Beans, tomatoes, and greens

This is a shoulder season in my vegetable gardens, maybe a bit earlier than normal, as mild weather has slowed tomato and pepper ripening, and fostered early sowings of fall greens and root crops.

I've pulled up most of the tomatoes, which were fading, aside from the cherries, which just keep going, in order to sow fall veggies (spinach, lettuce, mustards, beets, turnips, kale, and collards, etc.)

I've had great poblano peppers for the first time -- curious -- they were in a lower light bed below the house, and maybe with the milder summer?

The pole beans (romano, lazy wife, and Kentucky wonder) are still producing, and there were finally some yard-long beans developing last week in the mountains.

A final spurt of beans

But they won't make much more progress, and will turned over to fall and winter greens, as well, sometime soon.

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Fall in mid-August

It was an amazing day -- cool dry air blowing through.   Highs in the 70's.  This is September weather, even in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

We had delicious costata zucchini squash from the garden as part of dinner tonight -- the first squash of the summer. Totally curious, but I'm grateful. They were delicious.

It's really time for fall veggie change outs, but what am I going to replace?  The tomatoes, beans, and squash that are producing?

Hmm, I think I'm just going to sow greens, beets, and more chard along the edges, and maybe lettuces in containers, and hope for a late frost this fall?

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Cleaning up for fall

I'm almost done "excavating" the main vegetable garden and the satellite garden in the Piedmont of their cloak of over-summering crabgrass.  It was thick, and more abundant than I'd ever experienced before, thanks to the exceptionally high rainfall this summer.

Evidence of deer and spotting of woodchucks (one has taken up residence under the garden shed) means that defensive measures need to be taken before greens are planted. Hrmph.

I'm fine planting recently received garlic, shipped from a West Coast farm, and dividing and moving around the perennial leeks, dividing

But with greens -- hmm, I might as well just say welcome, woodchucks -- I have something tasty for you -- help yourself!

I may try to use a row cover/hoop house barrier to see if that deters them short-term.   Or, I may just rely on my mountain beds for greens.  They're less susceptible to woodchucks because of the city location, although not immune.

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Fall is coming

It was a lovely evening here in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

MORE rain during the day, but the evening was nice -- cool for this time of year and the crescent moon was evident - beautiful (but no Perseid meteors to be seen).  An evening to be appreciated, too, as we're back "down the hill" later in the week to start fall semester.

Two of the largest raised beds are ready to plant with fall greens, cleansed of the final tomatoes -- harvested before late blight ravaged their vines.  I'll be planting beets, turnips (red and white), creasy greens, lettuce mix, mache, mustard greens, kale of all sorts, mixed greens, etc. and maybe I'll try some broccoli raab, too. 

I'm imagining the woodchucks would sneak out of the ravine for any cole transplants, so I don't think I'll bother to plant any of those for them (been there, done that).

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