Fall Garden Happenings

Feel like today is 101°F. I’m currently hiding out in the air conditioning. However, I was out there about an hour ago moving stuff so the mowing crew can weedeat the gravel area. Right now it looks like the Serengeti. Grass as tall as my torso.

The grass got out from under me this year. Not many gardeners will show you a failure. However, this is exactly why I don’t recommend gravel. It’s just a grass/weed seed magnet. I’m going to clean this up and try to rake all the gravel into a pile and get rid of it. This is area I could be using for something useful. My kids don’t play out here anymore. It’s wasted space, which I hate to have.

However, my jungle outside is also putting out winter squash. I’m expecting a really good harvest this year. We eat a lot more squash than melons, so I am done trying to find a melon that tastes good in our extreme heat.

I have some powdery mildew trying to start. I need to mix up some dish soap and cooking oil. Maybe throw in some neem, milk (I try and use low fat milk so it doesn’t smell like spoiled cheese out there.) and oregano oil. If you are going to try to go organic you need to get out and get ahead of the bugs and disease. Come up with a weekly spray schedule. It will eventually show itself to be a wise choice.

I wish it wasn’t so hot out. I have southern peas I need to harvest, knock down the weeds and get up in the fig again and finish harvesting.

I also need to see what my spring potatoes did with themselves. They will happily sit in shaded soil throughout our summer, waiting for me to dig them in fall. As soon as I dig them: the clock starts ticking. I have to can my potatoes so I can keep them for a decent amount of time. Otherwise they shrivel up and sprout, or go bad. Nothing stinkier than a bad potato hiding in the potato pile!

Meet you out in the garden to see what the squash are up to!

Crazy Green Thumbs