Solstice day I decommissioned the greenhouse heater. Only the petunias and the pak-choi are left there, the latter almost ready to yield its seeds in hundreds of pods. I took the basil, the parsley, a couple of mystery trees, and the eggplant to the shop, where they now rest in front of the south facing window.
Not quite visible is the eggplant, here in more detail:
The only veggie still producing is the carrot patch in the window garden, and here is my latest harvest, yesterday:
Now it's time to start thinking about the preparations for next season. I have pruned all but one of my fruit trees, and I have chipped the pine bark with which I wil try to modify the Ph of the soil so as to make it acid enough to produce blueberries and lupini. I have failed plenty with the lupini, and I have never tried growing blueberries.
Horse manure is next on my agenda, and I will add it to all planters and garden spots. And because I have kept good records of everything that has grown, I will make a final tally once the carrots and the eggplant are done.
The garden is a wonderful place to find peace in, even when times are hard and not all is well. May 2018 be a good year in the garden and out.
At bed time last night the thermometer was at 38F; this morning 28F. The forecast is for temperatures in the 20s the next several nights. So I picked some tomatoes, a total of about 2 kilos, both heirloom and small ones. Their colors are not are vibrant as earlier in the season, but one can still see the difference: pink the heirloom; orange-red the small ones. The heirloom have some cracks, too. So these are headed for the salsa-making procedure, sometime this week. I am curious to see how long my little heater can keep the temperature of the greenhouse above freezing.
My eggplants (I have a few in the greenhouse) have flowered all fall, and I have used a q-tip to aid the pollination process (it seems not to have done anything). Great flowers and no fruit. Until now. Unbelievable, but a three-inch long pink eggplant has formed. Now we'll see what happens. Love to watch these creatures.
