This summer's garden was interesting. My plants either thrived and produced amazingly or they didn't . There really wasn't much in between. There is still much growing right now and many have gotten their second wind after the aphid infestation. The chard has been around for almost a year now which gives us great greens for smoothies.
The Good:
Cucumbers! I planted these in February against all the rules and I had cucumbers from April to July. They were never bitter even with the high heat. And....I went out today and the Armenian's that suffered the aphid attack have come back and look what I found:
More cucumbers! There are many babies growing and so I have a dilemma on my hands; let them grow and sacrifice some room for the fall garden or pull them and plant broccoli. Hard decision.
Zucchini. Tons of zucchini. I also planted these early and had zucchini from April to July. I should have planted again in June so I would still have some but the beetles came in July and decided they wanted in on the treats. Ugh. I may plant another one now. We will see.
Melons.
Amazingly sweet. I had about 5 then the aphids hit. I cut them back and they are now growing everywhere and I just picked a couple the other day. I have a good handful more almost ready. I hope they hurry soon. I will need to pull them out. I wish I had room to do a whole melon garden. Someday.
Peppers and Chilis.
I am not quite sure what these peppers are above but they are so cute. They are mini but go from yellow to orange then to red. I pick them at all various stages of color for a great variety. They are sweet and crisp.
I picked this a couple weeks ago. The last of my carrots. They were under a tomatillo plant and I have been picking carrots for a year. They were always super sweet. I am sad to see them go. I planted the acorn squash early and have a few sitting in my pantry. The aphids ate the plants but not before I was able to get about 6 of them. I planted some butternut squash as well but they are going everywhere! I think I may pull them up for my fall garden. They will still take a while to get big so I am not sure I want to wait.
Take a peak. See how cute. Hurry. Grow.
The not so good:
Tomatoes! Ugh. I have talked to many people and no one has had tomato success this year. I don't know why this year. I had about two plants out of 15 produce. They are starting to bud again so we will see if I can get anymore. I hope.
Tomatillos. Huge plants. only a handful of tomatillos. I made a couple batches of tomatillo salsa and stir fried some up in some fajitas but sure wish I had more.
Green Beans. I planted three varieties and the plants looked great. They flowered but I only picked a handful for one bowl of soup. Not sure why these didn't work as well. I had great hopes of freezing lots for future use. Darn.
I have planted some sweet potatoes that should be ready by November if all goes well. The vines are huge:
Is there anything under those vines? I hope. I am not sure it is worth growing potatoes in a small garden but we will see. My other potatoes didn't do so well.
It is time to start planting in a couple weeks. I will have a list soon for pre-orders from The Hatching Bunnies farm for those wanting organic Heirlooms. She will have it all. I hope you are getting your plots ready. I am ready for the fall produce.
My mouth is watering for these:
Soon. November will be here before we know it.
Hope you had some success this summer. Gardening is a an experiment. Even the best have flops. You just dust off your gardening gloves and start over again.
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