I'm not sure what to make of this. The deer have found my garden, but don't seem to be eating it as much as they are trampling it. It looks as if they are practicing the two-step throughout the tomatoes. Yes, they are munching on the tops of the plants, but if that were all they did, we could live happily together. But when I come out in the morning to find the limbs on my plants broken and the green fruit snapped off its vine, I am not a happy co-habiter.
I have resigned myself to the fact that there isn't much to be done. We are so close to the end of the growing season here that building a deer fence would be silly. And while they seem to snack on the carrot and beet tops, they aren't touching any other plants. I'm kindof surprised that they haven't been eating the corn as I know my goats would be happy to lay waste to the corn rows if given half a chance.
In addition to deer issues, the moles have been systematically attacking my potato plants. Again, if I could modify their behavior, we might be able to live together. But rather than eat all of the potatoes off of a single plant and then moving to the next, I find that the moles like to taste each and every potato on several plants. While I might be willing to simply cut the gnawed sections off and still eat the potatoes, I certainly cannot sell partially eaten potatoes to my customers. Thus, I am left with dozens of wasted potatoes scattered throughout the rows. My only consolation is that they will likely grown new potatoes for me next year (after we till them under). Of course, I hadn't planned to keep the potatoes in the same spot so this might not be a benefit.
The corn is doing wonderfully. We have enjoyed many dinners with corn on the cob. The cobs are only about 8 inches long and not nearly as wide as the store bought varieties, but they are so sweet you easily forgive their size. We have lots and lots of ears growing. I hope to let them all grow until the first hard frost, then pick them all and process them for the freezer. Until then, we pick them as we eat them. Yum.
The squash is doing pretty well. We have had a fair amount of zucchini and crookneck. There are two acorn squash that I have seen on one plant, and a single delicata plant is doing its darnedest to give a bushel of its winter sweetness. There are probably a half dozen squash on this one plant.
The cucumbers didn't ever do well. They died in the first frost of the season - one that didn't hurt the tomatoes, but killed some of the smaller squash. So no more cucumbers. I think we got a total of four from the whole lot.
The beets are still small. I think they just don't grow as well in the heat. The first batch (early in May and June) were great. These last ones still have a wonderful flavor, but they are smaller than a golf ball and hardly anything is left after you peel them.
The carrots are doing well...those that aren't "topped" by our resident vegetarians (rabbits and deer). Some of them are actually 8-10 inches long. And they have a very nice flavor. I think I will plant this same variety again next year.
The onions are struggling against what I can only guess to be "neck rot." Several of the onions are rotting right at the neckline. When I pull the onion, sometimes the rot has travelled down the layers through the entire bulb. If I remove the rotted layer, the rest of the onion is wonderful. But it isn't the easiest thing to do, and often it leaves a smaller onion than I would like to sell. It seems random as to which onions have this rot and which don't. I have many that are growing just fine. And while they are yellow onions, they are so sweet...almost as sweet as a Walla Walla.
The beans are climbing the trellis. I think we may end up with a few beans. I planted them so late, I am surprised to see anything from them. Next year I will be better about getting them in the ground early. I also think I will plant both pole and bush beans. I have been told that the bush varieties tend to have a shorter time to harvest...that is a good thing where we live.
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