Despite all the failures this year, I actually got enough tomatoes to do some canning. Maybe there WILL be sauce this year. It is more a testament to planting 6 times the plants I need in the hope I get three that work, than any talent on my part.
The zucchini and cucumber continue to produce. Last year, I pulled the plants because the leaves start getting moldy and sad looking. This year, I'm holding onto everything until they are D-E-D dead. I want to see how much production I can get out of everything.
The exception is that little pile of green beans. They are from a succession planting of beans I did in July. I've pulled the old bean plants to make room for broccoli. The old beans were still producing, but the beans were tough. I think young bean plants make the best beans, so a succession planting is the way to go to get the most out of my summer season.
Still growing are my cucumbers (above) and anaheim peppers (below).
Here's the beans I planted in July. They are just now starting to produce.
Interplanted with the old summer stock is a fall crop of broccoli and cabbage. We've had lots of heat since I put these plants in, and while they look marvelous right now, I won't know if the heat has done any damage until the actual broccoli starts to come up. It might button. It might not. I'm hoping for not.
For sure, these little cabbage and zucchini plant that I put in about a month ago are not happy in the shade. This spot really does get no sun at all, thanks to the large tomato vines to the south of them. The plants are suffering for it. Live and learn.
And the jury is still out on how successful I am with container gardening. My bok choi is doing marginally well.
The carrots and onions sprouted quickly and I thought I had a winner. But they've seemingly been stuck in this spot for a while now. It doesn't look like they're growing, but it could be my imagination. We'll have to see if I get any production out of it.
And in this one, I've planted broccoli raab. I'm not a fan of this variety of broccoli. The seeds were a gift. I had to pull one plant because it immediately bolted and went to flower. I'll see if I get anything from the rest of them.
Lots more broccoli and cabbage seedlings to plant in the coming weeks. I'm waiting for this heat spell to get over with, then I'll put them in the ground. I figure if the broccoli and cabbage I started earlier suffered from the heat, I've got these back-ups. If they didn't suffer from the heat, I'll just have loads of broccoli and cabbage!
And finally, I am going to have to figure a staking method for my tomatoes that is much higher than the 4" I've got going. That was not nearly enough height. I'm thinking about a cattle panel arbor for beans and tomatoes. I'm going to start out with one and if that works, I'll get more. For the rest of my tomatoes, I'll continue with my Florida weave, but I've got to get much taller stakes.
