Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Late Summer for Fairbanks

While Summer is probably just getting going and only getting hotter in far away places I'm envious of, Fairbanks is entering late summer. I tend to have high hopes of July because the garden is finally producing and I feel like we are just getting going. Inevitably mid July starts to cool off and get rainy, (sigh). We've had cool rainy weather for the last week straight, which is a sign that yes it is truly mid July. Of course this weather is all to familiar to locals, and has everyone panicking and grumbling about how summer is over, and the obvious; summers are too short here! As I drove around today I couldn't keep track of how many pick up trucks and trailers I saw loaded down with firewood. Yes, all it takes is a little cool crisp weather for reality to set in.

As the month progresses our chances of seeing any more eighty degree days is quickly diminishing. I remind myself that come late August and September we are going to have some lovely sunny golden afternoons, but they won't be humid and balmy, but rather crisp and, well, fall like. We've had some stormy windy weather and as a result I've been lighting a fire in the wood stove in the mornings. Fairbanks; where digging for winter hats and gloves in mid July is perfectly normal. Of course, our fair week, which is the first week of August, is rapidly approaching, and that tends to mark the end of summer and summer weather. Fair week is traditionally rainy and cool. The nights are growing dark by then, and the first yellow leaves are spotted.  All is still lush and green for a couple more weeks, now if we can just get some sun and heat to help ripen the heat loving crops.

The garden is looking almost picture perfect. I spent about eight hours on my new battery powered weed whacker last week, and a few hours pushing the push mower. So the rows of vegetables are more pronounced than the weeds this week. It is that time of year where I tend to come down from the garden with more than I can easily carry. Yesterday we pulled baby carrots, picked shelling peas, harvested a row of beets (beets that were not getting any bigger probably because the soil wasn't as good as I thought it was. I amended the soil and resowed beets, may be too late, but maybe not). We harvested three 4-5" heads of cauliflower, I wasn't too happy with the size, but it was the earliest, by the name of Charming, I believe. The first broccoli heads formed this past week, I have to dig for the label to see which were the earliest. We finally have begun to pick more strawberries than we can eat fresh. So, the kids and I made our first batch of strawberry jam of the year yesterday.

You can tell from looking at my garden what I'm most excited about, because those crops are doing well. Then there are things that aren't doing so well, and you'd think I'd be babying or coaxing them along (tomatoes and cucumbers), but I'm not, at this point they are going to do what they are going to do. I am most excited about my winter squash and pumpkins, of which I have several small squash forming. I am also ecstatic about my fifty-sixty feet of shelling peas which are just getting going. This is going to be my best pea, squash and strawberry year yet! And my worst tomato, cucumber year ever - surprisingly I'm not devastated...what can you do? Take notes - on the blog...if I forget you guys can kindly remind me in the spring to spend more time prepping my beds before planting!

This time of year already has me remembering my gardening weaknesses and repetitive mistakes. I get lazy about hauling compost and old manure up to the garden, and I'm usually broke at planting time and don't want to rely on commercial amendments anyway. As a result, I get to this time of year and wish I'd spent a little more time and effort on turning in compost before rushing to plant. I was so proud to have grown enough pickling cucumbers to get us through a year of pickles last year, the success not to be repeated this year. Likewise, I had so many tomatoes the last two years I started grumbling about how I was having to make sauce daily in the fall- not this year. I remind myself, every summer has it's triumphs, and there are always going to be things that don't grow according to plan.

I went to a friend's garden today, someone I view as a master gardener, and she is having a rough pea/ winter squash year. The rest of her garden looked awesome. I am always envious of her heated greenhouse with ceiling high tomatoes and english cucumbers. I couldn't believe how big her Brassica plants were. She had a broccoli head that was like a foot across, it's side shoots were the size of some of my broccoli heads. I asked her secret, she said composted chicken bedding. I knew it! I've got to get better about composting my animal bedding. My chief complaint; it is soooo much work to move wheelbarrows of animal bedding and compost up steep inclines. Especially when I have an almost four year old daughter who still wants me to carry her everywhere, and breaks down when I need both hands to do something, like push a wheelbarrow.

So, I'm curious, what is doing well in your garden and what is not? What do you wish you could go back and do differently? - cause next year is still just too far away to think about!

5 comments:

Buttons Thoughts said...

Hi Emily I am sorry your summer seems to be disappearing I know how much you were looking forward to a very long one.
I did not even plant a garden this year it was invaded by a weed called Wild Parsnip something I had a terrible allergic reaction to. I must admit it scared me. This turned out to be a good thing as there is a horrible drought here and I would not have been able to water it and keep it. I will be visiting and buying from the abundant farm veggie stands in the area. Hopefully next year.
Take care Emily and go and enjoy the fair. B

Unknown said...

My spinach and cabbages are limping along this year, but everything else is doing amazing! Every fall I spread compost and steer manure on the garden beds, then I just have to turn it in the next spring before I plant. Composted chicken bedding is my secret too... works wonders!

SisterX_83 said...

Well, I'm glad someone's having a good squash year. I'm so jealous. So far, I've got only four zucchinis. Four! But my tomatoes are thriving, my carrots are looking better than any previous crop, and I just might get some celery before the end of summer. We'll see. Every gardening year is different, and there's always something I wish I'd done different or better.

Unknown said...

So glad to hear of your gardening success Emily!! We had my parents to visit for 3 weeks right at planting time, and it rained and rained, so we just decided to go to the U-pick farm this year. But our rhubarb and strawberry patches - which seem to require almost no tending - are going great guns!! I see lots of strawberry-rhubarb concoctions in my future! :)

Need some rhubarb??

Allison said...

I really enjoy reading your blog! I have family in Sitka and was born in Juneau but haven't been back in a long while. Love hearing mostly about your goats! lol I dream of goats but sadly we live in the city in SW WA.

My garden this year is doing well with tomatoes and my herbs are doing amazing. I got a late start on almost everything but last years tomatoes self seeded so bumper tomato crop this year for me! :)