July 2 – 15, 2018
Mount Washington — These are old sounds — rumbles of thunder, crackles and crashes of lightning, the rush of rain that follows — sounds of summer that stirred us as early as we can remember, then connected our imaginations to ancient mythic gods. The rain, the sight of the Sun at the top of the sky, the quickened greening of the earth and the press of crops ready for harvest pull us into the rising tide of the growing season.
Everyday care and harvests:
–Drape shade cloth over lettuce, late spinach, arugula and Asian greens during hot days. Any lightweight, breathable, preferably white fabric will do; synthetic fabrics are available at garden centers. If not supported as in a hooped tunnel, remove cloths before storms.
–Cut early flower stalks from arugula to extend leaf harvest. When plants grow too spicy and flowering is widespread, harvest all plants for stir-fries; chop and freeze excess. Harvest spinach before flower buds form in the center of full-grown rosettes. Most herbs should be harvested before flower buds appear. Flowering stems of sage and lavender are assets in the garden and cut for bouquets. The flowers are edible.
–Herbs for drying, basic low-tech method: while days are long, hot and dry, in the morning after dew has burned off, shear, pinch or snip tender tops of thyme, oregano, savory and other perennial woody herbs before they flower; place in a wire basket or drying rack in full sun. Under optimum conditions, in one day you will have a crispy, green product of excellent color and flavor. Store in glass jars.
–If you haven’t already cut flower stems, or scapes, from garlic plants, do so now. Cut the stalk at its base where it emerges above a leaf. Garlic scapes keep for months in the refrigerator and longer when frozen. Process into pesto, add to hummus as you would garlic cloves and, at Ron Kujawski’s recommendation, make a delicious broth.
–Harvest many varieties of sugar snap peas as well as shell peas when pods are plump. Snow peas are harvested when pods are full-grown but still flat.
–Continue to hill potatoes with soil, leaves or grass clippings.
A follow-up on robins in my yard and garden: As you might deduce from the photographs, the robins that built their nest within 8 feet of a side door to my house are my closest neighbors, if not friends. Mother robin tolerates my approach and the beeping sound of my camera when I shoot portraits of her. Today, when I got too close, she abruptly flew off to the top of a nearby decorative plant support where she perched and proceeded to preen, taking a break from her duties while she left me with the kids.
Resources
Native and hard-to-find plants mail order and on-site at Tripple Brook Farm, Southhampton, MA – http://www.tripplebrookfarm.com/tbf/man/general/home.shtml
Growing garlic: note hardiness zone7a – https://www.sustainablemarketfarming.com/2015/05/11/garlic-scapes-three-weeks-to-bulb-harvest/
Meet your neighbors – https://nestwatch.org/learn/focal-species/american-robin/
Opportunities to participate
July 7, http://helianativenursery.com/events/, helianativenursery@gmail.com
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. “Attracting Native Pollinators and Butterflies” Workshop
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Open Farm Day and sale
August 10-12 NOFA Conference at Hampshire College, Amherst, MA – https://www.nofamass.org/articles/2018/04/honoring-our-roots-tending-our-future-nofa-summer-conference-2018
