I essentially “closed” my garden back in August because most of it was almost literal *toast* by that point. There were 30-plus days of 100º heat starting in early July. As much as I watered, I don’t know that there’s *enough* water to counter that kind of sustained solar attack. And if that had been only hardship, I might’ve kept going.
But there were also squirrels. And almost certainly raccoons (though it’s possible it was just more squirrels).
Squirrels helped themselves to at least 20 lbs of my tomatoes. I was able to harvest 30 lbs or so over the season, mostly Romas/plumbs, Camparis, and Black Cherries. The Porters Pride and Creole varieties are evidently squirrel-nip. I only harvested a couple of those.
The raccoons did this to my corn:
Total loss. The ears of about 40 stalks contributed to the local wildlife.
So, since August the garden has been reduced to peppers (jalapeños and bells) and a couple pumpkins.
The peppers also took a beating during the hot days, but they’re still going. I go out and harvest what I need for dinner every so often.
I planted the pumpkins the weekend of July 4th in an attempt to dodge the worst of the vine borers and maybe sneak in some fruit just before the first frost. So far, it seems to be working:
Will they mature in the next 2-3 weeks? Here’s hoping.
And today I planted garlic. I prepped the garden bed for them Saturday, adding some compost and breaking up the soil. Today I planted 40-50 cloves of two varieties this morning. I’m curious how many will make through the winter to next summer to be harvested. Also hopeful.
-David