I’ve harvested four zucchini in the past week, I’m pleased to have been wrong about how much it was going to produce this year. Got about 10-15 days before first frost so I’ve clipped all the immature flowers off my tomatoes so the plants have to put energy into finishing the fruits.
August is mostly hot and dry in this area but we got a nice soaking rain most of the night. It’s time to trim and clean the garlic that has been drying in the shed. Then I’ll set the largest cloves aside for replanting and freeze or preserve the rest. It’s also time to dig up all my potatoes!
A picture of a zucchini with flowers in the background.
My one and only zucchini that made it to maturity AND survived the squirrels.
I have one zucchini. Also I was pretty sure I planted a pumpkin not a zucchini in that spot. I’m unsure how I messed that up.
July has been very busy. The garden is largely taking care of itself right now other than some weeding and checking for harvestable veggies. Some disappointments: bunching onions didn’t survive, strawberries never fruited, zucchini is struggling. Zucchini! How?!
The snap peas have mature pods and they are delicious! My garlic has been de-scaped to increase their bulb yield. I have a tomato that will be red in a few more days. Things are good in the garden.
A small pink and white hibiscus bloom.
Lots of hard work in the garden lately. Putting up shade cloth for some of the delicate ones. Clipping the scapes off the garlic. Pointing and squealing “LOOOK” when something I thought was dying now shows signs of getting stronger. And, my hibiscus is blooming after 3 years!
Gardening is great practice for managing disappointments. So far this season I’ve lost all my strawberries but one, most of my broccoli (to squirrels 😡), most of my tomatoes, and a cucumber. I’ve got an entire bed planted with salad greens that hasn’t had a speck of sprouting in it.
The garlic is making scapes, which are garlic’s flower. For hardneck garlic varieties, you have to wait until the scape forms a full curl, then you snip it off. This forces the plant to put energy into making the bulb larger. The scapes can be frozen, grilled, made into pesto or dried and ground.
I have to cut a bunch of it down this year because it’s been allowed to get out of control, I’ll prop some and bring them to you.
I have this old fashioned yellow rose that came with my house. The blooms are always yellow. But today I noticed these two that are just slightly orange tinted. Not sure quite why but they’re lovely.
Today’s garden tasks include: pruning the lilac 3 weeks late, digging up another patch of creeping bellflower and bindweed, and moving any perennials I end up having to dig up in the process.
One thing that has frustrated me all season is how much my indoor seedlings struggled. My top theories are weak lights and overwatering. Even though they’ve been healthy, they never took off growing like they’re supposed to. Lots had weak or stunted root development.
New: potatoes sprouting! Thriving: all squashes, container strawberry, garlic, carrots, radishes and two cucumbers. Surviving: 6/8 tomatoes, 8/10 broccoli (squirrels 😡) won’t germinate: melon, beans, gai lan. Waiting for sprouts: lettuce, spinach, kale, dill, cilantro. Dead: in-ground strawberries
The garden is doing pretty well, could be better. Carrots are going strong and I’m starting to notice parsnip, melon, pumpkin and zucchini sprouts. Finally got my new beds filled and started planing tomato seedlings with wall o waters to protect them from our mid 40s nights. More planting tomorrow!
Many things are sprouting or blooming in the garden. And yet, I still have at least a dozen more things to plant. My first garden was a single plant each of tomato, jalapeño, and cilantro. I haven’t counted but I would guess that there are around 30 types of plants in my garden today.
Tomorrow I’ll be planting bee balm, wild bergamot, marigolds, nasturtiums, basil, oregano, sage, dill, chives, lettuce, kale, spinach and maybe some peppers - tbh the pepper seedlings aren’t thriving, I seem to struggle with peppers.
Things growing today: radishes, garlic, bunching onions, peas, carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and something that might be a parsnip.
Things in the ground but not showing up yet: potatoes, pole beans, melons, zucchini, strawberries, asparagus, cucumbers and the rest of the parsnips.
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What you’re creating is a record to consult when something fails. (Note: not if). Knowing what you did first makes it easier to trial and error your way to a healthier garden, better harvest. It’s also great for scratching the gardening itch in the depths of winter by writing down your spring plans.
I consider myself an “advanced beginner” gardener. I know some things but not a lot and I make a lot of mistakes. But the one piece of advice I have for new gardeners is get a notebook and start taking notes: your planting dates, watering schedule, pests, seed starting protocols, the soil you buy
@vanthangeles.bsky.social it turns out you were exactly right!
Doesn’t look like much right now but WE HAVE CARROT SEEDLINGS!
Last year not a single carrot seed germinated so I’m really thrilled. I would say there’s about 10 seedlings visible so far, which makes me hopeful that there will be many more. I love home grown carrots.
We are slowly making progress on rooting out the creeping bellflower. But now we have this problem of an ever growing pile of bellflower plants and roots in the backyard. It’s very satisfying to see the patches shrink. When it’s gone we’ll plant irises, penstemon and columbines.
A week is a long time in the garden, yet I’m a little worried abt how few things happened while I was gone. I expected to see some carrots seedlings today since I pre-sprouted them. I was expecting to see some purple radish seedlings since they sprout fast. All I’ve got this morning is dirt! 😒
He did have an enormous presence!
😭 Not Aloeysius!
This is my homemade carrot seed tape. Yes it was tedious and yet if it works it will be so worth it. Variety is Scarlet Nantes, known for being sweet tasting and nearly coreless.
I was going to do the same with the parsnips but I was house sitting last week and will be again next week so I didn’t have time. Just sowed them like normal and set my watering schedule for two short sets to hopefully keep them from drying out. Next is peas, then potatoes when I get back.
Carrots and parsnips are in the ground. Tried something new, I soaked them in water for 5 days so they’d start to sprout, then made my own seed tape w little strips of toilet paper. Carrot seeds are very prone to drying out and take weeks to germinate on their own. Hopefully it works 🤞
