August 6, 2014

Here are a few more photos for the August vegetable garden tour. To get the gist of things, read yesterday’s post.

Doing a garden retrospective, I’ve concluded I was distracted this summer–company, work, trips. The garden suffered. But there’s always next year.

The ‘Santa Fe Grande’ chili peppers are beginning to turn from yellow to orange and then later red. They were planted in late May. Recently, I added 'Red Beauty’ bell peppers since they usually do well into the fall.

What you don’t see is that most of this raised bed has been unplanted all summer. Was I really that busy that I couldn’t spend fifteen minutes to plant bush beans?

Also, the day after I planted and mulched the peppers, my dog, Lucy jumped the low fence, made a “nest” in the cool, moist soil and dislodged a few pepper plants.

I caught the image of this bean plant in the late afternoon light. I do like the thin filet beans and so does Lucy. She nibbles the on the lower ones.

What you can’t see is that this is the only bean plant growing on the trellis. I don’t know why the germination was so meager. I probably let the soil dry out at a critical stage.

Usually by this time of the summer I’m picking about three pounds a week of gorgeous filet beans. I miss them and it’s too late to replant. I did get a row of purple bush beans planted over the weekend.

A purchased six-pack of romaine lettuce is doing well in the dappled sun near the apricot tree.

What you can’t see are the 'Jericho’ lettuce seedlings I coddled through two heat waves. I had great hopes they would keep me in lettuce through the summer.

Ravaged by some insect and weary from inconsistent watering, I tossed them in the compost bin before our vacation.

I’m not sure how much more of this my garden ego can take, but there is more material for another post. Gardening is about successes and failures. Don’t give up.