Marigolds in full bloom. No rain and above 20 C highs non-stop since mid-August, and more of the same in the forecast. Steady south winds have drained the rain barrels down and driving the grass into dormancy (haven't watered grass).
Above, left to right: Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard, dill, marigolds, kale, poppy, more dill, carrots, brussels sprouts.
Above: Prairie Pride Tomatoes ripening fast, waning Lincoln/Homesteader Peas (behind) drying out. 
These apples were picked within less than 2 minute walk of our house. After a week of picking and a freezer full of applesauce, we've hardly picked 20% of the apples on our choice tree. The small red ones on the left came from the choice tree, called Rescue Crabs by a relative, not sure actual variety name.The red ones are much sweeter than the yellow-green on the right, but the yellow-greens boil down quicker. The red apples do not need added sugar, we usually add some sugar to the yellow-green ones, though I eat both fresh apples as is. Some apple sauce mixes blended both apples. Cinamon and cloves also added.
We ran out of freezer space so decided to attempt canning for the first time at the last minute. I drained the apple juice (center jar in above photo) prior to placing the boiled apples through the food mill (above left), salvaged from a garage sale (maybe $5 or so). The canning set came free with our house (discovered abandoned in a dark corner in the garage).
Bernardin glass jars were collected over time from Last Mountain Berry Farms jams, so only purchase was 12 snap lids (70mm) for $2 and some electricity estimated at about $0.16 for the four jars shown. Total time (picking to canned) maybe 2 to 3 hrs total.Canner took about 1/2 hr to heat up then boiled for 25 minutes as per Bernardin canning guide (with 10 minutes added for Calgary's high altitude). Next year will be more efficient with a full canner.
Came back from vacation after 1.5 weeks to find the Thornton Potatoes had grown nearly 10 times in height since before we left! They were only a few inches high pre-vacation. I dumped some compost on them just before we left since they are heavy feeders plus it rained while we were away. And we had great friends watching over the garden for us. A good combination for lush growth.
A single Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard plant has bolted. Since then, no more have bolted. Not sure if this is normal. The marigolds (yellow, left in above photo) have finally started blooming.
Burgeoning Prairie Pride Tomatoes. They better get ripening quick before Jack Frost comes! Ripening has been slow with the rainy, cloudy weather. While visiting my aunt on vacation, she informed me that Prairie Pride Tomatoes are a "determinate" variety that grow out instead of up. Which explains why the wire cages I bought are not helpful. I've resorted to jute string staple gunned to used survey stakes from work (that would otherwise have been discarded). Determinate means (I think) they mature and die after a certain timespan instead of growing indefinitely until the first frost. However, in our climate this seems not likely to be any different with short growing season. There may be other differences I have yet to learn about.
The dill also grew some 10 times in height since pre-vacation, from several inches to several feet. A few dill plants provide more than we can keep up with. Some went to the freezer since they retain flavour better in the freezer than dried. We started harvesting peas and beans since vacation. By mid-August the pea harvest is more or less complete, and bean harvest carries on. Also on-going harvest of brussells sprouts, kale, swiss chard, chervil, oregano, rhubarb and neighbours raspberries. From most to least, the largest producers so far this year have been:
The tomatoes will likely catch up soon, likely climbing up to fourth or fifth place. The herbs have been large producers but we never seem to get around to harvesting them. Will have to work on that. Peas produced a lot less than I expected, but at least they are adding nitrogen to the soil. Good for crop rotation.
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