It was still summer

Even though it was already September, we were really lucky with weather and had a nice summer holiday in Denmark with warm days. We're usually splitting our summer holiday in two and have the second part little bit later in autumn before darkness is coming in Svalbard. It gives somehow the feeling that winter is shorter - it can't be that long when we just came from summer holiday!

Our well-known holiday place was welcoming us once more. I really love our holidays here in Denmark.

We were also travelling little bit in Denmark and had couple of nice days in Samsø, in a little island between peninsula of Jutland and Zealand (the island where Copenhagen is). You don't actually need to be travelling really far away for to find exciting holiday places.

I have to admit that I haven't seen earlier a pumpkin field. These pumpkins were quite a bit bigger than my own I was growing in Longyearbyen.

An essential part of a good holiday is good food. And that we're not lacking in Denmark. Even though, I wasn't really sure if I was happy to meet that red thing on my plate...

Of course our faithful black coated companion was following us everywhere we went. I'm sure he enjoyed our holiday as much as we did.

Tree hugging

We are out of the house every other week while we're working in Svea, so that gives limitations what kind of plants I'm able to have at home. If it wouldn't be like that I would love to have a total garden on my living room!

Last year I shortened all of my yucca palms so that we were able to see out of the window again.

Then I didn't cut my dragaena. I was counting it was still having good enough place to grow one more season. I was wrong...

Actually I should have cut it already before it reached the roof, but I didn't manage to do it.

After cut I measured the length of the plant: it was about 3,50 meter. I think that was pretty impressive thinking about that the plant has been growing in the arctic. We got the plant in early 2006, so it was now about seven years old.

I put the top of the plant straight to the pot, so we'll see if it manages to start to grow again. I did the same with yuccas last year and none of the died.

As I'm having now mostly just non-flowering houseplants,  I decided to buy some new ones with flowers. I'm counting to that these will survive even they won't get water every day.

I bought also one Hortensia, even though it's having higher water requirements.  I'm not so sure about how it will survive alone over days without water.

Limited amount of greeness

Sommer is getting also here, but there is very limited amount of greeness outside. Practically none, but amount of snow is getting already distinctly low. This summer I'll be so little at home, that I'm not making any greenery at home either. That feels actually pretty strange - I have been waiting forward so much to start to sow garden again! Instead I made almost a clear-cutting on my forest of yucca-palms. They were getting so high that actually we didn't had much view out of the window. But I didn't cut our dracaea. It has already reached the roof, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe later...

Now, when I'm spending so much time in Svea, I just needed to take some plants with me. It's pretty much cosier on our apartment when there is some green on the window! 

Harvest

It was fun to have a little garden on my living room. I can't say that the harvest became any special huge, but anyhow, it was nice to eat some handful of own tomatoes or spice food with herbs from own garden. I managed to make some dinners (for one) from own harvest - just added with an egg and so. That's mostly thanks for male pumpkin flowers; I was having plenty of them. They are tasty and beautiful to look at, so no any complains.

I got two small pumpkins (250-400 g) and one which didn't grow properly. Even though harvest might not look that impressive, I just needed to have a harvest fest for them. The pumpkins ended up in the oven with a piece of reindeer my friend shot last autumn. Anyhow, that was at least a good excuse to ask friends for dinner! So, now all reindeer is eaten and garden is harvested. And I'm already waiting for a new season!

It's getting autumn

For me the midnight sun is one of the most natural thing: That's how it should be in the life - always sunlight. But it's getting to be autumn, I just have to admit it even I wouldn't like to. Light is changing somehow colour and intensity is much lower, specially at night time.

It start to be autumn also for my garden. I'll be now about three weeks away from home, just popping by there once in a while. First one week in Svea, then a week in Trondheim and going back to Svea for a week after that. And then it's already early September and definitely autumn.

Autumn also means that's it's time to start to put my garden down. All salad is already eaten, also almost other herbs as well, except parsley which growing like a weed. Tomatoes and pumpkin are allowed to continue to grow still for a while.

