185. Things I Did on July 4th

1. Went to a parade.

1.1. Knitted most of a blanket square.

1.2. Enjoyed the weather.  (It was perfection!)

1.3. Had some nice chats with folks.

2. Measured my food garden plot, at the request of a blog commenter.  It's 21 by 29 feet, including the space in which the composting bins and two pear trees reside.  I am surprised. I thought it was bigger.  (The blueberries and blackberries are in different locations on the property.) 

2.1. Took garden photos to try to give an idea of what the garden looks like, and its layout.  Found out this is very hard. I can't seem to get an image that really looks to me like my garden.  And I can't get up high enough (I tried a chair -- next will be a stepladder) to take an aerial view of the whole thing.  And plus, I just can't seem to get the photos to show detail.  They just look like hazy green blobs to me.  Or maybe it's .....(see #13)

3. Ate strawberry-rhubarb pie.

4. And a good hamburger and french fries.

5. Had good strong coffee.

6. Worked in the vegetable garden for a couple hours. 

7. Ripped up the Amish peas, which had gone all bitter and horrible. I'm not sure if I just don't like Amish peas, or if it's because my soil was in need of lime or something, but .... at least with this batch, I don't like Amish peas. They are not sweet, they are dry and hard(ish), and they are not very green. The other peas I planted are just coming along, and these are more like it - green and sweet and delicious.  Green Arrow.  I got them at High Mowing Seeds.

8. Amended the soil, added lots of lime and blood meal and kelp and planted a Dutch spinach, "Summer Perfection," in their place.

9. Ripped out the mystery cucurbits that had self-seeded in the strawberry bed.  I feared they would choke out the strawberries and also the area where I was removing the peas and planting the spinach. Besides, I believe they were pumpkins, and the pumpkins I planted in the compost bin are doing fantastic.  See?

Enough pumpkins is really enough. 

10. Picked some of the new, better-tasting peas. 

11. Picked mint. 

12. Looked up a recipe for making mojitos.

12.1. Found the Bacardi mojito site which just makes me feel like dancing.

Harvest Photo of the Day

Mint. 

Comments

[Collette]

Things I have also done recently:
12.1. I did this 2 weeks ago while my MIL was visiting.
13. Doesn't everyone need this while their MIL is visiting?

[Kristen]

Hmmm, I'm brewing mint iced-tea right now. Maybe I'll add some rum and lime to it!

[Dave Daniels]

I didn't do any of those, but it looks like you had fun. We walked in the rain. I dyed some roving. Dyed some PRETTY yarn. Drank some beers. Played with cats and kittens. Seems like we both had fun!

[Carole]

I sat around the house feeling sorry for myself - not much of a celebration here. But your day sounds much better. I should have made myself a mojito, I'd have had a better time of it.

[margene]

12.1 Perfect.

[Joy]

Sounds like a perfect day!

[marianne]

What a Glorious Day! I had a bit of Mojito yesterday... it wasn't nearly as pretty as yours :^)

[Jennifer]

Exactly what time should we show up for mojitos, blueberries and knitting?

[Diana]

I had a mojito on Wednesday. Not nearly as good as the one in the video. Enjoy the weekend.

[--Deb]

Sounds like a great Fourth! Our weather was (and is) rather less than perfection, which is making Chappy a little less than perfectly happy--thunder! Noise! No walks! But, hey, at least he's having a party... (and, um, you DID see his virtual party announcement the other day, right?)

[Manise]

Perhaps the Amish peas would do better if you let them age on the vines and picked dry for pea soup in the fall. Are these true peas or snap peas? I googled and found mostly the snap variety. No mention of bitterness. Did you leave them on the vine too long? Just trying to figure out the bitter factor.

Love your pumpkin vine cascading out of the compost bin! And the mojito certainly looks nice- it's pretty sticky here today and that would be a nice cool thing to drink.

[KellyS]

ooh! I MADE a strawberry rhubarb pie. Too bad I can't ship you a piece...don't think it'd survive.

[Julie]

I'm scared to death of growing mint because I worry it will take over the entire yard. The look of that mojito just might change my mind though. Any mint tips?

[Cheryl S.]

I planted my mint in a container so it wouldn't take over, but it's not doing extremely well. But since the ONLY reason I planted it was for Mojitos, I guess that's OK. I get enough.

I'm curious as to what you will do with the area where your peas were/are after they're all done. I've never quite figured out what to plant there this late in the year that I don't already have somewhere else. And no, I won't plant radishes. I won't, I won't, I won't.

[Suzanne]

Oh, a VT parade. I had relatives in Cabot and went to the parade a few years. I am usually not a parade person, but that one was fun.

I sat around and knit and then at night listened to the neighbors go fireworks crazy while hoping nothing would hit my house and start it on fire.

Your day sounds much better.

[Marcia]

Well, the weather here was crap and I had to spend the day making salsa and bread to take to a cookout. ( Did get to play with the grandkids and watch them eat MY peas, which were delish. Snap peas, steamed just enough to blanch.) No mint here....it took us ten years to get rid of the stuff the previous owner planted all over the yard! A thought for your aerial photos: try the lawn chair with the helium balloons!

[Cookie]

I live on the wrong coast. I want to have mojitos with my Norma. Instead I've got more smoke and a cat in the bathroom. :?

[claudia]

That sounds like a lovely day.

P.S. I went out and got bone meal and epsom salts (a BAT trip) and just fed everything.

[Birdsong]

Yay for mojitos! I better stop and pick up ingredients on my way home from working at the LYS today... and thanks for the reminder to feed the maters... they have already gotten their first dose of organic Grow Big, and certainly would appreciate a second, since they have had to contend with such smoky air the past two weeks. Happy holiday weekend:)

[elizabeth a airhart]

tis 93 degrees here the drink looks so good

[Susan Schroeder]

Mojito! That's what I need to do with all that mint!

[Jena (the yarn harpy)]

Dave has been amusing me lately by doing the mojito dance whenever the commercial comes on because it slays me absolutely every time. :)

[Teresa]

I use an aerial photo I got from google maps, I then put it in powerpoint _since I am lazy that way - and mark it up with codes about different garden beds - location etc. I keep this "photo" with my garden notes so I know where and when I planted different things.
You could do the same to show us on the blog. Cut/crop out any id marks though. Powerpoint allows you to save as a jpg to upload.
Teresa

[anne]

the spinach i have in the ground now is "summer perfection", too, and nice frilly leaves are starting to come out of those sprouts i had last week

[Michelle]

Mmm, I've got mint in my Perrenial garden thanks to Dad sharing some of his. How about some Vanilla Rum??