August Garden (2024)

 

The garden appears to be a wee bit out of control, but alas, that is August.

There is a method to this madness and the jungle is organized chaos. (I see it even though others can't.)  The goal is to waste no space and push the garden to the max since this is premium growing season. This is the time of the year when all of the the seeds I dropped into an empty spot becomes evident.  Something is going to grow in the bare soil - it will be either a vegetable or a weed.

In this bed, the okra will grow tall and should be over my head by the end of summer. Instead of leaving the soil below unproductive, the lower leaves have been trimmed to open up the understory for a new experimental vining squash, Teot Bat Put. It is larger and more aggressive than expected.

A cantaloupe is at the  end of this row and is supposed to trellis up a wire support. It has refused to cooperate and insists on spreading along the ground. Everything doesn't always go according to plans.

This corner has cherry tomatoes on the left growing up the fence and over the arches attached to the field fence. Sweet potatoes spread below. In the center are sweet peppers and to the right are tomatoes with winter squash underneath. The tall arch in the back is covered in lima beans and the water sprinkler can be seen high above. We haven't had one single little drop of rain this whole month.

The horses keep the fence row clear; hopefully, they won't devour the tomatoes growing toward them that are only a mere few inches from their reach. 

The right side of this corner looks impassible until you get up close.

There is a narrow passageway beside the squash vine located under the tomatoes and a tunnel below the lima bean arch at the end of the row. You must watch where you step and duck to get under the arch. It knocks my hat off every time. I may have to crawl through on hands and knees before frost hits.

Lima beans are slow to get established since they can't bear any cool weather. This year, they were started a month earlier in March and then transplanted into the garden in April. The harvest began a month earlier! It has already made a huge increase in the output compared to last year.

Frosty Lima beans are huge and will swell even larger when cooked. Their flavor is a unique from other varieties. The roots take up a small space and there are only three plants growing all together. They have grown over this arch for two years in a row but it has been easy to plant the roots in different spots to avoid any nutritional deficiencies.

The been pods are hidden in the leaves but can be found when looking underneath. We almost missed the early harvest because we weren't expecting it and didn't see them until they began to dry

Not everything has been a smashing success. The garbanzo beans have been a failure. They look spindly and the pods are dropping before maturity. Bummer. We like garbanzo beans so it would be great to be able to grow them.

Bill built a new structure from the old chicken yard doors.  The broken, storm tossed chair with the short leg (caused by a weed eater accident) was placed inside.  Everything around here keeps being recycled and repurposed until it falls apart (I am included in that list). Green beans were planted to make a shady spot for my frequent coffee breaks.

The plants on the sunnier left side (south) are twice the size of those on the right (north) side. The back of garden continues to get shadier as the trees in the woods grow taller. There is one empty spot to the left of the arch that has not been reseeded yet. It was caused by a thieving racoon who dug up my sweet potatoes. Bill caught him red handed. Something will be planted there when/if there is ever rain in the forecast again.

This is the view while sitting under the green bean arch facing the morning sun. The right (south) side of the garden is already in full sun. The shade on the left (north) will last until after lunch. A new patch of purple hull peas doesn't seem to mind the low light and are blooming. The pole protruding in the middle of the peas holds the sprinkler as it is moved from spot to spot.

Tomorrow will be the first of September and the green beans over the arch are only just now beginning to bloom. They obviously don't like any shade at all.

Even though they can't seem to produce a bean, at least hey keep me cool as I rest.  Not everything that appears to be a failure really is. The green bean arch has been a smashing success for me. 

Last Month's July Garden (2024)
Last Year's August Garden (2023)

Through the Garden Gate

Amish, A Trip to the Produce Auction

 

There is an Old Order Amish community about 50 miles from us in Ethridge, Tennessee. We just visited and purchased produce. When my boys were teenagers, I traveled there once a week to buy fresh milk, eggs and vegetables. It was hard to cook enough food to satisfy their ravenous appetites. 

There were some subtle changes in the community. Fewer families are raising crops.

Some have switched to milling wood.

Nashville is one of the fastest growing cities in the US and it is experiencing a massive housing boom. New apartments and houses are being built at record speed. The urban sprawl has sadly, reached us. Every single time we drive somewhere in any direction to go anywhere, we notice another new construction site. Hundreds of new houses are being built everywhere. We are about 50 miles south of Nashville and Ethridge is about 70 miles to the southwest. It puts them in a unique position to profit from the growth

It also means with less crops more people are vying to purchase what is available. We experienced sticker shock at the family operated roadside  produce stalls. The prices were often higher than Kroger's. Even though the Amish produce is fresher and better quality, I have to drive 50 miles and then go house to house seeking what I need. The long trip to the Amish isn't always worth the effort.

There is an auction that sells produce in bulk three times a week. The houses in that area still raise large crops. 

