Pictures from my late summer garden
I have several pictures from the garden in this post. Each has a brief description. Note that some fall crops are now coming up. Mustard and wild lettuce are coming up where I let some plants bolt last spring. Instead of pulling these out, they were allowed to produce seed which then dropped to the ground and some has now germinated. I also have some peas mixed in with the last plantings of 90 day corn. These have produced a small crop of peas but having peas in the summer is a real treat. I will know in a couple of months if any of these peas last into the fall and winter. It would really be cool for peas to take over old corn stalks in the fall like summer beans do.
Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, and Rutabagas are up in the greenhouse. As I have mentioned before, I do a planting in six packs on a bi-weekly basis throughout the fall and winter.
And now for the pictures.
The picture below is of my Jerusalem Artichoke patch. Note that Jerusalem Artichokes (JA) are not artichokes at all but sunflowers instead. And they have nothing to do with Israel. But unlike other sunflowers, these guys make tubers in the ground which can be harvested in the winter and used much like a potato. The plants make great carbon material for composting. These plants are a good 10ft. tall with small flowers on the top. Squash from the June 90 day corn planting has vined out from the garden and is now growing under the JAs. Mexican sunflowers are in the foreground. Some two year old chard is on the right.
The next picture highlights the September 60 day corn which is now about six inches tall and growing rapidly. Notice the Packman broccoli in the background. It was transplanted in March and is still producing two cuttings a week of silver dollar sized heads. The corn is growing in the same ground as the first planting of 60 day corn in April. The brown corn stocks on the right are from that planting. They continue to support a quickly fading purple pole bean plant which has given its very sweet beans all summer long. A few surviving April bush bean plants are also dispersed between the three rows of this corn. A late planting like this is a bet on warm weather. If the morning fog with cool days pattern of the past week continues, this corn probably won't yield anything except compost material. But quite often we get some of the warmest weather of the season in September and October. No guarantees in this game.
The next picture shows leek in the foreground with pole beans on the right, June 90 day corn in the far background with red sweet peppers nestled in between. We just started picking corn from this corn patch on Monday, Sept. 10. Note that this is the first corn of the season with significant earworm presence, not unusual but certainly not welcome. But the corn is also the sweetest we've had all season. Pick out the one or two worms at the tip of the cob and enjoy a sweet treat. The earworms are mainly a cosmetic problem. I'm sure glad I don't have to sell this corn.
Next we have purple brussel sprout plants with carrots and old corn stocks support pole beans in the background. They are from the first 90 day planting of corn. The sprouts are small but hard and very tasty. Sprouts are the most difficult plant I grow. The plants get large and leafy but the sprouts are often non existent. The purple Rubine variety works best in my yard. These guys were transplanted into the garden in March.
Can you find the Japanese yardlong beans hanging from corn stocks in the next photo? The corn has all been harvested. These stalks are left to support the beans. Yardlong beans aren't my favorite to eat but they sure are fun to grow and look beautiful hanging from a corn plant.
Here is a photo of two clusters of tomatoes with winter squash growing around them. Winter squash plants are taking over the yard including my sidewalks right now. This is their time to shine.
The next and last picture is my favorite of the set because it highlights the random, almost chaotic, beauty that radiates from the late summer garden. Carrots and winter squash are nestled in front of and below my July corn. Some Musica pole beans are hanging from an old corn stalk and a mixture of new and old bean plants have strung themselves throughout the corn. It is a competition for limited space. But the plants all learn how to survive together almost like in a wilderness setting. I let the plants work it out. In any given year, the mixture of produce varies depending on which plant type is strongest.
The late summer garden makes all the work earlier in the season well worth it. I mainly observe the beauty and harvest the bounty with very little additional work required. However, I do prune out dead plants and growth. If mildew gets too bad, then I cut back the foliage most infected, especially squash leaves. I heavily prune tomatoes to force them to spend their energy in producing quality fruit instead of excessive growth.
Note that I am now down to 1 hour and 35 minutes of drip watering per week.
Well that's it for now.
Happy gardening,
danh
Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, and Rutabagas are up in the greenhouse. As I have mentioned before, I do a planting in six packs on a bi-weekly basis throughout the fall and winter.
And now for the pictures.
The picture below is of my Jerusalem Artichoke patch. Note that Jerusalem Artichokes (JA) are not artichokes at all but sunflowers instead. And they have nothing to do with Israel. But unlike other sunflowers, these guys make tubers in the ground which can be harvested in the winter and used much like a potato. The plants make great carbon material for composting. These plants are a good 10ft. tall with small flowers on the top. Squash from the June 90 day corn planting has vined out from the garden and is now growing under the JAs. Mexican sunflowers are in the foreground. Some two year old chard is on the right.
The next picture highlights the September 60 day corn which is now about six inches tall and growing rapidly. Notice the Packman broccoli in the background. It was transplanted in March and is still producing two cuttings a week of silver dollar sized heads. The corn is growing in the same ground as the first planting of 60 day corn in April. The brown corn stocks on the right are from that planting. They continue to support a quickly fading purple pole bean plant which has given its very sweet beans all summer long. A few surviving April bush bean plants are also dispersed between the three rows of this corn. A late planting like this is a bet on warm weather. If the morning fog with cool days pattern of the past week continues, this corn probably won't yield anything except compost material. But quite often we get some of the warmest weather of the season in September and October. No guarantees in this game.
The next picture shows leek in the foreground with pole beans on the right, June 90 day corn in the far background with red sweet peppers nestled in between. We just started picking corn from this corn patch on Monday, Sept. 10. Note that this is the first corn of the season with significant earworm presence, not unusual but certainly not welcome. But the corn is also the sweetest we've had all season. Pick out the one or two worms at the tip of the cob and enjoy a sweet treat. The earworms are mainly a cosmetic problem. I'm sure glad I don't have to sell this corn.
Next we have purple brussel sprout plants with carrots and old corn stocks support pole beans in the background. They are from the first 90 day planting of corn. The sprouts are small but hard and very tasty. Sprouts are the most difficult plant I grow. The plants get large and leafy but the sprouts are often non existent. The purple Rubine variety works best in my yard. These guys were transplanted into the garden in March.
Can you find the Japanese yardlong beans hanging from corn stocks in the next photo? The corn has all been harvested. These stalks are left to support the beans. Yardlong beans aren't my favorite to eat but they sure are fun to grow and look beautiful hanging from a corn plant.
Here is a photo of two clusters of tomatoes with winter squash growing around them. Winter squash plants are taking over the yard including my sidewalks right now. This is their time to shine.
The next and last picture is my favorite of the set because it highlights the random, almost chaotic, beauty that radiates from the late summer garden. Carrots and winter squash are nestled in front of and below my July corn. Some Musica pole beans are hanging from an old corn stalk and a mixture of new and old bean plants have strung themselves throughout the corn. It is a competition for limited space. But the plants all learn how to survive together almost like in a wilderness setting. I let the plants work it out. In any given year, the mixture of produce varies depending on which plant type is strongest.
The late summer garden makes all the work earlier in the season well worth it. I mainly observe the beauty and harvest the bounty with very little additional work required. However, I do prune out dead plants and growth. If mildew gets too bad, then I cut back the foliage most infected, especially squash leaves. I heavily prune tomatoes to force them to spend their energy in producing quality fruit instead of excessive growth.
Note that I am now down to 1 hour and 35 minutes of drip watering per week.
Well that's it for now.
Happy gardening,
danh
posted by danh at
8:24 PM
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