• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Greedy Vegan

Indulge in delicious, vegan food!

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
      • Bread & Buns
      • Bread Spreads
      • Breakfast Smoothies
      • Energy Bars & Balls
      • Muffins & Sweet Bread
      • Oats
    • Main Dishes
      • Pasta Dishes
      • Pizza
      • Rice Dishes
      • Casserole, Pies & Tartes
      • Crepes, Sandwiches & Wraps
      • Soups & Stews
      • Pancakes & Waffles
    • Sides & Appetizers
      • Vegetables
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Bread & Buns
      • Rice & Grain
    • Desserts & Sweets
      • Frozen Desserts
      • Mousse & Puddings
      • Pancakes & Waffles
      • Cakes, Pies & Tarts
      • Cookies & Cupcakes
      • No-Bake Cakes & Bars
    • Beverages
      • Smoothies
      • Juices & Lemonades
      • Mocktails
      • Tea & Coffee
      • Vegan Milk
    • Condiments
      • Dips & Sauces
      • Hummus
      • Pastes & Pestos
      • Pickled & Fermented
      • Oils & Vinegars
      • Seasonings
  • Home & Garden
    • Kitchen How-To’s
    • Garden How-To’s
    • DIY’s
  • Shop
    • Kitchen Must-Haves
    • Pantry Essentials
    • Photography
  • About
    • About The Greedy Vegan
    • Features
    • Working with The Greedy Vegan
    • FAQ
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Home & Garden / Garden How-To's / Late Summer Garden Update

Late Summer Garden Update

July 27, 2015 By Gloria 2 Comments

Pin7
Reddit
Yum
Share
Share
Share5
Tweet
Email
WhatsApp
12 Shares
Please note that this post contains affiliate links of products that I love and use. This rewards me with a small commission if you choose to buy through the links and none of this will cost you anything – but it does help me pay the bills and deliver you quality content. – Love, Gloria.

The summer is in full bloom in our garden so I thought I’d write an update and post a few pictures to share what is going on in our little garden these days.

The end of July and start of August is always a bit of a tricky time in our garden, we did not have a proper shower of rain through most of July until a couple of days ago when it poured down. As we are situated on chalky, fast draining soil this means that things have suffered a bit. We do not like to water our garden too much as it is a waste of water in general, so we were very happy when the skies suddenly opened.

Another problem at this time of year is that much of the early spring flowers and vegetables are starting to fade. The vibrant colours we had early in the summer are now gone and we’ve been planning hard to avoid the bleak august we had last year. We have managed to create a blooming oasis this year by planting a lot of dahlias and lilies which are really getting into their stride right now. Here’s how we make sure our late summer garden stays crisp and colourful on top of feeding us.

Late Summer Garden Update

The dahlias in particular have been a lovely project as we harvested the seeds from our 3 plants last year and sowed them in February.

Late Summer Garden Update

Some of the colours and varieties we got out of the seeds are rather amazing, I think we might even have one that is totally unique to our garden!

Late Summer Garden Update

My favourite ones are the dark purple, red and pink hued ones this year. I wonder what the seeds of these will turn into next year. I will make sure to collect some of them.

Late Summer Garden Update

On the vegetable front our zucchini, marrows and pumpkins are growing what feels like 20 cm a night, we cannot eat them fast enough before they get too large so we donate some to our neighbours. I will be posting about zucchini fritters and quick zucchini pickles in the coming days which is a great way to use your zucchinis if you have the same problem as I do.

Late Summer Garden Update

The lavender and buddleja are full of bees and bumblebees and we’ve found another bumblebee hive just outside our garden.

Late Summer Garden Update

We’re positively thrilled that we are doing our bit in ensuring that the pollinators have enough food to be happy. I wrote a post here about how you can do the same, it is very simple really. The lavender in particular gives us a lot of joy as it smells wonderful and we use it to get some of that lovely fragrance into our rooms and closets.

Late Summer Garden Update

Our onions are almost ready to be harvested – as you can see they are getting quite large and I can’t wait to make my onion pies out of them in the fall. Our leafy kale and collard are doing better again after we had some sort of small beetle attack early in July, we found that shaking the plants well a couple of times a day really does the world of difference. We also attached an eco friendly glue band around each stem to avoid the beetles climbing up to the plants again.

Late Summer Garden Update

Some of the more exotic plants in our garden are really enjoying the summer. Our yacon is getting so large that it is covering up our compost bin (yay!) and our papaya and lemon both have large fruits that are getting closer and closer to harvest time.

Late Summer Garden Update

The cucamelon (yeah, you heard that right) is turning out to be a fiesty little plant which is much harder than it’s cousin the cucumber. I have yet to harvest my first fruit – but I was told that it tastes like a mix between lime and cucumber. I’ll make a new post on this when I have a quantity worth cooking with.

The tomatos have totally taken over this year, they are turning the right side of our patio into a jungle. I think we might get something close to 10 kg of tomatoes in total from only 4 bushes – all blight resistant types that should hopefully survive any attack.

Late Summer Garden Update

As for moving ahead we have sown Asian varieties of kale, mizuna, bak choi and collard greens as they love the humid, warm temperatures of autumn and won’t bolt like most Western varieties of greens in autumn. The mizuna in particular is one of my favourites – it tastes like a mix between mustard and rucola.  

Related

Pin7
Reddit
Yum
Share
Share
Share5
Tweet
Email
WhatsApp
12 Shares

Filed Under: Garden How-To's, Home & Garden

Previous Post: « Beetroot Hummus
Next Post: How to Grow Cacti & How to Get a Cactus to Flower »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren says

    January 17, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    hi gloria, after reading this post last summer i planted 3 collard plants in my garden. right now they are large and seem to be even better tasting as theyve had some frost hit them lately. i live close to derby in england and i cant tell u how nicely this veg grows all year round for me. i was wondering if u are going to use it in a recipe or two soon as my family seem to be tired of me just steaming this one with garlic and olive oil. i was thinking of using it as a salad substitute but i am not so adventerous in my cooking – id really like ur input. thank u and keep up ur great work!

    Reply
    • Gloria says

      January 28, 2016 at 11:24 pm

      How wonderful to hear that, I am so glad you shared how well it is growing for you. Yes, I am planning to post recipes with collard soon. I had very hectic weeks end of last year but it all settled down and I will be back to blogging starting next month. =)

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar




Popular Posts

Watermelon Lemonade Without Added SugarWatermelon Lemonade Without Added Sugar
How to Freeze AvocadosHow to Freeze Avocados
Perfect Crispy Sweet Potato FriesPerfect Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
Carrot Soup with Ginger and TurmericCarrot Soup with Ginger and Turmeric
Grilled Zucchini Ribbons with Sriracha MarinadeGrilled Zucchini Ribbons with Sriracha Marinade
Peanut Butter and Jelly SmoothiePeanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie
How to Pick ElderberriesHow to Pick Elderberries
How to Grow Succulents From SeedHow to Grow Succulents From Seed

Also on the Blog

Avocado Mayonnaise with Roasted Garlic

Parsley Cashew Pesto

Wild Garlic Salt

Strawberry and Watermelon Ice Pops

Footer

Connect

Welcome to The Greedy Vegan! This is a vegan food blog with a focus on delicious recipes made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. I try to use as much local and in season produce as possible while at the same time proving that vegan cooking is exciting. Read More…

More from the Blog

As seen on

 

Copyright © 2023 The Greedy Vegan™

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT