How’s it going? We have had a pretty busy monsoon season around here this year, and it’s been fantastic for the garden.
The rosebushes are blooming and smelling delicious. Jones has loved helping to water/get soaked every other day. The basil will be harvested after this post for pesto, freezing and drying. The mint is loving life and will also be harvested for freezing and dried for mint tea. The tomatoes are turning green again, which is making me glad I didn’t chop them all down when they dried to sticks. Thyme is doing great, sage is not happy with being so water-logged. Pepper plants are hanging in there, not really producing but not dying so that’s good, right? I think that’s all that we have right now… OH! The strawberries are still living, and I’m curious to see what happens with them once the weather cools. Other than that, the lantana looks the best it ever has, the purple basil in pots up front is getting fuller, the vincas are fascinating to me since they were supposed to last just one season and they’ve been there a year (?) now, the lilies are looking good and the succulents we got recently are probably ready for permanent pots now. And happily, the elephant food is thriving again after this sadness (here).
Here’s the story in pictures (well, at least the cinder block raised bed, I haven’t had much time for photos lately):
thyme and strawberry
so much basil
bell pepper in the shadows on the left, and more basil
tomato plant looking sad, but it’s starting to get some color back
a baby tomato plant coming up all by itself
two varieties of mint
one of the mint varieties is flowering – and they are as soft as caterpillars!
So, fall planting season is upon us. Here’s what I’m planning to start soon:
- artichokes (in a better spot this time, remember these sad things?)
- fava and/or garbanzo beans (a first for me)
- broccoli (also a first)
- brussel sprouts
- carrots
- celery (another first!)
- cilantro
- garlic
- kale
- onions
- peas
- tomatoes (just one or two, to be safe!)
October brings in the lettuce and salad greens, I can’t wait! Until then, I’m going to make sure to put the garlic and onion in their own space, since I think they got too much water last year. I’ll keep you posted! How’s your garden growing?
