Summer fruit

Summer has moved quickly and berry season has begun. I noticed that one of the nanking cherry bushes  was in bloom in a park and helped myself.

Nanking are tasty but a huge amount of work to process.

I decided on a cobbler and hauled out the solar oven since it was ridiculously hot and I didn't want to turn on the oven. Took a few hours but it cooked nicely.

Tasted great with ice cream!

Raspberry season is now in full swing and we're getting a gallon every day with no end in sight. I've had to call in reinforcements so we can get the picking done before it gets too hot each day.

The heat is also helping the squash plants (after a terrible spring) and I'm starting to see cucumbers. Not sure we have enough time left for melons but you never know.

The tomatoes are also looking good. It takes a lot of water to keep them alive and growing in this heat.

Bees are loving the poppies.

The back apple tree is also really giving it this year. 

We have many more sweet cherries this year than last. They need a few more weeks to really sweeten up.

Unpictured is the corn which has finally taken off and is a couple of feet hight. I have had to stake the plants against the wind but I am hopeful we'll get a good crop this year with all of the water and sunlight.

Hasps, eggplant and brussel sprouts

Alright, it is high summer and the garden is presently +35C. I'm going to let it cool down a bit before I water tonight but that gives me a chance to catch up on blogging.

We had our first harvest off of the haskap bushes over the Canada Day long weekend. Not huge haul of berries and they'll just get tossed in with the mixed berry jam, but an encouraging sign that these bushes will produce once they get bigger.

The peas finally took off after a late start. These are now over six feet tall and are about to top the trellis. The peas around the interior of the fence are also starting to put on some height. I'm helpful we'll have a harvest in the next few weeks.

The one crop that has done well has been the lettuce. We have an unlimited supply of lettuce plus more queued up when this crop bolts (which will be soon).

My stunt gardening plans this summer included trying brussel sprouts and egg plant. The first brussel sprout plant has suddenly taken off.

And you can see the little brussels starting to form along the stalk. The slimy look is because it was wet when I took picture. The other six plants are a few weeks behind in their growth.

The peonies really blood while we were away on a short holiday.

The heat wave has also force the daylilies a bit early.

 

I also have some bell peppers finally!

And, after a hard started that decimated the plants, the eggplants have bounced back, are growing and have flowered.

The next few weeks look like a lot of watering since this heat wave looks set to continue. Hopefully, we'll see some raspberries soon. It looks like a good crop this year if we could have just a touch more rain.