It saddens me to see so many gardens abandoned and waist-deep in weeds. Our neighbors up on the corner (about a mile from here) had the most beautiful garden by the end of May. I really envied how big and lush their plants were--and they started their garden six weeks after I started mine. Now their rows are gone to weeds, their tomato plants are dry and dead, and their okra plants are covered with foot-long pods drying in the sun. And these are people who put in a garden every year.
It's easy to get discouraged when it's so hot outside, powdery mildew has been epidemic, the corn tasseled too early so pollination was poor, the weather was too warm for peas to do well. Some things have been great. We had a steady supply of kale for three months, with almost no insects. And we had a nice crop of radishes.
Green beans suffered from a lack of pollinators and produced very little. What they did produce was often damaged by stink bugs.
Collards made good decoy plants for flea beetles and grasshoppers, but bolted early.
Spring fever leads many people to plant gardens. I have year-round gardening fever. Things are starting to get interesting, again. I write several posts ahead--today is August 5th. Our average first frost isn't until October 30th, so I have almost three months of outdoor gardening left.
My second planting of okra is beginning to produce and my first planting is still going strong. My third planting will be ready to bear pods in about three weeks.
We've had an unexpected cool down, temperatures in the eighties and my peppers have begun to flower and put on fruit again.
The exotic Aji Brazilian Starfish I had almost given up on has put on its first pepper.
My tomatoes are getting their second wind and the loud radio seems to be keeping the raccoons away.
The starfish again. I can hardly wait to taste it.
My tomatillos are still going strong and producing enough for us and the squirrels too.
I for one am not ready to give up. I have more than enough to keep me interested: I'm thinking about what to plant for a fall garden; I'm shopping for seeds for next year and I have tomato and pepper plants started in the greenhouse for an extended season; the chrysanthemums I started from cuttings last spring are ready for transplant into the front flowerbed; and it's time to start harvesting and drying herbs for the winter. Getting discouraged is just not on my to do list.
Addendum: This cooler weather seems to have others thinking about fall gardens as well. My neighbors up on the corner have mowed and tilled their garden and rescued some of their tomato plants. I've noticed some other gardens being readied for late planting.
Stephen
It's easy to get discouraged when it's so hot outside, powdery mildew has been epidemic, the corn tasseled too early so pollination was poor, the weather was too warm for peas to do well. Some things have been great. We had a steady supply of kale for three months, with almost no insects. And we had a nice crop of radishes.
Green beans suffered from a lack of pollinators and produced very little. What they did produce was often damaged by stink bugs.
Collards made good decoy plants for flea beetles and grasshoppers, but bolted early.
Spring fever leads many people to plant gardens. I have year-round gardening fever. Things are starting to get interesting, again. I write several posts ahead--today is August 5th. Our average first frost isn't until October 30th, so I have almost three months of outdoor gardening left.
My second planting of okra is beginning to produce and my first planting is still going strong. My third planting will be ready to bear pods in about three weeks.
We've had an unexpected cool down, temperatures in the eighties and my peppers have begun to flower and put on fruit again.
The exotic Aji Brazilian Starfish I had almost given up on has put on its first pepper.
My tomatoes are getting their second wind and the loud radio seems to be keeping the raccoons away.
The starfish again. I can hardly wait to taste it.
My tomatillos are still going strong and producing enough for us and the squirrels too.
I for one am not ready to give up. I have more than enough to keep me interested: I'm thinking about what to plant for a fall garden; I'm shopping for seeds for next year and I have tomato and pepper plants started in the greenhouse for an extended season; the chrysanthemums I started from cuttings last spring are ready for transplant into the front flowerbed; and it's time to start harvesting and drying herbs for the winter. Getting discouraged is just not on my to do list.
Addendum: This cooler weather seems to have others thinking about fall gardens as well. My neighbors up on the corner have mowed and tilled their garden and rescued some of their tomato plants. I've noticed some other gardens being readied for late planting.
Stephen
All photos are copyright 2017, Stephen P. Scott
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