Preparing to shut down the garden for summer as temps just hit 110s (after a week of perfect 70s no less). Pulled what corn I could, only four ears matured this season but we'll dry and store it and try again at the end of summer. The squash are still holding on, most of the sunflowers are about ready to cut and bag, and I'll be caging the tomatoes to see if they'll produce through the summer. Our kale is little but I'll be cutting it this week, and there are a few onions to pull and age also. With that, the garden will be just about ready to turn over to the chickens for the season!
Nopales harvest is officially done: our yield was 14 pounds all said, and I could have cut more while still leaving pads to grow on the cacti, but I maxxed out my capacity for cleaning and preparing them for storage. We gave some away, have some still fresh in the fridge (what we haven't cooked already) and I have 7 quarts of nopalitos fermenting on the shelf.
It's so odd how inverted our seasons are compared to most of you: as you enter your season of fertility we are mostly shutting down, preparing to rest the land through its harshest months before having another growing season in late summer. Though we aren't done! The mesquite pods come mature around the solstice, and in July or August las tunas (prickly pear fruits) will be ready for harvest also.
#Gardening #Zone9 #Mojave #Permaculture #Farm #SustainableFarming #IndigenousFoods
