summertime garden

The tomato plants formed their own jungle biome. But then the pattypan squash plant has come along quite well in the last week and may dominate everything. I have lettuce and arugula on the edge. We will have an increase in temperatures later this week. I am predicting the squash plant will win this battle. The lettuce will most likely wilt.

I have Black Krim, Paul Robeson, Green Zebra and one Brandywine. The Brandywine is the one that struggles each year. The beach environment is just too chilly for Brandywine to flourish. The black Russian tomatoes invariably do well each year (that would be the Krim and Robeson). The green zebra likes it a bit warmer than the black Russians.

Foraging in my garden for lunch

Sometimes, it is just wild arugula and purslane, along with the tomatoes. Oh, yes, and I add mozzarella cheese, all mixed with extra virgin olive oil and a bit of balsamic. This is enough for a small happy lunch.

Hello, summer solstice and fall planting

Cucumber forming

So today is the summer solstice, my second favorite day of the year. Since it marks the day that daylength begins to shorten, I think it is weirdly ironic this also marks the first day of summer. A mystery of life. I rate this the same sort of weird irony involving lettuce, so wonderful in summer salads, but, everyone, it grows so much better in the winter than in the summer, when it bolts merely from looking at it.

Summer solstice is my reminder that it's time to think about starting the fall veggies, here at casa de arugulatoo. Not that I'll get to it right away, but I need to start my list and get my seed starting things in order.

Kale, arugula, mizuna, garlic, broccoli, spinach, and lettuce are definitely on my list.

Radishes and carrots will get sown directly into the ground. I have hope based on no good information that some carrots will survive the onslaught of slug and snail attacks.

Our summers tend to be chilly, foggy and gloomy. No elevated summer temperatures here one block from the beach. In the fall, we often get the warmest days of the year but even then, the evening temps are cooler than the summer. Actually, that works generally well with the fall veggies, warm in the day and cooler at night.

Which brings me to these burning questions: What are your plans for the solstice and what are you planning for your fall garden?

Arugula seedpods maturing

Plump arugula seedpods maturing.
Family Brassicaceae, Eruca sativa

Five reasons why I love arugula

1. They grow where I sow them, any nook or cranny placed in square foot sized plots, my only homage to square foot gardening. I prepare the soil by adding a little organic fertilizer and then water. After I throw seeds across the top of the soil, I mulch with dry alfalfa and then water.

2. They germinate quickly, within two weeks at the most.

3.I don't know how they do it but they somehow resist the bazillions of slugs in my garden who lie in wait for anything to consume. I think arugula isn't one of their favorite meals, thank goodness.

4. I love to thin them, precisely because they end up as my lunch.

5. If I miss any for lunch, I'm very happy to have a few plants go to seed so that I can collect more seeds.

Family Brassiceae, Eruca sativa

It's your closeup!

Arugula flower up close. This plant stands nearly 5 feet tall. I share its seeds: it also feeds the local perching birds that come through the area. There's plenty for all.
Family Brassicaceae, Eruca sativa

Time for an arugula salad lunch

Lunch for today is freshly picked arugula salad. Included are leftovers of thinned plantings of other seedlings, mostly brassicas. I add goat cheese and cranberries along with my favorite dressing of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Family Brassicaceae, Eruca sativa

With arugula going to seed

I'm very happy to let a few of my plants go to seed. Arugula, in particular, is an easy plant from which to harvest seeds for future salads. Here's a clump of arugula blooming. I hope to gather some seeds in a few weeks. If I can remember, I try to throw out a few patches of arugula seeds every few weeks to keep arugula growing in my garden.
Family: Brassicaceae, Eruca sativa