Winter Garden

With our recent decision to sell our cottage in Tucson and stay home this winter, I've decided to try to plant some winter vegetables. It's a bit late, but I thought I'd try anyway, just in case we have a delayed winter.

I sowed mesclun mix lettuce, Red Kitten and Matador spinach, mache, and more bok choi and kohlrabi.

Starting Fall Cleanup

The weather has turned very fall-like with no prospects for any more warm weather. Today may be our last day in the 70s. So I pulled out the tomatoes, after picking any that were close to being ripe. I also pulled the aubergine, the cucumbers, and the peppers except for the Mad Hatter. The Mad Hatter peppers are still green, so I'm going to give them a little longer in the ground before I pull the plant up and hang it upside down in the garage. I'd really like to get some to turn red.

Last week I pulled up the melons and dug up the rhubarb. We just don't use enough of it to justify the space it takes. We've also pulled out all the strawberry plants. I'll start new ones next year in a different bed.

I've left the zucchini for now, as it still has some squash coming. But without much heat they may not make it. The plant really looks ugly, covered with mildew.

I still have snap peas, lettuce, and bok choi, which has been a great success.

Melon!

Yesterday I picked our first Athena melon. We had it for breakfast today. Boy, was it good! I had waited until it came off easily. If anything, it was almost overripe. Maybe the next one I'll try to get it a little earlier.

Chickpea Thief

I've been noticing that there are not a lot of pods on my chickpea plants. Now I know why. Something has been stealing them and eating the peas inside. I found the evidence. Several piles of empty pods under the plants. I just hope there will be enough left to harvest. Obviously, I won't plant them again.

Notes for Next Year 2019

Three tomatoes worked fine. One cherry, one Stupice, and one Cherokee Purple, although I'd like to try Old German instead.

One aubergine and two peppers, plus maybe a Mad Hatter pepper as well. One cucumber.

Bush beans - only six plants in a short row.

One melon, against the house. One zucchini, also against the house.

Potatoes

Try spinach and chard again.

August Status Report

The blueberries are finished (much earlier than usual) and the strawberries have started producing again. We've been getting a few raspberries from the new plants. We had a few nice pears from the Ubileen and lots of small ones from the Orcas.

The tomatoes and peppers are still not looking great, except for the Cherokee Purple, which is finally ripening lots of tomatoes. I've picked one aubergine so far, with a few more coming.

The cucumbers are producing nicely, as is the zucchini. I pruned lots of leaves out of the zucchini, and so far there hasn't been any mildew. I also thinned out the melon leaves and cut off the growing tips. They had started to develop some mildew.

I've taken out the first row of bush beans. The second planting are ready to pick. I've sowed more lettuce, as well as kohlrabi, bok choi, and something called golden celery, with seeds from Grow Journey.

The big project now is removing most of the roses, one side of the lilies, and most of the herbs and lavender from the rose bed. I've decided I want more vegetable space and not so many flowers. Next year I'll plant a few new herbs and use the current herb bed for something else.

Status Update

Today we picked the first cherry tomato (Lizzano) and the first strawberry after the early summer break. There are several green beans ready to pick, as well as several more zucchinis.

The peaches (four) are just beginning to get some color. And I picked the first Ubileen pear.