In My Garden, Mid-October

It is the time of transition to the cool season garden with a second crop of apples, broccoli and cauliflower transplants and seeds nestled into the warm soil.

The espaliered ‘Dorsett Golden’ apple tree is laden with apples, even after a heavy thinning earlier. This is after a 25 pound crop in late May. It may help that the tree is located near the compost bins.

Nearby are the heirloom Golden Sweet Yellow Snow Peas which I’ve grown in my garden from saved seed for over 25 years. Though hard to find until recently, Johnny’s and Baker Creek now offer them. See photos of the lovely bicolor purple flowers and the yellow snow peas in my earlier blog post.

Likewise, the bicolor sweet peas begin their trek toward the trellis and floral abundance in a few months.

Here’s a bed of sixteen seed-grown cauliflower plants—purple and white cauliflower and romanesco. They are intensively planted 12 inches apart in soil heavily amended with compost. Bird netting slows down the cabbage moths.

With temperatures in the 80’s this week, my lettuce seedling are growing nicely, protected under 40% knitted shade cloth. Learn more about the shade cloth which has protected my brassica transplants in Garden Hacks—5

I’ve let a little patch of volunteer ‘Red Streaks’ mustard greens continue on until I’m ready to plant lettuce there.

This volunteer yellow cherry tomato described in A Garden Surprise is setting fruit.

The butternut squash finishes the season, soon to make room for scallions and radishes.

Beet seeds planted in a grid are just starting to emerge. The overturned garden trays shade the soil and soften the spray of water.

And geranium ‘Rozanne’ greets me with the lovely blue flowers as I enter the vegetable garden.