September 22, 2016 - the autumnal equinox

First day of autumn and the plants are showing it to indeed be the end of summer. The beans have stopped producing flowers and the harvest is getting to be too fibrous to eat. The tomatoes are starting to ferment and we're getting some pests on the herbs.
We've started pulling the ripe tomatoes from the bushes in order to peel and freeze for later. I've been organized enough this year to freeze the varieties separately so we know what we're using when we pull them out of the freezer later on.
The chives that thrived so well all year was suddenly infested with aphids. Next year it might be best to keep it pruned a bit so that I can keep an eye on it.

Carmelo 

Costoluto Genovese

I had to pull the chives as they suddenly succumbed to a severe attack of aphids

This padrón pepper plant seems to be stressing for some reason although still producing heavily.

This padrón is doing fine.

This calabrian has been flowering but no fruit yet.

The tomatoes are still hanging on but time to pull the fruit.

September 11, 2016 - end of summer

Lots of photos today since we're fast approaching the turn to autumn. I wanted a pretty good documentation on how things have fared this summer.


Box 1
The beans have done spectacularly well. Unfortunately I over-planted in reaction to last year's poor yield, mainly due to my unfamiliarity of working with the new beds and the drip irrigation system. Most of the beans I've been harvesting are the Italian Romanos since they're so easy to pick out and have tasted so good. Next year it would be best to establish a separate zone for the thin beans and the broad beans on opposite sides of the bed so that they won't be quite as intermingled. I also think it would be better to plant 4 beans per batch then 8.

Box 2

The tomatoes have also done very well. The schedule of hand watering and drip that I used this year seemed to be a good approach, pulling back gradually on the hand watering as the summer progresses. I now know that the greenery dies back due to the plants moving to fruit production and maturation, not due to neglect. Fruit drops before maturation were not uncommon but probably due to both the heavy yield as well as the prevalence of cool temperatures this year.

Box 3
I finally planted the broccoli seedlings on Friday, Sept 9 - DeCiccio and Calabrese. They germinated only a couple of days after planting this time, not quite sure why so quickly but glad they did. I've also seeded greens, radishes, kale, chard, and beets here.

Box 4
Despite the cool daytime temperatures the evening temps have remained high enough to allow the peppers to fruit. The padróns have really kicked in now as well as the other plants. Some are just now starting to redden. The basil in the back row has been insane, hopefully I can cut back next year on them to have more room to grow other plants.

Box 5
The herbs have remained very healthy this year. The parsley is as large and healthy as any I've ever grown, the sage, summer savory, chives, and thymes have also thrived. The oreganos have done well proving that cutback is key to keeping them growing.