, I said". "he can't walk".

"What are you going to do then"?

"He will have to be killed". I said shaking my head.

"Put down? Can you do that"?

"Will you do it"?

"Oh no, I couldn't do that".

"Then it's simple, isn't it. I shall have to do it since we cannot let it live and die like this".

...and with a whack of the trowel, the poor thing was gone.


Disturbing as it was, I realized that it was more inhumane to leave it to starve to death and suffer pain. I think that I had originally crunched it when I was walking on the path before. I don't know why or how I could not have found it when I sifted the chips so thoroughly.

This is another aspect of gardening that no one wants to have to experience. One must be strong enough to take steps when the situation calls for it, though. To have done nothing and allow suffering was for me, MORE difficult.

At the end of the day, there was of course, some harvesting to do. I now have tio skip a day with strawb harvesting now , as they are onthe way out now and i begin thiking of their runners and next season's plantlets.


This table shot shows "Summer Sprouting Broccoli" on the far left, A regular calabrese, early spuds and the new Zephyr courgette.


The Zephyr is a new sort that i am trying this year. here you can see the inside of it. I am not too happy with it in one sense.
Do you see how the seeds are collected down at one end, sort of? This "seedy area" is tough and there are a few too well developed seeds for me at this stage. This means that they will ideally need to be harvested when they are much younger, like the crook-neck squash.
As for the taste and consistence: I liked that. and the bites were squeeky on my teeth a bit. Odd, but not a negative for me.


This is some of what I think english speakers call "Summer Savory". We call it "bean herb" (Satureja hortensis L).
We eat this on/with broad beans.

 

as always, sjoerd, great pics aand great stories!

i'm curious about the mole...how come he didn't get trapped under the weed barrier cloth?

 

Nice story Sojerd. I guess it is better off that way for the mole.

 

Poor mole, you did the right thing. Those greenhouse toms are fantastic. Lots of work but but I see the spoils in the end are worth it.

 

I know how hard it is to put something down.I had to put a kitten down once and I hated it.
Your tomatos look great .I do love those yellow tomatos in a salad or just the tomatos with salt.
I have never seen squash like those I will have to look for them.I bet small ones would look and taste great raw in a salad.I love to read your posts and wish I was able to find the words to make mine the same.Your veggies are wonderful.

 

All looking fab Sjoerd. We have had to 'deal' with nature from time to time, not pleasant to us, but for the sake of the animal, the right thing to do.

The toms look fabulous. I do grow cherries as they are perfect for salads, but I also grow plums and fleshy toms for sauces, like you. Shame your Legend weren't legendary.

Very jealous of your squash - mine are a way off yet, and I have no broc at all. You asked in a previous thread of mine about why I struggle to grow it and I don't know. Some years I do okay, others, the plants just sit still in the ground and don't even grow. Nobody seems to have success with caulis or broc, but they do okay with the sprouting. I think the lack of water doesn't help. I know some plots have clubroot - I don't, but still no joy. However, I have planted a row of Purple sprouting and brocs yet again, s we shall see what this year brings.

 

TONI--Thanks for the complimentary comments concerning the veg. Those little butterflies are going to cause mer grief--I feel it in my bones.
The "Tunnel Video" did not end in an accident--I was just trying to stop the filming and had to tilt the camera and look at the buttons. hahaha. I was filming vertically and couldn't get the darned thing to cut off.

Thanks EILEEN for your kind words regarding the mole. I feel bad and not bad at the same time. I'm just sorry that I stepped on it in the first place.
I am glad to hear that your toms are coming along,albeit tardily. I suspect that they will shift into second gear once the days and nights are warm.

BUNKIE--Glad you liked the posting.
As for the mole: well, you know--I reached down and pulled up several yards of the root cloth and chips to see if I could find a hole or tunnels under it. I found nothing, which leads me to believe that the beast came out of the ground and purposely delved into the chips looking for worms and beetles. I did see a couple of places where he had made foraging tunnels along the side of the path.
Moles do not spend all their time underground, I know that as I have seen them above ground before...and swimming in the canal that borders my lottie.

Thanks for liking the posting this time, KK.

Thanks FEATHERP--The greenhouse toms are definately worth the work. I still have a long way to go with them, but they are coming right along.

Hi GLENDA--Yes, finishing off the poor mole was not something pleasant at all.
Those little orangy-yellow toms are something that I have never grown, but they are definately tasty. I just worry about the plants being Phytophthora magnets though. We will see how it goes.
When I first saw that the fruits were going to be orange, I thought that Miss Daisy had snuck into my garden and replaced my toms with some of her seedlings. If I ever find out that she did that, I shall give her ear a good twist!
I can't tell you haow happy I am that you like my posts so much. That just makes me break out in a big grin. I like your posts just fine and find that your picture and word combination pleasant to read and learn from.

