My end of summer garden reflections
Gardening is raised beds has been fairly successful. There are a few things I could have done different, so I look forward to improving next spring.
I will start with tomatoes. I chose the Roma vf variety this year. They germinated so well in the house.
I tried an experiment to grow some tomatoes upside down, from hanging juice jugs. This was not nearly as successful as I had hoped, so that is not something I will be attempting next year.
The tomatoes that I grew in the raised beds did very well. The harvest was not as great as it appeared. The leaf-footed bugs and stink bugs did some damage to almost every tomato. They stuck
their little suckers into the tomatoes leaving behind a tough skin with many scars. I had some volunteer tomatoes that sprouted in my newly created compost pile, so those got moved to a garden bed. I ended up with some cherry tomatoes and a few small slicing tomatoes (They were volunteers from farm stand tomatoes)
Now let’s talk green beans…..I was so excited about the “asparagus yard-long beans”.
They grew so well. Some of my beans were 27” long. The stink bugs found those too, and in just a matter of a few days, I had lost dozens of beans. They shriveled right up from those little buggers.
It was about mid-July when I decided I needed to get one of those bug vacuums. I will say, it works, but for me, I believe that I would have had better luck with my plants if I had tried the vacuum thing sooner.
I battle the leaf-footed bugs and stink bugs, but they definitely had enough time to grow a bigger army than I can handle.
The zucchini plants that joined the party never stood a chance with those bugs either. I am not one to use pesticides, so I will just be hyper-vigilant next year about finding and eradicating those bugs with my vacuum before they can multiply.
As far as my other plants, I am learning about the climate here and will need to adjust my planting time a bit better for some. Cucumbers are doing great. I’ve already been able to make pickles and a few other cucumber appetizers. Watermelon and cantaloupe plants are sprawling everywhere and I have been able to pick 3 yummy cantaloupes so far. My okra is doing awesome. I only planted 4 plants so I haven’t gotten an abundance but I pick what I get, cut and freeze it for later. The plants are healthy, so I know I am doing something right. My bell pepper plants are super happy and right now, on 3 plants, I count 11 peppers. I am overjoyed with that. Peppers are by far my favorite.
I did not plant some things at the appropriate times for the weather in South Carolina. It is safe to say that planting broccoli and other cool weather crops too late in the spring doesn’t work. They could not handle the heat of the summer.
Live and learn!
With fall upon me, I am trying to be more mindful with planting cool weather crops. I have planted some more okra, beets, spinach and lettuce so far. Some have sprouted, some are taking their time.
I am eagerly awaiting the fall garden season, and I look forward to growing and learning so much more. For now, I will be enjoying the butterflies and the many pollinators that are still visiting.