Garden Report, Week 20: October 16

After another unseasonably warm weekend, Fall is in the air this morning.  The garden is long past prime, weary of the growing from the previous months.  

My raggedy plants have little left to harvest, though there are still tomato blooms, which is lovely though not especially promising, given the late date of the season.

The green tomatoes that remain are in a race against time; there is a frost warning for Tuesday night.  I expect that this is the final garden report for the 2017 season.  

I’ll pick everything left before the chill descends and offer thanks for the garden season that was even as I begin my daydreams and planning for the next garden season.  That’s the beauty of a garden; it’s a place for patient hopes and dreams.

Garden Report, Week 19: October 9

I wouldn’t say that the garden is flourishing at this point, though the warmth of the past week ensures that I still have a few tomatoes to pick.

Historically, the first frost should be close at hand.  But it doesn’t quite feel like that today, with a humid and rainy day on tap.  As long as the cool weather holds off, I’ll have fresh-grown tomatoes to enjoy.  I’ll take it!

Garden Report, Week 18: October 2

The garden is looking raggedy and dry; the tomatoes plants are clearly coming to the end of their season.

But as long as a warm sun shines, I water the garden.  So there are tomatoes to pick and enjoy each week.

That’s happy!

Garden Report, Week 17: September 25

Thanks to unusually warm September weather, my garden and backyard have finally begun to look a little ragged around the edges.

To take advantage of the warm days, I ran the sprinkler a few times last week. The reward was a generous handful of tomatoes and still more set on the vines in a race against frost.

There is more warmth forecast for this week, so I’ve a feeling a few more tomatoes will come my way.

That’s happy!

Garden Report, Week 16: September 18

Despite the continued wet weather, my garden has begun to look somewhat ragged at the edges.  The growing things are weary and looking forward to a resting season.

The continued warmth and sunlight has ensured that I am still harvesting tomatoes.  Many more remain set on; there are even new blooms this week.  But it will be a race against cool weather to have those tomatoes.

The late-planted zinnias have generated a bloom, but the others are being chewed up by the local wildlife, so I may not have many more flowers before the first frost arrives.

I’ve written before that this is a hard Summer to let go.  But Fall will “officially” begin this week, even though I’m holding on.  Mother Nature has a timeline and plan and she marches toward it, whether I am ready or not.

Garden Report, Week 15: September 11

The calendar may say Summer, but the days around here feel like Fall.  For starters, the evenings and early mornings are cool, even downright chilly.   Each morning, I awaken in the dark and in the evening the sun sets sooner than I would like.  But the most significant sign that the Summer is closing is the slowing pace of ripe tomatoes in my garden.

I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to idea of fresh tomatoes, picked from the garden and still warm when they arrive at the supper table.  It’s been a lovely season.

Garden Report, Week 14: Monday, September 4

It’s not clear to me how September slipped in but it has clearly arrived.  Mornings feature a noticeable chill and school starts in earnest tomorrow.  I am still wearing flip flops and picking tomatoes, so denial is the order of the day.  I’ve decided to post my weekly garden photos as long as I still have something to show for it and until the first frost.  

This Summer has been simply lovely and I’m going to miss the leisurely days.  With any luck, the tomatoes and flowers I’ll continue to harvest will be reminders of the season.  That’s happy!

Garden Report, Week 13: Monday, August 28

Yesterday, for the first time in two weeks, I turned on the sprinkler to water the garden.  We’re in the midst of some lovely mild days and while that is slowing down the growth of my tomatoes and zinnias,  it’s made for the sorts of days that make me wish for an endless summer.

It’s still August and so tomatoes are setting on; I’ve hope of zinnia bouquets in the weeks ahead.  I counted the days on the calendar and there are nearly 100 days between now and the average first frost.  For a gardener, that news is balm for the soul.  

Garden Report, Week 12: August 21

Usually, this point in the summer finds the garden looking weary from the heat.  But this year’s lush rains have really kept the garden green and lush.  I’m grateful because that helps me to maintain the illusion that Summer isn’t over quite yet.

Fresh tomatoes served warm off the vine certainly help with that notion.  Keep it coming, Summer.

Garden Report, Week Eleven: Monday, August 14

We’ve had a nice, wet summer and all around the backyard things remain green and lush.  

The garden has reached the abundant harvest point in the season and that’s really quite lovely to behold.

We’ve enough tomatoes for BLT sandwiches, caprese salads, fresh chopped salsa, and bruschetta whenever we please.  

That’s happy!

Garden Report, Week Ten: Monday, August 7

I have had a few cherry tomatoes in the previous weeks, one at a time.  There were plenty more on the plants, so I knew those one tomato days were just a beginning.  Early last week, there were four cherry tomatoes one day, a teasing promise of a harvest to come.