Thanks for your words of understanding, EJ--This is a story that I would actually have rather not told, but it is a fact of "real lottie life", so no need to shy away from it.
Yeah, those Legends were certainly not "legendary". Well put, you.
The squash are nice to see, but the plants that they came off of are tiny little things--they still have an enormous amount of growing to do yet before they reach their normal diameter. Its been an odd spring, hasn't it.
I have been thinking about your broccoli (calabrese?) dilemma. It seems to me that it must pretty much be down to the soil and consistent moisture elements in the equasion.
A lady up the way from me has little success in growing brassicas in general. One year she put a couple of plants on what was left of her old compost pile because there was literally no place in the garden left. The result was a soccer ball sized head of calabrese! I shall never forget how I felt whenI saw that. It was such a lovely sight.
If I ever re-organize my production garden, I may well dig a trench and fill it with pure compost and sprinkle it with calcium to cut down on clubroot...and plant my calabrese in that.
Those two squash types are all that I have actually doing anything at the moment. The light green ones are by far the best producers that I have...and they do well in all soils and under all conditions...they just keep on producing their little hearts out. They still have a long way to go though, as I said above.
The early purple sprouting I diod not do this year after last winters's disaster. Perhaps I will try again another time.
Purple sprouting seems to do better than all other brassicas for me. I do think that you are tight though, that watering is a key feature in successful brassica growing...growing and feeding.

 

Enjoyed your latest episode of "life in the lotties", except for the poor mole...but you did the humane thing putting it out of its misery. Sorry you did not get the toms you wanted, hopefully they will remain healthy and prosperous. After reading you posting I went out and thinned out my toms. I didn't realize the lst photo was a video until I read your response...I thought it was a blurry photo . It has been a miserable summer in TN, it has been in the 90's since early May, this week we may reach 100.

 

I didn't realize it was a vid either --that was fun to see. And hear.
Ooh, it did seem to end topsy-turvily....

haha! Though I have been known to spirit into parties at the lottie, I didn't replace your Legends with those little orange orbs! I hope they don't get the blight either -- I didn't quite realize how serious that mistake could be for you.

You know what is funny? I planted what I thought were orange grape toms and they turned out to be red instead. I like the grape toms for cucumber salad. And eating in the yard.

Hot hot hot here too. Hot and dry.

Poor mole... but he had his role to play... You did the right thing even though it was hard to do.

All the veggies look so good. I like that kind of squash. I haircutted my toms today too... They are not looking very happy overall. Leaves yellowing or turning blue-ish and curling up -- is it a fungus? I sprayed again today, and fed. Fingers crossed. I'm not having a very good tomato year so far. Everything else is good! Oh, no, I forgot, the bean bags, not so good. Working on it though.

 

GAIL--Thanks for liking the latest posting. I am sorry to hear about your less than desireable weather there in TN. I hope that it will improve.
Rainwater is the best for your plants as the chlorine and other minerals in tap water eventually will not help your plants. During droughty periods, I don't know what else you could do other than have a large resivoir to let it stand in. I do that to get rid of the chlorine at least.

DAISY--I was just sure that it was you that had effected the switch. Just SURE! Oh well.
Yes, it is a bit of a drama for me--not having the Legends. it sort of messes-up my planning for the concentrate and throws my schedule off. In the off years, I grow paprika's on the left (west) side of the little greenhouse...now I will have to think what I want to do next year. It's awkward.
How odd that you did not get what you wanted in the tom department either. it must be a conspiricy. hahah.
Those tom plants sound like they are getting too much water, but I cannot tell for sure.
What do the yellow leaves look like? Are they light yellow or darl yellow? to they have green veins inbetween a darkish yellow leaf?
It's the descriptive term, "blueish" that leads me to believe that it's overhydration.
I wonder what would happen if you stopped with the watering and foliar feeding, Just stop everything for a week or five days and see what happens.
Keep your eye on the growing end of your toms to see that the new growth is fresh and green.
The bean bags--I have to tell you Daze, that I did not have much hope for success with those, but one never knows without trying. I wouldn't give up though at this stage.
Please keep me posted on how the beans do.

 

Lil Palm here

No wonder you are my Mom's gardening hero - I can see why.
Not only does your harvest look good, you are quite organized, have great gardening practices, tells a GOOD story, I personally love your 'story telling technique - it is as if I am there with you- "Ickabod Crane" Like the way you describe things - it creates atmosphere.

I do not know much of gardening myself, I might just be tempted to try my hand at it after reading this.
Cheers Sjoerd.

 

I'll check the leaves today Sjoerd!