Anyone have a garden going this year?

I made the mistake of not inspecting the chamomile like I used to do almost daily, well the aphids are back in numbers smh I took a good hour or two taking them out. The blooms smell so sweet and apple-like I guess the pests can't help themselves either lol

 

Zen, Thanks for all garden tips. No insects but dealing with yellow leaves on cucumbers. Trying a baking soda solution. New to gardening lots more to know than putting seeds in the ground.

 

I only planted tomatoes and peppers at the house I will be moving from soon, the place I'm moving to does not have a garden yet...it doesn't even have a house yet, lol. I have been too busy to give them a lot of attention but they are still doing well now that they are in the ground. When I planted them, they had been so neglected already I thought most of them would die. The tomatoes are just starting to flower and I already have a few peppers that are quite large but not ripe yet. I got the peppers in a few weeks before the tomatoes but the tomatoes got fed, where as the peppers did not.

I started some willow cuttings that I ordered off Etsy, I plan on planting them at the new property. I always wanted willow but didn't want to deal with the destructive roots, now I have plenty of space for them. I also took some cuttings from my lavender, rosemary, sage and lilac plants. Most are doing well but the lilac just don't seem to want to root.

 

Dandelions? These are growing tall I can see them out of my window, I don't mind at all. I'm sure the pollinators appreciate them, I've never seen them that tall so idk..

 

Wow that pic is HUGE!!

Thank you Zen for sharing it,its very pretty!!

 

Yep…so far feeding the peanut rumped deer and the slippery slugs.

 

My chamomile has been treated and I cut back a bit of the dead leaves/branches. It's in recovery I had a few days that were busy and I didn't manage to water them during this heat..a mix of the heat and pests took a toll.

 

Protected gardens are the only way I can exclude wildlife. All of my vulnerable crops (figs, grapes, tomatoes, sweet peppers) are in a 24' by 50' wildlife enclosure, which is a tall metal framework covered with 1/2" mesh avian wire. Also, all around the perimeter I buried 1/2" galvanized hardware mesh 18" deep to keep digging rodents out.

My more open garden is bigger but only has a 1/2" mesh-covered fence with buried perimeter hardware mesh.. That is where I grow hot peppers, okra, squash, melons, herbs, sweet potatoes, and dry beans.

This late in the summer, both gardens become jungle-like, so harvesting takes time. In the end it's all worth it, because home-grown food is good medicine.

 

Harvesting potatoes this week weather permitting. Lettuce and spring onions ( think you USers call them green onions) ready to make a start to.
Last of strawberries just finished.

 

Our garden is about done for the year. Actually, it was about done after a hailstorm back in June. We did find a few late bedding plants, and put out a few peppers and tomatoes. We did get a few beans and corn, but not what we wanted with high prices, we have today.

 

I only planted peppers and tomatoes this year, as I was expecting to be moving sooner. All the plants were fairly neglected since I had a lot going on. The peppers did amazingly well, only a few plants and I have 3 gallon sized bags full of chopped peppers in the freezer. The tomatoes grew well but other things usually are them before I got any, lol.

 

They work pretty much the same. If you need to keep it warmer, add extra layers of plastic or cover the plants with row cover on the inside of the greenhouse/hoop house. Whenever I was expecting a hard freeze with very low temperatures, I would use lamps with incandescent bulbs near the plants, then surround them with mylar blankets. Also, wet everything down before a freeze, water acts as thermal mass and will hold heat better than everything being dry.

 

My latest pepper harvest.