The late summer winds and storms are here. This is the time of year when I really start evaluating the whole season and thinking about the next. Keeping a journal to record thoughts, successes, failures and ideas at this time of year is so helpful to look back at in the winter when I’m planning the next season. Your garden and life is like no other and will probably not look like mine, but perhaps my stories will help you be grateful for what went well for you and know that every garden year has its own unique quirks.

Successes

When I go down to my garden these days I’m finding a lot to be joyful for and some to be frustrated with. Every few days I have a ripening pepper or a few tomatoes ready to come to the kitchen. My bush beans are done producing loads (actually an overwhelming amount) and my pole beans are really starting to fruit. Summer squashes are piling up on my counter and the Swiss chard continues to flourish, regardless of my family getting a little sick of it. The flowers are absolutely the one part of the garden that makes my heart race with love. They don’t need anything from me, which is truly a relief sometimes.

Another aspect I really nailed this year was weed control. I planted my beds quite intensively with vegetables and flower companions. Intensive planting reduces the amount of exposed soil, which leads to less weeds growing through! I weeded small stuff regularly, like every other day, and I mulched every bed with straw. I never felt overwhelmed. It was a first, for sure.

Improvements to make next year…

Frustrations are plenty every year for me, but it’s of course a practice in patience and learning. Every perfect garden you see on social media has parts that have been overtaken by a pest or mysterious disease. Each year is different too, depending on the weird weather or some kind of dark magic. For some reason my green ‘Raven’ zucchini plant, after making 3 great squashes, just went and died. I harvested one last one today, but I know it ain’t coming back. Maybe it got a squash vine borer and before I even knew what was happening the whole plant was wilted and flat on the ground. My pattypan squashes have been the cute little stars of the garden, however, and I couldn’t be more pleased! I like them better anyways!

Tomatoes

My tomatoes have produced loads. This year I grew 7 large indeterminate varieties, all different. Some are still going strong—the Amish paste, Green Zebra, Beefsteak and Brandywine. My Paul Robeson plant stayed quite small and has died back almost totally now. However, it was the first to fruit big beautiful *delicious* dark red tomatoes and I was completely satisfied. My ‘Italian Heirloom’ paste tomato plant gave us the HUGEST most delicious sauce tomatoes super early and is now looking tired. It looks like I have a blight or a fungal infection in almost all of my plants so I know the days are numbered. The hot and humid days have had their way with my tomatoes. Perhaps I will try spraying a baking soda solution on the plants (Brenda’s suggestion) and see what happens.

Broccoli

Broccoli is one of my most favorite vegetables, but boy do they take a lot of space. I grew one or two of 4 different varieties (because I didn’t know which would be best for my garden and this year). I never had enough at any harvesting to make a full broccoli dish. Next year, I will grow at least four ‘Aspabroc’ in the spring/summer. It was the most compact and productive variety, by far, in our hot summer. The ‘Waltham 29’ was also quite productive but the plant grew HUGE and I just don’t know if it made enough food to justify its space requirement.

Corn, Beans and Squash

My greatest frustration/learning experience is in the 3 sisters garden this year. Honestly, every year it’s my greatest experiment. Some day I’ll get it. This year I planted 4 types of corn in a big 10’x12’ block. I chose all varieties known for being tall and sturdy because I was planning on using the stalks for bean poles. Here’s what I learned:

• No corn is tall enough or sturdy enough to withstand extra vigorous pole beans. I need to build tall tipi trellises too.
• No corn is sturdy enough to withstand the fierce gusts of wind we get here in my yard, almost all of it was knocked over in the tropical storm Henri.
• Vining winter squash does NOT stay on the ground, creating a lush ground cover/mulch, as was suggested. No, instead, it climbs right up the corn stalks and pulls them down. No corn is sturdy enough to hold up a heavy winter squash vine, especially after it is carrying heavy fruits and is extra weighed down by a rainstorm.
• My garden isn’t big enough to make all this worth it. For now I’d rather buy good sweet corn from a farm stand and use the space to grow my own heirloom premium vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, or a solid block of good storage crops like more winter squash or onions.
• The heavy duty arched trellises (as seen everywhere on YouTube and Pinterest) are freaking awesome and winter squash and beans are extremely thrilled to grow up an around them, so definitely more of those!

Review and Improve!

I use a garden planner program through the Old Farmers’ Almanac that I love and highly recommend! Get it here. This program is excellent for planning your next year. You can actually add a plan that follows your last. It shows where you have perennials planted and recommends crop rotations for pest control and soil nutrients.

Hopefully my stories and (gently) critical approach to the late summer garden has inspired you to evaluate your season early, record your ideas and most of all be forgiving of any “failures” that may cause stress or frustration.