wrapping up july in the gardens of plenty

Friday, July 30th, 2010

When July began, we were inundated with lettuces. Everywhere. I couldn’t pick them fast enough! That is why they became the July banner. And the fireflies were out every night. Along with the heat. And humidity. July has been HOT. 90°F+ for many, many days with very little rain. I don’t remember the last time July was this hot.

Who’s looking forward to getting their water and electricity bills in August? Yeah. They’re gonna suck. We have one little tiny AC unit that we broke out to use in the bedroom, and I can’t believe how many nights in a row we used it. Eesh. And the near-daily garden waterings. Plus trying to save our lawn, which was a failure. Our grass took its bow at least a few weeks ago. Craig is psyched though—mowing is awesome when you don’t have to do it.

July has been a month of learning for me. I delved deeper into blogging and talking to other bloggers. I started participating in more online discussions with other writers and really focused on visiting other blogs that are incredible. I plan to organize my thoughts more and share, share, share! Soon!

I also started to dip my pinky toe into being more social online and getting to know other gardeners. Stepping out of my comfort zone has been awesome. Even if it was slightly anxiety-ridden for me at first. I get shy. But I also gain confidence. I am learning so much, and it is so rewarding to share information and swap life and garden stories with ilk! And not just other gardeners, but other amazing women and men out there who are invested in self-discovery, in mindfulness, in celebrating the simple pleasures of each day. I love this.

On the gardening side of things, all of this interaction has really helped me, too, because my little plenty this year has been suffering quite a few setbacks. And other gardeners have been awesome with sharing their advice. First there were the squash vine borers. Then there were the red leaf lily beetles. And now I’m battling some sort of tomato fungus that I don’t think is late blight, but rather septoria leaf spotting.

Ick, again.

After 3 years of awesome gardening, I have really had to step back and think about what I am doing. I know you can’t prevent all pests and diseases, but I somehow thought I was immune because I garden organically. Not the case! Turns out I should have been more vigilant, especially last year, to look for signs of pest and disease. Well, silly me… I was far too busy planning my wedding and then enjoying the first weeks of newlywed-dom and then went off to Europe for my honeymoon.

Yeah, well, turns out there were a ton of warning signs going on in my garden that I was clueless about! Wedded ignorant bliss!

If I had payed closer attention to my squashes last year, I might have noticed the onset of squash vine borers. I think I had them last year, but the case wasn’t crazy severe. They overwinter in your soil, though, and so I have had these icky buggers on hand for quite some time. And thinking back, I am pretty sure I had a septoria problem last year, too. But I just chalked it up to crappy tomatoes because New England had sooooo much rain last summer. Slugs were the biggest garden problem! So I just thought my tomato plants were waterlogged and hangin’ in the best they could. I have most likely been harboring septoria in my soil.

Ewwww. Makes me feel like a bad gardening mamma. I got distracted. I got a little too giddy about my success. I failed to read, research, and take preventive measure like rotating my crops and turning my soil.

Just like life, eh? It is so easy to get carried away, get distracted, forget to practice gratitude and be humble. Well, now it has caught up to me, and I am paying for it with a subpar harvest thus far this summer.

It is okay, though. I can take it. It happens to the best of us.

I am experiencing so much, and I feel so present to be able to learn from my mistakes. And not all is lost, which is the best part about the garden. It WANTS to grow. The garden WANTS to flourish. Like the kid in class who knows the answer and has her arm strained up to the sky, begging for the teacher to call on her. Ain’t nothin’ gonna break her. So I take so much comfort in the tiny little garden successes these days. They are amazing.

Here are a few worth sharing as we wrap up July in the gardens of plenty.

Here is my first cantaloupe! This is my first year attempting to grow melons.

My sugar baby watermelons are big enough to sling. I am using old knee-high stockings to cradle and support them.

So exciting to see them grow bigger and bigger! This sugar baby watermelon is the furthest along.

My 4 corn stalks are right on schedule!

One is way taller than the others, but here’s hoping...

Here comes an ear!

After waiting and waiting, my first roma tomatoes are finally ripe!

Romas and cherry tomatoes

We had our first real tomato harvest this week.

Our bush lake beans are still producing in full force.

Our cucumbers have been doing very well.

The vines are withering in the heat, but we are still picking sugar snap peas.

Don’t call it a comeback! Despite the collapse of most of my squash plants, a few are still hanging on. We have new zucchinis growing.

All in all, it could be worse, right? I am thankful for the good and the bad. It is summer, after all, which is simply wonderful.

Tags: beans, cantaloupe, corn, gardening, gratitude, lettuce, sugar snap peas, summer, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini
Posted in The Growing Season | 4 Comments »