My Green Thumb(s)

Green Thumb: according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, it may have originated during the reign of King Edward I who was so fond of green peas that he kept half a dozen serfs to shell them.  The serf with the greenest thumb from shelling the most peas won a prize.  That seems like a very likely origin to me!

This has been a great season for peas.  I have peas as far as the eye can see.  I bring a stool to the garden and pick two handed as if I were milking cows (which I've done plenty of in my day).  I grab a handful of peas and use my index finger to pop the stem up and off.  Then there is the shelling.  The green has to be scrubbed off of my fingers with a pumice stone, and my thumbnail still has a faint green glow.

Three of four beds of peas.

The bin in our freezer allotted to peas is full to overflowing.  The remainder of the peas this week will have to be eaten not stored.  One bed is picked completely clean and needs to be removed right now to make way for bush beans.  

I planted both Penelope Peas and Garden Sweet Peas.  I probably won't bother with the Garden Sweet again.  They are very tall which makes them space-efficient, and they continue to produce over a longer time period as they continue to grow, but the pods are small having only about five peas each.  Penelope, however, has nine, ten or eleven peas in each slender pod (I found one with 12 last night) which makes them much easier to both pick and shell.

Sometimes you just have to move along.  My pole beans have been very sluggish.  The Monte Gusto were particularly stunted.  I pulled most of them out and replanted to see if that helps.  I think this week I will also try them in another bed on the tall peas trellis.

The cucumber plants are growing like crazy.  

Both rows are now in.

I love purple cabbage!

Potato grow bags with Dark Red Norland

The tomato plants have really hit their stride and 

I now have the expectation of some tomatoes

Black Brandywine Babies

This will definitely be a Vitaverde Cauliflower and not a Broccoli.
Many broccoli are now on their way to being ready

When I haven't been gardening I have been orcharding.

This is June Drop time for the apples, but almost nothing is dropping.  There are not many multiple apple clusters, so I have not had to thin them.  I use sandwich bags to keep the sooty blotch and insects away.  I have bagged 95 apples on the heavy producer, and more than 15 on the other tree.  I am not sure what I would do with that many 13 ounce apples!  Last year I bagged 36 and 13!