Mid-August

There is still a lot going on in Mid-August and I have stayed on top of watering and cleaning so everything still looks alive and producing.

More than half of the raised beds are still producing and cover crops fill the rest

The Summer Squash bed is still neat and tidy.

But I spotted a spot!

Powdery mildew.

That little round spot dead center in the above photo is the precursor to total annihilation. Not to be confused with leaf silvering shown below.  I see that a lot on the Facebook forums.  New gardeners on the lookout for potential problems often misdiagnose the silvering (below) as mildew.  It actually seems to be some sort of mildew protection.  Varieties with leaf silvering seem much more resistant than those with tender green leaves.  So I got out my Safer Grow Mildew Cure.  I tried this last year at the first sign of mildew and it really seemed to stop the progression.

This is going to be a good year for apples.  I currently have 71 on one tree and about 15 on the other.  And these are 13 to 16 ounce apples!  A little goes a long way.  Every time one falls I have a pang of disappointment.  Then I ask myself - "what would you do with a hundred pounds of apples?"

I am currently shopping for a dehydrator because there will be more than I need for pies and sauce.  But I do love dried apples.

The strawberries I planted this spring are growing well.  About every two weeks I have to get in there and cut the runners.  I have let some babies take hold to fill in for wimpy plants.

The sweet potato vine... well, it has left the garden.

Dinner Plate Dahlias are beginning to bloom.  I've sort of neglected them this year.  They are on the slope where they are difficult to water, so they are just in a holding pattern this year to keep them alive and next year I will put them in fertile ground and add to them.

My clematis vines, while beautiful in June, always end up getting over grown and mildewed.  So I cut them to the ground and in a few weeks they are back and much more manageable.  At this point I can begin training them up their trellis in an organized fashion and these branches will be the basis for next spring's growth.

Potato pots are so ugly in August!  I've been cutting them back and then moving them to the shade on the north side of the garden shed so they don't continue to bake on the hot gravel.  They look like a pile of Christmas presents waiting to be opened.  You sort of know what might be in them but you never know until you actually dump them out.

Tomato season has only just begun.  I have so many nice fruit waiting to ripen.

Brussels Sprouts are sprouting.  This is my first time growing them so I am learning how best to prune them to give a good harvest.

Butterfly Bush

Buckwheat flowers

There are a lot of busy little bees on the buckwheat

Sweet Corn Time! Our farm stands have had corn for a month but it doesn't taste like this!

SS3778R super sweet hybrid from Johnny's Seeds

 I have enough to freeze this year.  My method for cooking sweet corn has changed over the years.  I use the microwave which is a great solution in the hot summer.  I snip off the hair with a scissors and then husk down to the white husk so there are about two layers left.  Microwave at least a minute per ear and let it cool for five minutes or more.  Then the hairs and husks come off easily although I use rubber dish gloves to avoid burning my hands.

Now we just need rain.  We haven't had a drop since the 3rd.  That's a two week total dry spell in hot sunny weather.  My tank is almost out of water again and I've begun emptying containers of nasturtium and eggplants because I can't keep them watered.  The water priorities are tomatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and beans and not only does it use up the water, but it takes a lot of time to go around with the hose and/or cans and get to everything that needs it.