August's Garden (2023)

 

The garden is out of control and we are exhausted trying to catch up.

It rained for two weeks straight, stopped, and then the heat and humidity soared. The garden grew wildly.

I'm glad the planting dates for the tomatoes were staggered. Those beginning to ripen cracked from the deluge. The sweet potato vines below the tomato vines have taken advantage of the empty space and are spreading up the support fence. It will make picking the leaves for cooking easier.

Our big lawnmower broke down twice, parts were difficult to find so the lawn became overgrown. The melon patch disappeared beneath the weeds. 

The grass spread into the garden along the edges.

The yard resembled a hay field when it was finally mowed and had to be raked to avoid suffocating the grass. Bill raked while I spread it as high as possible between every plant. It was piled as high as two feet in empty areas. It wasn't something either of us wanted to do in 95-degree weather.

I'm not complaining. I'll take too much rain and mulch over drought any day. 

The rain ruined the chickpeas and caused the pods to mold since they were mature. 

They will be grown again next year but I will raise them differently. The seeds were purchased from a grocery store so the germination rate was about one in ten. Soaking them overnight might have improved the odds. Next time, at least ten peas will be dropped in each hole unless I can purchase them new from a seed company. 

Staggering the planting dates didn't work well because the plants died immediately after production. Some varieties like purple hull peas continue to produce, but these didn't. The fresh flavor was similar to new English peas. It would have been better to harvest early, then pull them all up at once and plant something else.

I feel like it was a successful failure because I learned so much. 

Nothing in the summer squash corner has performed as expected. Only four lima bean seeds were planted below the arch at the far end because I didn't want the vines to take over the area like they are doing now. One seed on each side might have worked better.

The dahlia below the Lima Bean vine has been quite happy with the excessive growth and likes being shaded from the blisteringly hot summer sun. They don't grow well in this area and burn during the summer. It is doing better here than in my flower garden. That's been a surprise.

Only two yellow squash from the last batch of seedlings survived but for some reason, they are doing great. I have ignored them yet they are producing.

Out of the dozens of Candy Roaster squash seeds planted only one survived and has produced a fruit. My dream was for dozens of these since they are our favorite. I am wondering why the squash vine borers haven't killed them. Is the scent trap working or have they flown away? Also, the squash bugs are gone. I haven't seen any since the two weeks of rain - that's never happened before. What did I do right with these plants because I want to repeat it. The more I learn about gardening, the less I know.

A happy surprise, the experiment growing lettuce during the summer has resulted in one success. Crisp Mint has lived up to the claim of surviving the heat of summer without becoming bitter. (Woo hoo! I succeeded!)

The bed from saved seeds of whatever greens have bolted is thriving. It is always a surprise to see what sprouts. 

The summer garden has produced more than I imagined. Overall, there have been more successes than failures and with gardening, that's a win. The last two months have been hard but it was worth it to have a full pantry ready for winter.  We have had a few cool mornings which means winter may be early again. It's time to begin seeds for the winter garden and after last year's failure, my plan is to way overplant.

Last Month's July Garden (2023)

Last Year's August Garden (2022)

Through the Garden Gate