Last of the summer garden

Its still warm and the tomato plants are still producing

The basil is top heavy and seriously needs to be harvested and made into pesto

And for all intents and purposes, the long, dry, hot summer has taken its toll on the garden. After five months of production things are coming to their natural, eventual, inevitable end.

Making a break for it

Part of the basil plant must have been unhappy with its original placement, because there is one growing next to the parsley pot. That didn't grow so well - err at all this year and the mint is just overhanging its confines. But the mint is root bound and shouldn't be headed anywhere other than tea, deserts, and syrups. I almost feel bad that the basil ended up in the woodchips and not the parsley pot - at least then it would look like it was "home" and not standing sentry over an empty pot.

Let's be honest, I am procrastinating.....

By wandering around the Homestead and snapping photos of garden prep work, I am avoiding some necessary work on my never ending research. Right now I figure, "What's the harm in taking a few minutes after a crazy day of tutoring 3 different topics (Geometry, The Great Gatsby, and Siddhartha) to transition my thoughts towards spending the evening critically detailing the finer points of the theory of practice as it concerns the discipline of Practical Theology and Christian Education by recording Dad's preparations for this year's garden"? OK, I am not JUST procrastinating, I am whining a little bit too....but let's get on with the tour!
Above you can see he has set out his own little makeshift greenhouse. These are REAL Jersey tomato(e)s, the Ramapo variety that he started from seeds of last year's crop.

A shot of his "deer proofed" garden plot waiting for the last danger of frost before planting next month.

Scallions and some lettuce sets are already in place.

A few years ago he had blueberry bushes planted. He and I pruned them about a month ago. We normally pick in late June through mid-July - this year, who knows!

My father is NOT a fan of mint, but when I convinced him several years ago that if planted in pots mint does not take over the yard, he decided to submerge a few pots next to the back door. It makes for a nice herb garden. Spearmint is to the left front, peppermint is in the green pot to the left rear and chives are in the center rear. (I will be clipping some chives in a few days when we get to have some trout for dinner. Yum!) Basil, parsley, and other herbs will be planted in the other pots when it is safe for them to stay outdoors overnight.

Thanks for hanging out with me for a bit on a little escapism.

Going back to the books - I promise!

Well, maybe after I make dinner for Dad....Mom is dining out!