This week is looking very promising.

We’ll have plenty for supper this week and Im already thinking about how delicious that will be.  

Garden Report Week Nine: Monday, July 31

It’s rather hard to believe that we’ve reached the August portion of summer.  The growing garden suggests it’s true…

…though the recent mild days suggest otherwise.  I’m off work for the rest of this week and plan to enjoy some quality time in my garden.  If I get extra-lucky, there will be tomatoes for me to enjoy.  That’s happy!

Garden Report, Week Eight: Monday, July 24

This point in the summer often signals the start of a transition to comes, as things that have been furiously growing began to look weary from their efforts.  My basil plants have clearly been a snack bush for some creatures.

The tomatoes are still looking pretty good, though some of the heavy from the past week's storms was rough on some of the bushes.  I've re-staked and I am hopeful the plants will cope nicely.

The zinnia patch is in a hurry to bring me blooms and bouquets.

The sunlight that shines here has a special quality to me because it brings reward for my efforts and the prospect of a fresh-picked tomato on the supper table.

Garden Report, Week Seven: Monday, July 17

A warm and sunny week has ensured many more tomato blooms to join the tomatoes already set on the vines.

My friend C brought me a sunflower and I planted it among the zinnia seeds I set out last week. Those seeds have spring seedlings and later this week I'll get to mulching the last patch of the garden.  I'm hoping that the sunflower will be a role model and that it will soon be surrounded by an abundance of zinnias who are eager to be just as tall as the sunflower.

These pictures were made on the sort of hazy, hot day that gardens love.  I’ve reached the season where the garden has something new to show me nearly every day and I do so love this point in the growing season.

Garden Report, Week Six: Monday, July 10

I pledged to make pictures of the garden every week this summer.  And then I got the floors re-finished and lost track of time.  The good news is that I never lost track of the garden and this past weekend, I finally finished laying the mulch that helps me to keep the garden well nourished all summer long.  

In the process, I counted more than a dozen tomatoes set on and getting ready to provide us with fresh produce in a few short weeks.

Many of the zinnia seeds I first planted were eaten by birds and so this past weekend, I put some more seeds down.  We’ll see how that goes; I am still hopeful I will have home grown bouquets later this summer.

This year’s garden is a bit smaller than usual, a concession to the demands of my May and June.  But there is thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, and plenty of tomatoes.  With any luck, they’ll be joined by some zinnias.  

July is always a glorious month for gardening and this year is no exception.  That’s happy!

Garden Report, Week Three: Monday, June 19

The early garden is at an in-between stage, not yet exploding with growth, but not without changes each week.  This morning's hazy sun promises another hot day on tap.

I’m late getting the mulch in place because all of my focus since school got out has been getting the house ready for the downstairs floors to be refinished.  That project begins today and we’re out of the house while the floor crew is in the house working their magic.  I’ll be by to water the garden and otherwise attend to all my growing creatures and when the floor project is complete, the garden will have all of my attention.  Until then, growing, growing, growing is the order of the day.

Garden Report, Week Two: June

Over the weekend, seasonal warmth blew into New Jersey with a furnace-like vengeance and the garden couldn’t be more pleased with this development.  It doesn’t look all that tidy, but things are coming along nicely.

Later this week, I’ll put some weeds in the process of getting ready for spreading mulch, which I hope to complete by the end of the month.  With the arrival of consistent warm weather and the long days of June’s sunlight, the garden is poised to take off.  That’s happy!

Garden Report, Week One: June 5

My vegetable garden has been in the ground for a week, so the growing season has just begun.   We’ve had a long and lovely Spring, with blissfully mild weather.  The consistent heat which will bring on great growth has yet to arrive.  When it does, the garden will grow rapidly.  Until then, the changes are subtle, but there nonetheless.  The messy stages of an early garden are sometimes a garden that only a gardener can love.  But I know the difference between the desired plants and the unwanted weeds and things look good to me.

It’s exciting for me to check out the garden each day, always on the lookout for the growth that makes gardening such a pleasing part of my summer world.

Garden Report

A few weeks back, I planted asparagus.  We won’t enjoy it this Spring but we’ll have a few stalks next Spring and in coming years, there will be plenty to harvest and enjoy.  The early plants are ferny, slender stalks that are hard to distinguish among the messy garden, but things are coming along nicely.  

In the meantime, the oregano has returned and it looks good.  Tonight, I'm making mushroom tartines for supper and I will use some of the fresh oregano.

The warm weather that followed the early planting got me thinking about zinnias and so I made trenches and planted my seeds.  The first patches look promising; I’ll plant more rows later this Spring, when the tomatoes and basil go in.

For now, it takes a trained eye to see all the things that are growing.   My daily walk through the garden is pleasing because there is change to be spotted nearly every day.