Today was vegetable garden evening. It has just been too warm to get out to it like I had planned. The other yard work just took the energy out of me as we have had some hot and humid days this weekend.
My goal was three-fold: to harvest the green beans, to trim leaves and guide stems, and to water using my bokashi tea. I got to all three!
According to the website, the bokashi tea should act like a very intense fertilizer. The tea is the liquid drippings while the fruit and vegetable compost is fermenting with the bacteria from the microbes added to the compost. I started the fermenting last year, and rotate through two five-gallon buckets. The first batches of fermented compost was added to my vegetable gardens as I prepared them for this season. My intent is to pull off the top soil this fall and add the compost into the soil to break down over the fall and winter. Hopefully this will help my soil be more fertile next year. This is the first time I’ve used the tea, and should see the results in a few days based on the growth of my plants.
The trimming and guiding stems is accomplished at least once a week. I tie the cucumber, tomato, and squash to trellises. This is so they don’t spread all over the yard and makes harvesting the fruit easier. There are quite a few blossoms, which should turn into plenty to harvest.
I’m very happy with my green bean harvest. I need to read again on how to freeze the excess. There isn’t enough to do an actual canning process. Just as I did last year, I’ll probably have to buy a large amount from the local farm for canning. That way I’ll have enough to make a number of jars worth the time it takes to pressure can. Can’t wait to use my pressure canner again! I’ve a list of items I’d like to can with it to eat over the winter.
The beans are actually producing more than I had anticipated. This was just what is fully ripe. There are still many small beans and blossoms on the bushes. We’ll get a few more dinners out of what is still to come.
Although it took all weekend to get to them, getting those first results from the garden was well worth the wait. Next up, cherry tomatoes!
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 