Things are starting to wind down in the garden, at least kind of. There are still a bunch of tomatoes, and lots of peppers and eggplant (not that I’ve picked any yet…), but you can definitely feel that they’re just delaying the inevitable by trying to produce what they can, and that one morning (hopefully not too soon), I’ll go outside to find limp, blackened, desiccated husks where only a day earlier stood a bright green pepper plant. Fall is in the air.
The days are noticeably shorter – I really hate how it sneaks up like that. It’s not even light until 8 anymore. Most nights have been getting cooler, with 50s more and more common. I spotted the first powdery mildew of the year, which was actually later than normal. And even the grass is growing again.
It’s looking like it’ll be just another okay year. Some things did decent (tomatoes, peppers, leafy stuff, peas, yellow crookneck squash), and some not so much (beans, herbs, cucumbers, some winter squash). A lot of this was a function of the rain, or lack thereof. I did water a few things diligently, but not everything, and it was obvious. While everything, for the most part, has survived, many of them aren’t exactly thriving. I can always hope that next year is that perfect year – a steady, soaking rain two nights a week totaling an inch or two, then sunny and 82 for the rest of the time. Surely that sounds like Cleveland, does it not?
I pulled up all the carrots and froze them, and hope to get another crop in the ground, like, last week. I also need to plant what I hope will be greens for the winter crop. We had the first corn the other night, and it was less than stellar. My fault for not picking most of it about a week earlier when it was more tender, but I think one of the dogs got loose in the corn patch and knocked much of it down, so I can’t really tell what’s what in there. None of the ears had nice, full rows of kernels. Not sure if it was poor pollination or not enough water when the ears were developing, or both. I’ll try corn again at least one more time.
Anyway, another semi-bummer of a year, but not terrible. I tried several new things and came away with more experience, which is all you can ask for sometimes.
Where your corn looks like it is knocked down, unless you know it was the dog the odds are it was raccoons. They love sweet corn and will decimate a patch.
Definitely the dog because I know he’s been jumping the fence, and nothing got eaten! I’ve been wary of raccoons but haven’t seen any so far.