Remember our June garden update?
Our 'Persimmon' tomatoes in June
Despite the fact it is now mid-August, thanks to unseasonably cold weather, not much has really changed in the garden over the last six weeks. As Jackie, just down the coast from us pointed out in her recent post, the weather along the central California coast this summer has not exactly been conducive to ripening tomatoes, or peppers this season.
The majority of our tomatoes, like this Russian 117, are still green
We expected 'Ilini Star' to be red by mid-August
'Persimmon' is still green too
It’s not just Northern California either, even our neighbors to the south have been similarly affected this year.
Although 'Carmen' is a red pepper, it is supposed to still taste good green
Overall production doesn’t seem particularly affected by our dreary summer weather, as the tomato and pepper plants have set ample fruit. They just need a little sunshine to encourage them to ripen.
Many days in July and August saw daily high temperatures below 70 degrees!
That said though, July was warmer in London than here, and somehow, that doesn’t seem quite right, does it? After all, this is California! After our ‘June gloom’ subsides, we’re supposed to be dripping in sunshine during July, and tourists should be crowding the local beaches.
You were more likely to need a sweater at the beach in July, than sunblock...
However, this July if you traveled to our local area beaches, you were more likely to get GOOSEBUMPS than a tan!
In June a young green katydid was seen stalking squash blossoms. She's all grown up now!
There is finally hope though. There was actually a warming trend over this last weekend, and yesterday we managed to break 90 degrees Fahrenheit!  According to the National Weather Service we should experience some warmer, sunnier weather for a while. The coastal fog bank is noticeably thinner, and we’re seeing the sunshine much earlier in the day than we have for weeks.
All through July and early August the tomatoes have been hanging on the vines, patiently waiting in all their green glory for just enough sun to turn color. After only a couple of warm sunny days, the cheeks of the Cherokee Purples and Argentina are now finally starting to turn color.
The Cherokee Purples finally started to turn this weekend
This morning 'Argentina' is showing a lot of promise
Even our cherry tomatoes are far behind this year, including our Salisaw Cafe, and Beam’s Yellow Pear.
We have yet to harvest any Beam's Yellow Pear, but it shouldn't be long now
Of course, not everything has been lagging in the garden.
With all the extra green forage this year, our crop of fawns, including these twins, is coming along nicely.
Friday afternoon's visit from 'the twins' shows they're both doing very well
As we’re now succeeding in keeping the deer out of the gardens, we still have plenty of zucchini…
Despite the cold weather, zucchini 'Raven' continues to produce
The scarlet runner beans are taller, and still blooming, keeping our hummingbirds and bees happy…
The scarlet runner beans continue to bloom, attracting pollinators to the garden
Our winter acorn squash and pumpkins are setting fruit…
The acorn squash is on track
...and so are the pumpkins
We have plenty of basil ready to harvest
Bountiful 'Aroma 2' basil ready for harvest
The sage is looking fabulous too.
Nothing is slowing the sage
We’ve harvested three crops of potatoes, ‘Yukon Gold’, ‘Rose Finn Apple’ and these ‘All Blue’.
'All Blue' potatoes are blue on the outside...
...and on the inside
The ‘Frost’ peach tree produced a small crop this year, which was promptly converted into jam, and the canner has also been kept occupied with pickling beets, both red and gold.
All of our strawberries, ‘Seascape’, ‘Eversweet’, and these ‘San Andreas’Â are setting another flush of fruit too.
Strawberry 'San Andreas'
...this one didn't make it to the kitchen...
So it’s not all bad news in the garden. We still have just over five weeks until the first day of fall, and there’s still plenty of time for a successful, albeit late, tomato harvest. Hopefully, if we continue with this warming trend, our tomatoes will soon start to catch up, and the peppers will ripen. We’ll have to wait and see what our September garden update brings.
Gee, Clare, have you thought about taking a sunlamp out to your vegetable garden? Any Mainer could have told you that zucchini aren’t slowed down at all by cool weather! I’ve been eating fresh Rose Finn potatoes here, too.
Lucky! We have yet to hit 80 here in the East Bay. Between July and August we’ve only gone over 80 deg 5 days.
But we are getting tomatoes. My peppers are NOT hot! I’m totally bummed about that. I pulled a jalapeno off and popped it in my mouth. It was almost sweeter than a bell and had zero heat. Boooo.
