Nothing lasts forever; that's the way it's got to be, there's a great black wave in the middle of the sea

We've hit midsummer in the garden. It is a great time in some ways; the weeds have basically stopped being an issue; the summertime crops are coming on; planting for the year is basically done. But it is a melancholy time too, because one of my favorite things about the garden is the promise it provides, and by midsummer the die has been cast for the year. It's too hot to plant any new cool-season crops, and too late to plant any warm-season crops (except green beans). We've just passed the time when most of the fall-maturing root crops and brassicas, which will feed us this winter, need to be in the ground. The wave has crested, and from now to October we'll be attempting to keep our heads above the produce! I've learned a lot this year about our new garden, and I'd like to share some of the successes and failures.

Amaranth - Success. Well suited to the climate and soil. Not bothered by insects

Beets and Spinach: Marginal. We have problems with leaf-miners and an as-yet unidentified pest that is eating seedlings

Brassicas: Fail. I've planted a lot of brassicas, and gotten relatively little food from them. First it was too cold. Now there are lots of aphids. Half of the plants are stunted (I don't think they like the sandy soil). The rabbits eat a lot of the transplants. The cauliflowers that survived haven't headed because they didn't get enough chilling later in the spring. Collards were a moderate success. 

Lentils and Garbanzos: Fail. Very well suited to the climate and soil, but heavily preferred by the rabbits. I didn't even get a chance to see the edamame, they snapped them up so quick. You can see all of their leavings next to my neatly trimmed lentils. 

Pumpkin: Fail. A dilly of a pickle. These plants looked great early in the season, and have collapsed. I can find no sign of disease, and presume that they got too big for the hot dry sandy climate combination to support. Some of the smaller/later plants look ok at this point, but who knows. 

Carrots: Success. Other than a slow start from a cold spring, these babies have done really well. No insect problems, no root formation problems (except some forking, probably arising from too-rich soil), and they are holding well in the field. I'd highly recommend the Bejo variety 'Nelson', having now grown it both in Seattle and here. It produces an early, vigorous and tasty Nantes type carrot. 

Popcorn: Win. I crowded my sweet corn too much however....

Cucuzzi: Super win. You've probably never heard of cucuzzi unless you are of recent Scicilian extraction. Cucuzzi is an edible gourd that is used similarly to zucchini, but predates it. I very much prefer cucuzzi, as it is more firm and has a very pleasing flavor. The plants are vigorous and the flowers are pretty, opening in the evening to be pollinated by moths. I guess some people have a hard time growing it, but it likes it here.  

Watermelon (and muskmelon): Win. Well suited to the climate and soil

Sunflower: Win. Well suited, and attractive to some very interesting native bees

Quinoa: Fail. This looked good early in the year, but the heat and some kind of fungus has burned the plants down.

Solanums: Peppers, eggplant, tomato, potato; they all do well here, which makes me happy. Often when I consider whether I could move to X or Y location, one of the things that crosses my mind is "Can I grow good tomatoes there". Amelia and I have been enjoying our variety trial and taste test... results will be coming in a future post.