The garden is growing so slow this year!! It's frustrating!
Finally getting more flowers. One indicator of the problem this year if that the Gladiolus is still blooming new flowers. Which means the temperature really has been abnormally low in the garden this year. Normally Gladiolus has bloomed and dropped the blooms by now. Not complaining about that. There do seem to be more of them than previous years, so the existing ones have formed new bulbs which have matured.
Marigolds are finally blooming. They always bloom late. I think I'll start Marigold seeds around January indoors for next year and see if I can advance their bloom date. Same thing with the Cosmos. They usually produce tons of flowers but late in the summer into fall.
The tomato vines are finally getting bigger. Should be big enough to produce something soon.
Several watermelon and cantaloupe vines coming up. Not big enough to produce anything but getting there.
Grapes are maturing. The red grapes are turning red. Still small but bigger than previous years. Should be good for grape juice and such. I think next year I'll keep the vine more restricted than this year. I actually saw new flowers on the red grape vine this week. Another indication of low temperatures because they will only flower in a certain low temperature range. Green grapes are getting bigger.
I noticed this morning that the hummingbirds are eating the grapes. Not going to prevent that. Lots of grapes and they mostly go after the red grapes, which are far greater in number. Although, I only see them fluttering around the grape vines, so it may be they are eating the tiny flies (guessing fruit flies) that abound there.
I did just read that hummingbirds are attracted to grape jelly, though. I may try putting some out in a dish and see what happens.
All of the temperature issue may be causing the garden to mature late this year but in general is a good thing. This has been an abnormally cool and humid summer here. Then my back yard has been noticeably cooler than the general area. Which means in a normal summer it will remain better temperature controlled and maintain a better average temperature for growing and just be more comfortable.
I have lots of green and increasing color in the yard but haven't been posting pictures because I have such a weed problem plus have some maintenance issues I have not yet addressed. Makes it less attractive. Trying to get to that. Mostly been focusing on things which reduce repetitive work, like weeding. Once the bush green beans are done, I'm going to bomb that area with grass and weed killer with a short half-life to try and bring things under better control.
I did have to ramp up the chemicals. All the rain made the weeds go insane and I could not bring them under control. So I had to go from a slower and more biodegradable weed killer to one that shows results in as little as 3 hours. Sprayed that last evening and am starting to see results this morning.
Insects are also a problem. Massively increasing ants plus leaf damage all over indicated an aphid problem. Squash bugs killed one pumpkin vine and damaged another. So I had to get some poison granules. I only applied it at the base of the pumpkin vines and directly to the ant colonies. The granules are about the size of sawdust, so shouldn't get the attention of birds and I sprinkled it sparsely, not in piles. So it mostly blends with the soil. Not placed anywhere that it should have wide effect on other insects. Not going to apply any more except to ant colonies. If I have to apply there again, I'll breach the surface of the colonies and apply it directly into the colonies to minimize any effect on other insects.
Finally getting more flowers. One indicator of the problem this year if that the Gladiolus is still blooming new flowers. Which means the temperature really has been abnormally low in the garden this year. Normally Gladiolus has bloomed and dropped the blooms by now. Not complaining about that. There do seem to be more of them than previous years, so the existing ones have formed new bulbs which have matured.
Marigolds are finally blooming. They always bloom late. I think I'll start Marigold seeds around January indoors for next year and see if I can advance their bloom date. Same thing with the Cosmos. They usually produce tons of flowers but late in the summer into fall.
The tomato vines are finally getting bigger. Should be big enough to produce something soon.
Several watermelon and cantaloupe vines coming up. Not big enough to produce anything but getting there.
Grapes are maturing. The red grapes are turning red. Still small but bigger than previous years. Should be good for grape juice and such. I think next year I'll keep the vine more restricted than this year. I actually saw new flowers on the red grape vine this week. Another indication of low temperatures because they will only flower in a certain low temperature range. Green grapes are getting bigger.
I noticed this morning that the hummingbirds are eating the grapes. Not going to prevent that. Lots of grapes and they mostly go after the red grapes, which are far greater in number. Although, I only see them fluttering around the grape vines, so it may be they are eating the tiny flies (guessing fruit flies) that abound there.
I did just read that hummingbirds are attracted to grape jelly, though. I may try putting some out in a dish and see what happens.
All of the temperature issue may be causing the garden to mature late this year but in general is a good thing. This has been an abnormally cool and humid summer here. Then my back yard has been noticeably cooler than the general area. Which means in a normal summer it will remain better temperature controlled and maintain a better average temperature for growing and just be more comfortable.
I have lots of green and increasing color in the yard but haven't been posting pictures because I have such a weed problem plus have some maintenance issues I have not yet addressed. Makes it less attractive. Trying to get to that. Mostly been focusing on things which reduce repetitive work, like weeding. Once the bush green beans are done, I'm going to bomb that area with grass and weed killer with a short half-life to try and bring things under better control.
I did have to ramp up the chemicals. All the rain made the weeds go insane and I could not bring them under control. So I had to go from a slower and more biodegradable weed killer to one that shows results in as little as 3 hours. Sprayed that last evening and am starting to see results this morning.
Insects are also a problem. Massively increasing ants plus leaf damage all over indicated an aphid problem. Squash bugs killed one pumpkin vine and damaged another. So I had to get some poison granules. I only applied it at the base of the pumpkin vines and directly to the ant colonies. The granules are about the size of sawdust, so shouldn't get the attention of birds and I sprinkled it sparsely, not in piles. So it mostly blends with the soil. Not placed anywhere that it should have wide effect on other insects. Not going to apply any more except to ant colonies. If I have to apply there again, I'll breach the surface of the colonies and apply it directly into the colonies to minimize any effect on other insects.
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