I hadn’t thought about our hot peppers. Our jalapeños aren’t exactly happy right now, but like yours, they probably taste like green bells. Who knows about our Villanchos! They both preferred the weather last year. 😛
I got peppers in San Diego but zip for tomatoes. It’s been a truly crummy garden year here.
Hi Clare, I notice we are in each others gardens at about the same time… lol … your comment came in while I was here writing this. We both have adorable fauns too… not sure about you but my deer are so kind to me… they eat so little of my gardens… it is the rabbits that do the damage. What a harvest you have there … funny how we have had so much sun and heat this year while you all are so cool with more rain. Your strawberry shots makes my mouth water. Yummy!
You’re lucky to have kind deer Carol, ours eat almost anything that can’t run away. The rosemary is safe, but not much else!
I hear you… I’m sick of gardening in winter clothes, shoes and gloves! Ug.
All is beautiful in your garden/life (including the dear/deer twins). Promise I won’t hit comment more than once (at hubby’s computer for last comment that burped and didn’t register until I saw multiple comments .. so sorry). Love that you focused on 5 weeks until fall. I’m beside you, Clare, enjoying the gifts that August brings.
Focusing on 5 weeks until fall was my personal reality check! It’s time for fall planting, and I’m already running behind! 😀
Looks like you have plenty to eat, but I understand focusing on the have-not of tomatoes instead of all the haves. I miss tomatoes most this summer without my garden. I guess the crop wouldn’t have been so great even if I did though. You do have a huge batch of beautiful basil that is crying out to be made into pesto though. Yum.
I think our vegetable garden revolves around the tomatoes, that’s why their relative absence this year has been so noticeable. That we have heaps of basil, and scant few tomatoes, just doesn’t seem right! I hope you can find somewhere to try a tomato plant or two next year, even if it’s just in a pot.
Let’s hope the heat these days will help your tomatoes move along, it is so depressing to see them just stalled.
I am finding though that the tomato plants are weaker this year against their usual attackers like the tomato russet mite. It seems to me that the cool weather is also affecting the overall health of the plants, not just the ripening.
The rest of your garden is giving you a gorgeous abundance of food. Good for you!
We have seen a little tomato russet mite here, but thus far, not really worse than years prior. Our plants seem quite vigorous, also flower set has certainly dropped off in recent weeks.
Hey CV,
Ouch, and to think I have ripe tomatoes over here in merry old England……… And our weather’s been poor for the past month too! It’s just now picking up to the mid twenty Celsius again.
Who’d have thought?? Ripe toms in the UK but not in California!!!
Oh, I just saw you mentioned it was warmer in London… Well I’m 200 miles north of London and generally we have a 1 or 2 degree difference, sometimes up to 4 and 5.
Wow, that’s a huge Strawberry you have there!
Do you sell some of your crop, you seem to have a lot!
Actually, last time we were in England, around Easter that year, the weather was warmer and sunnier than here. The only day it rained was Easter Sunday, and only drizzle at that!
We’re not selling yet, just sharing some with friends, but getting organized for some private sales next year when the rest of the garden construction is complete 🙂
Dear Clare, What very strange weather we all seem to be having this year. Too hot for some and too cold for others. Is anyone gardening in perfect conditions?
Nevertheless, you have the most wonderful bounty of produce and so many interesting varieties.
I agree, I think the weather is quite imperfect in most areas this year. Although sometimes I wonder what a ‘normal’ year is…not sure I’ve seen one of those for a while. 😛
Yes, the weathermen have threatened us with summer down here in the inland empire, as well. I don’t believe them.
This can all only mean one thing, of course. 107 F on Thanksgiving Day. I’m just saying. Mark your calendars.
Calendar is marked! 😛 I’ll probably jinx the weather by planting my spinach too early, as the weather is so cool now. That’ll guarantee a late-season heat wave!
Yes Clare it’s been warmer here all right but I’ll swap you for all that CV produce that is still ripening – oh and please thrown in the fawns too!
Laura
We have some extra fawns to spare…an extra rooster too! 😛
Mmmm… Thanks for posting all the names with the lovely pics of the tomatoes – I haven’t heard of any but the cherokees, and now have new seeds to search out for next season. Hope you get good ripening weather soon!