I attended the auction looking for bulk vegetables to can. (Picture taking was not allowed and if you tried to snap one, they would call you out over the loud speaker. Don't ask me how I know.) It was packed with commercial retail buyers in semi-trucks purchasing large pallets for restaurants and grocery stores. Money was no object - they had a quota to fill and the higher costs would be passed on to their customers. It was a blessing for the Amish sellers but difficult for the few families like me who were looking for deals. Last year a ten pound box of tomatoes sold for about $10, this year they were $25.  A highly prized box of Cherokee Purple tomatoes could easily reach $50.

The auction was held on a 95 degree day, in an un-airconditioned crowded shed with two auctioneers chanting on loud speakers at opposite ends simultaneously. I walked back and forth for hours going from one sale to the other and when the big buyers finally reached their quotas, I was able to swoop in and grab what was left. I got a mountain of yellow squash for $30!!!

I'm so happy! This makes up for all the failures due to squash vine borers destroying my plants. Never have I ever had more that 4 quarts of squash in my freezer at the end of the season! 

It was a labor of love working from sunrise to sunset blanching, freezing and canning. We have been eating it everyday and still haven't tired of it. It was worth all the work. 

Amish, My Adventures

Amish, Buying Milk

Amish, A Trip in the Rain

July's Garden (2024)

 

Rain fell this week and broke the two month drought. Bill hasn't had to mow or rake the yard and has enjoyed his vacation. No grass mulch has been added and the soil is showing which is why the garden looks different.

The experiment to cover the squash with a bug net to keep the squash vine borers away so the plants could get a head start seemed like a great idea. Surely now, I would get a decent harvest. Right? What could possibly go wrong? 

JUNE BUGS!

That's what went wrong.

They always arrive in this area in July (so why aren't they called July bugs?)  Normally, there aren't that many but this year was different  - there were thousands.  They are big, fat bugs that never learned to navigate their flight paths, won't be shooed away and insist on smacking me in the face as I work. Swatting them with a tennis racket is easy but futile - they keep coming. They swarmed the netting ruining it by eating through to the plants inside. They ate the nylon! At least it killed them.

After they got inside, they feasted on the leaves and probably sent engraved invitations to every borer around. 

I gave up and removed the netting. 

The other new netting (it was the third row planted) just fell apart. Nothing touched it that I know of and there haven't been any storms (because we are in a drought). Holes just appeared. When I tugged it, the fabric disintegrated in my hands and threads dropped all around. China doesn't make things like it used to.

I gave up and removed it also. 

I swear. I don't make up these crazy things. If I hadn't taken pictures, nobody would believe how many failures I have had when it comes to growing zucchini.

Before anybody starts crying, there is good news. Last month I shared how I had stripped the leaves off of this squash vine borer riddled spaghetti squash (it was in the first row that was planted) in hopes the fruit would mature, well, it did! Together they weighed over 7 pounds.  At the current price of $1.49 per pound at my local Kroger, they are worth $10.43. I'm counting it as a success.

This squash row (it is the second one planted) produced less than six yellow squash, total. The borers found it and feasted the minute the net was removed. Three plants are still hanging on but not producing anything.

There is more good news. Two strange looking spaghetti squash fruits have matured and the new seedlings are filling up this row.  My goal to have a continuous crop of zucchini, yellow, and spaghetti squash hasn't been reached; however, the season isn't over yet!

This Roma tomato decided to die for no particular reason even though all the others beside it are fine. Cucumber seeds have been slipped in and are waiting to take over.  A watermelon is rooted at the beginning of the row and is vining under the tomato plants. When it hits the end, it will be turned back to go up the other side. By then, the row of sugar beets will have already been dug. New gardeners don't get discouraged. Keep planting seeds and you will have success. Leave no spot bare and unproductive.

The bright red milk crate has become a step ladder to help me reach the plants up high. It was full of canning jars purchased at an estate sale and pressed into service to haul produce. Now I don't know how I ever gardened without it. I'm not sure if my plants are growing taller or I am getting shorter.

This North Carolina White Pickling Cucumber running up the fence on the left above and looking pitiful was almost ripped up two weeks ago.  However, it is still producing two to three tiny cucumbers everyday without ever being treated for diseases. They are used to make pickles because it stays crispier than other varieties. It is a keeper.

It has been a hot, dry month and for a while it looked like no amount of watering would keep the garden alive. The well dropped low and I switched to carefully hand watering each plant. Without any mulch, the soil quickly dried. During the past few days, a slow steady drizzle has fallen and the garden came roaring back to life just in time for these pictures. The grass has also greened up and it will be difficult to cut. Next month expect to see grass mulch piled up to my knees.

In spite of the drought and bugs, this garden produced far more than I ever expected. 

UPDATE: Soon I will be sharing how we pressed the sunflower seeds into oil. I'm waiting for the residue in the oil to settle so it can be separated. Sounds difficult but it only requires pouring the good oil off of the top. It makes a huge difference in the flavor.

Last Month's June Garden (2024)

Last Year's July Garden (2023)

Through the Garden Gate