HEIRLOOM GARDENING

THE AUGUST ORGANIC VEGETABLE GARDEN

This year was particularly rainy so everything is very lush.  Tomatoes are usually red by this time but due to lack of lots of sun they are just starting to turn.  I like to allow plants to self sow and interplant vegetables with flowers for utilitarian purposes (to keep pests away or attract beneficial pollinators) and for visual appeal.  This year I have noticed that the bird population has increased around the garden.  I have multiflora rose bushes, small trees, and climbing hydrangea  bordering the garden to promote nesting.  The birds have dramatically decreased the cabbage moth population this year as well as the potato beetle population.

The garden is usually aflutter with hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.  The flowers all seem to draw them to this space which greatly benefits the vegetables.

I grow three to four heirloom varieties of calendula each year.  I dry the flowers to use for my homemade creams and balms later in the season.  The orange of the calendula looks particularly nice against the vibrant purple of the verbena bonariensis.  

A four toothed mason wasp on the verbena bonariensis.  Flowers in the garden attract beneficial insects that keep the non-beneficial insect population down.  These mason wasps feed on caterpillars.

The kale patch is very lush this year and has not been bothered by the usual damage from cabbage moths.  I think this is due to the heavy bird population that surrounds the garden as well as the chamomile and hyssop that I have planted nearby to discourage the pest.

A border of hyssop attracts pollinators such as bees and discourages pest such as the cabbage moth.

All varieties of bees seem to love hyssop.

Nicotiana not only scents the evening garden, but repels cabbage moths and other pests.   I let it self sow throughout my garden in spots where it can grow as large as it wants to.  Sometimes this variety reaches as much as 5 feet tall.

Zucchini grows well next to the hyssop.  For the most part the squash beetles have kept away this year.  I picked a few earlier in the spring, but the number was minimal and now they are not around.  

Blue Curled Scotch kale and purple cabbage.  This combination makes a wonderful slaw when sliced very thin and combined with carrots, shallots, and an apple cider vinegar dressing.  A border of nepeta (catmint) borders the cabbage and seems to keep the cabbage moths to a minimum.  I picked a few worms off in the spring, but eventually they stopped and my cabbage did very well.

I grew two different varieties of cabbage this year.  One is a common purple variety and the other is a French heirloom, Bacalan De Rennes, from 1867.  I found the French variety to be much slower to mature and not as easy to start from seed.

A lush row of oriole orange chard.  My chickens love a few leaves in the morning.

Zebrina hollyhock (a true malva) self sows throughout the garden.  It looks very pretty with the verbena bonariensis.  It attracts bees and butterflies.

I allow Lollo Rossa lettuce to go to seed.  Not only is it beautiful, but I can collect the seeds for next year .

My vegetable garden has phlox, cosmos, verbena bonariensis and roses planted along the border to attract bees and butterflies...as well as hummingbirds.  Note the angel trumpet in the foreground;  it scents the nighttime garden with a beautiful perfume.

A ladybug on the apple mint.  Apple mint is a favorite of bees.

I have various cutting flowers in my vegetable garden such as these Pink Senorita Zinnias.

A harvest of zucchini, yellow squash, garlic, purple podded pole beans, and St. Valery carrots from the garden this week.