The garden winds down...

One of the things I did manage to do was keep my community garden plot going. Overall, I'm pleased, although a lot of things did not turn out as well as I had hoped. Leeks, onions, and fennel did not do well. A number of plants didn't survive my haphazard care, especially when it came to watering. And the most recent heat while I was away (see previous post!), devastated my magnificent pumpkin and melon vines.

And yet, I have 5 or 6 sugar pumpkins ripening. Four or so melons -- one that's gianormous and should be ready for harvesting soon. The cosmos and sunflowers were fantastic. The zinnias and marigolds took care of themselves. The herbs went wild (I could feed pesto to the world, I have THAT much basil!). I learned a lot of good lessons to apply to next year so, even though things didn't go as expected, I know that next year will be even better.

During the month of July, the garden just looked glorious. The vines were taking over everything, the flowers were blooming happily. Now, the garden looks like the end of summer. Things are dying back, the leaves aren't as bright. It's the natural order of things so it's OK with me.

At home, the patio garden did OK. My tomatoes were doing very well, but some critter kept eating my huge, ripe tomatoes so I lost a number of them. Still, I managed to get some lovely specimens. The hot peppers are wonderful. I'm hoping to make my own paprika from the Hungarian peppers. Although, they're quite tasty when eaten fresh. I've had a few beans and peas that were quite yummy. I plan to plant more of them next year.

Overall, a good growing season. The recent heatwave wasn't all that good for my plants, but most of them were hardy enough to take hold and keep going.

I never did win the battle with the ants. Every time I come home from the garden, I have new bites to contend with...why I don't use insect repellent before entering the garden, I don't know. Right before I went on vacation, my forearm was hideously swollen from insect bites. Luckily, it healed before I left. But, after visiting the garden a couple of times this week, I'm back to my itchy, lumpy state.