Summer is definitely nearing an end. There are promises of rain for this long weekend and I am happy about that as everything is so dry.  Luckily, temperatures are still very warm so most of the seeds in the winter garden germinated and are growing rapidly.

Everything in the first box – on the bottom of the photo above and described in the previous blog post – sprouted in about four days and is growing well. The second box was planted on August 21st (just over a week ago) and the radishes and beets have all sprouted and the carrots are starting to come up. The second box contains (from left to right):

• one row of Easter egg blend radishes
• three rows of French breakfast radishes
• two rows of little fingers carrots
• one row of red ace beets
• three rows of beet blend beets.

Everything was overseeded because most of the seeds were older (most from 2011) and I wasn’t sure how well they would germinate. I had assumed that the radish and beet seeds were no longer active since they were planted in the spring without any success. I’ve been cutting the kale and radish spouts and have been serving them as “microgreens” on salads and as garnish. They are surprisingly spicy.

This week most of the apples ripened. I don’t know what type of apples they are, but are not a commercial variety as they soften only a few days after being picked. Most of the apples are blemished and/or have worms, but we just cut those parts away and eat the rest. We’ve been eating tons of them, making apple crisps and freezing lots for apple butter (peeled, cored and chopped up in a big ziplock with lemon juice).  The Man grew up in this house and the tree was here when they moved in; these particular apples are the flavour of his childhood.

This week in the garden.

• Art and Bryn are coming to pick up the hive. It has been a great summer for the bees and they are thriving.
• This week I cut back all the old raspberry canes and tied up the new ones. Although this is relatively early, it allowed me to easily tell the difference between the old canes (brown) and the new canes (still green). Last fall I ended up cutting many of the new canes by accident. The fall crop of raspberries looks great and I have been watering lots to help them along. Hopefully they will ripen and not rot.
• I am starting to repot a few things for friends. If you are located in Vancouver and want some shasta daisies (hate!), yellow lilies (love!) or wild strawberries (I have hundreds!) for your garden, please let me know (cpalaty@gmail.com) and I will dig up a starter plant for you. I will let you know when it is ready and you can pick it up at the end of our driveway (no deliveries…my car was just detailed).

One more note: big thanks to my awesome cat-loving neighbours for the sexy hose! I don’t mean the kind you wear, but the kind you use to water. Earlier in the summer I was watering their planters and fell in love with their hose – it is one of those super-light collapse-able hoses that you see on the infommercials. Anyway, they gave me one as a gift and I LOVE it. Thanks R&A!