It is hard to believe that we are already heading into the end of the summer gardening season. But then again, when I take a look at the community garden plot and our patio garden, I see tired plants. Heck, I’m tired! It has been a tough growing season with the temperature fluctuations placing stress on the plants (and me) and encouraging the bugs to multiply.  Just a few days ago, we arrived at the plot to see an infestation of beetles.  It looked like something from the Twilight Zone.  There were hundreds of them swarming the kale and surrounding areas. Beetles won. Kale lost.

This season, though, I have finally acquired the detachment attitude.  Before I would stress out when blight hit my tomatoes or when insects devoured my swiss chard.  But this year I have taken a different approach. I shrug and let it go. I chalk it up to “that is nature” and move on. It only took me five years of gardening to get to this point but better late than never. Truth be told, I had a lot of help getting to this point through 1) a lot of blight and insects and failure; and 2) our community supported agriculture farmer who does this for a living and totally moves on, no sweat, when a crop of his hits the skids.

Patrick Pepper Nose. I think posting this may lessen my chances of him enlarging my greenhouse….

With the Fall on the horizon, I am getting my cool weather crop seeds planted and thinking about buying some new plastic for the low tunnel cold frame that will go in the community garden plot.  I am also planting the seeds with my husband that maybe, just maybe, if he feels like it, he can expand my greenhouse in our backyward so I can have a “double wide.”  I have outgrown (well, at least the plants have) the one he built for me last year……..

So here is a line up of photos taken during August:

Banana peppers.

Eggplants today in my patio garden.

Swiss chard and lots of tomatoes.

Made a Caprese salad with the basil and yellow tomatoes growing well.

Sweet yellow bell peppers in the home patio garden.

Calvin weary of tending the community garden plot.

Dad and Calvin in the community garden plot.

My canned beets, okra and spaghetti sauce from tomatoes.

Last beet harvest of the season.

Today’s harvest.

A “volunteer” tomato plant growing out of the compost bucket.

Amazing “volunteer” tomato plant from last year’s seeds (green zebra) growing out of a crack by the shed. Quite resilient.

Calvin’s healthy breakfast with a “green” smoothie made of kale, yogurt, juice and bananas. Then a bit of watermelon and cucumber on the side.

Cantaloupe growing well in community garden plot.

Planted watermelon this year. Happy results.