It has continued to be a gray, rainy summer here in Maine. We have had a few breaks and nothing like we saw where it rained all of June. Still, it’s been wet and gray most of the time.
Some foods in the garden have done well. The greens have been amazing. They have done so well that Ron just kept planting them over and over, so we could keep eating salads. The green beans also did well. The beets finally did something, and after so much carrot drama, we are now eating carrots. In fact, every single night, we eat from our garden, and I am thankful for the beautiful food full of good nutrition.
But I’m a little worried about the last things to finish every year–things like the corn and the tomatoes. Our tomatoes have struggled extra this year because of a horn worm outbreak. We found 21 of those very hungry caterpillars, and two plants were pretty much just gone. Those horn worms are so hard to see. It’s like they wear invisibility cloaks. Somehow, they match both the stems and the leaves from the tomatoes perfectly.
On top of the horn worm buffet, our tomatoes are lingering green because we just are not getting very much sun. This morning, I woke up and couldn’t believe how dark it was outside. Hopefully, the tomatoes will ripen. We depend on them heavily for sauce and soups.
The corn is another worry. Ron has a corn patch, and I planted my own corn in a three-sisters garden. I am seeing tassels, which is very exciting, but oh my goodness, we need some sunshine.
I’m crossing my fingers for a warm September. It’s possible. Two years ago, we didn’t get our first frost until after Halloween. Of course, last year, we had a frost in mid September.
In the meantime, we are eating well from the garden. It has been a “slow food” summer for sure and a year to learn extra patience about growing food in times of climate change. We spent years learning how to grow food in drought and hot summers. There has been a bit of a learning curve this year.
I would love to know how your gardens are doing. Where are you, and what has this summer been like for you?
Here in Freetown, MA, we have had an unusually rainy summer, but it seems we might have a bit more sunshine than you as I have been picking tomatoes for over a week now. We usually don’t get ripe tomatoes until later in August anyways so that is not so unusual. In the Freetown Forest nearby, there are several waterholes to mark the levels. Last year, they were all dried up by early summer, and I wondered how the frogs and other wildlife would survive. I figured they had a method to burrow deep beneath the dried up muck to wait it out. This summer, the water holes have been filled, sometimes to capacity; and I am cheered by a certain frog that bellows a welcome every time I walk by its sanctuary. I am often at odds whether it is best to have too little rain or too much. This year, I am leaning towards rain considering the wildfires in so many dry areas. Also, when the sun comes out after a rain, it feels like a tropical paradise here in my little garden oasis. So we can only hope for a sunny and warm September. I’m feeling it!
Oh, this makes my heart smile about the water and your frog friend! I agree so much that, if I have to choose, I will choose too much rain over too little any day. I am thankful for the charged wells, and you are so right about the wildfires in other places. I am very thankful for our slow and steady garden!