Mid-Summer Garden Update Part 1: The Vegetable Garden
Take a tour of our mid-summer Pacific Northwest vegetable garden, where tomatoes, beans, corn, squash, peppers, and leafy greens are thriving.
Now that we’re in the second week of August, we have officially reached mid-summer. Here in the Pacific Northwest, that typically means nighttime temperatures in the mid to upper 50s and daytime highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. In Everett, our nights tend to be a few degrees cooler and our days a few degrees warmer.
August is usually our warmest and driest month, and the next 10-day forecast looks fairly typical, with lows in the mid 50s and highs in the mid to upper 70s. Still, just before sunset yesterday, I could feel the first subtle hint of fall in the air.
The vegetable garden is at its peak.
Summer abundance in the garden. 🌿
Most of the vegetable seeds I use are from Territorial Seed out of Cottage Grove Oregon. Territorial Seed is a family run business, and all of the seed varieties they offer were trialed and evaluated at their farm.
I also purchase vegetable seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seed out of Winslow, Maine.
Sugar Snap Peas- Cascadia, Nairobi (Territorial Seed)
The sugar snap peas are almost done, there are new flowers forming at the tips, but powdery mildew has hit the lower leaves, so it’s time to remove them. Not sure what I will plant in their place since fall is our time to travel, and when we slide into fall, we usually go fast.
Pole beans-Kentucky Blue, Helda (Territorial Seed)
The pole beans are in full harvest mode. We’ve been getting a big bowl every two or three days. I’m hoping for at least two to three more weeks of production.
Tomatoes—Mortgage Lifter, Heirloom Marriage™ Genuwine, Early Cherry, Cherry Buzz, Black, and Sungold—Territorial Seed Company; all shipped as seedling plants.
We’ve begun to harvest the first of the two cherry tomato plants, and the other plants have loads of green to semi green fruit. If they all ripen and they ripen slowly here, we should have a good crop.
Corn- Sugar Buns F1, Café F1 T (Territorial Seed)
This is the second year for corn. Last year we had a small harvest of small ears, but they were good. Not sure about this year’s crop. They are starting to tassel, and the ears have silk, but they are small. It was more of an experiment, and they really make the garden look interesting.
Cabbage and Collards-Store bought starts
The collards have slowed down with the heat, kind of what I expected, and they have been hit hard by the cabbage moths. The red cabbage was looking great, then after not looking close enough, the baby heads were forming and covered in aphids. A couple applications of neem oil helped, but again, it was more of an experiment, and the first time I’ve tried them here in this garden.
Lettuce-Bib-Ferry-Morise, Simpson Elite, Buttercrunch, New Red Fire Balboa, Ezrilla, Merlot, Daisy Lambert. (Territorial Seed)
The lettuce has been amazing. We have been harvesting whole heads as needed, and as of today, there are only 4 left.
Carrots-Yaya F1, Napoli F1, Dragon (Territorial Seed)
Carrots are sizing up, taste good, but not very sweet yet. I usually don’t harvest them until the weather cools in the fall. Carrots get sweeter in cool weather because they convert some of their stored starch into sugar.
The extra sugar acts like natural antifreeze, helping protect carrot cells from freezing. As the sugar level rises, the roots taste sweeter. Cool temperatures—especially light frost—can improve sweetness, but a hard freeze may damage carrots if the soil does not protect them.
Beets-Cylindra-Territorial Seed, Boldor (Johnny’s Seeds)
The beets are sizing up, but as with Swiss Chard, our garden suffers from leaf miners. They are tiny larvae that tunnel between the layers of the beet leaves. They leave pale, winding trails or blotchy “windows.” It can stunt the growth due to the dying leaves. Next year, I will cover plants with fine insect netting to stop adult flies from laying more eggs and try the same if I grow cabbage or any of the Brassicaceae family.
Peppers-Jalapeño
I only planted Jalapeño peppers, and after a very slow start, I just harvested the first batch.
Squash-Yellow Crookneck, Mexicana F1, Benning’s Green Tint (Territorial Seed)
All of the squash are coming on strong. So far we have had just the right amount that we don’t have to run up and down the street leaving them on neighbor’s porches. I am growing them vertically since they are planted close together.
Cucumbers -Lemon, Mini Munch (Territorial Seed)
The cucumbers are the slow growers in the garden this year. They like it hot hot hot, and while we have been much warmer, they are always the last to yield anything.