It’s Cold Y’all…
I feel like one day last week we got rain and that rain was like flipping a pancake in the weather: it became noticeably cooler after that. It was consistently in the 70’s, then it immediately dropped into the 60’s and below. Well, at least the cool flowers went in on time.
The weather isn’t so much a problem for my other crops either. The sunflowers are well established. I have 3 more successions. So bouquets for 3 more weeks - that takes me to the end of October. And I’m really happy with that.
This week I put in some stuff just for pleasure really. I cleared some of the older beds that I knew I wouldn’t be planting in again and put in some seedlings I started a couple weeks ago. I had done a ba-gillion cuttings from Cosmos - I don’t know if they’ll bloom but it’s worth a shot. 99% of them took. (Cosmos are so easy to propagate)
And I put in some branching sunflowers. These are just for my eyes so the farm will have beauty even as the crops disappear. The spacing is purely decorative.
At this point all my neighbors’ plots have let loose - and the gardeners have let them loose lol. We signed a contract saying that we’d keep our plot tidy and we all did that for most of the season. But now I think everyone’s tired and they’re just letting the garden have it. Mine still has some semblance of neatness because of the rows and the weed whacking lol. I did have a gripe about one thing though: the gardeners are supposed to keep the pathways by their plot weeded and tidy - but that didn’t happen. It was a jungle and all the stuff they didn’t want on their plot went there. It wasn’t a problem for them of course. But for me who had to navigate that mess with buckets of water (I’m the furthest from the tanks) it was (mind explosion emoji here*)!
Nevertheless, I can’t complain about my plot-mates. They’ve been cool. And I’ve made some friends. There’s this sweet older gentleman next to me called Tom- he’s been fun. He knows what he’s doing and he’s organized. And! The first people I met were an older couple on the other end of the lot. They’re super friendly and very sweet. (Now this will make sense later but: I love the Spanish language and Hispanic culture - always have - and I speak Spanish. Me falta la práctica, pero, sí puedo). The first time I met the husband he told me his wife was Argentinian. (He’s a tall, lanky white guy) And I was excited because I thought I could practice with her. So he asked: how did you become interested in Spanish? I told him. And I asked if he spoke any… He said he was actually a Spanish professor at the nearby college LOL and then he started talking to me in beautiful Spanish. LOL You can never, ever, tell who people are by looking at them.
Anyway, back to the present.
This week I finally pulled out a bed of zinnias that I should’ve pulled out ages ago. They were downy mildew headquarters. But I held onto them because I didn’t plant enough successions. I’ll know better next year. And they didn’t produce well anyway. My second succession of zinnias got downy mildew immediately and, although they’re Benary’s Giant, they’re tiny. So zinnias are an absolute do-over for next year.
Fun fact, 2 tomato plants that I neglected and did not prune at all (one I didn’t even plant), have flourished - who knew?
And! As I learned lately, the reason my cosmos haven’t bloomed all summer is because the Sensation Mix doesn’t bloom till fall. (Note to self: buy different varieties for next year) But in spite of my ruthless cutting them all season for greenery, I actually saw some buds this week! Eeeeeeeeee! I love Cosmos. They are so beautiful. And if I only get 2 flowers before the season ends I’ll be happy lol
Anyway, that’s mostly what’s happening on the farm atm. What’s going on with you guys? What zone are you in? How cold are you? Share with me over on FB or IG at lovelyrainflowerfarmmd. See you soon!
Toodles,
Kerri.
