The Fall Garden

We've seen the first few butternut squash form in the last week, which means fall is approaching, and it's time to start thinking about doing some more planting.

We started out the season with these plans for our vegetable garden.

		Butternut squash
Leeks		Cucumber (2)		Zucchini (2)
Spinach		Garlic		Tomatoes/Cherry Tomatoes
Arugula				Peppers (2)
Beets		Shallots		Eggplant
				Basil (2)
Potatoes		Carrots		Parsley (2)
				Dill

And then, they changed.  We decided to maximize the sunniest areas by changing the walkways, and we wound up with a lot more room, so we planted more stuff.

		Leeks			Waltham Butternut Squash
Leeks					2 Diva Cucumber/Dill			Costata Romano Zucchini	Costata Romano Zucchini
					Garlic (German Extra Hardy)				Cherry Tomatoes
Spinach									Brandywine Tomatoes
Arugula					Shallots				Banana Peppers (2)
Cilantro									Eggplant
Edamame					Carrots				Basil (4)
Arugula									Parsley (2)
									Dill
									Sun Gold  Cherry Tomatoes
Scallions	Arugula		Scallions	Beets		Arugula	Beets	Black Cherry Tomatoes/Basil (2)	Edamame

The late additions were yellow and black cherry tomatoes, edamame, scallions, more basil, and cilantro.  (We can also attribute some extra room to the fact that I didn't get to ordering potatoes on time, so that's something we'll have to try next year.) 

Here's the hot mess of a garden this morning.

The leeks are growing, slowly.

I've probably planted 40 cilantro seeds, and this is my one success story.

The cherry tomatoes are ripening regularly now.  These are the black cherry, last to ripen, so we haven't tried them yet, but it looks like we'll have the chance soon. 

The Brandywine tomatoes look like they're being eaten by a worm of some kind, but I can't find it. 

We have zucchini growing

and have harvested a few over the last week, though we've definitely got a cucumber beetle problem.

That may be the reason the cucumbers are doing so poorly.  Or maybe it's these things.  (I don't know what they are.  Anyone?) 

Or the slugs I've been picking off the plant.  (I promise I won't show any more pictures of gross bugs.)  I've been removing any bugs by hand, and I'm going to spray for slugs as soon as it stops raining. One plant is gone, but the other seems to be bouncing back, so there's hope, but so far, no cucumbers.

The peppers are slow, and I worry that if we do get fruit, it won't ripen before frost.

So far, the baby eggplant is the pride of the garden.

We've lost all the arugula to flea beetles, and all the beets and edamame were lost to the deer.  I can't prove the deer did it, but at the same time something tall was chomping at the tops of our pee gee hydrangea (see the one lonely bloom at the top?), so I think it's fair to assume they're responsible.

The spinach was a bust- I'm not sure why.  The first round of carrots were okay, but I learned my lesson and will thin the seedlings next time to give them enough room to grow.  They were harvested mid-July around the same time as the garlic and shallots, which are now dried and stored.

Not all of the garlic survived, but the shallots are great.  I sauteed some with zucchini, eggplant, basil and parsley the other night.

Alas, we're approaching the fall garden with vigor, hoping to redeem ourselves.  We've got more cilantro, beets, arugula and scallions, and parsnips and kale waiting in the wings.  I've just ordered purple, yellow, and white carrot seeds to liven things up, as well as some rainbow Swiss chard, Boston lettuce, and snow peas.  Here's the plan.

		Leeks		Waltham Butternut Squash
Leeks		Snow Peas		Diva Cucumber/Dill			Costata Romano Zucchini		Costata Romano Zucchini
				Parsnips					Cherry Tomatoes
Kale									Brandywine Tomatoes
Bibb Lettuce				Beets					Banana Peppers (2)
Cilantro									Eggplant
Edamame				Kale/Arugula/Scallions					Basil (4)
Arugula									Parsley (2)
									Kale
									Sun Gold  Cherry Tomatoes
Scallions	Carrots		Scallions	Carrots	Swiss Chard	Carrots		Black Cherry Tomatoes/ Basil (2)			Edamame

As the tomatoes, basil, cucumber and zucchini fade, we'll plant even more greens.  I may even give the spinach another try.  Leeks, kale and carrots can stay in the ground after the first frost.  The parsnips can stay in the ground until spring, when reportedly they will be at their best.  We'll plant twice as much garlic sometime in October, right where the Sun Gold tomatoes and edamame currently reside.

The satisfaction of picking things from the garden for our next meal is still worth all of this trouble. I'm hoping the opportunities to pick things from the garden for our next meal will increase as we get better at this.  And as our knowledge slowly grows, so does the garden.  A couple of weeks ago we realized that if we clear the brush to the left of the garden, we'll free up another 10 feet of useable space.  Maybe next spring we'll plant some rhubarb, and some berry bushes....  But maybe before we do that, we should build a fence.