Darn Deer!!

Oh Mother Nature can be cruel. Now that I've finally gotten the slug problem under control, she decides to bring back the deer.. I just wandered up to the kitchen garden with my neighbour to pick a few flowers when I noticed the peas were toppled over - and chewed off! Immediately, I checked on my beloved pole bean teepee close by - yep, they found the beans too. Didn't completely destroy the vines, but nibbled all the leaves off.. plus, hoofprints everywhere! How did they get in? The new fence is 8 to 9 feet tall and it's secured at the bottom so they can't nudge under it.

Anyway, that's the life of a gardener in deer country I suppose. On a positive note, we've been enjoying the 'All Blue' potatoes immensely. They're just fantastic - bbq'd, roasted or boiled. I also allowed a few garlic scapes to mature and we've been opening the buds and gathering the teeny, tiny garlic cloves tucked within for salads, pasta and many other dishes. Finally, the garlic plants are beginning to brown - 2 weeks later than last year - and the harvest will most likely begin in just a week or two. I can't wait to have that space for some fall greens. It's hard to believe, but it's almost time - mizuna, mustard, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, tatsoi and more! Plus, I need to get more carrots in too. If they don't get planted in the next two weeks, I won't have the winter bounty we love so much. So much to do, but so little time.

Here's a peek in this week's garden..