For the last month or two I’ve been in maintenance mode in my garden. Lots of deadheading and watering. Inspiration for new planting has eluded me. Most likely this is because, according to official data, we got only four sunny days here in Cambria, in all of July and August. We really didn’t have a summer in the conventional sense of the word.
Also, another excuse coming, I’ve been crazy busy. The two little labradoodles got us out and about on the beautiful Fiscalini Ranch trails each day. The girls are becoming more civilized and we find them immensely entertaining. When not training dogs, I sat hunched over my computer updating my two websites. I ran into real technical problems with my other site Backyard Hencam. It took me several weeks to get it resolved. I’ve gotten around to writing articles for the Tribune and Cambrian but have neglected my little gardening blog. And it is the most fun of all! I get to tell you about my life in the garden and other such nonsense. So today I’ll update you on what has been happening in around my Cambrian garden.
We’ve had a good amount of summer squash as well as zucchini. Their leaves are covered with powdery mildew now and will be removed any day. Pumpkins did really well. Surprising since it was so cool. Tomatoes are giving us tasty treats but they are smaller than in previous summers. We had an old Granny Smith apple tree that was attacked by aphids. We don’t spray our trees but I had to get out some insecticide for this one. The tree bore no fruit this year and what fruit it provided was damaged by the aphids. I missed those beautiful tart green apples. The other old apple tree ‘Beverly Hills’, is infected with incurable “fire blight” but gave us an abundant crop of fruit. I dried much of it in the dehydrator. This variety provides apples that delicious to eat, are considered “low chill” and make great applesauce needing little sugar. The Granny Smith are better for pies. They stay firm when baked.
We got a fair amount of Santa Rosa plums and Asian pears. Our berries this year were outstanding! We’re still getting raspberries. My lettuce and kale are getting pretty tough. They’ll soon become “chicken treats”. Yesterday I got out in the beautiful sunshine and planted two cool-season vegetables, beets and chard. Hopefully it’s not too late. I’d like them to get up to a few inches before Christmas. Then they’ll just sit there and meditate through the winter. In spring, they’ll take off and I’ll get some nice beets and greens next summer. At least that is the plan.
I’ll post some picture of my garden as it is now. You’ll be able to see what I need to do. Hopefully, I can get it cleaned up by winter then let it (and me) rest. Now I’ve got to get up out of this chair and get some photos taken before the sun gets too high. Cheers to all and happy fall gardening!
