We are working on expanding and tidying the garden. One approach is building additional raised beds to better define what is garden and what is path. Our raised beds are primarily built from old bleacher seats attached to four corner posts. The bleachers were being used for fencing on the property. I probably wrote about this before.

Our current bed prep consists of a layer of cardboard and a whole lot of compost from the somewhat local composting facility. This bed is about 3.5′ x 14′. I also built two smaller strawberry beds to help contain the strawberries. Strawberries are one of the crops we have a hard time managing. They need to be controlled – we are hoping the beds will help us do that.

Planting greens and other cool weather crops into the hoop house has been on the list of things to do for a couple of weeks now. Now we have six bags of spinach, radish and butterhead lettuce seeded. We’re guessing the bag planting will be fine for these shallow root crops. I did over-plant each bag so heavy thinning will be in order, but the seeds are older and germination might be less than optimal in these cooler conditions. Although it wasn’t cool in the hoop house at all when I was planting. The sun was shining and with only a light wind – probably over 80 degrees. It’s all a big experiment — later we will share some wildly anecdotal conclusions based on our initial results and experiences.

What a difference a new window can make! Looks clean and seems tight enough, and it opens and closes. What a bonus. The window we took out from here wouldn’t really close all the way, and it had no screen. The sill is walnut and eventually all the trim in this room will be walnut too. We enjoy the natural edges of the wood, and this curved sill will make a nice perch for Peaches.

On the heels of the death of Page, an old family dog that lived most all its life in complete happiness with my sister, this old girl shows up at our back door. That will teach me to build such an awesome deck. Seriously, how is a dog to resist?

We spent the better part of the morning finally meeting our neighbors while looking for her owner. No luck so far. We’ve left fliers in mailboxes too. She’s such a sweetheart it pains us to think someone has lost her, or worse, just left her in the country. She rode with us while tractor shopping. She really seems to like the car and the indoors and people. She’s lost without people. I’ve never heard such sorrowful cries from a dog.

No one has called so I kind of doubt we will find an owner at this point. I suppose this is part of living in the country. It’s the crappy part. On the other hand, it was nice to be neighborly. At one house we met a talkative bird older than we are. At another house we were uncomfortably surrounded by cats. They were everywhere. They were like liquid cats there were so many of them – flowing from barn holes and oozing from the ground. And they all looked really healthy too. More often, farm cats are miserable looking creatures.

Anne is looking for an animal control number to call in case anyone has reported a missing dog. What else can we do? Anyone need a lovable old dog?

It is almost October.

The pumpkin patch has been so satisfying. The borers are a problem, so the vines, as well as a couple of fruits, are decaying, but there are many that will make it to maturity. It’s a race now. Either they will succumb to disease or I will harvest the bright orange globes. Frost is not an option. I will see to that somehow. There are also many gourds planted in the patch. The variety pictured here were the most vigorous producers. Still some birdhouse and egg shaped varieties growing.

This design comes from Eric on ericprojects.com. Seems like a much more substantial build than our previous attempt at a high tunnel cool house. The previous build did not last too long.

We still have the task of applying the plastic in such a way so as to completely eliminate any drafts or flapping. That is likely what ripped the last hoop house to bits. It can be very windy here.

I constructed the door out of part of a shower door that will not likely ever be part of the shower, and pine boards I had. It all feels and looks pretty good. But then so did the last one. Our plan is to plant some cool weather crops in a few weeks and then slap the plastic on when it starts to get really cool. It’s all about extending and getting a jump on the growing season.

Contrary to popular belief, I do not speak Japanese, but I do like everything about edamame! The word itself rolls off the tongue – as all Japanese words do with their alternating vowel-consonant, consonant vowel structure. Say it with me: ed-ah-ma-may.

The beans, sweet and meaty, slide from their pods once boiled and salted to perfection. Harvest was a little tiresome – until Anne came out to help. Anne is awesome.

To prepare, I boiled water with about 3 teaspoons of salt. Added the edamame for 3-5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with coarse salt or other seasoning. So simple, so good.

Several weeks ago, we noticed a growing army of aphids on the peppers and artichokes. I wasn’t looking forward to the soapy spray we applied last year for control. It was messy — soapy aphid bodies clinging to my hands. It was uncomfortable — bending over to spray the underside of leaves. It was ineffective — there were just as many aphids the next day. I wanted something different and natural pest control is something we always talked about and had yet to try. Ladybugs are the natural enemy of aphids.

It took a little looking before I found a company that didn’t charge more for shipping the little bugs than the bugs themselves. Some seriously outrageous vendors out there. Be careful.  I ordered from Orcon (www.organiccontrol.com) and the bugs arrived in a few days nicely packaged.

We ordered the 4,500 bug bag. Seemed about right for our infested area. And that night (as ladybugs must be released after dark so they do not fly away) we released the first wave.

Several days later we released the second wave. I haven’t had to spray the aphids once and we are still seeing the beneficial bugs crawling our garden. Next year I would like to order some praying mantis.

If you look closely, you will see patty-pan squash, rond de nice squash, tomatoes (cherry, brandywine?, stupice), beans, lemon cucumbers, lemon peppers (ripened red), okra, brussel sprouts and blackberries. It was a good day for harvesting. Tonight we had a cucumber and pepper salad with mustard vinaigrette along with a tomato and mozzarella plus basil salad with vinaigrette.

It’s almost a zen job. There is just enough concentration required that I can’t seem to think about other things. Only grasses and pig weed fill my mind as I make my way down the row. It’s almost as if my mind fills more with weeds as I remove them from the rows of grapes. I remain uncertain if either mind or vines are improved for my efforts. But the vines certainly look better. Aesthetics are important.