Sometimes I get in trouble for pointing out the problems I have. Still, I'm enthusiastic about my successes! Example: If I can't complain about the miserable 16 hours of winter darkness that will descend in just a few months how can I boast about having pushed myself to limits living this far north? No doubt high altitude gardeners understand this.

Faith, the melons aren't OutRageously bountiful ... but they sure are nice and it was a good long season, continuing! Waay, waaay more than we could have eaten by ourselves. And, growing on just a small patch of ground.

Really, the tomatoes have done exceedingly well - better than any recent season. Howsomeever ... it has only been the last few days that the quail seem to be leaving them alone! Or, is it the voles? Or, the bunnies? I know that there are more quail in the big veggie garden than ever before. It's okay. There have been lots of tomatoes and more coming. Lots. But, it was discouraging to see the earliest beefsteaks sampled by the pests!

Steve

Well cucumbers and squash have done the best for me and maybe a little jinx would be okay. There is such a thing of too much of a good thing.

I think if that rabbits didn't devour the end of every melon vine it would've been a good melon year in Westminster. I'm still learning to cope with rabbits. Probably need to extend the rabbit fence.

All things considered the fruits, vegetables and herbs did well this year (so far).

The jinx has been on pretty much all season here. Between the 7 bouts of hail and the grasshoppers, there hasn't been much for production.

Every ripe tomato I've gone to pick has already been eaten by grasshoppers. I've resorted to putting ziploc baggies on most of the Amana Orange tomatoes still on the vine so they can ripen without being devoured by hoppers. They're big and beautiful and I hope to taste one soon. There's too many San Marzano's and Roma's to bag, so I've taken to spraying the tomatoes with water once in a while to drive out the hoppers, but when I leave they come right back. I did put down Nolo Bait when the grasshoppers were small, in late May, it just wasn't enough this year.

It's not put me off of gardening, just recognizing that some years are going to be tough and this is one of them.

I put in warty goblin and wee b little pumpkins seedlings very late, a splurge from a nursery sale I was at and it looks like I'll have enough pumpkins for decorating soon. The dahlias are coming on strong and the potted flowers look pretty good for this late in the season.

I've gotten 8 trees planted in the last few weeks, a salve to my soul. I'm glad to see the high 90 degree temps gone and the hope of some rain is in the forecast this week. I'm ready for fall.

Barb

We now have temperatures a little below normal. I'm becoming fairly convinced that an overnight low above 50° f has become an impossibility. If the sparrows had left my August sowing of bok choy alone, I'd have better plants to move into a greenhouse bed in October but I'll have to use what is available. ... if'n I do that transplanting.

The sill needs replacing on the south wall and all these pepper plants in that narrow bed are in the way! I've gotta engineering problem.

Outdoors, the melon patch is still producing ripe ones for an entire month! Tomatoes are winding down their ability to ripen but green fruit is still on the good-size plants.

Second sowing of sweet corn is beyond juicy sweet. Time to let that go ...

First planting of beans are back! Bugs didn't tear them up this year and they weren't pulled. Good thing because the late second planting is having trouble getting past flowering! Need to honor that 15 July deadline! Still a chance but they seem to have stalled.

Second planting of cukes and zukes -- better growth and production than first! Nice stuff coming off ... but those started the 1st of July. Older vines, except for lemon cukes, winding down fast ...

Good year.

Steve

We have now entered the second half of September. The squirrels are gathering nuts!

On our way to the Harvest Moon ...

We Are Not Done Yet!

Steve

hoping to help us unwind whether this is the most improbable string of unlikely coincidences or whether this is an active conspiracy