Been a while since my last entry. It's been so hot that it's tough to get anything to sprout. The cabbage bolted so I cut it all down and got a few small heads out of it. It shall be sauerkraut soon! The chard is growing strong and allowing for a large harvest each week. The biggest recent development is the deer...
Yup, they found the potatoes. The damage wasn't too extensive with only a couple plants stripped of foliage. I added some fencing at deer-level to limit their access while still allowing me to reach under for maintenance.
They found the blueberries too, so they've received the dome.
I had left the cover off the sweet potatoes to let them get a good soaking of rain one day. This was a mistake. The deer promptly ate a nice section while I was away. The rest of the row however is still doing well and should provide a good crop.
But there is a problem. The area the deer hit also seems to be suffering from some sort of infection. I haven't yet been able to identify what it is. The leaves are turning completely black and dying off. I've found a couple bacterial infections that come close to the description, but I'm not certain yet.
Hopefully it doesn't spread.
The sweet potatoes also have a companion now.
I dropped a yellow squash seed that had survived winter in the compost bin. It managed to sprout in the walkway so I just let it go. Pretty strong little plant so I'll be keeping its seed later.
Finally, some radishes have sprouted.
Still no sign of the parsnips or chives though. The heat is proving to be a barrier in getting things to come up. I'm probably going to have to get some peppers started indoors if I want to have any before the end of the season.
For now though I'm just glad that my efforts at controlling the deer, when actually applied, are proving successful.
