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| Garden in the morning |
Sunday, August 27, 2023
August usually sees the full repertoire of the summer garden harvests. Late sweet corn (plant corn in succession and different varieties to lengthen the harvest), summer squashes (like zucchini), peppers of all types (sweet to hot, hot), tomatoes, Mediterranean herbs, cucumbers, okra, apples, peaches, pears, grapes, beans, melons, figs, eggplant, honey, artichokes, raspberries, onion, winter squash and fennel are all in season in the Midwest.
This year for warm season veggies, I am harvesting winter and summer squash, tomatoes, snap beans, lima beans, peppers, greens, sprouting broccoli, Egyptian walking onions, eggplant, cucumbers, goji berry, green beans, basil, melons, strawberries, husk cherries, and herbs.
I planted my second round of summer and spaghetti squash and cucumber plants early last month and I am getting fruits off all of them. I had also planted Mashed Potato winter squash twice, but the first time they didn't come up and the last time the vine did sprout and flower but has now died. For squash, it is a good idea to replant at the beginning of July to keep the harvest going as they are susceptible to disease.
Many do the same with tomatoes. I started 4 extra tomato plants the first of July and three look really healthy and are producing fruits. For the first round of plants, I have lost 3 of the 14. The others I have cut back as they were getting very spindly. They are starting to bush back out, all have flowers and most have more fruits coming on. I started getting tomatoes at the end of June. Was getting about a quart a day. Right now, it is about a half a quart. They'll continue to produce until the first hard freeze if you keep them fertilized, watered and treated for disease.
If you are not growing summer veggies in your own garden, your local farmers market is a great place to pick up these seasonal veggies to either eat or preserve. The best buy on any fruit or vegetable is when it is in season. You can get even better deals on any produce that has a few blemishes which have no effect on the flavor. If you are going to can, freeze or dry them, just be sure to remove any blemishes first.
We grow many edibles in pots because our edibles are integrated into the flower beds. In pots, we have had great luck with Egyptian walking onions (which can be harvested year round), peppers, eggplant, bush zucchini, bush cucumber, dwarf tomatoes, greens, fig tree, columnar apple trees, dwarf moringa tree, kumquat tree, sweet bay, mint, goji berry, raspberry, lettuce and celery.
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| Spaghetti squash sitting on hummingbird vine |
I have tried sweet and hot peppers in pots and the garden. Overall, they seem to do the best in pots. I am growing a few hot peppers-a pequin type Chiltepin, cayenne, and Anaheim. I use the tiny peppers in my season salt I make, the cayenne for hot sauce, and Anaheim for chili powder.
My sweet peppers have had a slow start this year. I have many green peppers on my snacking pepper plant and have been harvesting the cayenne, Anaheim and Chiltepin peppers for a month now. I planted all my peppers a bit late this year so they are doing well for how long they have been growing.
Weekly watering for plants in the ground is sufficient with monthly fertilizing. A pot with a water reservoir in the bottom is the best solution for lengthening the time between waterings when growing in pots. Otherwise, plan on watering your pots every 2-3 days and fertilize every other week. Summer garden tips
I grow all of our herbs in the ground except sweet bay. Sweet bay is a tender perennial and will not survive winters outside so I keep it in a pot to bring in each fall. I had one a couple of years ago that was supposed to be hardy in our zone and it didn’t make it. I put my new ones in pots and they have overwintered well in our unheated garage for the last two winters. Fall is a good time to plant perennial herbs, veggies, fruits and flowers.
Rosemary is also tender. I have tried the several varieties that are supposed to be able to survive a Midwest winter and have yet to find one that will last past 2 seasons. I have tried to also keep in a pot and bring in each winter. This is an herb I will buy each spring if overwintering does not work out, plant in the garden, then preserve for the winter by harvesting late in the season and drying.
Flowers are doing great right now in the garden. They are covered in beneficial insects, butterflies and butterfly caterpillars. The zinnias, marigolds, petunias, Hummingbird vine, and Cock's Comb are putting on a big show. The zinnias, marigolds and Cock's Comb are also edible. Flowers that are edible
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| Red zinnia |
A quick reminder, save the seeds from your best performers that have been disease free to plant next year. You can replant seeds from any heirlooms or open pollinated plants. What do the terms GMO, natural, heirloom, organic, hybrid really mean? Not only does it save you money, but it also gives you the plants that do the best under your garden and zone conditions.
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