Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Another umbel

Here we are on the last day of July. Already. The Tour de France is done. The European tennis season is over. This coming weekend will see the famous chassé-croisé, the travel weekend when the juilletistes (the people who take their vacation in July) and the aoûtiens (the people who take their vacation in August) trade places. In other words, traffic is bad in both directions.

This is not wild carrot, but something else. Its flowers were yellow.

We normally stay put this time of year. The vegetable garden needs looking after and the tomatoes will start ripening now. Yesterday, in fact, I spent a good part of the morning weeding, removing lower leaves, and banging in new stakes. The tomato plants get a little top-heavy as the fruit grows and their metal stakes start to lean, so I tie them to new stakes to keep them upright.

I need to find a different way of supporting tomato plants. The internet, of course, is a source for many ideas, a few of which I'm considering for next year. I'll keep you "posted."

4 comments:

  1. Walt, we found the Leaning Towers of Tomatoes rather difficult to deal with....
    I now hammer a stake in at the end of each row....
    run a thin gauge wire between the two and make it taut.
    I then use the smallest [10cm] zip-ties to fasten the top of the spiral to the wire.
    Jobzagoodun... no more leaning spirals laden with ripening toms.
    I'll take some photos with my iPad-mini and message them to Ken, so that you can take a look.

    And I think from your description, the umbellifer above is a wild parsnip...
    [not edible to my knowledge... and some people react to the sap]

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  2. August is our biggest month here on the beach and we're in for our first heat wave of the summer this week. No where to run... but home.

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  3. These are great!
    https://www.gardeners.com/buy/tomato-tower-cages-set-of-2/8587041.html#start=6


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  4. tim, that's one of the ideas I'm considering.

    mitch, crowded beaches are certainly not my thing. Glad you can enjoy it from the privacy and comfort of your terrace!

    vza, those look interesting, but I've not seen them here.

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