ENDINGS and BEGINNINGS

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  It appears that tomato season is wrapping up at our house. For 4 weeks (all of July), the tomato harvest averaged about 5-6 lbs per day. But over the last two days, I have only harvested an average 1.3 lbs. Now you might think I am a bit premature in my proclamation that tomato season is coming to an end. But, there is a definite trend in the amount of tomatoes harvested per day, especially when taking into consideration how shabby the plants look. There are still a number of tomatoes still on the plants and provided that the stink bugs don't go sucking on the fruits of the plant, I will manage to continue harvesting tomatoes until the end of August.

When one thing ends, another begins. Today I started the fall garden. Oh yes folks, there is no time wasted here. Time is money. Err...wait, I don't make any money doing this....

Now comes the challenge: balancing yield (or lack there of) and valuable real estate space to determine when the best time is to cut my losses and pull out the dying plants to make room for the next crop. With that in mind, I started seeds (indoors) for the following cold weather vegetables today:

Lolla Rossa Lettuce - 55 days to maturity
Black Seeded Simpson - 45 days to maturity
Marathon Broccoli - 68 days to maturity
Napa Chinese Cabbage - 48 days to maturity
Bok Choy - 50 days to maturity
Walla Walla Sweet Onions - (overwintering)
Cilantro - 60-90 days to maturity

I also plan on starting beets, carrots, turnips, and sugar snap peas directly in the garden this weekend (weather permitting).

I have never grown vegetables in the fall and winter. Mainly because I am usually in school and would not have enough time to dedicate to the garden and my studies (education always comes first). This year is different as I finish my class work this past May. Yippy, more time to garden. To help protect my investment, I have a tunnel system (about 5 foot tall) to help protect the vegetables from the chilly nights (oh yes, the neighbors will be thrilled when I install it...hopefully no one reports me to the HOA). Stay tuned.