August Harvest

Welcome back to my garden blog. I have been really enjoying my garden and I am excited to use what I have learned so far for next year's planting. I have been making notes as to what I will do differently next year and what I will plant more of or less of or even try new (like beets!) I am now starting to research what I can plant in September and October for a fall or winter harvest or plants and vegetables I can plant in the fall for a spring harvest. We have finally been getting some rain so I haven't had to water as much as earlier in the year. The box garden has really helped in limiting the weeds, but the circle garden where I have the corn, pumpkins, watermelons, etc. need a lot of maintenance.

Here is a photo of the corn we enjoyed. All together I harvested 9 ears of corn that were super sweet. The deer ate the the rest, which was more than we got! Oh well, I guess they have to eat too. I am thinking of putting some fencing around this area next year. We'll see. So far, the wildlife have not eaten anything else, but I bet they are just waiting for the watermelon to ripen!

Here is a new baby watermelon that we found a couple weeks ago.

Here is that same watermelon a week ago...

I have two different types of watermelon, sugar babies, which are small and round and these pictures, which look like the regular ones you would find in the grocery store. I'm not sure when they are ready. I'm assuming when the deer start eating them, they are ready! (jut like the corn)

The cucumbers have been abundant! And very large! We have been enjoying them in salads, with dips and hummus, and just plain. Tim likes to make peanut butter and cucumber sandwiches. Whatever! The vines are invading the lawn. I have been trying to keep them on the vine trellis but they seem to have a mind of their own.

Here's a few of the cucumbers that I picked recently. They range in size and color depending on how mature they are.  Personally, I am thrilled with the ones that I pick that look just like they're from the grocery store. I guess it just gives me a feeling of perfection!

The sweet peppers are finally starting to come in nicely. These are the red variety, so they have a little ways to go. I am anxious to taste them.

I have harvested all of the potatoes. They are excellent and I think I will plant more next year. It was fun to watch them mature and then dig into the dirt to find them. I was like a kid finding little treasures. It was exciting to find so many attached to one plant.

The picture of the vine below are sweet potatoes. I didn't even know sweet potatoes grew in this region. Some people tell me they use this vine for decorative purposes and I understand why. They are really beautiful. But it would be a bonus to actually get sweet potatoes! The vine is spilling out of the box garden, but it looks so pretty.

Finally my tomatoes are beginning to ripen. I think I will be overwhelmed with tomatoes in September. I suppose I should learn to can or freeze, or whatever, to help preserve them. I am also sharing my harvest with my neighbors. I think they have been happy so far.

Here is a typical harvest day for me! Isn't it amazing. Unfortunately, the watermelons were not quite ripe enough, but I had to pick a couple just to see if they were ready. I will wait a bit longer for the rest of the watermelon. But the cucumbers, the basil, thyme, rosemary, onions, etc. are just fantastic! I have been harvesting onions for months now. The younger ones I use as scallions. They are awesome raw in a salad as well as cooked.

Of course I have to include some picture of my flowers. I cut all but one of the sunflowers down because the wind pretty much destroyed the othrs. But this one stands strong!

This one was broken in the wind storm. So sad because it was so beautiful.

Wildflower

This plant was a gift from my neighbors last year and it has bloomed beautifully this year. The flowers are bibber than my hand!