Second Plantings

It is early August, the time of second plantings here. With the mild autumn coastal weather, the first frosts come any time between mid-October and mid-November, with the first hard freeze not usually arriving until Thanksgiving. This means that cool-season vegetables can be planted again now and harvested in the months of October and November: lettuce and other greens, as well as broccoli and other members of the cabbage family, peas, and spinach and chard. I'm a little late starting it, because I'm still harvesting lettuce and greens from the spring plantings, along with beets, potatoes, cabbage, onions, and early tomatoes. The rabbit has gotten most of the snap beans and has eaten the top leaves of the edamame, part of which I covered and hope to bring to harvest.

I was able to find some buckwheat seed after all, and so I planted it as a cover crop where the peas grew. This stony part of the garden has many weed seeds that come up annually, but growing buckwheat now should smother them for at least next year. I intend to plant some oats and clover in another garden as a cover crop later this month.

This morning I heard the song of a phoebe, unusual at this time of the year. In the spring they are usually around, and often they have built nests near the house; but this year was notable for their absence. This morning's appearance was surprising. On the other hand, the song of the barred owl has been startling near the house on many nights this month.

Rain go away

After the three-week dry spell, the last couple of weeks have brought mostly rain, and kept me out of the garden for the most part except to harvest greens, beets, and broccoli for meals. Today I ate the first ripe tomato, a Sungold, a cherry tomato which is a perennial favorite for flavor. A rabbit has been into the garden as a result of the dry spell stress, feeding on some bean leaves and beans, rather daintily. I could find no spaces in the fence where the rabbit could get through, but no doubt the rabbit is better at that than I. To discourage the rabbit I've moved some scarecrows around, and covered a couple of rows of the soybeans with agribon. After the week of rain it seems the rabbit has gone elsewhere for food. On the few partly sunny days I rototilled where the peas had been, and after the waste decomposes in the soil I will plant oats (could not get any buckwheat, and what I do have is too old) there and also between the dry bean rows. After that I will change over the rototiller for the sickle bar and get started mowing the fields. The apples are beginning to change color, making it possible to see them in the trees; it is an above-average year still for apples. The cider from last year is still oaking in the barrel.