Bone Dry

Yesterday was the traditional day (Labor Day) to plant the fall garden. The soil is so dry in the raised beds, that it is hard to work the dirt. Everything did manage to get in the ground, however. The broccoli and cabbage plants were first on Sunday, and they were well watered in. Then radish and carrots were planted together as filler between the plants, and collards and turnips went into another bed. On Sunday the mustard and kale went into the ground.

It is so dry that the compost had to be watered. Even the spotted cucumber beetles seem to have dried up and gone away. The watermelons and cantaloupes are finished and can be pulled up. The fence can be removed. The okra in the raised beds is still green and producing even though it has all fallen down. The okra planted in the dirt is mostly dead. The stalks on the raised bed okra are over an inch thick. The stalks on the dirt planted are about an inch thick.

The only thing planted in dirt, and still producing, that will stop the fall tilling are the peppers. They are really producing a lot of peppers. The lima beans are still green and growing, but they are so close to the fence that they won’t hamper the tilling.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/