Shave And A Haircut.....Two Bits

It's that time of year again....everyone needs a haircut!

It was time to prune all the Primroses that line the driveway....

The foliage was getting quite bushy, and since the ducks can not access that part of the garden this time of year they were providing perfect habitat for the slugs.

Also, even though it's a bit early, it's best to trim away all Primrose foliage before freezing weather arrives, or they turn into a smooshy mess.

A serrated knife is the perfect tool for this job.

That's better!

Kitty also needed to be pruned....He was getting pretty bushy!

Yes, I'm talking about you!!! Be afraid, be very, very afraid!

Ahhhh, that's better, isn't it Kitty? That wasn't so bad was it?

Kitty always goes and hides under the table and vigorously grooms himself after being pruned. After that he realizes how much better it is and he forgives me.

Ahhhh, Indian Summer......

And, after all the work was done....I gave myself a haircut too! Don't worry, I don't look like Kitty, and I didn't use a serrated knife.....just pruned off the dry ends of summer!

It Was A Good Season

The U-Pick Garden is closed.....can you see the sign in the window?

It's easy to see from the road and that's what matters.

It was a good season....it was a GREAT season.....who am I kidding, it was the BEST season ever!
The weather was unbelievable and there were lots of U-Pickers and the vegetables were very generous.
I must say though, I am ready for it to be over. It's time for something new....time to not have to hurry home....time to stay indoors if it's raining. But.....even as I write this I am planning for next season!

Thank you God for my beautiful garden. Thank you garden for being so fruitful. Thank you ducks for eating slugs and laying delicious eggs. Thank you ocean for providing such a bounty of wonderful things on your beaches. And thank you Sitka for loving to eat peas and carrots.

 photos courtesy of Sarah Eischen from my roof top!

See you all next season.

Farmer's Market Fun

The Farmer's Market is so much fun!

There's music...

A clown that makes the most amazing balloon animals I've ever seen...

My good friends selling raffle tickets for the beautiful quilt behind them to raise money for the Sitka Cancer Survivor's Society...

More good friends selling jams and bread and other wonderful things...

Yummy food....

 And my crazy neighboring vendor, Hope, selling beach asparagus, herbal teas, and edible seaweed.

I didn't sell a lot of produce today, just some Lemon Sorrel, Radishes and Huckleberry Syrup. I go to the Farmer's Market mostly for promotion....to educate folks about the U-Pick Garden and to encourage them to come out and see what it's all about. If I would harvest everything that was ready and take it to the Farmer's Market then there wouldn't be anything left for the pickers, so I make a gift basket of all the things that are available for picking and have it on my table for display. I have everyone sign up for a drawing and the lucky winner gets the basket at the end of the day. And the lucky winner today was....

My good friend, Bonnie!!! Congratulations, Bonnie!

How To Pick Carrots

Carrots are no doubt the single most popular vegetable at the U-pick Garden. They are usually ready sometime in late July or early August and are so sweet and delicious! Jaren and her precious, adorable, little girls agreed to pose for some photos for a carrot picking tutorial......thanks girls!

HOW TO PICK CARROTS

1. Carrots are really easy to pick, but you have to remember that they cost 20 cents a piece regardless of size, so you need to know how to judge how big a Carrot is BEFORE you pick it. You cannot judge a Carrot's size by it's foliage. Bigger foliage does not always equal bigger carrots. Check out this one....

It has really tall foliage with fairly stocky stems, but the root is small. The best way to judge the size of a Carrot is to pull the dirt away from the base of the stem to see how big "around" the root is...

That doesn't tell you how "long" it is, but it's the best you can do. If you decide the carrot is not big enough you should cover the top of the Carrot up with dirt again, otherwise the top of the Carrot will turn green.

blurry action shot

2. Once you have selected the best carrot you can, just grab it by the stem and pull it out....it will come out easily.

I usually only grow "Nantes" Carrot varieties. They are relatively short with blunt ends.

3. Children are welcome to pick carrots under the direct supervision of their parents. Carrots are fun, fun, fun to pick, and children have a tendency to pick handfuls at a time. These particularly sweet girls did an excellent job....most of the time they were finding bigger ones than I did!

4. Once you've picked your Carrots it's a good idea to go directly over to the hose to rinse them off.

The spray will wash the dirt off the freshly picked Carrots quickly and easily.....whereas if you wait until you get home to wash them the dirt will have dried on and you will have to scrub them to get all the dirt off.

5. Lastly, it's important to sit down in the sun for a few minutes to enjoy the fruits of your labor...

But I've got to warn you.....you can't stop with just one!

TROWELS ARE SNEAKY TOO!!!!

I use my garden trowels all the time....almost on a daily basis actually. The only problem is that I can't seem to keep track of the stupid things! Most of them have unpainted wooden handles, so they blend in with the ground too easily and I have a tendency to walk away from them. Recently I got smart and bought a few new ones that have bright, colorful handles....I was proud of myself and ready to go....

Then yesterday while doing some weeding around the steps I thought I saw something....

So I got down on my knees to get a closer look.....

And look what I found!!!!

UGH!!!! 2 of my old trowels! Obviously I had set them on a step and then someone  kicked them down between the stairs and they landed on the ground ...out of sight.  Oh well, at least I have plenty of trowels now!

Cucumbers Are So Sneaky!

I have a couple of straggly Cucumber plants up high on a shelf in my sunroom and they produce a surprising amount of Cucumbers.

The interesting thing is that the Cucumbers growing on them stay small for quite a while..... and then all of a sudden they are big. Like they double their size 2 days in a row. I'm always surprised when I see a big one hanging on the vine where I was sure there was nothing the day before.

Yesterday when I crawled up on a chair to water the plants I saw something laying in one of the pots....can you see it?

That sneaky Cucumber plant....hiding a big juicy Cucumber right along the inside rim of the pot!

GOTCHA!!!!

Locavore

This is Kari Sagel.....

She is Sitkan on a mission....she is going to join with a few of her friends and they are going to eat 100% local for 10 days starting tonight. That's right, people.... 100%! No dairy, no sugar, no grains, no coffee. She has been to the U-pick garden a few times in the past week to get prepared and today she stopped by to pick up a few last minute things.

I am very supportive of eating local.... so my special contribution to her project was.....

THE GOD TURNIP!!

That's right....I picked the God turnip...and it looked perfect...not a blemish on it.