Simple Fall Decor
Glass Gem Corn
Bad news. The rodents got ALL the King Philip corn. Even the ears that were not quite ripe. I was too late. They also started feasting on the glass gem corn, so I harvested four bigger ears this morning, even though it is still a couple of weeks early. Lots of things still growing in the garden. I still have plenty of green beans. The carrots are coming in nicely, I thinned them a few days ago. Fall greens are looking good. The winter squash less so; there are only a few fruit on the vines and those are not very big.
Late September Harvest
I still have so many flowers and the green beans are still going strong. The tomatoes are winding down now; these five are Scotia (3), a super productive plant, and Black Prince (2).
Oh Rats …
So much for King Philip corn being more rodent resistant :(. I still have a few ears growing. The mice/rats only ate ears with partially exposed kernels. I hope they will leave the other ones alone. The glass gem corn is (still) untouched. Fingers crossed.
Anticipation
My corn is not yet ready for harvest but I am very excited about the King Philip corn I planted this year. It is a historic Wampanoag flint corn native to New England (named after the Wampanoag chief Metacom who adopted the name King Philip) and has copper-colored, reddish kernels. Flint corn has a hard outer layer around each kernel (protecting it from rodents) and is mostly used for coarse corn meal. It can also be dried and used for popcorn. In addition to King Philip corn, I grew glass gem corn again this year. While mostly used for decoration, glass gem corn can also be ground into meal or popped for snacking.
Green Beans and Flowers
My Kentucky Wonder green beans have been taking off. I love having beans this late in the season. They grow slower now that the days are shorter and cooler meaning that I can harvest more at the same time (as opposed to a handful every day in the height of summer, which I find less useful in terms of using them to cook). The flowers also are finally in a really good place, which makes me happy as I now will have flowers until the first frost. This is the perk of getting a late start this season, ha! (The beans were planted in mid-July. On purpose.)
Late Summer Flowers
Early September
I did some weeding this beautiful Saturday morning and also thinned the carrots. Many tomato and cucumber plants seem to have recovered from the heat waves, the corn is tall, the beans are flowering, the winter squash are (finally) growing. Some tomato plants are looking very sad though: Black Strawberry and Ananas Noire have dried, brown leaves; Ananas Noire even has fruit rotting on the stem. There is still lots to come from my plot this late summer and fall: green beans, Swiss chard, kale, corn, squash, salad greens, beets, carrots, leeks.
Tomato Rainbow
We had rain yesterday. Finally! And more rain is in the forecast for tonight. Most of Massachusetts has been in a severe drought for weeks. I went to the garden to pick some tomatoes earlier today. I now have a lot of different varieties in a rainbow of colors.
Today’s Harvest
The first Striped German tomato (the yellow-red striped one in the bottom right). I am very excited. Plus, finally more flowers.