State of the Garden - August ‘25
Summer really flew by, but then again maybe it always feels like that. We had a mild summer all things considered, with only a few days above 100 (and some years we have weeks on end that are 100 plus) and the smoke from nearby wildfires didn’t hang in the valley as much as it sometimes does. I tried to appreciate the garden that much more this season.
The garden is still going strong at the end of August
I worried about my tomatoes being too dry all season, even going so far as to water them extra throughout July. I started to regret that, however, when my larger heirloom tomatoes started to get blossom end rot. (BER is a frustrating condition that can take some work to solve.) I decided to just cut back on the extra water and see if that helped, and it really seemed to. I harvested a ton of little cherry tomatoes and these large ones right before we got some rain in the middle of the month.
From left to right: brandywine heirloom and pineapple heirloom
The various squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers I’ve been growing all seem to be not doing as well as years past. The zucchini are in the raised beds for the first time and the plants got large (and the squash bugs didn’t even find them… shhhh) but the fruits weren’t as prolific. I did have one bush cucumber plant in a pot I grew from seed that gave me the best, most delicious cukes I’ve grown in a long time.
From left to right: the teeniest Jack-be-Little pumpkin in the world, a sad bed of cantaloupe and cucumber, and the actually successful bush cucumber!
My low-water bed keeps looking nice even when I ignore it a little (and don’t mind the weeds…)
The yarrow from the low-water bed always looks beautiful but I’d never taken the time to gather a bouquet, whether dry or not. Also shook out the seeds and spread them around!
Each year has its own challenges and successes, and I definitely learn something new each time. For next year, I will be adding a lot of compost, mulch, and cover crops to the beds that didn’t do well so we can get a head start.
The grapes we have along our back fence are starting to get ripe and tasty, which is always one of my favorite fall things I look forward to!
I have a really exciting development in my professional life as well, and I’ll talk a lot more about that in a coming post, so keep an eye out.
A very special visitor to the garden in August… Western Screech Owl
Until next time, enjoy the season change and keep on growing!