the august garden

July Garden

 August Garden

The main difference between the July and August gardens are the beds (formerly for the potatoes) planted with Kale, Spinach and Swiss Chard for an Autumn harvest. 

Some plants are beginning to get crispy, thanks to the fact that it is late Summer and we have been going without rain for some time. Above are the pole Green Beans and below are the Zinnias - not very pretty at all! Alas, it is that time of year for some plants to end their giving.

Eggplant is finally producing!

We enjoyed a side dish with dinner this week.

I simply dipped slices in milk, then coated with flour

and sauteed in olive oil. So wonderful!

 The Zucchini simply will not stop.

The yellow Summer Squash succumbed to beetles, 

but these Zucchinis won't give in.

Today for lunch I diced up a Zucchini,

sauteed it in butter, then topped with Parmesan cheese and fresh Basil.

Oh my, I will be making that again and again!

The Cherry Tomatoes continue to yield

and make a wonderful bruschetta.

The Roma tomatoes and larger tomatoes

aren't as quick to ripe now, but we'll keep the plants going

and they will slowly, but steadily keep producing for us.

 Although the beautiful Zinnias are now turning brown,

the Lavender (above) and Roses (below)

are providing beautiful colors.

I'm very excited to have four beds producing a good amount of leafy greens

that will be ready this month to begin enjoying. 

Above is Kale and below is Swiss Chard (which is a first for us).

With this year's garden I really feel like we know what we are doing and we're able to produce a steady bounty for our meals. Not only is the bounty steady, but it is varied. We should have fresh produce through September, hopefully well into October if the frosts hold off. Then we can use what is preserved in the freezer for November, December, January, February and March. We'll begin planting leafy greens in March and hopefully begin to enjoy them again in April. We won't plant to harvest in the Winter, honestly because the return we receive for the work it requires just isn't the best investment of time for us right now.

It's a blessing to have as much yard as we do, and to know how to work the area so it can yield healthy goodness for our family. I love the exercise and fresh air we receive from the work. I don't ever mention this, but our garden is organic. We do not use any chemicals on our soil or plants, and have had minimal pests and diseases. We amend our soil with chicken and rabbit manure (from our own animals) as well as compost we create from a mixture of soil, leaves and food scraps. Our garden soil is healthy, so our plants are too.