What’s happening in the garden this week: July 28-August 3
Starting more herbs, planting fennel and putting rhubarb to a new use
Herbs
I started cilantro, dill and parsley seeds under grow lights in the basement. I have a difficult time direct-seeding during mid-summer, so giving them a head start indoors will help. I’ll aim to get the plants into the garden later this month, though I fear I may have started the parsley a little late. It’s notoriously slow to germinate. We do have two or three parsley plants growing in the garden, along with copious amounts of basil. Our dill has come and gone, or gone to seed. There’s additional basil, along with rosemary, thyme, mint and oregano, growing in pots closer to the kitchen. Summer’s such a wonderful time to cook with all the fresh herbs.
Fennel
Years ago I grew bronze fennel in our garden outside Washington, mostly as an ornamental. This summer I decided to grow bulbing Florence fennel in our fall garden. I started the plants about six weeks ago, on June 20, and gave them plenty of time to mature under the lights indoors before setting them outside the back door for a week to acclimate to the light and temperature. I planted the eight seedlings in the garden this week. I love fennel, so I’m excited to see what happens.
Pests and success
I wrote about this earlier in the week but it’s August, which means two things: The garden is in full summer production mode, a time when it’s hard to keep up with all the lovely produce coming out of it. And insect pests and diseases brought on by the heat and humidity are doing their part to spoil the party. So far the veggies are winning!
Rhubarb cordial
We’re adding a new twist to our rhubarb repertoire: rhubarb cordial. We have rhubarb growing in one of our perennial borders, where it sits this summer as a pretty ornamental taking up ample space that otherwise might be occupied by weeds. I had divided it last summer and planted some outside the gate to the vegetable garden and it flourished this year, so it was time to harvest some of it. Katie cut two pounds of stalks, chopped them into one-inch pieces and added them to jars with a cup of sugar and 1 liter of vodka. They’re sitting on the kitchen counter and we’ll see what we make of it in a month or two.
Update: Our scarecrow
Our scarecrow has hit middle age so we gave him a pair of reading glasses. The scarecrow became a very minor Internet sensation when featured in this space back in the spring. I don’t know if the glasses make him scarier or goofier but at least he’ll have a clear-eyed approach to his job. Come to think of it, doesn’t he look a bit like U.S. men’s Olympic gymnastics hero Stephen Nedoroscik?
Previous updates:
What’s happening in the garden: July 21-27
What’s happening in the garden: July 14-20
What’s happening in the garden: July 7-13
What’s happening in the garden: June 30-July 6
What’s happening in the garden: June 23-30
What’s happening in the garden June 16-22
What’s happening in the garden: June 9-15