Pooptastic!

TPW was not happy that I moved this load in her car, but when all was said and done not a trace of poop remained.  The plants are going to be happy!

The waiting, is the hardest part.

Things are kind of in between seasons right now.  I find that this is the hardest time of the year for me.  The summer crops are on their way out, and it is still a little too warm to plant the winter crops and the new trees that I wat to put in.  So... I have been doing a few odd jobs around the ol farm.  This was probably my last tomato harvest, the boy seems to be caught in the tomato trance.  The sweet peppers never really got started, squash are done, pulled all cherry tomaotes, no pumpkins this year.  Only had a few female flowers appear, sadly they bit the dust.

Dug up the first bed, it was painful.  It's never the perfect time to start pulling the summer veggies, but I finally jumped in.  The picture below is the area that I took out an old diseased orange tree from.  Now what to plant...?  Grapes, blackberries, veggies, natives, another fruit tree.  I am going to have to pull the trigger on this area in the next couple of weeks.

These pomegranate are the last three.  I planted 2 trees in the fall.  Each tree had 3-4, the other one which is outside the gate lost all of it's fruit to some ^*)_% vermin.  Hopefully I can keep these 3 safe.  I have 1 milkweed plant that has literally exploded in the last few weeks, we have seeds flying around everywhere.

 Have spent the last few weeks digging up Iris, dividing them and replanting them.  I must have dug up hundreds of them, the lady that lived here before us was a card carrying Iris club member, we have them in all shades.  Spring should be interesting

More Iris's under the avo trees and the random Crape myrtle.  New plum tree in the background, I put it in last fall.

Harvest Monday 9/19/11

Not much going on in the garden, things are moving slow.  The upside down hanging tomatoes are still going strong.  The dark ones in the picture are Black Tomatoes, still getting a few smaller Watermelon, Better Boy and Rose.  Lemon Cucumber are pretty much done, a few small ones.  Figs have slowed down, but man are they sweet.  Picked a few limes just to have.  The squash are done but the peppers are doing well.  Starting to think about the winter crops, but we still have a least a month of possible heat left.  Don't want to start to early, still thinking about the trees that I want to plant this fall.

These avocados were either found on the ground, due to the squirrels, notice the marks on the one on the right, or I picked them to thin the tree a little.  By November or December I should start getting some bigger ones

Harvest Monday 9/12/11

Maggie is getting pretty big, loves helping out in the garden.  The harvest this week was rather exciting.  Not only did I get a lot of tomatoes, peppers, lemons, figs, and limes, I found these 2 heads.  I was convinced that my head bush was not going to put any fruit out.  I guess I was wrong, 2 fruits.

TPW has had to start thinking out of the box.  The freezer is already full, now the drying racks have come out.  However, they were so good that I ate them right out of the dyhydrater.  TPW was not a happy farmer.

After last time this action figure came out fighting, even with just one leg.  It was a pretty close fight, I think the guy has a mouthful of worm in this picture.  Good to know that he's got my back.

Lots of figs on the new tree as well as on the old one.  This was one of the first figs off of the new tree.  They are pretty big; in fact this Storm Trooper looked a little intimidated by this one

Harvest Monday 9/5/11

Things seem to be moving along slowly.  The tomatoes have started their second bloom, however they are a lot smaller.  The Green Zebra seem to have stopped, oh well.  The Bell Peppers sure are taking a long time, small fruit about the size of a plums, are hanging on the plants.  Figs look good, coming along, squash and zuc's doing well.  I picked about 20-25 Lisbon Lemons off the tree for TPW.  She made the most incredible lemon bars, citrus bars, even did a fig lemon bar, once again I forgot to take pictures.  TPW also got some of the sundried tomaotes out of the freezer from last year, still tasty.

The peppers seem to multiply over night, I only have 3 plants but they seem to produce more than we can handle.  Note to self: Only 2 plants next year.

The basket on the left was harvested on Wednesday, and the one on the right was harvested this morning, as you can see they are a little smaller than they were earlier this summer, but they are just as sweet.

 

 This is my project for the fall.  I have spent the summer cleaning this area up.  It was full of Vinca and Jupiter's Beard, but with a little blood, sweat and tears I have managed to clean it up.  Now what to plant?  TPW and I are having some discussion about the trees of choice.  I want an Olive or another avocado maybe a Reed avocado, but she wants something a little more decorative?  Stay tuned...  The tree on the right is an apricot that I planted last fall, the tree in the upper left is a Navel orange.

You are probably asking yourself what am I pointing at?  Well, this is a farmers worst nightmare!!.  There is a small depression, SQUIRRELS.  I have been stalking them for the past couple of months.  They have been especially active the past few weeks, I have resorted to waiting for them to emerge and then I take acrtion.  Every time that I catch one there seems to be 2 more that take their place. 

Harvest Monday 8/29/11

Things have been hot, as you can see.  For the past 4 days we have had temps in the the 100-107 range!  Trying to keep the trees watered, as well as the garden.  I think that the heat has been good for the peppers, lots of little guys on the plants. 

 Still lots of limes and lemons.  TPW made some awesome lemonade the other day, forgot to take pictures of the fruit.  We are still getting Lisbon lemons the size of grapefruits off the tree.  The lime tree has lots of small fruit on it as well. 

 

Found this guy on one of the tomato plants.  We left him to close to one of the boys action figures.  By the time we got back it had already chewed off his leg, and looked like he wanted the other one.

Both Fig trees are staring to produce fruit.  I have seen a squirrel around, this morning I found a half chewed Fig.  It's on!!  The first couple of figs off the new tree have been huge.  Tomatoes have started up again, getting 3-4 every day.  We're actually getting more, but the boys and I eat most of them before they make it into the kitchen.  Still lots of squash and zucchini.  Having a hard time watching the avocado's ripen, they seem to be taking forever.  Soon.

Harvest Monday 8/22/11

The actual harvest was probably three to four times as big, however we have been eating it all so fast that I have not gotten to take pictures.  Tomatoe's have definately slowed down, only getting 2-3 a day, compared to 8-10 only three weeks ago.  Peppers are coming on, finally picked one, sweet!  Also had the first fig from the tree that I planted in the fall, see picture below.  The fig was about the size of my fist!  But once again, I ate it before I realized that I had not taken a pic.  Cucs, and squash are still producing.  TPW froze a bunch of the tomatoes so that we can have home grown in the middle of the winter.  Squirrels have really stated in on my avacado's, but I'm ready 

 

A few more lemons and limes, lots of squash on the vine.  Should be good to go by the end of the week

The before and the after of the cherry tomatoes.  Once the boys saw these little babies they didn't stand a chance.  They were gone in 1:37, no joke.

This is the fig tree that I planted in the fall.  It's a Brown Turkey.  Seems to like where it is.

Something has been eating my pumpkins.  I have a motion sensor camera that I have been playing with to try and catch the little vermen in action.  No luck as of yet, but I'll get him, one way or another.