Well, the weather has been a real bear this year, starting with a late summer, and then mixing hot and mild days. Lots of plants are bolting. I've hardly gotten any broccoli off the plants because they bolt faster than I can pick it. Lettuce and spinach have bolted, as have some of the herbs. I'm planning to clear out the extra lettuce this week and compost it, and prepare the bare parts of the garden for the winter garden - cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kale - which I have started in little peat pots on the back porch and will be ready to transplant in another week.
One thing that has definitely worked this year is planting the plants right in the ground, not in containers or raised beds. The plants are big and healthy, and I've had to do some pruning to the tomatoes. I'd like them to quit growing and start ripening, but I don't know if that's just a problem with the weather this year.
We're getting good squash production, and the beans have headed up the trellis, so hopefully we'll still have time to get some beans. Cukes have not been doing much. Onions have been a big success, as have the lettuce, beets, chard, and the herbs (though I haven't used as many as I would have liked).
Today I'm hoping to find some windows for my cold frames, and the next project will be to build cold frames for winter greens. I've selected a spot just outside the garden fence in the main yard that will be the first place to get sun in the mornings all winter, so I think it will have the best chance of success.
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