Garden Harvest Time

Welcome back.  It's been a long time since my last post,  as we've been busy with summer vacation trips, etc. It's hard to believe it's September already!  Summers always seem to fly by.  Over the last week or so ( as of 4:02 PM today it is now officially Autumn) we have gotten the best stretch of weather we had all summer with little or no rain and temperatures way above normal.  The summer of 2017 was not that fantastic hear in central New York State.

Normally September equates to the garden winding down and time to think about fall cleanup. Although that is somewhat true this year, this year is a little different.   Many of the crops are late this season, due to the unusually wet and cold May and early June weather which made it difficult to start the garden on time.  The advantage is I am still enjoying many veggies even as Fall is here.

In my last post I promised to detail the upper garden plantings.  Since it's been 2 months since that post, I will focus now mostly on harvest results.

I will begin recent photos of my sunflower crop:

Glorious Sunflowers

Autumn Beauty

Next, some upper garden photos from mid to late July:

Heirloom Tomatoes

Cucumbers (Right), Peppers and Squash (Left)

Cucumbers - The Best in Years!

Onions, Carrots, Indian corn

As you can see, after the rough start in May and early June, the garden actually did very well, although somewhat behind compared to other seasons.  The tomatoes have done well, and have just begun to ripen in the last few weeks.

As I mentioned above in the photo caption, the cucumbers this year were phenomenal.  I bought the plants at a local farm stand, they were a pickling variety.  I planted then in some well rotted manure.

For some reason in the past few years, the cucumbers were susceptible to early blight and the yields were poor.  This year was a pleasant surprise, as I picked dozens of cucumbers.

Last, but not least, some harvest photos:

Cukes and Zucchini

Peppers and Tomatoes

Pumpkins and Gourds

Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom Beauty

As always, thanks for visiting.  In my next post, I will research ways to extend the growing season as the cooler weather approaches.  The gardening season doesn't necessarily have to end as colder weather settles in.

I will also be gearing up for Project FeederWatch, which begins on November 11th.   So check out the website, and sign up early.  This is a great family activity.