It’s August 31st, and the month is nearly done. It felt like a blink, and it was done.
I started my month by driving to Florida and back, eating up 9 days, to see family. Our oldest watched the garden (and the dogs) for us, and there were thunderstorms 7 of the 9 days, so he didn’t have to water much. It was also 90*+ the entire time.
Don’t worry, it was even hotter on the coastal strip outside of Tampa, and it rained even harder every single day.
Nothing like watching an entire beach empty out in under 5 minutes. The last ones had to hide in the parking garage under the condo during this particular storm.
But I digress, I came home to a couple things. One was that all my melons exploded. Oh well. Too much rain, and too hot. They were thin-skinned. They cooked under the sweet potato vines.
The fall crops I seeded the day before we left had sprouted up quickly. Surging in the heat.
I had seeded 2 full beds with 4 types of dwarf and bush green peas.
More green peas.
The fall Provider bush green beans were coming up.
And a lot of tomatoes to process into salsa.
A lil’ toad hanging out. It wasn’t amused, but didn’t run away. Alistaire was protecting it from the lawn mower and weed wacker, and released it once done.
Boneset, an herb, went into full bloom. I had wondered if it would survive last winter, and it did. It just took longer to come back than most of the herb plants.
I grew a packet of Orca Beans that I had bought at least 3 years ago in the PNW. They grew well and provided enough beans to grow next year, so we can start eating them.
What did grow really well was Mashed Potatoes White Acorn Squash. It gave and gave.
Mama Deer left her baby on the back deck to have a snack. No harm done; it ate the weeds.
Rose bushes we planted are blooming.
The garden in the middle of the month.
The last tree to bloom here is the Crepe Myrtle.
The giant sunflowers grew well. But the storms started toppling them, so mid month we cut them down.
The peas grew well, and fast, putting on flowers quickly on the dwarf plants.
The rains brought the dinner plate lawn mushrooms.
The Magnolia bush (the Asian type) decided it might bloom three times this year.
The fuzzy you don’t want to touch.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
And another butterfly.
Grapevines doing what I hoped they would eventually do.
Bell peppers growing well at the end of summer.
The flowers decided to go for another round.
Then the third week in, we got nighttime cooling. It went as low as 51* one night. With that weather, I got to work early in the morning, before it heated up.
Mountain Mint came back and surged in August; the native blue-winged wasp loves it.
Peas forming at the start of the 4th week.
Blue Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar; it fell off the Lovage plant it prefers, but landed comfortably on a sweet potato vine.
More flowers.
Poblano Pepper.
The raspberry canes we planted in spring paid off. They are all dual-crop; in the first year, you get only a late-summer crop. Next year we should get an early summer crop as well.
The Boneset surged. Blue-winged wasps and butterflies cover it every day. It was good I put a low support on it in spring; the heavy rain can tilt it.
A good crop of ornamental gourds.
To me, this is paradise.
Alpine Strawberries are dual-crop as well. The first year you get late-summer berries; next year you will get early-summer berries as well.
I grew Asparagus in spring from seed. After moving it around far too many times, I picked this spot for it. I have 5 plants. Next spring I will start a lot more. Now, with new plants you are not supposed to harvest, but eh, I nibbled on a few. I carefully cut them so as not to damage the delicate roots.
This past weekend, I had my youngest son build 3 of the 4 new raised beds I got. At $39.99 for all 4, it was a good deal (the price has gone up by $6 now). I ended up cycling soil from large pots into these beds; next year, my idea is to plant more berry canes, so they can grow up the fencing.
The garden on the 30th.
Last night I noticed a large toad hanging out under one of the two work tables in the garden. It is the size of my palm. I made a protected cove it can hide behind as I prep for winter. Toads are a good thing – it means your land is clean. They have very sensitive skin to pollution.
So my new focus is building more reasons they want to hang out.
August is winding down. Our boys started the third week of school today. It’s going to be hot the first week of September, as the heat dome returns, and the edge touches us. As long as I water, we will get through it. Then the slide into fall starts. Today we sit at 13 hours and 6 minutes of daylight. Still plenty for the final crops to grow.
See you next month!
~Sarah