Our garden is still going strong, although I know this is the month it will start failing.
The tomatoes are just now really coming in and they go so well with our silver queen corn straight from the garden.
I believe we’ll be able to pick a mess of peas one day next week and hopefully have our first real mess of okra. So far we’ve only got a few pods here and there. I’ve eaten most of them raw.
Our second planting of squash and zucchini have blooms aplenty so we’ll surely have some to eat soon. Our first plantings have died out.
We plan to pull up the peanut beans in the big garden next week and hopefully between them and the beans growing up here we’ll have enough for another canning or two of green beans.
There are several small watermelons growing in the big garden. I’m excited about them and hope they continue to grow and nothing eats them before I do.
It will soon be time to plant our fall garden. I’m going to try to limit myself to mustard greens, kale, and turnips. Matt’s already teasing me that he knows I won’t be able to restrain myself to just those things, but I’m going to try.
In typical gardener fashion, we’ve already started talking about what we want to do in next year’s garden.
Here’s the best planting days for August 2026.
Taurus: good for all root crops and above ground crops 4, 5, 6.
Cancer: best for planting above ground and root crops 9, 10.
Scorpio: best for flowers and above ground crops 17, 18, 19.
Pisces: good for planting and transplanting above ground crops, trees and shrubbery 1, 27, 28.
Last night’s video: A Great Influence – Aunt Arie 17.
Tipper
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I thought my cucumbers and squash were winding down at the beginning of this week. Turns out they were just catching their breath. We got enough cucumbers to do another batch of pickles and we’ve started giving away squash. Our tomatoes have just started to turn so we’ll be starting to make juice soon, I hope. Considering how dry we’ve been, we’re blessed.
Most of the gardens around here are done for except for okra and a few other things. I have been eating Ambrosia cantaloupes this week grown by my sweet potato friend. Ever bite is like eating sugar they are so sweet. His watermelons should soon be coming in. The old timers of the past thought you had to plant your “greens” on August 15th if you wanted to have turnips, ok to plant later if you only wanted the greens. Instead of calling the greens “mustard greens” they would be called “sallet.” We have turned off dry again and have missed out on the rain others have been getting, we have also been blessed by missing the bad storms too. The forecast calls for a pretty fare chance of rain starting today and the next several days. This year I have came to realize I am no longer able to have a garden except for a couple of tomato plants. Between arthritis, deer and not enough rain, I have decided to no longer try. I heard a man say this week “enjoy anything you like to do while you can, most likely the day will come when you are no longer able to do it.” This has proven to be true for me. Right now I am laying here with my left hand, ankles and knees stiff and hurting but I think of this as being minor when compared to what many others are going through.