Abundance!
The late summer has been an amazing time in my client's hugelkultur. All of the plants that remain in the garden beds are producing. They are enjoying the early tomatoes and peppers that have come along. There are also a large number of squash, melons, and beans that will be ready to go sooner than later. Pictures really are worth a thousand words here. The number and size of the vegetables are exceeding expectations. The worry that all of the carbon in the green wood might tie up too much nitrogen (thus starving the vegetables of that nitrogen) appears at this time to be unfounded. We will keep an eye on the situation, but at the present time, there is only reason to be very excited about what is to come in the not-so-distant future.
Here are some photos of the progress.
First the Beans:
 |
| These beans are the "Cherokee Trail of Tears" beans. They are a black bean. They were planted due to historical significance as well as because they are a vehicle for nitrogen addition. |
 |
| The Cherokee Trails of Tears beans are vines. They have climbed up the pole that I gave them as well as over to the tomato cages where they have tried to take over. |
Here are some picture of the peppers. We have a number of varieties from very hot to mild and sweet. We don't have bells though. It was decided that they dominated too much the dishes in which they were used.
 |
| Looking good! |
 |
| Early Jalapeno. |
 |
| The Ring of Fire |
 |
| The little stems are called calyxes. The peppers grow from them. The calyxes grow from the flowers once they have been pollinated. |
 |
| Many wonderful calyxes! |
 |
| The De Padron |
The tomatoes are showing tons of promise.
 |
| Red Cherry Tomatoes |
 |
| John Baer Tomatoes |
 |
| Ponderosa Red (still green... ha!) |
 |
| Russian Purple Romas. Can't wait to use the Cherokee Trail of Tears beans, these tomatoes, some hot peppers and some local organic chicken to make a black chicken chile this winter! |
 |
| Tomato blossoms |
 |
| Look closely... there are a ton of tomatoes in this picture |
 |
| Basil, tomatoes, and peppers are good companions. Here it's obvious that the basil and tomatoes both benefited from being planted together. The basil is big and so are the tomatoes! |
 |
| Basil and tomatoes loving living together. |
 |
| Look at all of the tomatoes! |
Next we have the melons. We are very proud of them. The client has a child in the house who is very excited about them too
 |
| The Pride of Wisconsin |
 |
| Pride of Wisconsin |
 |
| Rocky Ford |
 |
| Chanterais |
 |
| The biggest Chanterais in the garden |
 |
| There is an abundance of Chanterais. |
 |
| Looking at the melon patch. |
And finally (last but certainly not least), the squash.
 |
| The Howden pumpkin |
 |
| A baby Table King acorn squash |
 |
| An adolescent Table King acorn squash |
 |
| And another. Right now the garden has about 25 of these in various forms of maturity. |
 |
| A really nice butter nut squash. |
 |
| A small butternut squash |
 |
| Can you spot the acorn squash? |
 |
| The squash patch |
Here are some photos of the landscape. As you can tell there is a great vibrance and energy in the yard. The hammock is very relaxing and the garden attracts a ton of wildlife from bees to birds to chipmunks. The client claims to be very happy with the changes and looks forward to the transition through fall and into winter.
 |
| The Burr Oak |
 |
| The Red Oak |
As the pictures show, our client has a lot to look forward to. We look forward to the abundance that will come with the fall. Get on the schedule for the spring or fall installation of your hugelkultur! Call Will for a free site visit today at 414-308-5435. Thanks for checking in!
