August 19, 2018
August gardening is primarily about water. Any barren spots of soil will allow water to evaporate out, and any breeze will exacerbate the problem. Mulched soil is a gardeners blessing. The plants leaves try to stay cool by respiration, and heat forces them to work harder. Lots of water is required to pass through the plant just to keep it cool. A medium sized oak tree can respire a hundred gallons of water a day. Spots in your garden may be porous enough to not retain water at the plants root level..
Other spots may tend to puddle. Each garden zone needs to be paid attention to in order for you to maintain healthy plants through the hot month of August. I think that overhead watering is more plant friendly than drip irrigation. All the soil around the plants root zone gets cool and moist. Water soaks down through your mulch giving the plants added nutrients while flushing out the carbon dioxide. As the water flows through the soil it pulls oxygen in behind it, refreshing the microbe habitat..
August 20, 2018
The Brussels sprouts are not very sweet this time of year. All of my spring plantings for fall harvest have been a waste of time. They need a couple of frosts to turn some of their carbohydrates into sugars. I still like the way the plants look though, so I'll leave them for awhile. Picking off the bottom leaves has given them a palm tree look. Lined up like sentinels, they remind me of the Queen's guard, with their tall fuzzy hats..
The shadows they throw continue to enchant me. In fact all the shadows in the garden are getting my attention lately. They seem to take up a large portion of my enjoyment of the gardens plants, and add beauty to them by constantly moving across the ground beneath them. The shadows feel like a real entity, not just the absence of light. There are shadows within the shadows and all the shades are different..
August 21, 2018
The heat has not been kind to my kale. It's tough, stringy and not tasty at all. It's at its prime in the cool spring time, or maybe this fall, after some cold weather. It's a pretty plant though, like the Brussels sprouts, decorative and pleasing to the eye. It's all purple and turquoise with jagged leaves clustered thickly around the main stalk..
The direct seeded row I've planted to overwinter have all fallen over already saving me the guilt of watching them fall over when I transplant some of them. A patch of corn has been cleared out and will now become a kale patch. The Swiss chard that reseeded itself over the winter is now producing tender leaves in spite of the heat. It seems to do well in the cold as well as in the heat..
