Happy Friday the 13th. I hope this post finds you feeling lucky…
I feel kinda bad for the garden this year, being subject to the whims of a schizophrenic weather pattern. It doesn’t rain for a couple weeks, then it rains, then nothing for a couple more weeks, then last week, we had three straight days of rain, now nothing for a week again. But in spite of that, those plants have shown remarkable resiliency. They’re probably not producing as they would in optimal conditions, but it’s not as bad as I would have thought. There is a distinct feel of fall around here, because a lot of the tulip trees are losing their leaves due to the lack of rain. As a result, most of the beds are accumulating a layer of crunchy brown leaves.
It seems like we’re just on the brink of being inundated. We have many small cucumbers, beans, and peppers, and the tomatoes are just starting to turn. The squash is doing better than last year, and we picked several of the yellow crookneck that C helped plant. I don’t think he’s quite as interested in the whole cycle yet (planting, watering, growing, picking, eating), but he has a good start for next year, and he can identify a lot of the plants in the garden, even when he can’t see the part that he eats, which is pretty cool.
I’ve been planting some of the fall crops (inside) recently, mainly brassicas. The cabbage came up fine, but I was disappointed with the germination of the Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. I’m on the second sowing with still not much luck. I’m going to try to get some broccoli and kale planted this weekend too. It’s hard remembering to plant things – I’ve never done a fall garden, so right now, my year would typically be done, just waiting for things to harvest. In another month, I’ll also be planting a bunch of cold-hardy greens, that, ideally, will survive the winter in a cold frame, allowing for fresh produce until spring. A cold frame (or two) that doesn’t yet exist. The work never ceases.
Fennel.
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