September 14, 2019
The Fall garden traditionally gets a bit messy and overgrown. It's nature's intent. All the melon, squash, and cucumber vines grow across the walkways, and the tall Brussels sprouts and hollyhocks start to lean. The weeds get ignored because they have flourished under the existing veggies and removing them now would damage the plants roots..
This is the time of year when you realize why it's not more popular for suburbanites to plant veggies in their front yards. Maintaining an orderly garden that the neighbors don't consider an eye sore is not only too time consuming, but also a waste of the bounty of ripening produce. Waiting for the frosts to kill it off is very much in tune with nature's intent, but there are ordanences that prohibit overgrown front yards..
September 15, 2019
The whiteflies are abundant this fall. I keep spraying soapy water on them but new ones hatch. They are a significant detriment to healthy cruciferous plants and I find mine wilting every day. The leaves are dull looking but the plants perk up after watering. I'm getting the feeling that their growth rate has been inhibited to the point where fall harvest will be missed..
The days are getting shorter and the plants that have started leaning to the south tend to fall over. I blame the whiteflies for sucking the sap out of them and weakening their hydrostatic systems. The row of peas that had whiteflies was successfully treated, but the plants are stunted. Whiteflies impart disease that doesn't abate in their absence..
September 16, 2019
It's pear pic'n time. They aren't ripe yet but ripen more quickly after they have been picked. It's good to get some in the house before the raccoons visit, so I pick a little at a time. I have a basket of them ripening on the kitchen counter, and a box of them in the spare bedroom that are two weeks behind. You can tell when they're sweet because the top flesh around the stem gets soft to the touch..
You end up handling lots of pears every time you go to eat one, and pretty soon the tops get soft from you pushing on them. The ones remaining on the tree get larger and golden, almost too sweet. Looking up into the tree one night with a flashlight, and seeing five raccoon faces peering down at me, still makes me smile. I love raccoons, even though they keep stealing from me..
