The August 19 Garden

I’ve run into one too many cobwebs recently to deny that the seasons are on the cusp of changing. This morning I even sent Gerry into the garden ahead of me to identify, and annihilate, any rogue cobwebs hanging around.

Change is happening in the garden as well, as we ripped out the two big delicata squash plants that were prolific in flowers none of which turned into a squash. I don’t know what the issue was but will need to do some research before next year. I’m really disappointed that I won’t have a pile of delicatas to put away for the winter months.

The tomato plants are massive again this year as you can see by this photograph. Those are all tomato plants around the perimeter and you can see how big they are next to my 6′ tall husband. The Sungolds likely top out at over eight feet! They’re bearing much fruit and, in addition to enjoying them au natural, I’ve made a first batch of Sungold tomato jam and many more tomatoes have found their way into jars in the form of canned tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, and vegetable soup. They continue to keep me busy in the kitchen.

The cucumbers keep coming as do the peppers. We put a batch of the Jimmy Nardello peppers in the dehydrator this morning. I’ll use these in the winter in sauces.

The kale. Oh my, the kale. It’s so tall and, even though we’ve been harvesting and enjoying it almost daily, it continues to grow and produce so I’m going to start freezing some soon along with the rainbow Swiss chard. I planted even more kale and Swiss chard in July so I expect I’ll have plenty to put in the freezer.

In other garden news, the second crop of green beans is doing well and I expect we’ll be harvesting beans in a few weeks. They’ll also end up in the freezer unless I decide to do more Dilly beans.

This hazy-looking photograph shows the area that kept us well-fed for a number of months with different varieties of lettuce, radishes, scallions, carrots, and beets (well, the beets that the voles left for us anyway). I replanted the area mid-July and we’ll be enjoying some more of that wonderful Drunken Woman lettuce in salads before too long, along with radishes, scallions, and carrots.

So, as I said, there is change happening. I’ve been very busy canning, freezing, and preserving my harvest and the harvest of other local farmers I support. There’s talk of back-to-school everywhere and the calendar tells us we’re closer to the end of summer than the beginning. I hate to admit it, but I’m kind of looking forward to a respite from all of the work.