The first pumpkin is growing steadily. I'm already dreaming about dinner, having it together with tasty Svalbard reindeer.

Another small pumpkin, growing also promisingly.

I have got couple of handful with cherry tomatoes. There is still lot of flowers and some green tomatoes, but I'm not sure if they manage to ripe before autumn.

One afternoons harvest. Tasting better than sweeties!

My beans were not growing that successfully. Next year I would like to try some peas instead.

Black eyed Susan has been flowering since early June. Maybe I should have next year some more flowering plants instead of eatable ones. My small garden isn't giving that much to food, so flowering plants might give the same amount of pleasure as the pumpkin leaves.

Hope for Halloween?

As the maximum weight was said to be around 800 grams, I guess it won't be a impressive Halloween decoration.

Production of male-flowers is good, even though I would like to have more females. For addition for small amount of female-flowers I have been unsuccessful with pollination and therefore lost the change. But there is anyhow some gain for growing: Males are tasting specially good fried with cheese and blue cheese filling.

Got to taste first handful of cherry tomatoes!

It's a free week again!

I'm at home again!

My garden has grown enormously while I was in Svea. I like my courtains made of leaves.

All of these are male-flowers. I froze them and later they will end up on the frying pan.

The vegetation start to be so thick that I'm little bit worried if my tomatoes can get enough light.

Just some of my beans survived my first week in Svea, so harvest won't be really impressive. Also, those who survived the first week, have got burned by sun later. Will try next year with better luck again...

When I landed in Longyearbyen, I got a message from my friend that she has made ready food for us for a trip and dogs are already waiting forward for a trip to Sarkofagen. So, I just went home and change my clothes and so I was ready for a mountain trip. It was nice welcoming home!

Dogs and tomatoes

Recipe for happy life is pretty simple: You need dogs and tomatoes, spice them as you wish with other things you like. Shake them well together and enjoy with good friends.

A dogsledgetour in the middle of the town.

For polar dogs summertime is little bit too warm for running.

Reindeers aren't having any predators here and they are very tame. Even though we were having dogs with us they came to curiously have a look who we were.

Taking dogs out for a walk is an nice excuse for have a trip.

Our orange beauties - pumpkin flowers.

Tomatoes are also enjoying summer with 24 hours light.

We still see outside, so nothing to complain.

Ladies on flowers

Finally my pumpkins started to flower. The firsts lady-flowers opened while I was in Svea. The next ones opened when I came home, but then I didn't have any male-flowers. So, I needed to go and talk with my friend, who also have some pumpkins. She had a male-flower but not any females, so I just got the complete stamen and pollinated my ladies. When I got some male-flowers, I didn't have any use for them, so they ended up to frying pan and were tasting delicious.

We haven't yet loose the view to Hiorthfjellet.

Sommer week in Longyearbyen

When I started in Svea, I was thinking I'll be having so much time on my free weeks that I can do all kind of projects I have been dreaming on but never had time. Yep, I was thinking so - but having a week free isn't actually so much! It just disappears!

One of the thing I like much is to be out with my friend and dogs. For that we had a real summer weather with blue sky, temperature around +8 Celcius and almost no wind. I got totally tanned during last week - and not any beautifully but with real Svalbard-tanning: Face totally brown, but white around eyes marking the sun glasses, also neck is totally white. Fingers are tanned, but arms are white. Pretty... In Svalbard you never know how many of those kind of days you get during the summer, so it's really important to enjoy all of them.

I'm also enjoying my "garden". There is enough salad to eat in every dinner and it's nice to follow how the plants are growing constantly. Thanks for light 24 hours per day and big windows which make our living room like the green house. Strangely enough now in summertime one of the biggest problems in the houses are that they are getting far too hot with the constant sun.

A wet dog is a happy dog.

View from the ridge to Nordenskiöldtoppen.

Black eyed Susan is flowering.

Pumpkins are having their first female flowers.

Males haven't started to flower yet.

There is already first small tomatoes growing.

We're having far too much parsley - wouldn't believe that!

There can never be too many radishes.

My garden is growing well.