My gardens are suffering a bit, friends. They aren’t quite dead or beyond hope; but they are less vibrant and magical than they were just a couple of weeks ago. Maybe these charming summer months have spoiled me into what I thought was benign neglect but instead has been shameful laziness.
Or maybe August in Oklahoma is just always gonna be August in Oklahoma, no matter how charming the previous months and weeks have been.
The zucchini have largely surrendered to squash bugs, which exposes too much of the adjacent eggplants to the hot sun. The tomatoes can fight off only so many grasshoppers (and llamas) per day. The Three Sisters’ plot is crispy (totally my fault). The herb garden is at least one third stickers now. And my cantaloupes are half not quite ripe and half overripe, rotten. (She says scratching her head.) I’ve started new little areas of green beans, cucumbers, leafy things, and basil, and those sprouts are growing, but they need some TLC from Yours Truly, whereas their early season counterparts did not. And one of our three fruit trees has me concerned. I keep getting flashbacks of the Great Depression (even though I wasn’t alive then) when I see its sparse and curling leaves.
I have to mention the stickers twice, the goat-heads, because they are just so vicious. I literally hate them with my entire heart and say swear words when I have to pull them. Last night I pulled a wheelbarrow full from all around the farm, but mostly from my gardens, and a wand of the nasty kernels attached themselves to my sundress. They were so stout, so terrible, that they pinned the cotton fabric tightly against my stomach, like I was some kind of a garden bulletin board. I was so mad! I mean seriously! I had to take several deep breaths and count to three then bravely rip the stickers out of my dress, so that it could become unpinned from my tummy; and still a barb remained in my skin there. It pierced a tiny little drop of blood for no good reason at all. This kind of stuff makes me a bit crazy. I feel like my personal space has been invaded.
So what to do this week? What are the garden tasks at hand?
Reduce I have started by doing some massive cleaning. Pulling weeds, pruning overgrown shrubs and criss-crossed limbs, and trimming leggy vines all the way from jasmine and morning glory to the darling tomatoes. I am reducing those by at least a third, maybe more. And scraping off brown leaves, too. I’ve always believed this allows the plant to spend its energy more wisely.
Water Deeply This may sound like a no-brainer, but keep in mind that all summer I have had to actively water our edible plantings maybe three times total. The rain has been so soft and steady, so luxurious. This week we are hot and dry, and I am not wasting my time with light sprinkling, nor will I compromise the plants roots like that. Deep moisture is the ticket.
Feed & Mulch I have a five-gallon jug of organic fertilizer gifted to me by our landscaping friend Scott, and I plan to dilute that in several ways and feed the holy heck out of everything I see. Then add mulch to the gardens in thick layers. Then probably water some more and light a few candles and send a tweet to P. Allen Smith asking him to light a candle for me, too.
Hover I just need to spend more time in the garden. More time doing things, besides taking photos. Pinching leaves, tucking soil neatly, watering, singing Beatles songs, removing bugs, etcetera. So much can be avoided and accomplished in the garden just by being present.
So my garden will look smaller for a while, overall, but healthier. That’s the idea at least. And of course the biggest idea is that in a few weeks it will bounce back with new vigor and continue producing delicious food.
How is your garden looking? Are you still collecting food? Are you battling squash bugs and goat-head stickers like me? Can you still appreciate the beauty in your Eden, despite the brutality of mid-August? What’s your plan of action?
Tell me everything. I could talk about gardens all day long.
Until it’s time to go for a run. Or read a new book.
The best fertilizer if the gardener’s shadow.
~proverb, unknown origin
XOXOXOXO
I grew up on that side of the state and those GOAT HEADS! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! 🙁 So sorry you have them in your garden. The squash bugs and borers have relentlessly murdered every squashy thing I’ve tried to love this year, even my pumpkins. 🙁 We are picking lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, okra and other goodies still. It’s so fun to hear what’s going on in your garden.
I mean right??? Now all I can think about is how there are parts of Oklahoma with-OUT goat head stickers. Is this true??
