Yesterday was a great day in the garden.
I harvested and prepped for storage a huge number of onions. Anyone made pickled onions? We had some while on vacation and they were tasty. And I have a ton of tiny onions that were growing in the very poor part of the garden.
The squirrels are having a field day with the pumpkins and squash. Very disappointing.
The asparagus roots that I planted in the spring are really going gang busters.
I have never ever grown as many green peppers and the plants are still flowering. The ones in the greenhouse are developing woody stalks at the base. I am curious to see if I can keep them going into the fall and for how long. I was going to do a big clean out of the greenhouse in October so that it was completely ready for startup in February again. But if it is still full of thriving pepper plants then maybe I should be planting greens in there then for late late fall harvest?
I fed the over ripe beans to the chickens. Then I thought I should have kept some of them for seed. I collected coriander seed for next year.
The tomatoes are still trying to grow and shooting out new growth despite all the death of the more mature stems. I have got the new soil in bags sitting in the sun cooking for next season.
Another thing I noticed is that the carrots are not growing well. The soil is not deep enough.
My plan is to work on really building up the soil with a huge amount more organic matter. I am going to increase the depth of the wood chip pathways and every leaf I rake is going to go on an enormous compost row where I am currently growing flowers and vines. Since one end of the garden was so poor, I am going to use it for three potato towers next year. As I want to have no solanaceae in the actual soil next year, I think I can put a plastic barrier down on the ground and grow the potatoes in cages filled with manure, compost, straw and leaves. I have to figure out a way to ensure stable moisture in case of a drought.
Once the potatoes are harvested all that organic super soil will go straight onto the beds and that end of the garden should also be ready to have nightshades after a year of rest. The tomatoes will grow at the opposite end of the garden against the greenhouse in a row of pots. The middle of the garden will grow a bunch of other stuff. Hopefully, after two complete seasons without solanaceae all the mildews/fungi and such in the soil is gone.
I am hoping that I can get some manure that came out of the barn in July on all the beds in mid fall so that it can be heating the soil with a little activity and start to work on any leaves I add. Maybe I should be using the floating row covers to keep it warmer? Just not sure how to really maximize the productivity of this small space. I could really use double the space and just plant a green manure cover crop and alternate years growing each part.
I also planted a bunch of seeds - with the expectation that I may not harvest them - but using old seed so if it germinates poorly - then but for the effort, no loss. Spinach, arugula, buttercrunch lettuce, mesclun mix, beets, beans, peas, freckles lettuce should take us into the fall. I might try some more kale and spinach once the rest of the onions finish up. I was going to plant some more carrots and peas - but was disturbing the roots of the asparagus so that area is now off limits.
After eating delicious steamed carrots, some baby cukes and roasted fingerlings with paprika last night for supper sitting at a table with a bouquet of zinnias- this garden doesn't owe me a thing.
@Penn42 - gardening is fickle. Some plants are really particular about moisture levels and temperature when they are flowering. A little bit of drought or too much rain for a pepper will cause it stop flowering. Carrots are really tricky with germination. I can use the same package of seeds planting every two weeks and have completely different results. In my experience, carrots don't do well in seasons that peas and spinach does. The trick is to have a balance of different crops so if you have a lot of cool nights or really hot days - you still have some success. I have been gardening for more than 30 years and am still learning. It is a wonderful pastime IMO.