Good morning everyone and welcome to SMGB, End of Summer Edition. It's Ed in Montana guest blogging for our esteemed hostess Ms. Frankenoid and our team of master gardeners. Please excuse my bleary-eyed state here in the early hours of the morning. It has been an interesting night and an interesting Summer, both weather wise and of course garden wise in the Northern Rockies.
Summer storm clouds from a few weeks ago
Our little town was under a severe storm watch for most of yesterday afternoon, but the real fun started in the early evening with a torrential downpour that flooded a portion of our backyard under several inches of water along with several bouts of light hail. Yes hail. In September. Like I said, it's been an interesting Summer!
But the reason I am so bleary-eyed was because of the amazing lightning storm that slowly moved in around 10PM. I find it hard to sleep with bright flashes going on outside my bedroom window followed by loud rumbles nearly shaking the house. Besides, it's better to sit up and watch the show. It's still too dark out to check the garden for hail damage.
In any case, it's a good time to review the success and failures of my efforts at gardening here near the end of the growing season, and there have been many of both. Being a pessimistic optimist, I'll start with the failures first.
A couple of weeks ago I stopped by the agriculture extension agent's table at our local farmer's market with several questions about the garden. Aside from being helpful with my problems with apples and tomatoes, the Ag agent commented that the Summer of 2013 was remarkable for it's warmth, water and length. "We are more like eastern Kansas for growing conditions now than a typical western Montana Summer", he said. Which may explain the problems with my apples.
A cooler full of rotten apples
Our one small apple tree in the backyard bears a bumper crop of fruit only every two or three years, and this year is one of them. Unfortunately, 90% of the small apples have rotten holes in them. The Ag agent says these are from a moth that lays its eggs in the fruit, leaving the hatched larva to burrow there way out. Essentially, this year's crop is a total failure for a grade of F.
As a tomato-based life form, I take growing tomatoes seriously. Around the second week of August, I noticed that many of the leaves on my three dozen plants were turning brown and curling up. Luckily, most of the fruit had set by then and much was ripening. The Ag agent thought that the browning may have been due to herbicide drift from a neighbor's yard. I remarked that other plants like the zucchini don't seem to be affected, but the agent remarked that zucchini are resistant to herbicides, at least far more so than tomatoes. You learn something every day!
Ailing tomatoes, with sunflowers
Still considering the amount of fruit we are getting, I would have to give the tomatoes a B+ for this season.
Tomatoes ready for canning and drying
Last weekend, I purchased 40lbs of organic tomatoes grown on a friend's farm to add to my stock for sauce and salsa. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to purchase all organic, and the fruit is amazing.
The saucing and canning frenzy begins
Tomatoes roasting on the grill
Every Summer, I plant a few heirloom varieties of 'maters, but frequently they don't do much. Not this year, where we have gotten dozens of good-sized flavorfull Brandywines. I wish I knew what I was doing right!
Heirloom Brandywines
On the onion front, I have gotten a bushel full of medium to small Walla Walla Sweet Onions. For some reason, they never get as big as the six inch in diameter monsters you can buy at the Missoula farmers market, but they are still tasty never the less. I would grade them a B-.
A few of the peeled Walla Wall Sweets
The zucchini, after a bout of powdery mildew in June rebounded and have been out of control. Even the Monster Puppy seems to be intimidated by them. I would have to grade them as a solid A.
The Chocolate Monster Puppy inspecting the zucchinis
It's been a great Summer for herbs, especially the potted one son the patio which have been kept out of the all day sun and have missed the hail storms. Basil, Thyme, Sage and Parsley have down very well.
Herbs, flowers and peppers on then patio
Then there are the Chives, which I get endless inquiries on from my Chive Blossom vinegars.
Chives
Chive blossom vinegar on the window sill in June
The herb efforts get another A grade.
In addition to my garden, I have to mention a few other items. The garlic grown in Missoula has been outstanding this season, with some of the largest bulbs I have ever seen. Contrast this with the cool 2011 season, when there was no local garlic to be purchased at any price. This giant braid was only $20. Garlic production gets an A+.
Huge garlic braid from Missoula
Mrs. Ed and I are not big on planting flowers, but we do pay attention to our friend Terry's gardens. The woman is a master with all types of flowers and has stunning displays of blooms starting in early May and stretching until September. I would give this season a A for domestic flowers.
August flowers in Terry's garden
Whew, that's most of it, and I would have to rate this year's growing season success as a B+. It would be a solid A if not for the failure of the apples and the raspberries which were a mostly bust. But you can't hit all home runs in this crazy climate!
How would you rate your garden's success this year?