Fenton Friday: Blackberry Abundance

The heat and humidity came in this week. Luckily, we were able to clear out the rest of the left-side beds and plant our cutting-garden seeds. (The row starts off when the Tomatoes we planted last week.) The Arugula had gone to seed and I hope to collect a lot of that to package up for our Seed Exchange next winter.

We left the self-sown zinnias and I out in a Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia) seedling behind them, knowing how tall and leggy that can get. We got that from last weekend's event for the 50th anniversary of the Washington Youth Garden. To that, we added rows of - Butterfly Monardo (Bergamot Bouquet), Celosia Flamma Orange, Verbena bonariensis  'Vanity', Hummingbird Nasturtiums Aloha Mix, and Cut Flower Marigolds Xochi Orange. To that I hope to add a row of Lemon Basil this weekend. We shall see what all comes up and thrives.

The strawberries and snap peas have slowed down to pretty much nothing, but to make up for it the dwarf, thornless Blackberry plants have an abundant fruit production this year. (You can see them at the very end of the left-hand bed in the photo above.) We sampled a few as we worked and I picked another quart yesterday that I froze for a future cobbler or pie. I hope to get over tomorrow to pick another quart or so for snacking on over the next few days. 

What are you growing and eating this week from your edible garden?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 11th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.