Yesterday The HH and I worked in the garden cleaning up the raised garden beds and picking vegetables.
The green beans did really well this year. I think we must have planted at least 6 rounds and we’ve had plenty to share pretty much all summer with friends and neighbors.
The Christmas lima beans though, I don’t think they are going to make it. I suppose it all depends on when the first frost hits.
The sweet peppers had a great year.
And so did the tomatoes. I wish I would have weighed our garden bounty this year!!
We pulled up nearly all of the tomato plants to give the carrots a little more room to grow. Carrot seeds were planted April 21st and it seems like they are taking forever to grow!!
Maybe the tomato plants took all the nutrients?
Or maybe I planted a shorter variety? Who knows. I think I’ll leave them in the ground until the first frost though to give them a little more time.
The beets were total duds this year. Those were also sown around April 21st and they are smaller than a golf ball right now.
I’ve always had great success growing beets, but not this year. I’ll have to plant them somewhere else next summer..
The leeks are coming along.
And it looks like we’ll have a few late season peppers. I can’t remember what these are but I don’t think I’ll be growing them next year.
We’re still harvesting zucchini.
But my favorite thing growing in the garden right now is the lavender I started from seed this spring.
We’ve got a full blown lavender hedge. All from seed! This is going to look amazing next summer when the whole row is in bloom. The bees are going to love it.
Summer. It’s definitely coming to a close.
~Mavis
P.S. Is your garden still going strong, or are you done for the year? Curious minds want to know.
Mona McGinnis says
Gardening is coming to a close here in NE Alberta. The heavy rainfall in early spring affected the tomatoes the most; 12 plants & only 12 tomatoes produced. On the other hand, there is corn. I’m still enjoying a few cucumbers but not enough to pickle or make relish. More than enough patty pan & spaghetti squash. There will be potatoes & carrots & onions but they can all stay in the garden a little longer. No frost yet.
Julia says
We did well on green beans and strawberries this year, and our plum trees did well. Apple and apricot had just one or two fruit. Tomatoes have been so-so. Squash of all varieties has popped out maybe one per week so that’s disappointing. Cucumbers have been pathetic. Beets were nonexistent. Carrots have been Woody and very strong flavored. I don’t know why I have so much trouble with squash. I have a fall garden of lots of winter greens that I hope to keep going till the end of November. Then everything will rest in winter. We are in the Sierras of California.
Nancy Settel says
Oh how wonderful about the leeks I love them so much. I have heard you leave carrots in the ground even after the first frost makes them sweeter but I have never grown them so I don’t know for sure. So sorry about the lima beans how I love a good pot of Cream of Lima Bean Soup with dumplings. Your sweet peppers sure look good though.Lavender from seed girl you are a rock star for sure. Everyone I know who has a garden has said it has been a hit or miss year except for green beans which I love. Every year is a new learning experience for sure.
Rosemary says
I am still picking green beans and banana peppers. I planted a second round of cucumber seeds and the vines grew and then the vine borers took them out. I didn’t have vine borers on the first go round. Oh well. I did not get any beets either.
The cherry tomatoes, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers (first round) and banana peppers did great. The bell peppers, onions and regular tomatoes did okay. The corn and radishes did not do great, but we did get some. The cantaloupe, watermelon and pumpkins were a bust.
Pretty soon I will be putting the garden to bed . . . there is always next year!
Heather in Nevada says
We are still picking green beans and zucchini. We planted the one tomato plant late so we might just need to put the plant in the garage when it is going to freeze. We have a few green tomatoes.
Sue S. says
Your lavender hedge gives me an idea for next year. Do you have any hibiscus growing in town. They ate sp pretty and grow really well here on the Cape.
KC says
We’ve sometimes saved plants from frost by putting clear dropcloths over them to make a sort of temporary greenhouse, but whether that’s worth it or not varies pretty widely (really out-of-season one-off frosts and more treasured garden things tend to be more worth it than “… look, it’s just going to be this cold from here on out and there’s no way this plant is going to get to a harvest stage”).
I wonder if lima beans 1. are decent as pods a la green beans, or are way too fibrous and 2. have any lima-ish flavor or whether all that distinctness goes into the beans?
suzanne says
It looks like a good year. Love Jimmy Nardello’s peppers. I’ve had good luck with Burpees improved bush limas. I would imagine most seed companies have their own short season version.