Transition in the garden

Dog days of summer are here, and the garden has undergone a complete transition since the first of the growing season. All of the watermelons are gone of course,  and mostly things like beans are growing there now.
Only apples and grapes remain to be picked in the orchard, and I went ahead and picked this lone apple on one tree. Jude just sees it as something to throw into the air, and seems pretty happy about it.

Watermelon #2 for the year

I know - only 2 watermelons harvested for the entire season is unheard of in my garden,  but that's exactly how 2012 will be remembered. Several environmental issues contributed to it, but mainly disease brought on by the unbelievable amount of cucumber beetles, I think. Anyway, I couldn't help but take this bonus shot with Jude in the background.

Lots and lots of rain

That's the way it goes - it doesn't rain a single drop for weeks, then you wonder if It's ever gonna stop. Last week - rain totes were empty, right now they're completely full.
In other news, the sweet potatoes have finally decided to get on with it, and started putting on significant growth, as shown below.   .

Late season plantings

Most things have played out already for the year, and have been planted for a second time to reach maturity just as summer is winding up - things like squash and cucumbers, of course......
But, this is also the time I always plant beans every year, because you get a huge yield when things cool down later. A variety of bush bean is planted here in the picture.........

It rained

And it rained quite a bit, too. In fact, my rainwater storage is at 25% again, which is a welcomed sight during the oppressive heat right now. However, an abundance of blossom end rot will be present on the tomatoes in upcoming weeks, but that's ok.
Speaking of tomatoes, here's a nice Brandywine that grew between the wire mesh of the trellis. I'll have to cut it out with a knife to save it.

In other news, the butternut squash is finished,  and a new planting of summer squash has already taken their place in the 4x9 box next to the woods.

The garden is drying up

As is prevailant throughout most of the country, the lack of rainfall is taking it's toll in the garden. Luckily, I had almost 800 gallons of rainwater in storage, and also planted very early this year - so, Jeff and Jude have done better than most in the area. However, the rainwater storage is now empty and there are no signs of any rainfall in the future. So, plan B is in the making already.Anyway, I wanted to show you some of the tomatoes that were harvested already. That Cherokee Purple in the front really sticks out, doesn't it? Oh....it was good........

The plants don't look as good as during most years, but they're still producing well. Since the corn was recently removed from the swc's on the left, suckers from the tomato plants on the right were rooted in their place. That'll give me a second round of tomatoes just as summer is beginning to end. Jude's poor dog pen in the background....I really need to do something with it. She runs free now, and it just sits there looking ugly. Blech.

I planted some pole beans in the main raised bed, and they should really take off soon, too. I like to do a late season planting of beans rather than early season, because I get twice the yield that way. Just my observation.....

Anyway, I'll post more when time permits.

Jeff

Plum butter?

The grapes will be bountiful this year - most likely surpassing last year's harvest of 10 gallons, I bet. Since it hasn't rained in quite a while (like 4 weeks), I'm still having to water the vines every two weeks to make sure the grapes get to a nice size when mature, too. With the rainwater storage system now depleted, that means hauling buckets of city water about 100 yards in excessive heat to keep things from dying. Boo!!!!!!

Here's the planter bench that overlooks the garden with marigolds and phlox growing inside. I show this bench periodically for Granny up in Washington, because she seems to like it, I reckon.  :)

And even though this looks like ketchup in a styrofoam plate, it's actually plum butter. As I was juicing the plums recently, I looked at all of the leftover pulp and thought "there's gotta be something that I can use this stuff for"....Anyway, I just made 5 half pint jars of very thick spread, or what I would refer to as "butter" - although I have no idea what it'll be used for later.

In other news, it is extremely hot here now - reaching well above 100. Jude is staying in the shade and drinking plenty of water, but doesn't eat much when summer hits. Her weight has dropped significantly - as it does every year. Anyway, I'll be glad when things cool down a bit - for her sake.

Jeff