Late September

Our large tomato plants finally succumbed to the late blight. We were able to pick about a half bushel of tomatoes from the four Paragon plants in varying degrees of ripeness. The fruit looked good for the most part when it was picked, but after being washed and set on the counter for a couple of days, the effects of the blight became apparent. So far, we have only thrown out about ten of the greenest fruits that were affected. With many of the tomatoes that are ripe, we will simply cut out the blighted sections (the blight poses no danger to humans according to our Cooperative Extension).

Interestingly, the Cherry Sun grape tomatoes are still looking healthy.

Recently, I was struck by how quickly the leaves on the trees are changing.

Late season thoughts

The days are getting noticeably shorter, and cooler weather will be with us soon. For the past week we have been enjoying endlessly sunny warm weather thanks to Danielle and Earl. This will come to a close on Saturday when we experience a cloudy, rainy high of 63 as Earl blows by to the East.

We are still enjoying cabbage, onions, potatoes, chard, kale, carrots, beets and parsley from the garden though we haven't done much except water and weed since mid-July. Because we got such a slow start with tomatoes and peppers, the large varieties are just beginning to ripen now. We have been enjoying cherry tomatoes for a couple of weeks.

At the end of this season, I am planning to move several of the garden frames. Currently they are separated by four feet on each side. I am planning to reduce this to three feet on the sides and two feet front to back. This will allow me to make more efficient use of space and adjust to get the most sunlight possible from our backyard location. At the same time, I will put down pea gravel to keep the weeds down and discourage insects from migrating to the frames.

I have been using frames fully enclosed with chicken-wire for two years and have not had a single incident with the resident woodchuck. I know other gardeners who have tried to keep out woodchucks by putting up fences and burying them deep enough to prevent burrowing, but the critters still manage to get through. My theory is that the chicken wire enclosures are small and complete enough that the woodchuck doesn't think to try to get inside, maybe it looks too much like a woodchuck-trap.

I have read a lot about composting over the years and it has always seemed like too much of a project to gather the right materials in sufficient quantity to make a real working pile. While recently reviewing "Gardening When It Counts" by Steve Solomon, I noted that he recommends making one big pile at the end of each gardening season. This way, one can be gathering the necessary materials throughout the year and make use of the slow time at the end of the season to build the pile. I planted some comfrey earlier this year with making compost in mind. Hopefully the stars will align and I will find a day this fall to do it right.

Bloom report:
Black-eyed susan, pink phlox, mint, butter and eggs (yellow toadflax), white snakeroot, morning glories and gladiolus are flowering in the yard. Virgin's bower (a native form of clematis) is fading.