August 15, 2019
I was disappointed in the Bush Early Girl tomato plant this year. Although it did produce the earliest tomatoes, there were only five that ripened early. It then stopped ripening them. The vine Early Girl quickly caught up and surpassed it, and is now outproducing it a hundred fold. It stopped producing leaves so that all the remaining tomatoes got sun scald. It also slid down the stake that was holding it up and is a pile that looks like an Andy Warhol painting. The tomatoes are yellow on top and red on the bottom, assorted shapes and sizes, and are unappetizing..
They will be fine in salsa I assume, but have largely gone unpicked. I take the blame for it's failure because I cut the water to it back when it had formed fruit so that if would ripen them. Instead it stopped growing. I don't think you should treat bush tomatoes the same way as vine. Don't cut the water back..
August 16, 2019
My decision to let all of the volunteer chard plants grow has made for an interesting rearrangement of my gardens aesthetic. By keeping all the leaves that turn brown from leaf miners removed, the plants put out small, bright green leaves from the center, and look crisp and tender in the harsh summer sun. They have thrown off the balance that I achieve by intermixing open space with planting zones, and redirect my attention to their interruption. This is perhaps a good thing because my awareness is brought back to the present moment from wherever it was drifting away..
The little bit of "out of place" is a tiny pin prick of disorganization that involves me as a decision maker. I can choose to enjoy the plants presence, or remove it. It has value as it stands, and an open space is not always preferred anymore..
August 17, 2019
It's probably too late in the season to direct seed cabbage but I'll do it anyway. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" should be my new garden motto. Cabbage can take frosts, and we may have a gentle slide into winter, so even if I miss out on the harvest, I'll still get the fun of watching them grow. All the cruciferous plants prefer cooler temperatures and I'm still getting cauliflower because of my shade cloth..
I've been learning how to use shade ever since I got it, and realized that you never stop learning about gardening if you pay attention to what unfolds. Every discovery is a tiny bit of learning that gets added to previous insights, to compile into a change in your understanding of nature. Like life, gardening is a process of learning, and we formulate conclusions, develop philosophys, and connect the dots, to better understand ourselves and our place in the universe..
