End of Summer Garden

Well, it's been a while since I've written anything here. The garden has had an enormous growth spurt after the recent heatwave. Everything is huge and needs lots of cutting. I've been a bit under the weather and haven't done much outside lately, but today I put in my new compost maker 'the earth machine'. We bought it last saturday at a composting workshop, which we happened to see as we drove down Manchester Bl. It was only 20 dollars. It's like an upside down trash can and the bottom is the lid. The underside is open so that earth worms can get in there and help make nice compost. At soil level there is a nice little door to dig out the finished compost.

I added some leaves and had some nice vegetable scraps to put in there already. Watered it down a bit, and it's started!

It's not real attractive looking so I put it at the back of the house where you can't see it, but it'll be a lot better than my homemade one, which had no top, and when it rained, the compost would get too wet. (Of course it's been years since we had any good rain.)

My tomatoes are still producing, although there aren't as many future ones. This thanks to some tobacco hornworms, really amazing looking creatures, who just about eat the whole plant, or at least all the leaves, if you don't pay attention for an hour or two.

The roses are amazing again. I thought they were at their peak one and a half months ago, but they've gotten another one. Even the purple ones have loads of flowers now.

My herbs are also doing great. They are flowering as if there was no tomorrow, which there isn't for some of them, as they are annuals and after the flowering and setting seed it's over for them. Especially the cilantro and the basil. So I try to cut out the flowers to prolong the life of the plant.

A very forward little visitor!

One of the many butterflies in the garden.