Yay for such fun harvests in your garden! I totally forgot to plant okra this year, it’s the weirdest thing, haha : ))
I guess what we can always count on is that the gardens will surprise us a little bit each season. LOL
Thanks for saying hi Christina!! Have fun with those sweet kiddos today. xoxo
yup! I’ve never seen one over here east of Tulsa. After being here 15 years I had forgotten all about them. (Except when I visit and get one, ouch!)
We are having lots of fun. we cut some giant sunflower heads down to hide them from the birds while they dry. we left them a few as well. The kids were excited! 🙂
Ok I feel like someone should make a state map showing where they grow. because this is news to me!!
Oh the sunflower feeders sound so great. I wish I could visit your daycare somehow. xoxo
And I thought it was just me…August is the hardest month!! All my work and sweat for naught. The joy of July ridiculed. But now I understand mercy. I don’t even know what a goat-head sticker is!!! I will count my blessings today when I go to my garden and see the leafless stalks that were peppers and eggplants. I will be thankful for my fruitless tomato plants and munched-on peas. I will praise my foot tall okra for even trying. Pride goeth before a fall, and I was SO proud of my small and beautiful garden in June, but bunnies, bugs, caterpillars and the oppressive heat have defeated me. In spring I will try desperately to tame my overabundant crop of pride. My sincerest sympathies to all disappointed gardeners.
Oh you are SOOO not alone! How many Augusts in the past have I just given up and dug everything under? Too many. Not this year.
I am so happy for you that you do NOT know what goat-head stickers are, but I have to ask where on earth do you live? haha
As for bunnies, though, that is one garden pest I can say thankfully I don’t have to worry about. Maybe my llamas keep them at bay.
Yes on pride before the fall, unfortunately, but it’s such a natural part of the process. Hang in there! : )) Thank you for reading!
SOMEONE turned off the sprinklers at our house. I couldn’t figure out why my tomato plants were burning up. Then I saw my basil drooping, so I checked the sprinklers. SOMEONE is going to die! No one will confess, so I guess I will try to recover somehow. ARGH. I hate August!
oooooh Katie. Oh I pity the fool. I pity him (or her) so much.
Can you recover the veggies?
PS and I absolutely DETEST those little white cabbage moths!
Preach it!!
I’ve never grown melons but I WANT to but I never thought I had enough room. I see you used tomato cages. does that help contain them in a smaller space? i’m still harvesting loads of basil. last two bags went to co-workers and to the neighborhood church food pantry. i took a small sack of beautiful orange bell peppers too. i have a tomato plant covered in green tomatoes which i’m anxiously checking several times a day. i mean, they could ripen at any moment, right? the yard long green beans have got to be my biggest producer. i need to research how to freeze them. either that or give most away . . . which would be fine. as long as someone enjoys them, i’m happy. my squash plant has borers! i tried operating like Steve Owens suggested but after i cut into the stem i could NOT find the stupid worms. so i may have harvested my last squash. and if the little buggers don’t kill my eggplant, i might end up with a few. i’ve been hand picking those little fuzzy gray things off the leaves. i have no idea what they are. i’ve tried blasting with water but they come back. i tried coffee ground around the base bc that’s supposed to deter buggers. noope!
Let me again tell you how much I enjoy your writings. xo
What a stunning ongoing harvest, Jennie!! Wowsa. I keep wanting to meet you downtown to swap basil and eggs but it just isn’t happening yet. Love that you are sharing with friends and church, everyone! So the best spirit of backyard growing.
Maybe for the green tomatoes, pick them and let them ripen on your windowsill?
oh i’d much rather them ripen naturally on the vine. i think they’ll taste better that way. isn’t that what i’ve heard? maybe we can get the big basil/egg caper done this fall. i’ll need a tad bit of warning so i don’t harvest it for someone else.
Your line about the depression made me giggle so . . . I hope it was supposed to. Is August the worst time for gardens? The great pause of yearly life? Still better than January any day.
LOL I almost left that out for no particular reason but kept it also for no particular reason, so I am glad you got a giggle from my indiscretion. haha
Yes, the great pause of yearly life for sure. That is exactly how it feels, and this year it is to catch my breath not throw in the towel. Thank you for that! xoxo