The garden is changing as August arrives. We can now anticipate when we need to set aside time to pick and can produce. By August, it’s just too hot to keep up with radishes. The lettuce just gives up and gets bitter. The cucumbers have outdone themselves and the tomatoes ripening quickly. I’m now down to just one box of pint jars and Bert is going to pick up two more boxes so we can finish the season.
Just as I’m thinking we’re almost done…my neighbor brought me two large bags of commercially-frozen strawberries. I was just thinking they could be made into Jam! I have lots of ½ pint jars; I have several boxes of Sure-jell. Why not!
At the moment, we’re focused on using our latest picking of tomatoes. We’ll get a bunch of hamburger and onions and make a big pot of chili. We will pressure can the jars and have easy meals all winter! I’ve already made pizza sauce and just plain canned tomatoes so I don’t need those this year. Here’s the latest pile of tomatoes…with more to come! Yesterday we canned 12 pints of pickle relish and we still picked more cucumbers! Crazy!
So, let’s tour the garden today.
The petunias are going strong but after the rain storms, they look beat down.
The spearmint is growing tall but we haven’t seen any flowers at all.
In the planter on the patio, I’ve planted some old beet seeds. I wasn’t sure what would happen! We’ll wait and watch to see if they actually make beets!
The planter that held lettuce and radishes now has beets and spinach…also old seeds. I can start adding a few leaves of spinach to my salads! The center section had lettuce that I cut off. We did not pull the roots and it continued to grow! However, the lettuce is very bitter so we’ll save it for a friend who has rabbits.
In the bed off the patio, the row of carrots is looking good. Always a waiting game to see if carrots will develop properly.
The asparagus continues to just be there. It’s hard to get a picture of them because their green tops blend into the hillside behind them.
The pumpkin patch is looking impressive. We’ll wait to see how many pumpkins survive roving critters, but so far the fence has kept the groundhogs out.
Of course, there are one or two that insist on growing outside the fence!
Up on the hill, the tomato plants look like they’ve had it. However, the tomatoes are ripening quickly.
This row had beans. We’ll leave it empty now. Actually, the extra space makes it easier to pick tomatoes!
Here is the second planting of beans. They grow fast in this hot, wet weather!
I’m not optimistic that the carrots will produce much! Luckily, we have that section down by the patio that seems to be doing well!
The cucumbers have outdone themselves! I have a few just to eat and that’s fine. The wandering voles have managed to take little bites out of most of them and at this point I don’t care!
And finally, the echinacea is still pretty, but the seeds are falling and the seed heads are turning black. Let’s us know fall is on the way!
We’ve had plenty of rain this summer and no serious plant diseases to worry about. I marvel at how fast the summer is going. If I get depressed about it, I can just check out my pantry and admire all the beautiful jars!
If you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com. Thanks!