Zoe, if you haven’t been there, you can get lost for hours wandering around here:
http://tatianastomatobase.com/
Although I like the organization of TomatoFest’s seed store a little better:
http://www.tomatofest.com/heirloom_tomato_seed_store.html
It’s becoming quite a daunting, although fun, task choosing new varieties each year…there are so many!
Oh my, so many beautiful fruits and veggies. Those strawberries look delicious! We can’t grow those in summer here, but they make a fine winter crop. I always thought California was sunshiny and warm like Florida. Can’t believe those summer temps you had! Crazy.
Love the bumblebee photo! :*)
Our strawberries have done much better this summer than last. One good thing about a cooler summer! 🙂
Your neighbors to the north are PRAYING for reddening tomatoes… so cool and damp up here this year, just as you describe. But, it was a wonderful year for peas, kale, lettuce and kohlrabi. And the sunflowers stood to remind us of the bright light above, even though we have not seen much of it. So glad you liked that burgundy-centered one! I got the “dwarf mix” package from Baker Creek Seeds for those, and they have done well. Great variety of sunflower colors and forms. Cheers!!
Your harvest looks fabulous, even if the tomatoes are a bit late ripening. The problem with our tomatoes is too much heat! But yesterday I actually felt a cool breeze, though only for a few moments in the shade. But that breeze says September is on the way. Our garden should renew itself when milder temps arrive.
My first year with a vegetable garden, and it’s a freaky one. I leave it to you to decide if I mean the year or the garden.
I wonder…could you give any advice on what you plant in your “winter” garden, and when you start the seeds? I’m having such a time translating my East Coast gardening skills to the West Coast.
Lisa, I should probably do a fall-planting post, but for now this is a very rough guide for planting in our area.
August-September
Beets (Transplants)
Broccoli (Trans)
Cabbage (Trans)
Carrots (Direct Sow)
Cauliflower (Trans)
Kale (Trans)
Lettuce (Trans) Year around in mild winters
Parsnip (Direct Sow)
Mid-August-Oct
Onion (Seeds, NOT sets) Usually by end of Sept
Peas (Direct Sow)
Radish (Direct Sow) some varieties year around
Spinach (Trans) bolt resistant varieties before Sept.
Swiss Chard (Trans)
Tatsoi (Trans)
Mid-October-November
Garlic (Sets) Softneck varieties
Planting times may be a few weeks earlier if you’re somewhere that is fogged in often (like SF), or stretched later into October if somewhere sunnier.
The trouble with some crops that bolt during late-season heat waves, like some spinach, and head lettuces, is if we get weird warm weather in late Oct, or early Nov, the crop may bolt before it’s ready. I find it’s best to plant bolt-resistant varieties, especially of greens, including lettuce and spinach for fall planting in the Bay Area. I’ll plant loose leaf lettuce earlier than head lettuces, that are more prone to bolting, for example.
We grow our own transplants, and start most of our veg in advance of planting out. Carrots and parsnip however don’t do well when transplanted so they are always direct sown where they’ll grow.
Potentially frost tender crops like lettuce can often over-winter here during a mild winter, especially under row cover on cold nights.
As you can tell, the next few weeks are going to busy around here! 😛
Here I am in Florida just waiting for some cool weather so I can plant my fall garden, and you need a little warmth. If I could I’d gladly send you some. But your veggies look terrific. I think next year I should plant some of those blue potatoes. I planted potatoes for the first time this year and they did okay, but I think I planted them a little late, they didn’t like the heat. But there’s always next year. 🙂
If those veggies are still bad news for you, I don’t know what good news is. You have lots of veggies to harvest despite the cold weather and the deers at the side. Congratulations, you had passed the test of perseverance for a gardener.
Bad news? That is not bad at all compare to my garden. My tomatoes have blossom end rot and even I gave them calcium tablet nothings have changed. My cabbage plant has eaten by cabbage worms and I can’t take to eat it so I just plant some new cabbage plant while my flowers are still surviving the changing weathers these days. I just hope that my garden will be more successful the next month.
Great looking tomatoes you got there. I am just really curious because my tomatoes are starting to go yellow even the leaves are turning yellow. But my peppers are all doing great just like yours. Oh. by the way, I love the strawberries. May I just ask, do strawberries have high tolerance from heat? Because I mgiht be growing strawberries soon. Just going to try it out if it will turn out great.