End of summer

Another summer has swiftly come to an end.  The garden is still producing baskets of produce.  My freezer is filling up and I am looking forward to a slow down in the garden.

Here is a quick recap of the summer.  Our corn did great this year.  We planted honey select and it was delicious.  We picked approx. 450 ears - froze some, sold some and ate some.  We had 7 fifty foot rows so we were happy with the amount of ears that were produced.  We watered twice - once when the corn was waist high and once when it started to tassle.  When planting the seed, vermicompost was sprinkled on top of the seeds before closing the furrow.  Leaf mulch was spread between the rows and we side dressed with compost after the corn was about 1 foot high.  I went through the rows once or twice and pulled the few weeds that emerged (maybe 15 min. total spent weeding).

I have struggled with the tomatoes this year.  They developed septoria leaf spot.  They look ugly but are still producing nice tomatoes.  I sprayed the tomatoes specifically with compost tea that had trichoderma added to the brewing cycle.  Nothing else was done.  Trichoderma fungi is a beneficial fungi that occurs naturally in the soil.  It will consume disease causing fungi.  Most diseases that affect tomatoes are fungal - early blight, late blight, leaf spot.  I did not start spraying soon enough to prevent the disease from occurring but the spray definately held it at bay.

I am picking loads of peppers - red, yellow, orange, purple, hungarian wax.  The peppers were trouble free this year.  We have dug many pounds of potatoes.  My goal was to produce 100 lbs. in a 50 ft row.  I was inconsistent with weighing them as I dug them so I think that I will be close.  I still have some fingerlings and a few late plants to dig.  The sweet potatoes look good and time will tell how abundant the harvest is.

I have started picking the second planting of green beans and am picking lima beans.  I have harvested large eggplants and they are still hanging full.  We are eating luscious watermelons. 

One the the best things that I planted this spring was a day neutral strawberry.  I planted 10 Seascape roots in the spring and mulched them with rotted wood chips.  I pulled the blossoms off until the end of June and did not allow any runners to grow.  This allows a strong crown to develop.  I did water them one time during the driest part of the summer.  Once they started producing fruit, I have been picking about a pint every few days.  The berries are sweet and a nice size.  It is a wonderful treat to have fresh strawberries.  I would recommend this for every home garden. 

More later.