In With the New

It's just amazing to me that our summer season is coming to an end right when a lot of the country, or for that matter, other countries, are just at the start of theirs. July and August here are just so hot, nothing sets fruit and everything complains.

I've found that the fall garden is much more difficult to plan than the spring and summer one. You have an idea of where you'd like to plant your fall crops, but they're dependent upon the summer crops finishing their production in time for them to mature before the frosts. I'm finding all of my fall planning is more fly by night and as long as I plant the shorter items in front of larger items, or at least when the smaller items have started to trellis, I'm good to go. I've drawn my grids and mapped where things will be planted. I did it pretty fast. It has me nervous.

Come August 1, there's going to be a lot of seed starting and veggie clearing, and the fall will be in full swing come September.

The last squash is coming out of the ground tomorrow. It's covered with powdery mildew and isn't producing. I'm debating whether to take out the cucumbers as well since they're not flowering. They may start again when it gets cooler, but by then it's time for the snap peas to go in. Since I ripped out the zucchini and first squash bush and it's gotten so hot that the cantaloupe and cucumbers aren't flowering anymore, the bees have just disappeared so whatever does happen to flower, goes unpollinated. Maybe it's too hot for the bees as well. Yellow jackets, however, are out in force.

New things are growing, however! In the space vacated by the first set of bush beans, I've planted rutabaga. Some are just now showing themselves. I hear germination is rather low with these guys, so I may have to replant them in a week or so, although I do have a few squares popping up. They can get rather large I hear, so I only planted two per square in opposite corners. Here's one that just came up today, but the picture is blurry. My camera is having difficulty focusing up close lately.

In the place of one zucchini bush and the squash plant, I've put those zipper peas I'm so excited about. Some are breaking ground already and hopefully will be ready to produce when the temps cool down late August.

Since the other corner yard had a blank box, I put some Alaska peas in which also are starting to come up. The late fall/winter sun never makes it to this part of the yard, so I hope they have enough time to produce before then.

I think we may have some good looking bush beans by the end of July.
The second set of pole beans are growing strong as well. I hope I can get them to adhere to the trellis.

The sugar snap peas will go in the first of August. I think I'm going to let them take all 9 sqft of trellis space I have in the back. Maybe this will get me enough to eat and freeze for the rest of the year. Any other idea of trellisable fall veggies?

The morning comes early, and the fall won't be far behind. Sweet gardening dreams.