Many of the summer plants are starting to wind down and basically die off. The heat wave last week did not help them, although most plants react to the shortening day light as fall begins anyway. The cucumbers have it the worst so last week I planted more and we shall see if they actually produce. They have sprouted and look such a verdant green compared to the dying brown vines and very crispy leaves! We are still getting 2 or 3 cukes a week though. The Delicata squash plant is also dying quickly so I am cleaning it up and saving only vines that still have a squash attached. Then I will start to prep it for my fall planting.
The summer squash plants are looking very good with big green leaves. Unfortunately I misread the sun’s position and they have grown over my carrots and blocked them from the sunlight. I’ve whacked back some of those leaves and started harvesting the carrots underneath first. I love walking out and just pulling a carrot for my salad! We still get a lot of yellow squash daily but the green zucchini have slowed down. I planted two more patty pan seeds a couple weeks ago and those are growing fast and started flowering already. We might get a couple of squash from those if the temperatures hold. I love the big orangey yellow squash flowers any which way.
The watermelons are ripening up now and we have three more of them. The honeydews got a second lease on life and flowered again and we have some small ones still forming. It is still warm (80s) but day length is decreasing quickly. So maybe we will have honeydew for a while longer! The green beans are going to town. I planted a few more to replace the sickly plants that just lost their green and had empty shells of beans and the healthy ones are going crazy right now. I missed a lot of the beans down low, probably thinking they were vines so the chickens have been enjoying beans lately😜.
Then there are the various pepper plants. The bell peppers, both purple and red, are going to town. I believe we have gotten 8 purple bell peppers already and there are lots of green ones growing. The sweet peppers are also going to town with several peppers per plant. The tomatillos are also growing crazy-like and sprawling all over the watermelons. Those seem to be fading fast. Last two are ripening now.
Just two weeks ago I tried a last planting of the “Edamame” soy beans. Three plants are up but no flowers yet. I have also started planting carrots in bare spots all around – if they come up they may produce much of the winter. I am truly loving these carrots!
Jenny’s bins out front are producing as well. She has lots of eggplant – I was definitely wrong that it was too late to plant those. And definitely on the list for next year. Also the amaranth is beautiful tangled up with the morning glory flowers. The sunflowers are just about done and starting to get beat up by the wind in front. Wilton is definitely a windy property!
Watching these plants mature and some starting to die off has me pretty excited for fall planting. I did get some purple broccoli seeds since Gabe is totally into purple now. And the bulbs were out at Green Acres so yes, I did grab some daffodils for here. I will miss all my daffodils in Shingle Springs but the irises are doing great here so the daffs should too. Im also trying to figure out what I can grow for Cherie and Eric in Sutter Creek since they have beds close to ready and a greenhouse! Dave finally got my wind damaged greenhouse taken down and cleared off so I might be using theirs instead. Gardening does not stop around here. Gotta love California’s Central Valley!