Welcome to the first update of 2016. It will be a short one, but I can say that I have accomplished one goal and started on a second one already. (If you missed it, here are my 2016 goals.) While out in the garden yesterday afternoon to gather soil samples (and do some weeding), I also took a few pictures to share with you. This week’s garden photos!
Good morning, everyone. It’s been a while since I gave you an update on the garden and homestead, so I thought I’d share with you a few pictures as well as tell you how things are growing (or not) in the garden. We did have a couple nights in the 40s last week, but my excitement over autumn weather arriving was short-lived. Our lows are now in the upper 50s to mid 60s with highs in the mid 70s to low 80s. Not exactly autumn weather in this Yankee’s opinion, but at least it’s not scorching hot anymore. This week’s garden photos!
Good morning, everyone. Another HHH week (hazy, hot, humid) here in South Carolina. Combined with my vicious fiscal-year-end work schedule, I have been out in the garden only a couple of times this week. <sigh> I’m going through gardening withdrawals, yet I’m thankful for air conditioning and the small harvests I have been getting. (Small due to the heat, fungus/disease, and insects.) However, I still have some pictures for you this week. This week’s garden photos!
Good morning, everyone. I’m still writing to you from the Scorch – only now it’s a little less on the temperature scale (mid 90s) but a lot more on the humidity scale (80%+). Post July 4th, and it’s time to get out the knife and fork to be able to breathe this chunky air. UGH! I can’t stand being out for longer than a few minutes at a time. At least I harvest – doing it as quickly as possible – but I have yet to harvest my lima beans and butter peas due to the heat and how long it takes to harvest them. They’re mostly dry pods now, unfortunately. (At least, that’ll be my seed for next year.) I’m going to have to harvest them this week though, else they’ll stop producing altogether. Must. Get. Outside….for longer than 20 minutes. Unless, of course, I start drowning in my own sweat and choking on the air. Yep, it’s July in the South. Meanwhile, please enjoy the pictures I took of my garden this past week (during a couple of my sweat-fests). This week’s garden photos!
Summer has arrived! Maybe not on the calendar, exactly, but it’s definitely summer in my Sanctuary garden. The sun is getting hotter, the humidity is starting to creep in, the plants are flowering and fruiting, the bees are buzzing, and the summer harvest has begun. Come, take a look. This week’s garden photos!
Welcome to the third installment in my Sanctuary Gardener’s Favorites series ~ my favorite cucurbits. If you missed my favorite nightshades and legumes, see the links at the end of this post. Cucurbits!
I had a banner week harvesting in the garden! Most of the past week was in the 80s, and my plants were displaying their best fruit just in time for the county fair. Unfortunately, the cold is coming a couple weeks earlier than normal, so this may be my last big harvest week of the year (at least, until the fall crops mature). I harvested 4 tomatoes, a handful of greens, over 3.5 pounds of snap beans (my last of the year), almost 3 pounds of eggplant, almost 6 pounds of winter squash, and over 12 pounds of peppers! Garden bounty photos!
What a difference a week or two makes! A couple of weeks ago, we were suffering under a brutal summer sun without rain for three weeks. Since then, we’ve had about 5 inches of rain and haven’t seen the sun in ten or twelve days, thanks to a low pressure system camping off the South Carolina coast. My fall planting was delayed earlier due to the intense heat; now I can’t seem to finish planting because of the rain. Well, at least what I have planted is starting to germinate, and my plants are continuing to respond to the cooler temperatures. This week’s garden photos!
It was another incredibly hot week here…with no end in sight. As of this weekend, it’s also been three weeks since my garden has seen rain. Needless to say, my poor plants are struggling to survive. Even with my watering, it’s been tough on them. However, my sweet babies have continued to give me something in a way of harvest – even if the fruit is small. This past week, I’ve harvested 1.75 pounds of raspberries, almost a half pound of small melons, almost 1.5 pounds of squash, 2 pounds of pumpkin, a little over half a pound of tomatoes, 3.5 pounds of eggplant, and 2.75 pounds of peppers (mostly chiles). My garden is like the Little Engine that Could! Garden Bounty photos!
It’s getting towards the end of August, but the heat continues – and so do my not-so-big harvests. At least my plants are surviving and trying to produce for me. This past week, I harvested a half pound of tomatoes (I do have flowers again, so that’s hopeful), 4 pounds of peppers, 4.5 pounds of melons, 4.5 pounds of pumpkins, 1.5 pounds of winter squash, and a half pound of raspberries. Take a look. Garden bounty pictures!
Sanctuary Gardener 