Harvest

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This past weekend, I did a bit of garden cleaning. I cut down the crocosmia stems, which had died back to a ratty tangle.

And, of course, I had an assistant. Smog is our Perpetual Kitten, and is always looking to turn any activity into a Ferocious Game. He was very helpful in subduing the jungle.




I climbed up the ladder and harvested two of our hops plants -- Nugget and Kent Golding (Sterling's cones are still a bit green). For whatever reason, our hops were not as vigorous as they have been in the past. Still, we got a nice harvest of cones for beer making.

The plants themselves are fascinating eco-systems, teeming with life. And thank goodness for over-the elbow beekeeping gloves! Had I felt the feet of all the spiders that ran across my arms, I would have surely jumped off the ladder.




We let the chickens free-range this weekend. We still need to finish fencing in our back yard, so that I'm not chasing chickens down the street.




Speaking of chickens, our persimmon tree has been dropping unripe fruit at a frightening pace. The chickens noticed some split fruit that had "bletted" (or sat long enough to get mushy) under the tree.




Squishy under-ripe persimmons are too insipid tasting for me or Robb, but the chickens love them. I'm delighted by this, since it means that the fruit isn't going to waste.



(If you're interested in reading what other gardeners are harvesting this week, mosey over to Daphne's excellent blog, where she hosts a weekly garden round-up.)

Comments

Michelle said…
Bletted, what a great word, I never realized there was a word to describe the process of ripening fruit or over-ripening fruit to the edible stage.

Hops are such pretty things. And so are your girls!
rowena said…
We had the same problem with our persimmon tree. Springtime saw an extraordinary abundance of blossoms which turned to fruit, and from there it all went downhill. Not even one left on the tree and we haven't a clue as to WHY. It got enough water, nutrients, sun, etc, so I'm just hoping that next year won't be a repeat performance.
Mary Hysong said…
what a nice harvest of hops. I'm not big on beer and actually don't like the dark bitter ones. love your chickens, they are pretty.
Kate said…
I love your photo of Smog. He looks so intent and that crazy patch of hair in his ear is precious!
David said…
Love the picture of Smog. I had hops and they took over to the point I needed to pull them out!
Norma Chang said…
It must be so sad to see all those persimmons dropping prematurely. Hope some remain and ripen on the tree for you.
I have visions of you chasing your chickens down the street and am laughing out loudly at the sight.
Agh!! I felt my skin crawl when you mentioned the spiders. Thank goodness for those gloves. Nice hops and persimmon harvests. I've never seen any garden blog feature those!
Liz said…
Must be fun to make your own beer from your own hops. I must see if they would grow in my climate.
I'm predisposed towards kitties, still, wonderful blog you have here! It brings up fond memories of living in the Bay Area...
Our Nugget hop is pathetic this year. It grew, but then stopped. I'm not really sure why. Oh well, your hop cones look great. Hopefully we'll finally get to harvest some next year!
Anne Bonny said…
Great garden! Smog is looking GREAT! You would never look at him and think he was the same broken down kitten! Bless you guys for taking such great care of him and giving him hope when no one else would!
Andrea said…
Oh your hens are real beauties....

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