Fall Garden

My fall deck garden is thriving but I have had to fight for my plants.  The bugs, caterpillars, even wasps and spiders all tried to own it.  I picked a lot of little caterpillars off of my cabbage and broccoli plants.  Strangely enough, nothing is touching the spinach.  That might be a hint for the future.

Here are progression shots:

August 30, 2012

September 8, 2012

October 3, 2012

We have eaten many of the dwarf bok choy already but have not harvested any of the other crops yet.  Spinach and lettuce will be the first by the looks of it.

Spinach (left) and Dwarf Bok Choy (right)

Red Salad Bowl Lettuce

I am thrilled to see the snow peas growing like weeds, blossoming and already growing snow peas.

Heirloom snow peas growing on deck in containers

The largest container of broccoli plants is exceeding my expectations.  I watch anxiously for the first sign of our favorite fall veggie.

Broccoli growing over the edge of its large container

The Aichi Chinese cabbage have been a huge fight and I'm not sure I'm winning.  First aphids then one kind of caterpillar and then another.  It is cool but not cold and the insects are taking full advantage of the mild weather.  I have at least 25-30 seedlings to replace these but they are under attack as well.  I spray with a peppermint oil spray I made.  It kills most of the aphids but not the caterpillars.

Aichi Chinese Cabbage

Red cabbage are beginning to form heads.  I hope I get at least three tiny heads of red cabbage before it freezes.

Red cabbage

Finally, I continue to harvest tomatoes: cherry and San Marzano, and the occasional Moskovich.  Next year I will definitely plant some late tomatoes.  I was told that they taste better than any of the early varieties.

Tomato bed that spread out on both sides

The cucumbers are barely growing, tiny and stunted.  Even the two that I left on the vine that were over 16" long aren't ripening well for seed harvest.  I am hoping I get enough seeds to share and plant next year.  I will definitely ripen cukes on the vine earlier next year.

How is your fall garden growing?

Dreaming . . . Planning . . . Sometimes Scheming

Anyone who has ever grown a garden knows that while you're harvesting tomatoes in the summer you are already planning your fall garden, or if you don't plant a fall garden, what needs to be done, built, created, dug up, put away, or ordered is always right there at the edge of your consciousness.

Most home gardeners practice some type of intensive gardening.  For a home gardener to plant single rows of any crop means a lot of wasted space, lots of weeding, or mulching, and lots of wasted water and fertilizer.

And if you grow an organic intensive garden it is extremely important that you keep your soil healthy.  Unless you are very wealthy and can afford to buy organic fertilizers/soil amendments you will be a composter.

So as I watch my fall container garden grow I am planning the following projects:

1. Worm composting bin.  
2. Two-section large composting area.
3. Expanding my front and back yard garden space.
4. Removing trees at the perimeter of my yard.
5. Canning and dehydrating.

This is a lot to undertake so I am doing a little at a time as I do all projects these days.  As always, I call upon my big strong sons to do the majority of the heavy lifting, so to speak.  I miss being able to turn a garden bed, or double dig new garden space but I am realistic and preserve my strength for cooking, weeding, and the smaller tasks that require less energy.  My sons know that their reward for supporting my gardening is delicious, homemade food.  They like food!

I finally broke down and ordered some seed catalogs. I have received two so far and have been enjoying soaking them up, finding even more exciting heirloom varieties. You don't read or study a seed catalog; you soak it up. Pure delight!  The only problem is that I want to grow everything and I can't.  I love knowing that I can extend my summer garden with containers.  And that I can grow a fall garden in containers bringing them indoors on nights with a frost warning.

And while my fall garden is thriving on my deck (though it is at risk of drowning right now with the second day of heavy rains upon us), I am still harvesting Suyo Long cucumbers, lots and lots of cherry tomatoes, some plum tomatoes, a handful of slicing tomatoes, and my bell peppers are almost big enough to start harvesting with at least 10-15 more growing on this one plant growing on my deck.  Oh, my jalapeno peppers are almost ready to bloom.  I am determined to have peppers into the cold winter months this year.

So I am dreaming and planning and sometimes scheming right now.