This is the most expected period of the gardening season. This is what we all have been working for, the moment to harvest the result of the hard work. The time is here, but the moment is not so happy.
The Good
Today I'm going to divide my post in two. The first part will be about the good and the second about the bad.
This year the gardening season started out well, there were minor problems, like every year, like seeds not growing, but those are normal. This is why you need to sow a bit more to have some spare in case seeds don't sprout. Snails have been kept under control, so no massive harm has been done by those either.
The weather was so so but more good than bad. There was no hail storm like last year, no frost either.
Tomatoes, the queen of the garden. I'm not sure if you can see how big the tomatoes are as photos can be deceptive, but what you see on the left side is as big as a big apple. As you can see, there's plenty and also look healthy.
So far there's no danger for the tomatoes and harvesting has already started. In a day or two, tomato juice will be made.
Cucumbers are also looking good, growing nicely. We eat what we can and the rest goes into jars as pickles. Winter is long :)
Honeydew! The sweet and cool honeydew, the perfect breakfast at times.
Although these are also looking good, the problem is visible here already.
Peppers are also healthy, growing according to schedule.
A week or two is still needed to get some big, delicious ones but we've already had some.
Beetroots are exceptional this year, which is quite surprising. Up until this year, beetroots were always a problem. We had to sow twice and even so the result was way below expectations.
The Bad
The whole thing started with the onions. There were years when there was so much rain the onions started to rot in the ground, we had to take all out, dry them and even so, they did not last long.
This year the onions were done one month sooner. At the beginning of July we had to harvest all the onions. It is good news as it looks like there will be no rotting. It's terrible when you have to throw out half of the harvest.
However, harvesting onions so early has been a sign that not many can recognize. Looking back to the last decade, it looks like each summer is hotter, which leads to extreme heats that we're having now.
Beans are looking like this. In one word, terrible. We had a good first harvest and that was all. Beans usually are harvested in bathes, but not this year. Due to the extreme heat, the flowers started to dry and now the leaves as well, although there was regular watering. So what you see here will be for seeds of stored as dry beans.
Potatoes are not fully ripe but the part above the ground is already dove, very done! Which means the potatoes are not going to ripe ever.
Although we still have cucumbers, the leaves are not looking healthy. The sun is burning the leaves and there's no cure for that. Regular watering can't help here.
Raspberries, same story. We've never watered the raspberries till last year. Now it looks like it's going to become a habit, out of necessity. My grandfather would be shocked as there wasn't such thing during his time.
The Lesson
Life teaches you a lesson every time something unexpected and unprecedented happens, you just have to pay attention and learn from it. If not, next year there's a risk you're going to make the same mistake again.
In agriculture there's nothing guaranteed and you have to be grateful each year for everything you get. Every year there are fruits and/or vegetables that do well and next year they do less well. Canning the extra you get is a way to balance the losses of next year. With the current price hikes, having some extra from last year can mean a lot.
The Future Of Agriculture
Those who are used to traditional agriculture will never switch to something more performant and I can understand their point of view. There's definitely a different between tomatoes grown naturally, in open air, in the ground and those grown in greenhouses, using hydroponics.
However, if global warming continues, and it will as there's no way to stop it, a part of traditional agriculture will disappear. I see it in our garden, there's something we give up growing every year because simply does not worth struggling with it. I'm not worried for us as we're not going to do this indefinitely, but on a global scale, this is scary.
Growing outdoor using (soil) the conventional method is very challenging as we do not have full control of the environment. We constantly have to look out for insects, snails, birds, flies, and other airborne plant diseases. With greenhouses, at least we have better control of the environment, although it does not guarantee 100% protection.
Before we start planting, we always test our seeds for germination rate. There are 2 ways to test the viability of your seeds:
I understand there are many misconceptions about hydroponic nutrients that are considered unnatural. But we must realize that the chemical content in these nutrients is exactly the same as that in the soil. Plants may not be able to absorb these nutrients if they are of different types. People who think hydroponic nutrients are unnatural would also be against taking supplemental vitamins. I'm curious to know what these people would take to supplement if their bodies lack calcium. Would they take calcium-rich vitamins or find other sources of calcium in nature, ie: eggshells?
I have nothing against traditional agriculture, but as you pointed out: "Life teaches you a lesson every time something unexpected and unprecedented happens, you just have to pay attention and learn from it." In hydroponics with greenhouses, you can better control the environment and manipulate the nutrient intake of your plants for optimal yield and better quality. With the growing population and lesser space to grow food, we have to think of a better way of agriculture.😊
I understand that and agree with you as it's all true. However, compared to previous years, say 10 or 15 years, the situation is much worse and all due to extreme heat during summer, which is not coincidental as it comes back regularly every year now it seems.
The testing methods are a good idea, you just have to see which one works for you as some seeds are so tiny you cant even pick one as they are of the size of finely ground salt.
