The Fruits of My Labor

Me geeking out about figs...go figure.

When things start to click in a garden,
its like payback times 1000.
All those hot days shoveling horse shit
DO pay off. Walking into the dome on a
quiet evening and listening to the crickets
and the frogs is the greatest feeling ever.

I quietly walk around and feed each plant,
and it feels like a genuine act of service.
Before I left, I gave each tree a big gulp
of compost tea, and made sure all the leaves
were clean and shiny.

Look at that plumper...my goodness.

We read recently that figs have to be pollinated by some
kind of wasp that acutally crawls inside the fruit to do
the dirtywork, and that inside each ripe fig is
a dead wasp. Um...nothing I have found backs that up yet.
And as far as I know, the crunchy sounds are from the seeds, right?
I heard that some vegans wont even eat figs because of the fact
that a wasp might be in them...always a good laugh.

Here is another little plumper...golden raspberry.
Buy golden raspberries...they are just wonderful.
Especially when they have good soil.
We just fell in love with them this summer,
and I frequently ate them in the garden. Wonderful.

Here is an idea for everyone...plant red clover all over the place.
Plant it in your yard, your ditches, wherever you please.
The stuff grows easily if it has a few days of moist soil to work with,
and the bees and other beneficial insects just love it.
And the deer too!
Im like..."Hey deer! Eat the clover! Leave the apple trees alone!"

The pathway is on the left, the clover patch is obviously on the right.
This patch is probably flowered out by now, as the pic was taken
in early august. This ground was rocky dirt before, and now its teeming
with frogs and beneficial insects. Savor the biodiversity.
I have no slugs anymore. Thank you frogs. Stick around, eh?
I was a madman about the clover.
I planted it everywhere this summer, and its really paying off.
Just cover the seeds with a light mulch (i used straw)
to keep the ground moist for those first critical days.
Clover will heal your soil, feed the bees, and give a wonderful
lush look to an otherwise bland landscape.

Gooseberries anyone?
This was a huge bonus. I bought 6 goosies this spring,
and didnt expect fruit at least until next summer.
I lucked out though and was able to enjoy some this year.

These are all gooseberries along the base of the deck,
which will climb up the railings (soon I hope).
Check out the clover pathway!
You have to walk slow because of all the frogs in there!
Seriously...its like a little mini jungle.

I miss being there. Im reading books about forest gardens
and watching stuff on youtube and it just makes me want to go back.
Like NOW. I want to shovel manure all over the garden beds so they
are ready for next year, I want to walk around and eat tomatoes
fresh off the vine, and I want to sit in that greenhouse and listen
to the crickets and breathe the fresh air...

For those of you lucky enough to be by your garden full time,

enjoy it to the fullest and keep building that soil.
And...its still not too late to plant clover, you can have flowers
well before it gets too cold.

I have three persimmons ripening on the tree too!

We have a guava here that is starting to fruit too,
which is really nice to see. I cant wait.

Peace everyone...keep growing, dont let
the end of summer trick you into thinking that its too late.
And there is ALWAYS time. You are on the computer right now,
so ask yourself if you have 15 minutes to spread clover seeds all over your
garden. No excuses!!! Off thy ass and create an ecosystem.