Late Summer Review

So, now that I finished posting the little blurb that I originally meant to have right around the middle of July, I feel compelled to get on track with my new post - the Late Summer Review!

As predicted, the zucchini succumbed to the powdery mildew. After a HUGE harvest (and those suckers were MONSTROSITIES!) they withered and died after a long battle against the P.M.

The weather this year was odd, being mostly wet and cool for the majority of June & July. August shaped up only slightly better, with a few hot and dry days, even some hot and humid ones, too. But, it seemed to be too little, too late, for the garden.

Anyway, back to the plants. The zucchini were finally ripped out of the garden in the beginning of August. The pepper varieties that I've been growing (bell, chili, tabasco, and jalapeño) all seemed slow to turn from green (or yellow, in the case of the tabascos) to red (except the jalapeños, which stayed green). Around mid-August, they finally started turning colors, but only a few at a time.

Today, I finally took out the tomatoes. I had been waiting forever for them to turn (a lot of people in our area said they were waiting a seemingly long time for their tomatoes to turn, too), and then they finally started coming in, in droves, and I ended up throwing away more than I was using, at first. Then I got a wild hair and decided I was going to learn to can. I'm big into reading and listening to podcasts about self-sufficiency, and that seemed to be one of the more realistic things that I could begin practicing. So, I got a Ball canning starter kit at Bigg's, got some of the packets of Mrs. Wages canning mixes, some quart- and pint-sized jars, and began canning salsa. It turned out pretty well; everyone in the house seems to enjoy it, and the people at work that've had it loved it. I think, all in all, it's a success. But, unfortunately, my tomato plants had to go today. They seemed to be suffering from blight, so before it could do any more damage, I yanked up the plants by the root, picked all the still-green tomatoes from the branches that I could salvage, and put the remnants in a big black contractor bag (with help from Dad).

Now, all I have left are my peppers, potatoes, basil, and grape vines. The peppers are still coming in slowly, and the potato vines are dying back one by one, so when they keel over, I dig them up with a spading fork and store them. I hope to make pesto with the basil that I'm still growing, and the ton of garlic that I bought at the store, hopefully sometime soon.

My next post will most likely contain both an update of what's happening in the garden and a rough draft of the garden plan for next year. As much as I hate the thought of summer coming to an end (though it seems like it never really began, what with the way the weather's been), I love the idea of getting ready for the whole "harvest theme" and Halloween. Plus, fall is a good time to plant some items for next year, like garlic (that I thought you could plant in the spring .... um ... no). Once the garden is finished this year, I'll have a whole new clean slate for next year's layout. All in all, I think my first season of gardening was successful, and I'm surprised I managed to stay focused enough to keep everything alive!