The new methods are definitely the future, no one can deny that. The problem is to make such an investment you need first of all time, space and money. We have space and money, but time is something that is limited, as this is my dad's so called playground :) He's doing this as a hobby, which is therapeutic for him as well as he's retired, but I'm not going to continue, if he will not be able to anymore.
Si indeed, if you want to focus on growing fruits and veggies and you're starting out now, it worth thinking of investing in greenhouses and hydroponics.
Thanks for the nice and valuable comment.
You're right! The testing method is not 100% foolproof as it will have problems when the seeds' size is minuscule. My late mother also enjoyed gardening very much. I had introduced her to hydroponics also but she found it too complicated. The traditional way was more enjoyable for her.
The weather is also another major factor in determining your harvest quality and quantity. We have a fresh vegetable business and we partner with many traditional farmers. We noticed that during the rainy season, the supply of fresh vegetables is somewhat reduced due to many crop failures from roots rot and/or lack of sunlight. When we discussed with farmers about hydroponics and greenhouses, their main obstacle was initial capital.
Here's another tip I want to share. I'm not sure if it's available in your country, but this is what we use for our outdoor garden. Fruit fly trap – it does not completely eradicate fruit flies, but it helps reduce their numbers. If you can't find Petrogenol, here's an article to how you can do it yourself.
Thanks for sharing. I enjoy our discussion very much. Good luck with the next season's harvest, and happy gardening.😊
We have four seasons here in Europe, but that is only theoretically as global warming has changed that and spring is now very rare or very short.
So when we're talking about gardening seasons that means from March to October but obviously not for every fruit or vegetable.
Thanks for the recommendation. Fortunately we only have raspberries, currants and grapes, so it's not a big problem for us.
Good luck with your plans as I know they are big and thanks for the constructive and helpful conversation 😀
I had a good crop of beets last year, but this year they are sad. I do not think I will even get enough to make pickled beets. So far I have had just 1 cucumber. we have had a terrible drought for almost 10 years, but this year has been very rainy. Hopefully that continues. Good luck with your harvest, there is still time!
Sorry to hear about your problems. This year is terrible everywhere.
Cucumber is 90% water, if not more, so drought is definitely not helping.
Pickled beets are the best and I hope we're going to get a lot this year. Last year for example beets were just a few.
Good luck to you too, I hope next year will be better.
I loved seeing the results of your harvest the tomatoes look great seeing those plants reminds me of the movie Turbo where the snails as they worked in the tomato plant.
The onions are an issue when there is a lot of rain they rot, you can see how the ground is very dry because of the heat as you point out the climate change is doing more and more of its own and that brings more and more problems to our poor planet and those who live in it, which sadly we are the cause of his tragedy.
Snails can only work one way in a tomato plant and that is, eating the leaves 😂
Unfortunately that is true. Not many are willing to admit, but better management and a change in human behavior could help a lot, till it's not too late.
Well it is a caricature and they pose things in a jocular way as if the snails were working in the tomato plantation.
As for the damage caused to the planet by us, since I was a child at home I was taught to take responsibility for my actions, so that's why I recognize my share, plus I agree with you that if we all did our part something could be done, but most want it to be someone else who does or activates.
That's the biggest problem!
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great to learn, again great to ne wise during our planting, but im very sorry to see those effect.
Yes, those effects are affecting everyone on a global level just maybe in a different way.
great
Too much heat can really affect much to our plants in the garden. That's what we were facing too before. The vegetables died because of too much heat even if we watered them everyday.... Btw, i like the tomatoes and bell peppers you have there.
I'm glad you like them. Global warming is everywhere, unfortunately. A month ago or so, in Italy a glacier melted, started to crumble and killed around ten people and this is just the beginning.
The one who planted seeds and taking care everyday each and everything then harvesting comes - The best and happiest moment or feelings, can say coz have experienced.
Never seen those apple sized tomatoes that's looking healthy and will increase taste of food.
We've planted tomatoes too but harvested only once and the storm destroyed the whole garden sadly but now we've left Grapes, cucumber or just few more growing from beginning.
It's really saddening to see how Global warming and climate change is effecting and making them weak or killing it- that's something we all need too worry about as we don't want them to disappear.
I wish temperature become normal so it doesn't make thing's worst.
I'm sorry to hear your garden got destroyed by the storm. We had hail storm last year but despite the gravity of the storm, the damage was not so much.
I hope next year will be better for you as working in vain is never good. Temperatures should normalize, I wish we could get back those old times when things were "normal", but I suppose that's not possible 😕
I wish you all the best, thank for the comment and sorry for the late reply but things got a little crazy on my end.
Holiss..
What a delightful planting!!!. God bless those lands
Thank you!
Gardening is not for the timid! Up where you are, a greenhouse is a good cheat for more planting days. Down here, we have to put shade cloth over portions of the garden for the plants that burn.
Aquaponics helps the taste of produce, but nothing compares to garden grown!
Hoping for a produce deluge for you soon!
🌿👍💙🤠🙏😳🌿🥦