It is now mid-September and most of us know whether our gardens were booms or busts this year. At the Ann’s Entitled Life household, it was a little bit of both.
Our blackberry bush was growing great, loaded with fruit. I was able to pick quite a bit before the roof was done, and many branches were broken. After that – pffffft – a lot of dead fruit. I plan on cutting it back a LOT in the next few weeks.
But first I am hoping the few remaining berries ripen and I get a few more pints out of this year’s blackberry crop.
Our dirt island has these ugly green plants that are getting yanked. I plan on planting an herb garden, and those green plants have taken over the ground cover and little purple flowers planted there. It would be pointless to plant an herb garden with such plant-vultures in the same area.
I have a few lilies left. These have overproduced this year.
My gardens are looking sad rather than lush, and that is odd indeed. Usually they flourish in September, not lag. Maybe they know I’ve had enough, and I plan on putting the gardens to bed a few weeks early this year?
So, how does your garden grow? Are you planting one this year? Sticking with a CSA? A flower or herb garden perhaps? What’s happening in your green-world?
KimH says
I’ve actually picked a dozen or so tomatoes from my garden and about a dozen peppers too.. haha.. Its so pathetic.. however.. the stuff that is in my yard did ok.. my volunteer cherry tomatoes have been slowly ripening.. I didnt have the huge amount that I’ve had in years past but thats ok.. I get cherry tomatoes in my CSA box just about every week so I still have an overabundance.. especially since we’re not big on salads.
I just went out & picked 8 or 9 figs off my Chicago Hardy fig so I consider that a HUGE success! Just the idea that I can get figs to grow here in Ohio boggles my mind.. The tree only had 3 figs on it early in the season and then during the summer, it put on its second flush of figs.. I was hoping & praying they would ripen before the snow flies.. I have high hopes now that the rest will ripen in time for me to eat them! Oh joy! The cost of the fig tree was about what I would pay for a flat of fresh figs in the summer.. about $18-$25… Hopefully this baby will continue to get as big as some of the pictures I’ve seen & stories I’ve read about them.
Ann says
Once again – I am so jealous of your fig tree, Kim! Really glad it has been so productive for you.
Ann
KimH says
I really think you should try to grow one Ann.. They come from the mountains of Italy… and mountains are mountains… I bet they’d do well for you.. Somewhere I read that someone has some in Canada over y’all’s way I think..
Ann says
Hmmm ok we will look into it. It may not happen until 2015 though. I think I am overwhelming Hubby as it is (unless we plant on his hunting property).
Ann
KimH says
Well you can tell him you’re moving your “deal shopping” attention to plant attention.. hehe..
Ann says
LOL I want to plant rhubarb up there… the deer won’t eat it, and I’ll have my own supply!
Ann
Marie says
My bell pepper plants are GREAT! Biggest peppers I’ve ever had, though not as big as seen in the produce department. The plants themselves are tall and between the amount and size of the peppers, they lean in every direction. My plan was to let some stay on the plant till they turn red, but I have to pick them green to save the plants. Since I’m somewhat down south and the last time I planted broccoli I was still picking into December, I have planted a late batch a week ago as an experiment to see how long I can keep the garden growing. They are in the place of the one cabbage (made coleslaw for hot dogs yesterday) lasted all winter and spring and summer. I have a few cabbage plants starting from seed inside to extend the experiement to cabbage too. I figured with such a small garden, let’s see how many times I can reuse the bed since I ran out of room for cool weather crops in the spring. The wheat cover crop will have to wait.
Ann says
Marie what about staking the pepper plants? Either a tie to wooden stake system, or with tomato cages?
Ann
Marie says
I got the frames of discarded campaigne signs helping them out now. The tomato cages would probably knock off the peppers with my luck. I have since put a stake behind them for later on. I knew I should have bought that trellis I had my eye on back in the spring.
KimH says
Yeah, always something to remember for next year.. cage up the peppers.. Mine have always needed caged up as well.. Those little babies get pretty heavy… I have 3 tomatillo plants in my community garden that are all over the ground.. but they seem to be ok with it so I just left em as they were.. it was too late by the time I realized they’re a sprawly plant to cage em up.
Marie says
I know I have to do that with the broccoli. Since it stayed around through the mild winter we had, I had to cut open a cage to get it around the monster plant. Right now their cages are the center of soda bottles. When the tomatoes are done with the cages the broccoli will get the hand-me-downs.