It’s hard to believe it is already September 3rd. The boys have been back in school for weeks. The last half of August cooled down a bit, with temperatures in the mid to high 70s during the day and nighttime temperatures in the high 40s to mid 50s. I got so much work done in the garden, because I wasn’t fading in the heat. And it was oddly low humidity. We warm back up for a couple of days, into the upper 80s, but by the weekend, it will drop back into the 70s. Seeing the end of my first hot summer has me enthused.
It’s been an education, with my first year of growing in grow zone 7a, south of the Mason-Dixon Line. I had failures, but also many successes. Starting with nothing but containers and grow bags was challenging. Completing the fence and building my raised bed garden was a huge accomplishment. I really pushed my boys to help me before school started. I know the winters here can be so cold, so I knew I didn’t want to be building it in December. We spent a few days out here last December, and I nearly gave myself a case of hypothermia just being outside too long and not having real winter clothing on.
One thing I had never grown before was sweet potatoes. Earlier in the summer, I saw slips for sale at the local Mennonite-run plant nursery and picked up a bundle. I grew them in a large pot, since I didn’t have the garden ready.
By the end of August, they were sending out long vines and were putting on flowers. I will definitely grow them again.
I had one raspberry plant I bought in early spring, which had been sitting in a container that was far too small. I put it in one of the first finished raised beds, so it could grow more roots in the final months of summer. It will have new friends join it next spring. It rewarded me with putting on many new flowers. I might get a fall crop (it;s a dual crop plant) after all!
I found out I have two rose bushes that produce roses twice a year, by the house.
The butter yellow is beautiful. They are a tea rose type.
I stopped by the Mennonit nursery a couple of weeks back and picked up some Swiss Chard starts to fill out a large container. I didn’t have the time to get seeds ready for it this summer.
I also planted two types of bush and dwarf pea seeds, bok choy, and three types of lettuce seeds in August, for fall crops.
All my basil plants have grown like I have never seen before, especially since planting them in the ground this year. The heat has been great for this.
The creek down below still has a bit of water in the sections that stay shaded. The deer come down to drink in the early morning. We only got rain twice in August, after a very wet (and hot) May/June/July.
Eastern Black Swallowtail happily munching on my Lovage plant. I am OK with donating a plant to them; they are beautiful butterflies. Lovage is their favorite treat. I will plant a ton next year!
I worked on finishing the fence last week, taking advantage of the cool mornings. First up was adding 3-foot-high bamboo poles, zip-tied to the T posts. Later, I will thread hemp twine around the poles to extend the fence’s height.
Another project was the gate. I am well known for the trashy gates I put together. I tried to make this one look nicer than in the past. I used 5-foot bamboo poles to strengthen the hardware cloth fencing. Then I used poly guy lines that were trash, which I wound around the poles. Now the gate is as high as the fence. I used a zip tie to create a loop and a carabiner for closure. The metal novelty flag stake is zip-tied to the fence and flips over to help keep the gate shut. Use what you have on hand and save money, no?
Onwards to September and to hopefully a fruitful fall garden.
~Sarah
