Enjoying August, and working towards a fall crop.
Greetings! I thought I'd post some pictures, to let you all know what I've been up to for the past couple of months....
It seems as if summer has been going on forever, and yet I keep checking the calendar and counting days before last frost and we have a couple of MONTHS to go, people!
This is actually, for a year-round gardener, a very confusing time of year. On the one hand, the beans have just gotten into full swing, the tomatoes are JUST starting to ripen, and I'm looking at the peppers longingly, waiting for one of them to warrant a taste.
At the same time, having harvested the onions, garlic, chick peas, and pulled the old pea plants, it's time to start the SECOND garden, the fall crops. I am actually a little out of my comfort zone at this point, as the timing of fall crops is a little tricky and this is only my second year really committing to planting a fall garden.
The theory is that the "cold loving" plants, planted at the end of July/beginning of August, will be producing vegetables as it gets cooler, and the quality of the vegetables will be improved by the cold weather, in addition to the plant not "bolting" (or going to seed) by being stressed from heat. Great. Nice theory. The PROBLEM is that these cold loving plants need to be sheltered from excess heat and you need to keep them watered. Hmmm.....we're going to need more rain, people!
To make it a LITTLE easier on myself this year, I started lettuces, arugula, and cilantro in a very shady, moist spot and just yesterday transplanted them into the "main" garden. I started cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower in the basement under grow lights, just a couple of weeks ago, and transplanted them yesterday as well. I've got them all clumped together in the garden, so it'll be easier for me to give them all extra water at the same time.
It's OK to inter-plant the cabbages, broccoli, and cauliflower with lettuces now, because by the time the brassicas get big enough to really need room the lettuce will be ready to be harvested. I've read about getting even more adventurous, and planting radishes, carrots, lettuce and cauliflower, for example, all in the same bed to be harvested and pulled in a very complicated orchestration, but this year I'm keeping it simple!
Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to those tomatoes.....there are 30 tomato plants in my front yard, and more in my community gardens, so it should be an exciting, busy August!
