The expected yellow leaves, and immature white fruit, on Blazey F4 selection dwarf, one of my many mysteries

A garden is a complex thing. One one had, there are times when it seems little changes day to day. But a bit more thought reveals that an awful lot is actually going on. As our garden turned from June to July, it - and me - are already feeling a bit of that hot summer day, lazy torpor that prevents action being taken when it is needed - removing the blemished leaves, feeding or watering on schedule, applying that big ball of twine to tame plants.

Over the past few weeks, here are a few things that have been happening in our big back yard garden.

Snap Beans - we’ve been enjoying so our nightly big plates of fresh beans, boiled until al dente, served with butter, chives, salt and pepper - the ultimate finger food appetizer. I noticed that the plants were looking a bit tired and the nightly pickings diminishing significantly. So - a few days ago all but two varieties were yanked out and those areas cultivated a bit and reseeded. I focused on two varieties - Marbel and Jade. I am hoping for quick germination, and then to fill in any blank spaces quickly - the goal being another round of delicious treats well prior to the sun no longer being optimum for the location of the bean strawbales. I also wanted to get on top of seed saving for two rare varieties that are favorites, so 10 gallon containers were seeded with Marbel and Fowler.

Squash - the squash avalanche continues, but is slowing a bit. The plants are maintaining their health and vigor. I am about to thin two big triple plant bales to single plants to provide some breathing room, as well as assess the condition of all of the plants in general. It may be time to free up two of the four bales and reseed to provide consistent squash until frost.

Cucumbers - We are in love with the hybrid variety Unagi - it has all of the flavor and texture attributes of our former favorite, Diva, but with more length and more disease resistance. The two hills of cukes have been really prolific, with only a bit of disease showing up. Once again, I will have to decide if it is time to pull the plants and reseed - that decision will have to be very soon.

Potatoes - the vines are still largely green, but flopping over. Flowers never did form. I have four 20 gallon containers, and have to decide if it is time to dump one out and explore formation of the potatoes. It is approaching 100 days from planting, so it may be time - at least we would have some nice new Yukon Golds to enjoy. If the yield is reasonable, I will try some more colorful, unusual varieties next year - growing them was so easy, using straw from last year’s bales.

Rhubarb - we’ve enjoyed using it for strawberry, later blueberry, crisp desserts. It may be time to let the plants just leaf out and strengthen the crown. Having the three plants in large containers worked very well, providing us with all we need.

Lettuce - Somehow, despite the heat, the lettuce soldiers on. We probably have two weeks of salads remaining before the plants bolt and get pulled. Having our own lettuce is such a joy.

Garlic - long pulled, it is gathered and hanging in the garage, curing nicely. We ended up with about 30 big, plump bulbs, which will give us plenty to eat and some to replant in our raised beds in September (which is racing at us, it seems!).

Eggplants - we are about to harvest our first, and are thinking ratatouille with our squash and canned tomatoes from last year. The plants look great - growing them in straw bales is working beautifully, as expected. I am hoping for effective seed saving from all five varieties.

Peppers - also looking excellent, with fruit set on all varieties. Once again, straw bale growing was the key to returning to a successful effort. I really need to get some good quality ripe fruit from the various bell varieties from my dehybridizing efforts. We are a few weeks away from picking the sweet ones, but not nearly as long with Pinata jalapeno, and Padron and Shishito.

Tomatoes - our daughter Caitlin visited over last weekend, and spent hours working the plants - removing the blemished leaves and tying the unruly stems to the stakes. The main disappointments so far - a Moby family dwarf which produced so-so medium sized yellow tomatoes went down hard to Fusarium wilt. One of the Mortgage Lifters and a Lilly family dwarf loaded with striped tomatoes may be about to suffer the same plight. The straw bale indeterminates are looking really good, with plenty of fruit set. The other disappointment is seeing that Cherokee Green is turning out to be scarlet red - clearly crossed seed, so I am growing a hybrid, perhaps a cross with Polish or Ferris Wheel. I got to taste and save seeds from Dwarf Irma’s Highland Cherry (excellent), and Suzy’s Wild Red (excellent). The cross between Cherokee Chocolate and Orange Coastal Pride seems to have worked. Some of the variegated microdwarfs are throwing sprays of blossoms. There are volunteer tomato seedlings (likely Mexico Midget) all over my gravel driveway.

As far as general garden maintenance, I am sticking to daily watering and weekly feeding, though the day has slipped to Saturday. This is the time to keep the plants healthy, then stand back and see what the results are as varieties ripen. The past three days saw heavy late afternoon or evening thunderstorms, which is leading to more foliage diseases (septoria and/or early blight) at this point in the season than I experienced last year.

With Cherokee Green clearly crossed, I have but a few varieties that I am familiar with - Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Chocolate, Polish, Dwarf Liz’s Teardrop, and Lucky Cross. Pretty much everything else will be a surprise - either family heirlooms new to me this year, or F2 selections from my recent hybrids. What fun!