A Year?!

I cannot believe that somehow a year has gone by since my last post. I will do better this year!

That said, there's not much to write about gardening-wise right now because of the much needed rains. The yard is soggy and there's not much I can do other than basic pruning and cleanup until the rains stop and the ground dries up a bit.

In the meantime, my artichokes, rhubarb, garlic, and onions are getting well watered and doing fine.

Flower Bed by the Driveway

Well, I finally got that front strip next to the driveway replanted, mostly anyway. I put a honeysuckle back on the fence to climb and spread and a pink butterfly bush up near the corner of the garage at the other wide point. It's an oddly shaped strip and I wanted some variety in there. At one point I had all penstemmon in there and while it grew well, I just got bored with the mass of it.

I alternated lavendars and shoot, something pink I can't remember the name of right now. Both should get about 2' high. I did some low annuals (but probably not enough) in between them for now, white and purple. I planted snapdragons around the butterfly and cosmos back between that and the fence. Also some more snapdragons there and some 12" high (eventually) white perennial. Oh, I also snuck some purple bearded irises around. It will hopefully be a riot of color but with some pattern and groupings, but not overly formal.

I planted artichokes and rhubarb back in my new raised beds, where I'd done the lasagna stuff. My gosh that is nice soil there now! Totally black and crumbly beneath the top layer. The garlic and strawberries I planted in them are doing great.

The Garlic is In

Last June when I harvested my garlic and braided it, I saved half a dozen of the biggest bulbs for planting. Today they got planted. You're not supposed to grow garlic where you grew it last year, so that left me in a bit of a conundrum. I didn't have enough space left in a single bed so I've split the crop in half, planting half in one of the new lasagna beds and half in the bed where I grew lettuce, basil, cucumbers, and beets last year, planting around the remaining cucumber plant and around where I just planted some lettuce and beets. I'm a bit concerned that the new bed doesn't get enough sun in the winter, but I suspect that won't matter much to the garlic. However, I wasn't willing to gamble my whole crop, since I grow all my garlic. (Didn't have to buy any at the store last year and I use a LOT of garlic.)

The peas I planted two weeks ago are just beginning to show signs of life, as is the lettuce.

I've started drying some tomatoes in the dehydrator today. If I remember correctly, they'll take a full day or two. I'm also going to make up some pesto for the freezer since I've got plenty of basil right now.

Autumn Plantings in the Vegetable Garden

I'm still harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, apples, parsley, basil, and cilantro. But I'm thinking ahead also...

A few weekends ago I planted a bed of strawberries, doing the lasagna gardening bit in that new bed. In last year's garlic bed I planted starts of red cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Plus scattered in a few rows throughout the different beds I planted some yellow onion sets. Yesterday I planted seeds for lettuce, arugula, spinach, and more beets.

Praying Mantis

I know they're good in the garden but they are kind of gross, too. Weird looking. I've been lucky to spot a few around the vegetables this year and last year. Yesterday, my daughter spotted one sitting on the driveway, a large female. Should have grabbed the camera I guess but it would have been a boring picture sitting there on cement. And the second time we spotted it would have been even worse... We came out later and it had left the driveway. My friend spotted it though... Apparently a neighbor's dog had a lift a "gift" on my front lawn and the praying mantis had gone over there. The flies come; she eats. Smart little bugger I guess to go where the food comes to you!

I've been busily harvesting parsley, rainbow chard, tomatoes, beets, and cucumbers all summer. I had the hardest time getting the cilantro started but it is now looking good.

Where the garlic had been growing, I've just planted 6 plants each of Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and red cabbage. Along the edges of a few different beds I've planted about 30 yellow onions.

I have two unplanted beds at this point and one that will be ready for garlic pretty soon, when the cucumbers are worn out (and I'll just plant around the basil I guess). The hardest part, to me, about trying to have a year-round garden is the tearing up of plants that are past their prime but still producing something.

The two currently empty beds are around the far side of my yard, away from easy watering, although I hope to add some drip watering over there soon. For now, it means dragging a hose around the corner of the house from 30' feet away. I am thinking, though, that at least one of them would make a nice spot for perennial vegetables. I have asparagus growing elsewhere that is not in the best of spots and would like to start a new bed for that, plus rhubarb. And I'd like to try some Jerusalem artichoke as well. I want to add the artichokes into the flower border.

So that's the state of my garden.

What Should I Plant This Fall?

There are bare spots in the garden, which makes me think ahead to the fall, even though it's still hot August around here.

I will plant garlic for sure. My garlic harvest this year was fantastic, nice huge bulbs. It's the second year I've grown it and I'd read it gets better and better as you replant the prior year's crops and it adapts to your soil and climate. I have a huge lush braid hanging in the kitchen and am just finishing using up the last of the tiny bulbs from last year's crop.

Broccoli is high on my list. We all like to eat it. I've grown it before and it did well. The cauliflower I tried one year also did well but I was totally grossed out by all the snails that seemed to live on the underside of it so I'll probalby skip that.

Lettuce, of course, and hopefully my herbs will keep going for a while.

I have beets I have yet to harvest. They were sort of hidden between the peas and beans and I frankly forgot about them until I was clearing out the dead pea vines today and weeding. I presume they're still good to eat and believe I can plant some more for fall/winter.

I haven't done leeks for a few years and think I'll do those again. I can eat leek and potato soup nearly every day and be happy, yet rarely buy them as they seem outrageously priced when I know how easy they are to grow for myself.

My swiss chard is still going great and I just planted some more seeds figuring the existing plants will give up the ghost pretty soon. I just keep cutting off leaves around the outside of the plants and they keep growing new ones. And they're so pretty!