Better Late Than Never

The cool start we had to summer really did a number on my garden.  Sure, it was great for the artichokes. A few of the summer pups even put out more bud stalks, which has never happened to me.  I turned one major harvest of basil into pesto.  Then it grew back, so I'm drying it as whole leaves to add to tea.  I had little sprigs of broccoli into July, which isn't supposed to be a thing.  But that meant that veggies which rely on warmth suffered.

I didn't get a ripe tomato until August.  I only noticed fruit setting when I pulled out the broccoli the last week of July.  The pickling cucumbers couldn't set fruit.  To my surprise, some dormant cucumber seeds sprouted once it got warm.  I was heartened enough to put some late pumpkin seeds in the broccoli pot, knowing I wouldn't get fruit until the very end of the growing season.

And you'll notice that I keep saying "warm", not "hot", in relation to the weather.  With the majority of the country suffering a horrific July over 100ºF, I really had no reason to complain about mid-80s.  Around here, that's a normal summer.  I still wish I had an air conditioner, but it isn't like my health is in danger without one.  As a kid, I loved this temperature.  Everyone's metabolism changes a bit with age, and I expect to think of this as comfortable in another 10-15 years.

It's already time to start cool weather seeds.  Celery needs a three-month head start, so I've already done that.  Herbs and brassicas should be germinated by the first week of October, so I need to get on that.  I didn't start them early enough last year and missed out.  I can also do a fall planting of peas, really any day now.  The lettuce patch will have to wait until it is reliably under 80º, or the seeds either won't sprout or will bolt far too soon.  I'm embracing the cool weather growing season this year, since hot didn't really work.  What I call winter is what most of the country thinks of as spring anyway.