We got a little rain yesterday! Did you get some too? That was a nice treat for our parched yard. Like I’ve mentioned before, it’s just so unbelievably DRY outside. I even heard on the news last night that there is hope for two more little rainstorms to come by soon. Please do, we need it. Any little bit. It’s hard on the soul to watch so many growing things die due to lack of water. We try to water just enough to keep things alive, but in some cases, it’s just not enough.



In other news, our basil has been going insane this year. For our family, 2014 will be the year of the basil. Pesto anyone? We’ve got a ton of cubes frozen and our plants are still going gang busters. The tomatoes are begining their steady decline in production, but all in all, it was also a great tomato year. We grew mostly San Marzanos and Consoluto Fiorentinos along with a couple of slicing tomatoes. Shockingly there was little to no blossom end rot on the San Marzanos, which as you tomato growers know, makes for a great tomato growing year! Scott’s put up thirty-three quarts of sauce. Not too shabby. Enough for 1 quart per week for winter dinners with a few left over to give as gifts.


Did I tell you I started some flower seeds back in August? I actually planted them twice in August. The first time I planted them, I put the little pots in direct sunlight, which seemed like a good idea, but nothing came up. Not one tiny little seedling. So I replanted a few weeks later and brought them into my trusty seed starting spot. In the garage, on the washing machine in front of a south facing window. Instant success! Now these little guys live outside. I’m debating planting out the hollyhocks and poppies before the winter begins versus keeping them in pots for spring planting. Any suggestions?

These nasturtiums I planted August 1st and hopefully we’ll see some blooms before it gets frosty. The bird bath they sit under has been a very popular place this summer. I make sure to keep it full every morning and the birds seem most grateful.

If you follow us on Facebook, you’ll know that we spent Saturday childless and at the nursery filling up our van full of fruit trees. Four apples (1 gravenstein, 1 red gravenstein, 1 arkansaw black & 1 sundowner) plus 2 O’Henry peach trees. Last winter was hard on our fruit trees, between the drought and the long, freezing cold weather they didn’t look too pleased this spring. Both our gravensteins up and died on us (so very sad!). So we must move forward and plant more.

How are things looking in your autumn garden? Oh, and if you haven’t noticed, A Sonoma Garden has a whole new look to it and a brand new web address! Click through if you’re viewing this on email or in a reader