I have to admit that I garden in two places at once-where I live now and, in my head, where I used to live.  I cannot help but compare the two places when it comes to how well my garden grows.  I don't think anyone can blame me for it, because I moved from a gardening zone 9 to a zone 3.  Even making compost is harder here.  It takes longer if the sun won't shine. 

Now, after 4 years of dinkering around with different ways to garden here, ie: portable plastic greenhouses, covers, shade cloth, etc., I have decided that I definately need to get a larger and more permanent greenhouse to garden in.  I feel better now that I have come to that conclusion.  Now, to shop at 4 season greenhouse.com!!!

It sometimes seems as though the winds of autumn are chasing time before it. It is August and time to plan for the late garden harvest.  Clean out your old lettuce and spinach beds and replant them.  Put in seed for anything that will take a cooling down temperature and still grow.  There are quite a few of them actually-such as: radish, cabbages, bok choy, carrots, celery, brussel sprouts, brassicas, all greens, turnips, beets, gr. onions, and some of the flowers will come up fairly quickly and last well into the autumn.  You can also plant in pots for moving into the greenhouse or other shelter later.

Time flies when you're having fun!

If you have not already been doing successive plantings of seed you can put in a late crop anytime in August and usually get some fall picking from it.  If you expect an early fall chill and want to extend your garden, plant some seeds in big planters so you can move them indoors or under shelter when frosts are expected.

Keep in mind that you need to put in seed that will give you a mature or harvestable crop, so this is not a good time to plant tomatoes from seed unless you live in a desert climate.  Think about those fast growing crops, like lettuce, bok choy, radishes, green onions, spinach, kale, broccili and cabbage will do nicely, and many others.  You can get another crop of snow peas if you plant now.  Carrots will keep on growing and will need little protection from frost.  You can always pick them, no matter what size they are.  Parsley and spinach are pretty hardy in the cooler weather, and taste better then.

Some more garden tips:

• Don't forget to save seeds from crops that do well in your garden.
• Give heavy feeders like tomatoes and eggplant a good dose of compost now.
• Pull up and compost any dying plants or stems.
• Check carefully for infestation on suspect plants like cabbage and tomatoes.
• If you have not already done it, draw a map of your garden to help you remember where you put everything so you can rotate the placement next year.

Send us a picture of your garden and we will post it here.

Garden Becky

From "GLOBAL WARMING"  to "CLIMATE CHANGE".  Global warming makes you think it should be getting hotter outside, but it isn't.Read more...

The sign of a healthy bed for growing vegetables or flowers is the presence of lots of worms when you dig into it.  But worms must have something to eat or they will migrate out of your beds.  Make sure you have plenty of 'food' for the worms so they don't eat your plants.  Things worms love to eat are:

Compost (finished or unfinished)

Manures (rabbit pellets won't harm your plants)

Mulches (small enough that they break down quickly to a size the worms can handle, like straw)

Wet leaves and decaying matter

They will also eat vegetable scraps if you put them through a blender first, and bury it under the soil.

This is really a weather report for gardeners:  Watch Out!  The rainy season in my area is all summer long.  Because we are at 6,000' elevation, our rain can turn to hail.  We get at least one hail storm every summer.  But as soon as the clouds roll away, the sun warms it up nicely and the garden can begin to heal itself.  This summer we have already had hail the size of pea gravel.  The softer leaves of peppers and spinich took a beating, but not so much that they can't revive.  Most of the plants are not big enough yet to have had too much contact with hail.  It would be nice if this is the last hail storm of the summer, but...I doubt if I'll be that lucky.  This is another good reason to garden under a greenhouse at the higher elevations and the more northern latitudes.  Last year the hail occured later in the summer, but the bean plants and tomatoes were under a greenhouse fully protected and I did not have any kinky beans!

Seed sowing chart

If you haven't gotten your seeds yet, go get them!  Now is the time to plant seeds that like it cool in order to germinate. 

Here is a list of early germinators for most zones:

Arugula

Mache

All lettuces

Chicory

Watercress

Radishes

Snow Peas

Chard

Celery

Broccili

Spinach

Cabbages

If you plant under a waxing (getting fuller) moon, you get faster germination, so take a look at your calender before you go out to plant.  It will save you some watering.  In the meantime you can be preparing your beds or rows to receive the seeds, amend with finished compost or vermicompost and rake the soil smooth.  If you keep the beds/rows moist, the sowing will be easier.  You can also soak some of the larger seeds in tepid water until they swell up and then plant, for faster germination.  This is good for peas, beans, corn, any large seeds.

Tip: I use a short piece of 2"x4" wood with a large handle screwed to one of the flat sides for a seed press.  Some seeds you sprinkle right on top of the ground. like lettuce, and simply press them in with your seed press so they won't blow or wash away.  The seed press makes the job very quick and easy to do and extends your reach also.  I use it a lot in the greenhouse when sowing tiny flower seeds as well.  With the larger seeds, once you get them covered, they should be pressed down evenly to firm the soil around the seed for better contact with it.  It also lets you know at a glance which beds have been planted by the pressed surface.  Also, cats are not as attracted to the pressed smooth dirt as they are fluffy rows of soil.