Greetings fellow gardeners,

Here we are in the month of August as the calendar days of summer slip by. The hot, humid weather has been relentless, and I am fatigued beyond measure. I find myself so nostalgic for the good old days when a heat wave lasted only a few days.

*Pompeii Roma Tomatoes—boy, did they get tall!*

Allow me to quickly recap the month of July, as I didn’t get a blog off that month. Let’s see- the first 10 days of our “vacation” were spent here hauling water to the gardens just to keep plants alive. Along with the heat and humidity, it was just so dry. Had we left even for a day or two, we would have lost most everything. When all our effort seemed not to make a big enough difference, beneficial rain poured down at just the right intervals! The soil cooled, and plants swallowed deep into their roots. The response has been vigorous growth and fruit production.

I must admit there have been little, if any, disease problems in the garden- even on tomatoes, (normally hardest hit). We can thank dryness for that. Hopefully, you folks didn’t overhead water, right? Apparently, though, weather conditions didn’t hamper certain bugs that came out in force. Asiatic garden beetles lit into basil and paprika peppers. Wells around my plants allowed me to pond water enough to float the buggers and delightfully squish them. That together with a flashlight after dark and a container of soapy water to drop the survivors into seemed to do the trick. That took many days and nights. Colorado potato beetles plagued us, too. Since we rely mostly on physical control, we check multiple times daily, with continual daily monitoring until the cycle is over. This girl says gardening ain’t no piece a cake, but she just can’t stop. It’s so worth it, because no matter what, there is always bounty in the end if you have staying power.

As the month of July is all about plant growth; the month of August is all about harvest. We are presently giving away trug-fulls of cucumbers almost on a daily basis. Onions and garlic have finished curing and have produced well. Eggplant and peppers hang heavily on the vine. Potatoes are being dug; small, new ones head directly inside for the pot! Tomatoes have climbed over my head and are now turning color. And only one monstrous, juicy hornworm so far, as the chickens cry for more! Butternut squash has set lots of fruit and is crawling, I swear a yard a day, out over the lawn. So what, mowing is so overrated! A late planting of pole beans is beginning to flower. Oh boy! Good thing my husband is such a wonderful and willing partner in the kitchen when it comes to putting food by… May the garden gods be with you too!

That’s it for now.

Judy

August Musings 2024

Nashua Farmers’ Exchange