Back from Vacation

So, after three days of no attention, the garden is doing what gardens do when you aren't looking - it's overgrowing!

Unfortunately slugs got to the fourth baby zucchini (I've only had one make it to harvestable size) and so it fell off the vine.  I've got three more babies working though, and we'll see how they do.

Something attempted to pull a parsnip through the fence, but failed.  So I have an 8" parsnip on my counter, that probably will be simply steamed and buttered tonight. 

Of course there are tons more peas to collect (I bought in about a cup last night) and the lettuce is going great guns.  Soon I have to go and collect herb bunches to dry, and I need to clean the deck a bit before that - this year I think I'm going to do more of the drying on the deck instead of in the basement, unless I can come up with a reliable way to do it in the microwave.

I'm also going to have to dig potatoes soon - the main plants are turning yellow, and the slugs have started in.  The yard needs mowing if the rain quits a bit more tonight, and the grass clippings will be handy for mulching around the berry bushes and paths.

The blueberries still aren't ripe!  Just a little tinge of purple along the edges.  Hoping they finish up in the next two weeks. If they don't, it's going to snow before I get to pick!

Looking into chickens again.  I have the whole fall and winter to come up with a design that will work.  Hoping to have four Orpingtons next year.  (I really want lavender ones, but we'll see what I can find!)

Stuff left to do this fall?  Let's see, there's trellising the raspberries, cleaning up the compost pile and moving it, clearing out the garden when it's done, weeding and mulching the perennial bed, a pile of gladiolus bulbs to plant, and planning to do for the other garden beds I want to put in.  I need to mulch the strawberries like crazy.  I also need to plan on where I'm going to get the money for the new fence around the mountain ash, and plan on doing that next spring if I run out of funds this fall. 

Then I need to make the list for next year, draw out where the plants currently are that should come back, and plan on what I'm searching for as fill-ins.  Primroses are on the list - there are some awesome varieties, and a great greenhouse in Homer that's supposed to carry one of the largest selections of them, if I can get there next spring. 

It's a great day to be in the garden!