Catherine Love~ Ramblings from my Heart and Home

Beating the Heat by Preparing for Fall

My Spring/Summer garden did not fare well, at all .  We got a late start, planted without doing enough soil preparation, and just didn't have a good season. 

The pepper plants are hanging in there, and actually look great.  The okra is trying to produce, but as soon as a tiny pod appears, the ants swarm it and cover it up with little bits of "grass" or something.  Very strange.....  I've decided they must need it more than I do, so it's all theirs; this time. 

I still have a few chard plants that are growing ever so slowly, and a few other things are trying to survive the heat.

The heat is making me long for Fall!  I love the cool, crisp days of Autumn. 

In the midst of playing the "waiting game" regarding our upcoming move; one that is coming just 4 short months after our last move...I'm planning for Fall and planting seeds to get a head start.  I've already got seedlings for cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and chard.  They really sprouted fast- I guess it was the heat.  I also rooted  suckers from the tomato plants in the garden.  I just cut off healthy stems, plopped them into a jar of water, and put them in the kitchen window.  They rooted in just a few days and are going into containers a.s.a.p.  I plan to attempt to transplant the peppers and eggplant from the garden into containers.  I don't yet know whether I'll have a "real" garden this Fall, or whether it will be limited to the flower bed and some containers.  Either way, I plan to grow some veggies! 

I was inspired by the sustainable backyard garden video to try growing at least a few little patches of grain, too.  I'll have to do some research to find out more about growing those.  But, I love an adventure, and it should be fun, as well as educational, for us all.  I really want to work on growing as much of our food as possible in the coming days. 

The guys plan to do some work on the lot we are going to use for a community garden tonight.  Once they've gotten some of the weeds and poison ivy  under control, I can get in there and see how many raised beds we'll be able to make.  I also want to do some small fruit trees and, oh, lots of other things there !  First we will have to do some fencing to keep the deer from devouring everything we plant.  Poor things are hungry this year because it has been such a dry season; just not much for them to graze on.

OK, that's a little update from the Love home.  More on the move when I have something definite.  Should be within the month for sure.

Blessings,

Catherine

Untitled Comment

4:03 AM, Tuesday, July 29, 2008 .. Posted by GrandmaRosie

My garden has been a bust this year also. Squash, okra and water melons are fine. But everything else is puny. Good old Texas weather. Oh well, maybe my fall garden will be better.

Untitled Comment

10:58 PM, Saturday, August 2, 2008 .. Posted by GrandmaRosie

Hey Catherine!! I have nominated you for an award. Check it out on my blog.
HUGS!