August 9, 2018

Good morning, it will be nice if the forecast cool down comes to fruition. I believe I am more than ready for it.

It was amazing to see my first tomato bed coming back to life. It has had a very rough year. What with being hammered by a freeze, then hail, followed by so sever heat which all let the root knot nematodes (RKN) have their way. This them made them real susceptible to spider mites. I managed to beat back the mites and gave the bed a shot of fertilizer, and low and behold it is like a Phoenix from the flame. Bed wide it has started new growth and flowering. Sur would not have given a plug nickel for this bed. But it appears that the RKN resistance of these hybrids is paying off. We just might get a late fall harvest?

The sweet potato harvest has begun. First ones tend to be smaller with a fair number of fingerlings. The lunkers will come with later harvest. There are three beds and I expect to finish the harvest sometime in September.

I attempted to sow some fall peas but what with the recent heat, most of the germinated seeds rotted even though I used my organic fungicide. With luck the next sowing will be a take. It is getting late and I suspect it could be iffy to get a harvest before the first freeze. If not, it is great biomass for the beds.

With the cool down, it is very likely that I can get a decent take on some late summer parsnips. Be nice to compare with my spring planted ones.  This could be interesting. The succession carrots are doing well and I am ready to sow another succession. With luck nice sweet carrots to go through the winter.

The cucumbers are still going crazy with the warm weather. This will more than likely change with this cool down. Time will tell.

What with cool over night lows all of the summer veggies will start to slow. This is to be suspected. The start of fall veggies is at hand. We can always hope for a smooth transition from summer into fall veggies. Time will tell.

Follows is a list of what I am growing, please email as to availability and prices. Chard, kale, green onions, carrots, lettuce, okra, tomatoes, chilies (several varieties), eggplant, butternut squash, garlic, beets, bulb onions, cucumbers, summer squash, sweet potatoes, and beans. Also, there is volunteer basil and dill.