Welcome to the final installment of my four-part series, Sanctuary Gardener’s Favorites. I’ve already shared my favorite nightshades, legumes, and cucurbits. (If you missed any of them, see the links at the end of this post.) Today, I will share with you my favorite root vegetables and greens. Roots & Greens!
I think our weather has schizophrenia. Midweek, we broke the record for low temperatures recorded here in November. The coldest morning was 22 degrees F. – in the South…in November! What?! Then, last night, we had thunderstorms and were under a tornado watch while today is supposed to be 76 degrees. Unlike back home in Rhode Island, where we dressed by the calendar, we have to dress by the weather report here. And if we have trouble knowing what to do with the weather, I can only imagine how my plants feel. Fortunately, most survived the frost and are enjoying the first soaking rain we’ve had in two months. This week’s garden photos!
Considering we’ve already had our first frost, I harvested quite a bit of produce this past week – including a wonderful surprise of raspberries (after I thought the canes were done for the year). My harvests included produce from summer and fall crops, something I just love seeing. I harvested my first key lime, over 5 ounces of raspberries, about a pound of eggplant, a pound of peanuts, a half pound of greens, over 1.5 pounds of beans, 3.5 pounds of peppers, 3/4 pound of radishes, and 10 pounds of pumpkins. Gosh, I love gardening! This past week’s garden bounty!
The weather here got hot and humid again this week, but a cold front came through on Friday (though without any rain, unfortunately). The humidity dropped for a couple days this past weekend, so I was able to spend two full days in the garden without feeling like passing out. And while spending such a long period of time in the garden, I saw that the heat and insufficient rain have brought the insects early. In two days, I saw squash vine borer moths on the squash, spotted cucumber beetles on my eggplant and corn, bean leaf rollers on my snap beans, army worms on my tomatoes, spider mites on my eggplant and lettuce, and aphids here and there. And the summer hasn’t even begun! It’s going to be a season of war with insects, it seems. Well, I”m ready for battle! Despite the uninvited guests, my plants are growing and fruiting; and we’ve made an addition to the homestead. This week’s garden pictures!
Sanctuary Gardener 