Thanks to generous irrigation, we had a bumper crop of tomatoes, peppers & eggplants this year. The tomatoes are done, and although I planted some fall plants, teh heat & drought make me dubious whether or not we'll get any fruit off the plants.

However, DH just planted seeds of squash & watermelon at the beginning of July & the fruit has formed and is growing on the vines. Fall squash is not uncommon around here, but fall watermelon would be a huge treat if we actually get a couple to mature.

tomatoes are just about done. Had a bumper crop of romas and very large grape tomatos. Have some very good looking volunter 'lopes coming along. Hope it stays warm enough for them to ripen.

Tomatos don't do well for us as our sandy ground is badly contaminated with root nemotodes. But we had a spot where we cut down a tree and ground up the stump. The TWO bushes we put there were excellent!!

We took one of them and bent it over so that we could bury the top. Not only has that part taken root, but there are about 6 good sized suckers coming along the old bush. AND THE FLOWERS ARE STARTING !!!!!

Will I have a fall crop??? Crossing my fingers and hoping.

It's been a very productive year. Plenty of rain. Enough heat, but not too much. What corn is still standing in the area is all well over ten feet tall.

I'm still harvesting about a pound of tomatoes a day. I have more peppers than I know what to do with. Swiss Chard has been steady all summer. I haven't bought an onion in a couple months, but I cook with them nearly nightly. Cauliflower, broccoli, and eggplant were also wildly successful. LOTS of herbs still going strong.

The neighbor lady just went home: I bought six different "lettuce" varieties for a fall planting (Black Seeded Simpson leaf lettuce, Red Winter Kale, Bon Vivant mesclun mix, Red Giant Mustard Gai Choy, Rocket Salad Arugula, and a micro green mix) and had a bunch of saved spinach seed, and I split everything I had in half. We're going to plant tomorrow and see what we can get before first frost. Then in a couple weeks I'm going to try my hand at garlic.

Tomatoes - not nearly enough in spite of considerable irrigation. Turns out the squirrels are eating them, and have managed to infiltrate every barrier tried. I finally remembered to hang the slinky toys, so we may get a few late tomatoes. The green peppers have done well, making many 5x5 blocky chunks (putting them near the tomatoes kept them irrigated also, heh heh heh). The limas have produced exceptionally well, and seed selection meant many 5-to-the-pods, which is nice. The green beans did not do as well as in past years, due to a combination of lack of sufficient irrigation and a lack of their usual lasagna - both lacks were due to my lack of energy. Every thing else [squash, melons, greens, lettuces, carrots, etc.] performed reasonably well, again because of frquent irrigation. The water bill is going to be horrendous, while the freezer is less than half-filled. I am looking forward to the autumn leaf drop.

Agnespuffin - it takes 2 to 4 years, but nematodes can be overcome with the planting of marigolds. See link for varieties. Also, next year consider making a deep lasagna just for the tomatoes. BTW, you can pot the tomato plants for inside and keep them going overwinter; production will depend on the variety as well as available light.

Here is a link that might be useful: marigolds for nematodes

I surely can't complain, although it was not the bumper year on veggies I normally have. The green beans were a total failure, as the rabbits and I were competing for them and since they prefer to harvest them before the blossoms set, they won. If I wanted to yank the old twelve guage out and clean it, I could solve the problem before next year, but my heart is getting softer and I don't think that is going to happen.

I just made mention to my husband that canning was easier this year, doing a canner full every couple days, instead of being chained to the stove for a week or two. I spoke too quickly. LOL. I went out to feed the hens and gather eggs yesterday and saw a sea of red and pink and that meant I came back with not only eggs, but a water pail full of tomatoes.

The onions I did by seed were a good success. They always are when done by seed. They are stacked and drying now two weeks and I've potatoes to dig after the first rain when the soil softens.

I picked my second harvest of grapes yesterday and simmered them. The kitchen was filled with that special aroma and today I'll take the juice and make jelly again. I'm still harvesting apples but leaving many drops for the deer families who bring the half grown fawns to the trees each night to eat.

The foyer pantry shelves are just about filled now with the rows of jars, and I am starting to fill the shelves in the inglenook. The black walnuts are not on heavy this year and that's OK by me. LOL. Husking and cleaning them is something you only want to do every other year anyhow.

The excitement for the summer is that this is the first year I have found seed for shallots, and I declare it a success. I love to peel a shallot or two and throw it in the kettle of great northern beans with a smoked hock or bacon. Shallots keep through the winter so much better than onions, and I don't have to go out into the frozen garden to gather leeks.

First year in a long time with no harvest. There is something to be said for fallow years, albeit due to our different circumstances.:^)

The cherry tree in the yard gave a bounty, but between all the kids and birds raiding the tree there was little work to do. We have some apples on another tree and I made two loaves of apple bread. They came out a little odd since I haven't purchased a mixer yet. I had to beat by hand so they were somewhat flat (but tasty) breads.

No beans to dry, no tomatoes to can or freeze, no peppers, eggplants and no basil to freeze up in multiple pesto batches. One of the saddest parts of our move was literally throwing away a large portion of all the freezing I did last summer.

I miss it and I don't. I'm seriously considering a major scaleback in the vegetable garden when we return home.

GASP!