Lungnasadh (Lammas) the First Harvest Festival around August 1

So far this Lungnasadh (Lammas) we have harvested 100 bulbs of hard-neck garlic.  We bought the original bulbs from Cheryl Nyl on Texada Island about 12 years ago.  Thanks Cheryl!

Our new perennial planting of strawberries and blueberries started producing handfuls of fruit.  

 

The annual garden is also beginning to produce.  The forest to the left of the garden has been logged to allow room for a big shed to be transported from our neighbour's property.  Thanks Ross and Linda!  The cleared area will become pasture for chickens and maybe other small animals.  Some merchantable logs are being stored behind the annual garden.

The herb garden in the foreground is providing a steady supply of lovage, sage, oregano, chives, and thyme.  The raspberry bed in the background has produced handfuls of fruit while it continues to establish itself.  Most canes will be transplanted down to the orchard this fall.

We planted over 260 onions that are laying down and ready for harvest.  They must like the cooler climate and they are looking great this year.

As an experiment we also planted onion seeds to grow onion sets for next year's planting.  They need another month of good growing weather.  Hopefully they will make it.

The tomatoes and sweet peppers in the hoop house tunnel are coming along.  Next year we will convert one of the Shelter Logic tarp sheds into a greenhouse for these heat-loving plants.

We are regularly harvesting greens from the soft lettuce planter that is normally covered in plastic to keep the birds away.

 

 

 The beets are rocking and rolling!  Looks like borscht all winter long. 😏😏😏😏

 

 

We let the celery from last year go to seed because it attracts beneficial insects.  It's always fascinating to see a plant go into its second year and become a monster!

We are also harvesting baby potatoes from the potato patch but will wait for later in the fall to get the bigger ones.

 

 

The brassicas on the left had a slow start due to slugs but now they are coming along.  The kidney beans on the right are coming up and have started to form beans and cross our fingers we'll get a bit more heat in August for the beans to grow.  Love to grow protein 😁😁😁.

 

 

 

The carrots on the left had to be re-seeded possibly because of the "heat dome" in late June. Linda's experiment growing zucchini, cucumber, and sweet peppers in the hay bales seems to be working but at least another month of summer days are needed.  Thanks Gabriel Dey for the inspiration.  Looking forward to a greenhouse in the future.

 

 

There will be a handful of apples, blueberries, and green gage plums during their second season in the orchard but the main success is that all 24 fruit trees and 21 blueberry bushes have established themselves and are all growing well.  We also expect great things from the strawberry patch and asparagus bed this coming year!  The "shrubbler" micro irrigation system from Lee Valley is working wonders.  Thanks to John Shuttleworth for his recommendation!