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September 2009

Breakfast

9/27
Yellow squash plants are dying – just one plant left with a few babies that probably won’t grow much larger. That delicious squash taught me how convenient and healthy it is to have fresh veggies for breakfast, so this morning I bake a cut up acorn squash given to me by the CT Ag Experiment Station, along with butternut, peaches (whitish yellow so sweet and juicy), and green apples – crisp, juicy and tart. This week – time to get back to the garden.

Grass clippings are great mulch for paths. Nothing grows through it, as opposed to bark or pulled weeds.

Take note: leaves of summer squash, pole bean leaves and tomato leaves have all been nipped off by the deer - but they didn't eat any squash, beans or tomatoes!


9/22
The black-eyed Susan vine forms a wall at least 5 feet tall. It could easily cover 7 feet. Next year, I will plant the seedlings about a foot apart for each plant growths thick. I’ll also plant blue browallia closer – maybe 8 inches apart. It grows well in partial shade.

The moonflower has many buds with blackened sepals. I must sneak down to the pen at night to check for blossoms and hope for no bears.


9/18
There’s something soul-satisfying about going out in my own yard, sleep-eyed and picking breakfast – yellow Supersette squash. As fresh as you can get, clean, no poisons or chemicals, and all I need to do is run it under water to get rain-splashed earth or petals from fruiting tomatoes above it. Ten minutes in the sauté pan with a sprinkle of cheese or just butter with a little hummus on the side.

In early summer, I picked raspberries that grew wild along the edge below my deck and, this year, next to the garage. Nature’s gift – what could be better? Breakfast didn’t even require dish or utensil. It is my favorite breakfast.

The garden has turned to flowers, though I still await the moon flower and more from the cardinal climber that has thrown out a blossom or two. Granted, everything was planted late.

Weeks ago: the garden is troubled. Pumpkin vines yellow; pepper plants look better but don’t produce; tomatoes rot. Their new growth looks promising but eventually the fruit rots, except for Sun Gold cherry tomatoes.

The weekend’s storm blew the corn down – must have swirled around in that corner of the pen. The corn stalks must be weak because the stockade blocks out two light exposures. I notice that nearby cornfields remain upright.

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