beans. good for the heart.

Today was 68 degrees and sunny.  Perfect.
California perfect.
I spent the first half of the day in the garden, cleaning things up, getting ready for fall veggies.  Spinach, lettuce, arugula do well in cooler weather.  I'm trying onions this year.  From seed.  We'll see how it goes.  One of the things I like about gardening is the experimentation.  One of the things I don't like about gardening is the  unpredictability.   Go figure.

I cleaned up my Snap Pea vines.  All of the vines were pretty much dead anyway. This is the one and only crop.  The drought this summer really did them in.  They've suffered throughout the month of August.  Once school started back I just didn't have the time for watering.  I'm going to set up a soaker hose this fall.  Hopefully that will help with the watering.  A good garden watering takes at least an hour.  Most evenings, there is just too much to do ( and I'm exhausted) and I can't get out there.

I cleaned up the pumpkin vines also.  I never got more than the first 3.  The squash bugs, the heat, the drought just took its toll on the vines.  The squash bugs suck all the juices out of the vine's stalks and leaves; pair that with the drought and there was no hope.

I wasn't able to kill the bugs.  By the time I discovered what they were it was too late.  I don't want to use poisonous insecticides in my garden because of our pets but also because I want my vegetables to be organically grown.  Next year, I'll know what I'm looking for so I can get control of them in the beginning.  Live and learn.