Have you ever noticed that as gardeners we do a lot of waiting. Waiting for the soil to become warm enough so that the spring crop can be sown or planted, waiting for the temperature to drop so that the autumn seeds and seedling can be put into the earth. Waiting for fruit to ripen on their vines, waiting for leafy greens to become big enough so that they can be picked.
At the moment I'm waiting for pumpkins to stop growing and start maturing so that they can be picked and stored away to be used over the winter.
Waiting for tomato flowers to turn into tomatoes that in turn will be made into passata and pasta sauce.
Waiting for plums to ripen so that I can enjoy their sweet and juicy deliciousness.
And there are melons on the vines that are still a long way from being ready to eat.
At the moment I'm waiting for pumpkins to stop growing and start maturing so that they can be picked and stored away to be used over the winter.
Waiting for tomato flowers to turn into tomatoes that in turn will be made into passata and pasta sauce.
Waiting for plums to ripen so that I can enjoy their sweet and juicy deliciousness.
And there are melons on the vines that are still a long way from being ready to eat.
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One thing I'm not waiting for anymore is zucchini. The plants had been doing so well in December, but by mid January they had succumbed to downy mildew.  The cucumber which had showed so much promise got powdery mildew and had to be pulled out.  The corn grew well and developed good sized ears, but I think I waited too long to pick them and they were tasteless.  The Turkish Turban also bit the dust. I think it must have been infected with downy mildew as well.  None of the plants have done particularly well this season which given the crazy weather, days of extreme heat, followed by cooler days and more rain than is normal, it's not surprising that the plants have struggled. I always ask myself at this time of the year, is it really worth trying to grow vegetables in the summer? I'm starting to think it's not, especially with all the extra water that it takes to keep the veggies alive during the frequent heat waves we have experienced over the last couple of years, not to mention the pests and diseases that have to be contended with, I think with the money I would save on the water bill I could just buy organic vegetables and save myself time, money and energy. What do you think? Is it really worth growing vegetables during summer anymore? |
That's a really good question, Jan. Where I live, a record for the most number of days in a row over 30C was set. Many of those days hovered around 35C. They were hot and dry too mostly. I grew cherry tomatoes in pots and cucumbers & zucchini mostly in the veg patch. Lettuce kept bolting so gave up on that. I didn't succession plant because it was just too hot. Even with two water tanks (one very small) our water bill still climbed. I harvested trickles from the garden but I'm not so sure that offset the inputs to be honest. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteThe joy I get from gardening is worth it to me, but I can see why all those issues would take away from it. Maybe it'll be better next year.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, thank you so much for commenting on my blog. I'm sorry it took so long to get over here, but I just saw it. I really appreciate it :)
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