Garden getting second wind

18 years ago

For the past couple or more weeks, it seems like my garden has gotten a second wind of energy. I harvested seven potato plants in early August because they'd died back completely. Then I left on a five day trip. It rained hard, twice, and when I came back the remaining potato plants had shot up several more inches. They still look hail and hearty.

In the past week or two, my tomatoes and zukes have gone wild, producing tons of fruit, like they're in a hurry to get it taken care of before the end of the season. The tomatoes, though, even though some are large enough, are almost all still green.

A couple of my rose plants, after a couple months with no flowers, are now developing rose buds and blooms.

If my peach tree starts flowering, I'll know the end times are here. :-)

But why would everything get a second wind just before it comes time for (whispering) frost? Or is it because frost is later than average this year? Usually there's a frost--or even a blizzard--before this. The weather forecast shows lows in the 40s and 50s for the next 10 days.

Not that I'm complaining about more produce, and I'm a newbie so I'm still learning about gardening, but it seems rather strange to me.

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Comments (5)

mxbarbie
18 years ago
My peas are doing the same thing. Huge show of new flowers and pods. I was just about to rip them out but I think I will just let them be and see what happens.
bobboberan
18 years ago
the weather became colder at night so a scattering of both carrots and celery started growing again here . Its really very very hot and dry and very very windy during the summer and there is an excessive amount of all day sun, good for cactuses I think ....so during July and August it is very hard on vegetables . The trees and even very hardy hedges like Caraganas bloom and shed there leaves for between only 4 to 5 months per year maximum .
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lantanascape
18 years ago
You sound like me! I was ready to rip out my pole beans before leaving on a trip on the 19th. I didn't because I was letting several pods mature for next year's bean seed. When I came home, the plants were LOADED again, and I picked about 2 lbs off a 12 foot row, and will pick another couple pounds in a few days.

The big tomatoes are just hitting their stride and ripening up nicely, and I have peppers coming out of my ears.

I think the reason for this is the slightly cooler weather, as many plants cannot set fruit when temps are over 90 degrees or so. Also, toward the end of the season, the roots are more developed, and the foliage is not growing as quickly, so there is more energy available for making fruits.
schoolhouse_gw
18 years ago
I have two healthy pole bean plants about 5" high, sprouted from beans dropped on the ground as I tore down the trellis several weeks ago. I'll just let them grow as long as they can. New Red Sails lettuce up and growing nicely, too; but I read in the paper this morning that my area usually experiences frost around Oct.10th, so I'll be getting the row cover out.
lilacs_of_may
Original Author
18 years ago
The news station here said that our average first frost was October 7, and average first snowfall was October 19. Of course, this is Colorado, and we can have below freezing temperatures in any month except July and August -- on the Front Range, anyway.

My sweet peas have their second wind, too. I thought they were dying down, then suddenly they started a rapid spurt of growth and lots of new buds and flowers.

I also found that some carrots that I'd planted in a kitchen garden months ago, that I'd long since given up on, are still alive and growing.

Gardens do weird things sometimes.