My Vegetable Garden in August
This time of year is always fun at my farm because there’s so much growing in the vegetable garden.
It's important to check the garden every day - one never knows what will be ready for picking. At last check, we had cucumbers, okra, eggplants, artichokes, onions, kale, and more - all thriving and doing so well. And, we'll soon have tomatoes to pick too. I always look forward to having lots of farm-grown produce to use in my summer cooking and in salads.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Here in the Northeast, August is typically very warm and dry, which means watering is a must in the gardens. This year, we’ve been fortunate – we’ve also had some good soaking rains. There’s a good chance of rain again tomorrow, but when it’s needed, we water, water, water.
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- This new half-acre vegetable garden is thriving. Here is our bed of okra. Okra leaves are medium to large in size and oblong to heart-shaped, and covered in small bristles or spines.
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- And then look closer for the fruits. I love okra, but for some, okra is too slimy when cooked. Okra is very healthy, however – it’s high in fiber, vitamin-C and full of antioxidants, so give it try! Okra or Okro, Abelmoschus esculentus, is also known in many English-speaking countries as ladies’ fingers or ochro.
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- Okra is a “cut-and-come-again” vegetable. Keep cutting the pods every day or two, and they will keep on growing. The okra is ready when they’re about three to four inches long.
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- We have already harvested lots of eggplant, but there are more growing. It’s a good season for eggplants.
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- Pick eggplants when they are young and tender. Picking a little early will encourage the plant to grow more, and will help to extend the growing season. I prefer to pick them when they are smaller.
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- Sweet bell peppers are popular in the garden – all grassy in flavor and super-crunchy in texture. I love making stuffed peppers – so easy and so delicious.
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- We have so many peppers growing – sweet and hot. Always be careful when picking peppers – keep the hot ones separated from the sweet ones, so there is no surprise in the kitchen.
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- Beets – the beetroot is the taproot of the beet plant, and is often called the table beet, garden beet, red or golden beet or simply… beet. Beets are highly nutritious and very good for maintaining strong cardiovascular health. It’s low in calories, contains zero cholesterol and is rich in folates, vitamin-A, B-complex and antioxidants.
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- Our onions are doing excellently also. We planted a lot of white, yellow and red onions.
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- Here’s a closer look at one of our onions. Onions are harvested when the underground bulbs are mature and flavorful. The telltale harvest sign is when the stalks turn yellowish or brown, dry out a bit, and topple over.
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- There were a few ready to pick. This is our first harvest of onions.
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- Look at the cucumbers! These are perfect, and we have so many this season. All growing in the center of the garden on our fence-trellis.
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- Cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, are great for pickling – I try to find time for pickling every year.
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- Cucumbers require a long growing season, and most are ready for harvest in 50 to 70 days from planting. The fruits ripen at different times on the vine, but it is essential to pick them when they are ready. If they are left on the vine too long, they tend to taste bitter.
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- One can harvest any time of day, but when possible, the best picking time is early morning, when the sun is just clearing the eastern horizon and greens are still cool and dew-covered from the previous night.
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- And this yer, we’ve had bounties of summer squash for all to share.
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- Our bed of kale is still going strong – very pretty with ruffled leaves. Kale or leaf cabbage is a group of vegetable cultivars within the plant species Brassica oleracea.
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- And then there are the tomatoes. Everyone waits so patiently for the tomatoes. In early August, gorgeous green fruits begin to grow.
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- We planted more than 120-tomato plants this year. All the plants are well-supported by bamboo stakes. We’re growing both hybrid and heirloom varieties. There are already so many fruits growing, but they need a little more time before harvesting.
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- Some of them are already red. Tomatoes are heat loving plants, so all the hot weather really helps our crops – the tomato vines are laden with fruit.
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- My garden just keeps on giving. I hope your gardens are just as productive as mine are this year. Enjoy your home-grown bounties.
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