I know it's only mid-August, but we're thinking the same thing so many other gardeners around here have already said; fall is in the air. I'm going out on a limb and calling it late summer.
Our very first yellow squash so late in the season! We got a few zucchinis but the plants succumbed to vine borers early on. This is a late bloomer.
The winter squash plant pictured below completely amazes us, because the plant is all but dead. It's been sick for weeks, yet it's still producing flowers and the fruit is very healthy.
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| The squash plant is not that green leafage you see behind the bloom. It's what's in my hand. |
We purchased several cauliflower plants from a nursery near our home and planted them in the empty potato patch together with our left over romaine-lettuce starts (pictured below). We still have several cauliflower plants inside under lights. They won't go out for two weeks.
We're not sure where we'll plant all our seedlings. We have cabbage, broccoli and more cauliflower. We might have to dig a second patch next to this one. There's space for it, and we could plant corn there next spring. I have a feeling I'll be shovel-plowing on my next day off!
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| nursery cauliflower and seedling romaine lettuce |
Several pictures of our late summer garden with captions...
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| A surprise pumpkin. This volunteer plant flowered many times before this little guy finally appeared. And he has two happy friends. That makes 1 for C. James, 1 for Q. James and 1 for papa on Halloween -the gift of gardening! |
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| It's a strawberry patch, I swear! It's in desperate need of our attention. |
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| Our romaine lettuce is doing fine. The heat doesn't seem to be to much for it. |
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| Next to the romaine lettuce we have some very sad looking leeks. They were covered by our cucumber patch for most of the summer. We're thinking we'll overwinter them and hope for the best. |
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| Could we get a second run of melons? The plant now has blight. We'll see what happens. |
It's that time of the year when parts of the garden begins to look a little messy and unhappy. I would pick those spaghetti squash before some bug gets in to them. They are ripe and will store all year in the house. I had mine sitting outside on a table in the sun for a few days. Now they are on the back porch out of the rain.
ReplyDeleteYour romaine looks great and you just may get some more melons...you never know!
I also purchased some cauliflower and broccoli starts and need to get them in the ground as soon as the weather cooperates. I haven't purchased a plant in years but I got too busy.
Those leeks will do just fine out there right through the winter. Last year I didn't pull the first one until October and the last one was pulled late in the winter. It's a nice winter treat to make some fresh Leek & Potato Soup!
Hi Robin, I almost picked the Spaghetti squash this morning before work, but resisted. I'll do it first thing tonight. Thanks for the advice. And thanks for mentioning the leeks. We planted them quite late, after we were told they overwinter well. Can't wait to make them a part of a hot winter meal.
ReplyDeleteMy squash is looking about the same. Then the bugs descended. As long as your still getting edible food, it's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, thankfully we haven't had many bugs. We worry a little bit that we're going to be overtaken by disease, but we seem to be getting plenty of food.
ReplyDeleteThat squash vine is impressive; all dead leaves but still some colorful fruit. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI think everyone should just start hoping for much more warm weather. I have hardly taken in any tomatoes at all yet this year, and man do I really want to can some sauce. Hopefully you can get some more melons out of the season, and I can get lots more tomatoes. :)
You have so much going on in your garden. Fresh fruit and vegetables how inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThank you MK-girl. If only we were as adventurous as you about color and variety. I hope your spring season gives you a beautiful bounty this year.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Japan... got here from Malay-Kadazan girl blog... enjoyed browsing through your posts... your melon harvests look very impressive...
ReplyDeleteLrong, thank you for visiting from Japan. I'm glad you enjoyed our posts. Our melon harvest has been a bumper this year. We're freezing melons and giving them away to neighbors. It looks like we might have a second run of them in a couple of weeks!
ReplyDeleteI will have to say that our squash is looking the same! That is so cool that you already have such a cute little pumpkin and another watermelon crop! I hope they both do well!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alicia
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