Hits and Misses in the Garden

Where did the summer go? Is it September already?

The daily grind picked up speed this summer and, I admit, it didn’t leave me with much time for the vegetable garden. In a perfect world, I would stroll out my back door each early morning, steaming mug of coffee in hand, and assess each planting. A browning leaf? Let me just pluck that off. A beetle? I’ll collect those and identify them later on. I tie each climbing vine and pamper my peppers.

That’s not my world. And probably not yours. The computer screen flickers to life as the coffee brews, and there I sit, putting out fires, fielding calls, writing writing writing until the sun sets.

My garden and maybe yours hasn’t gotten much attention. With little care on my part, what has worked and what hasn’t?

Miss: The weather. A wet cool spring turned into a wet cool summer. Warm-weather veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and squashes languished for weeks before growing noticeably. Result? We waited much longer than usual to harvest our first tomatoes.

Hit: The weather. With all the rain, it was nice not to feel the pressure to head out to the hose. When the weather finally did warm up (not until late July), the veggies took off, especially the zucchini (of course, the zucchini). And for the first time, I’m having success with eggplants. With little care on my part and this quirky cool/hot summer, the eggplants burst forth with lots of buds and babies at the end of August.

Miss: Plum tomatoes. Is it just me or does everyone’s plum tomatoes grow just 2 feet tall and then turn brown in August? Amazingly my six plants produced a bundle of tomatoes. But believe me, it didn’t look pretty. My garden neighbor has had the same problem. Next year I’ll plant fewer Romas and more big, juicy heirloom varieties.

Miss: Cocoa shell mulch. I’m a big fan of buckwheat hull mulch, but not of its price. I purchased cocoa shell mulch to save some money and regret that I did so. I laid down the mulch during one of those wet rainy early June weekends, and within days a matt of mold had woven itself throughout the garden. Six trash bags later, I learned that was common with cocoa shell mulch. But still, with the wet conditions and the threat of late blight, removing the offending mold was the best solution.

Hit: My West County gloves and WomansWork gloves. I’ve never been a glove person, and I now know why: I never had the right kind of gardening gloves. I typically used those big leathery mitts that are cut for a man’s hand, or those cloth gloves that offer no real protection. These two brands of gloves, which look more like batting gloves, have no seams along the fingertips, allowing you to pluck small weeds with precision. The Velcro closure around the wrist and the breathable mesh on the back of the hand are great features, too.

Hit: Pole beans. I’ve never grown them before, and it was a mistake that I planted a whole row of them. Again, with little care or watering on my part, my plants wound their way up an errantly placed pitchfork and are producing oodles of noodle-long beans. Next year, I might even try using poles.

Miss: Broccoli and cauliflower. Spring broccoli and cauliflower, to be exact. These are short-day plants, meaning they produce heads when days are shorter in length than nights. I didn’t plant them early enough in the season and, well, it was just an ugly experiment.

Hit: Herbs. Never underestimate the ability of herbs to make it through wet weather. Especially basil, which I’m swimming in. Looks like a pesto freezing weekend is ahead of me.

Sure, there are other events and items that could make my hit-and-miss list. These, however, are the ones I’ve learned from the most, and will carry into next year with me. B

As for now, I’ll just keep observing the weekly doings in the garden, and finding new dishes to make with zucchini.