Yikes! It’s already Labor Day weekend. Where did August go?
A crazy August schedule with a client job has kept my “free time” for blogging to a minimum, and thus it’s been more than a month since my last garden update post. So there’s some serious catching up to do.
The first “replant” after the hail storm took to the summer garden quite well. The radishes – being a cooler weather crop – didn’t do as well as the spring planting, but did produce enough for me and extra to give to friends & neighbors, plus the greens of the plants that did not produce roots were tasty additions to salads.
The beets didn’t fair so well, as another massive rainstorm just after planting seeds seemed to have washed a majority of them away. And the summer squash plant has grown very well, with multiple blossoms now producing the goose-necked yellow vegetables.
And peppers? WOW! After being stripped of nearly all their leaves & flowers/peppers by the storm, they’ve made a fantastic comeback and I’ll be pickling, drying and freezing them by the dozen the way things are looking today.
The tomatoes are another story – their stems bruised and shattered by the hail, most of the regular size plants have produced the last of their fruits and shriveled up, but the cherry and yellow plum are growing new shoots and producing new flowers and fruits.
Garden Harvest on August 18, 2012 – one month after devastating hail storm flattened most of Roseville Community Garden. Romaine lettuce, radishes, fennel, tomatoes Thai peppers and sweet red peppers make for some good eats.
The photo above is just a small sampling of a two or three times weekly “harvest” from the garden plot. I’ve become really spoiled by all the fresh vegetables – not sure how I’m going to function as the season draws to a close. After the jump, I’ve included some additional images from the garden since my last post in July. I’ll try to get some additional photos and thoughts together in the next week, and not be so long between posts during September.
Near full moon over Roseville Community Garden July 31, 2012
Plot #63 at Roseville Community Garden on August 5, 2012. The Romaine lettuce, Swiss chard and pepper plants made great comebacks after being pulverized by hail.
Lunch! Garden fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum!
The night’s harvest on August 9, 2012 – it immediately became an incredible hot pasta dish within minutes of being washed!
Melanoplus differentialis – a Yellow Grasshopper – chewing radish greens at Roseville Community Garden August 19, 2012
Plot 63 at Roseville Community Garden, August 21, 2012 – one month after rebooting with new plantings after the devastation of the summer hail storm. The basil and lettuce is gone, a new summer squash plant is rapidly growing, and the beets and second radish crop awaits harvest.
A gorgeous late summer sunset over Plot 63 at thew Roseville Community Garden on August 31, 2012. The season’s third crop of radishes is sprouting, the summer squash is setting fruits, and the beets, chard, peppers and carrots continue to supply tasty eats.
My “Kung Pao” peppers are growing like crazy! In fact in the six-weeks since the hail storm, all the pepper plants have dozens of peppers on them.