Free Soil

I "harvested" my first compost from my compost piles and forked it into my raised bed, after I pulled up bunches of carrots.  The soil is rich, dark, filled with earthworms, and free!  It's basically last year's oak leaves broken down into soil.  Worth its weight in . . . compost.

Clematis Paniculata

My clematis paniculata has opened up in a full flush of white.  The plant grew tremendously this year, and it covers the entire corner and half the front length of my fence.  It's not as stunning as the photo I saw in White Flower Farm that induced me to plant one of my own, but still.

Fall Sprouts

My kohlrabi, arugula, spinach and lettuce are up!

Boltonia

My Boltonia is now in bloom, underneath my peach tree, and it's a nice backdrop to the morning glories growing through the tree.

My clematis paniculata is about to open any day now.  There are hundreds of little blooms on the thing, crawling all over my picket fence, so I'm hoping it's going to put on a good show.

Fall planting

I got a moment to put in some late-season crops in one of my two deck planters.  With my daughter's help I planted lettuce (already started), and (from seed) arugula, spinach, kohlrabi (which my daughter likes pickled), endive, and a mesclun mix.  

Once the weather drops, I can cover my planter with two cold-frames, so I'm hoping to keep growing things til Thanksgiving.

I've been pulling my potatoes lately: my red pontiacs are starting to get rather big, though some are still quite small.

Watermelon death

Some animal mauled my one watermelon, which was only about two inches in diameter, so no great loss, but I was looking forward to something.