Between school, our last vacation, and starting a new job, August was over before we knew it. We are relieved that southwestern Missouri’s drought is officially over, but while in the thick of it, we completely neglected the garden. With temperatures consistently over 95 degrees, our tomato plants struggled to put off blossoms and produce. The squash I succession sowed never came up. We made it a point to pick and preserve what harvest we did collect but it was fairly paltry when compared to last year’s much smaller garden.
I will say this season has been a complete learning experience. This was a year of many firsts. The drip line, while handy, doesn’t beat the rain, and in order to eliminate the pests that I am sure will be in our soil, we have an extensive rotational grazing plan with our chickens that we will start when the weather cools down.
Front yard garden
My favorite way to start my morning is to go out and take a walk in the garden. Yes, it is overgrown and weedy, but there is nothing as beautiful as looking at the garden in the morning light.
Double King Sunflower
These beauties were a late surprise. We thought our sunflowers were pretty much done when the Double King just started blooming.
One thing we learned is that Amaranth needs some support. We have a few that are still standing, but many were taken down during storms and by vining plants.
I’m pretty convinced we will never have much luck with corn. It looks good, but most of it is bug-eaten and undersized.
I sowed A LOT of seeds, and I have no idea what this plant is. It doesn’t look familiar, so I know I haven’t grown it before. My guess is it is either a Loofah plant or a Candy Roaster. Can anyone identify it?
There are always bees on the sunflowers
Many people put an emphasis on native plants to attract bees, but I’ve had much more luck interplanting sunflowers.
I’d given up on the Job’s Tears that I planted last May, but, to my surprise, one did survive. The seeds are commonly dried and used to make beads.
As you can see, my tomato plants look good, with the exception of needing pruned badly. I’m leaving them with the hope that, once the weather cools, they will start to flower, and I can get a second harvest before the first frost.
I will probably be able to continue to harvest this basil for the next month and a half. Once our first projected frost date nears, I’ll begin drying it to make tea.
High tunnel
I ripped everything out of the high tunnel at the beginning of August and went ahead and replanted a second crop of beans (this time using noodle beans), peas, and several zucchini plants. One of my favorite things to bake is zucchini bread, and we had maybe one zucchini plant survive over the summer. If they produce, the plan is to shred the excess zucchini to freeze so that I am able to make bread over the winter.
On the homestead
We’ve increased our flock to around 40 and sell our eggs to a local restaurant which helps us recoup some of our costs. Conveniently, that restaurant also gives us scraps that we use to supplement our feed bill. It’s a great system and allows our chickens’ eggs to have richer yolks.
This chicken is probably the closest one we have to being a pet. Our daughter named her, and she pretty much goes where ever she wants (Including the woods by our house). It used to worry me as she wanders off and isn’t seen for most of the day. However, she always puts herself up at night.
Our male rabbit, Kristoff, made a break for it a few weeks ago and managed to get away. While we looked for him for days, it quickly became apparent that it was a lost cause. While in Tractor Supply, one day, we saw this guy. Not to say it was providence, but he’s been a great addition. He is not a Holland Lop but has the sweetest temperament.
These babies have grown quickly. Soon, we will sex them and decide if we want to keep any or sell them. Mainly, we enjoy letting them run around and are trying to get them adjusted to being around people.
Looking forward…
I usually go all out on a fall garden but going back to work full-time instead of doing PRN work has limited the time I have to do things around the homestead. This year, my fall garden will be contained to the high tunnel. I am super behind so, this weekend, I will work on mapping it out and starting some seeds.
What about you? What are your favorite things to include in your fall garden?
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