We are just about finished the canning and now it is time to start cleaning up the gardens.  Today we had a watermelon.  Ten days ago we took one of the watermelons we thought was ready but it wasn’t quite.  The thing was sweet and light red but the seeds were not brown so we knew it should have stayed on the vine longer.  We did make water melon pickles and ate the red flesh and both were good.  We have been watching the other five on the vines and today some critter got into the garden and ate  about half of one.  It was nice and red and the seeds were brown so we took one for us and it is a good one also.  Now Norman is setting the trap and baiting it with the other half of the water melon in hopes of catching the critter, what ever he is before he eats all the others.

We have half of the tomato rows cleaned up and Norman has put up a fence around the whole garden to keep the deer out.  The other fence we had worked good for 5 years but we planted too close to the fence and the deer found out they could easily jump the fence and get the beans, now the new fence is higher and made of wire so they can’t get in as easily and we will not plant so close to this fence so the deer can’t tell what is in there.  Norman is weeding the beans that the deer left and they are getting new leaves and some blossoms so maybe we will still get a few beans before the frost comes.

I weeded the fall carrots and am now cleaning up the asparagus  bed and we can get that fertilized and mulched for winter.  The raspberries are all done and today I trimmed them again so they don’t just get long and leggy but branch out well.  The blueberries are almost done.  Norman is enlarging the bed as the bushes have really grown a lot this year.  Then we have the grapes to prune, weed and fertilize and the same for the fruit trees.  The pears, what few there are, are still on the tree and not yet ready to pick.  The crab apples are ready anytime but I am waiting until the apples are on the market.  Then I will get a bushel and make apple pie fillings to freeze and make jelly from the skins and cores and add the tiny crab apples to it for good flavor and added pectin.

This week I picked most of the Brussels sprouts and froze ten meals of those.  There are three more large plants that I will pick this week so Joe and Holly can have some fresh.  The green peppers are still growing well and those I will chop and fry with onions to freeze for winter.  We still get a cuke now and again and the leeks are still getting larger.  They make such good soup with the tomato juice.  There are some sweet potatoes in the tangle mess of vines but I have no idea if there are any potatoes on them, they have had to fight for their place in the sun all summer so I can’t blame them if there are no potatoes.

The black-eyed Susans and mums are still in bloom and it looks like they will be for another month or so.  They look so pretty now when everything else is on the way out.  Fall seems to have come on time even if summer didn’t.  We are now in the dog days of summer.  Very warm and humid with no air moving.  Nashville is getting the 90 + weather but we here on the mountain stay in the 80’s which is great.  We have had lots of rain this year but right now we could use some more.  They are predicting some for the week end, I hope they are right.  Have a great day and take care of yourself.