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My Short Summer
Greetings and welcome to the new subscribers!
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June is a quiet month for me after everyone picks up their starts. This year I got my garden planted and slowly chipped away at some new projects in the yard. There was no sense of urgency. I needed to relax and decompress from the hectic starts season. I did some hiking and took a lot of pictures. About the third week of June, I felt rested and recovered.
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I had other deadlines to meet at the end of the month and into July. I stressed and sweated through them and was finally caught up on Saturday, July 6. I woke up Sunday morning feeling off, but I saw it as exhaustion after meeting those obligations. It was a lot of brainwork and paperwork!
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I felt worse and worse as the day went on. I slept all afternoon and felt better the next day. Not great but much better. I kept sleeping and taking ibuprofen. On the third day, I was headed to town when a friend texted me that someone we visited with the previous Friday had covid. Hmmm..... maybe I had covid, not exhaustion. I canceled the town trip, hunkered down, slept some more, and dealt with headaches.
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It's taken me these last two weeks to feel good. My energy is finally back and the headaches have abated.
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So let summer begin! But, oops, now I feel like it's time to prep for winter - putting food up, organizing the wood pile, and doing last succession plantings of cool-weather vegetables.
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I set up at the Taos Pueblo Powwow for about 15 years selling beads and jewelry. With the money I made, I bought my firewood and got my girls ready for school. The Powwow sort of signaled the end of summer. It still feels that way. With the Powwow behind us, I'm thinking of autumn and beyond. Shortest summer ever!
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Fence post and barbed wire on an old, unused gate from one of my hikes.
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Harvest Season is Here!
I'm so grateful for the monsoons! This summer feels like pre-climate change Taos summer weather, which I love. Cool rainy summers have kept me here all these years. There's nothing like it once you've lived in the heat and humidity of the east. It's a delicious 45º at 5:30am as I get ready to hit Send.
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The garden struggled with the June heat, but I watered earnestly to keep it alive. The rain and cooler temps have helped this month.
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Little by little, vegetables are filling my fridge. I have lettuce, yellow squash, avocado squash, jalapeños, green onions, and broccoli right now. Beans will be coming on soon. Lots of beans! I have little green tomatoes, too.
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While the garden produces, the grocery bills are a little smaller. I use that part of my grocery budget to stock up on staples like rice, flour, spices, grains, and canned goods. These will complement the food I can or put in the freezer.
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This is a new variety of yellow squash I tried this year. I'm happy with it! It's prolific and tasty. The squash bugs like it, too, sadly. That's a daily battle.
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The first yellow squash came in July 5!
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Events
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We're at the Talpa Community Market every Friday (except this week, when I have a private event to go to). The market runs from 7:30-2:00. You'll find produce, native plants, houseplants, crafts, baked goods, bling, great food, and good company. It's at the Talpa Community Center, 4 Archuleta Rd.
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The Taos Chapter of the NM Native Plant Society is hosting the Native Plant Society of New Mexico Annual Conference this weekend. The event is sold out, but on Saturday, July 27, there is an impressive line-up of speakers the public can attend for $20. It starts at 8:30 at the Sagebrush. Keynote by William deBuys, Making Peace with the War on the Environment.
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Later in the summer and into fall, there will be plant sales at the Taos Land Trust put on by the Taos Chapter of the NM Native Plant Society. Stay tuned for that info!
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I'm also going to have an end-of-the-year closeout sale on Renee's Garden Seeds. Stay tuned!
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Just Like Noni
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My 3.5-year-old grandson, Zeke, is in preschool. Here he is sprouting seeds. I remember doing this in second grade. The magic of it got me hooked on plants. When Emma, his mom, told him I sprout seeds, he said, I'm just like Noni!
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Examining his bean seeds.
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Everyone's seeds in wet paper towels in baggies hanging in a warm bright spot.
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Measuring the size of the seed to show what happens when they take up water.
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July and a Little of August Garden Tasks
Most of July's tasks should have already been done - pruning, garlic harvesting, and replacing spring crops with succession plantings of summer and fall crops. When planning for fall harvests, remember that as the days shorten, it takes longer for a plant to reach maturity. Figure an extra week or 10 days to be safe.
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Keep weeding, watering, and watching for pests. My nemesis this year is squash bugs. It's usually cabbage loopers but I have very few of them. Yesterday, I saw a Towhee in the broccoli presumably eating them!
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In early August, give your trees and shrubs one last shot of fertilizer. You don't want them putting on new growth this late in the year. They need to get ready to go dormant for winter. (See? I'm not the only one getting ready for winter this time of year!)
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You can still divide irises and day lilies into August, and be sure to order spring-flowering bulbs for fall planting.
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The Book!
The Book is available at Taos Herb, Cid's, KOKO, Petree's Taos and Los Alamos, Gutiz, Buttercup Salon, and from Casey and me at the Talpa Market. Joy takes it to the Sunday flea market at the county courthouse, too. You can also get a copy of The Write Shit Down Garden Journal from me at the Talpa Market. Or hit me up by email. Only $5! My daughter made keychains reminiscent of the turquoise pick-up truck in Lower Ranchitos, $15.
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The Write Shit Down Garden Journal and Ranchitos keychains
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