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| Edible and decorative front garden bed |
Sunday, September 14, 2025
We are having a very dry September again this year and way above average temperatures. In the past, we could depend on the rains starting by mid-September and supplemental watering being pretty well over until next summer. Not this year. I am still watering the beds weekly and the potted edibles every 2-3 days with temps in the mid 90's this coming week.
Peppers, beans, eggplant, okra and squash do well in this type of weather if you make sure they have enough to drink. I have many peppers just waiting to ripen, my okra continues to flower and produce fruits, my Yard Long beans are producing very well, there are a few tomatoes on my tomato plants, and flowers and fruits on my eggplant. When the heat gets in the 90's and stays there, tomatoes will drop their flowers so you don't get as many fruits during heat waves.
Herbs are doing well. The basil and oregano is in full bloom. The bees are loving both of these plants along with the zinnias, celosias, marigolds and lavender. Now is a great time to harvest all your herbs. I do need to harvest sage as I am out of it.
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| Cardinal basil in forefront and Genovese basil in background |
Many of the winter lettuce seed I planted a couple weeks ago has sprouted. They're not growing much yet. When they get their second set of leaves, I will start transplanting them into their winter pots which I will cover with a portable greenhouse cover. All will do great under cover all winter.
I dug all my shallots and garlic last month. I will divide and replant them next month. They can be planted as late as November in our zone.
If you are a garlic lover, October is prime time to plant your garlic for next summer's harvest. I save the biggest cloves from my summer harvest to plant in the fall. If you haven't ordered yours yet, some varieties may be sold out, but that is always a good reason to try something new.
My volunteer zinnias, cock's comb, and flame celosias did really well again this year. I had a bonanza of different colors of zinnias and my cock's comb flower heads were huge. I'm sure I will have many volunteers come up again next year. The California Giant orange zinnias just glowed in my front yard pot.
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| Fuschia pin cushion zinnia |
I do like growing Egyptian Walking Onions, eggplant and peppers in pots so will continue to do so. Tomatoes, pole beans, squash, okra, cucumbers, corn, garlic and melons all are more productive in the ground. You can still do well in pots using compact varieties, but smaller plants do mean smaller yields.
Pretty soon, it will time to reflect back on this year's garden, see how much I was able to can, pickle, dry and put away in the freezer to develop next year's garden plan. It is best to do at the end of the season when all is still fresh in your mind. It is also a great time to write up the list of things you'd like to learn more about over the winter to try in next year's edible garden.
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