Community Garden: Logan County Free Fair coming in September

The rain has come and gone and with it came the wind and thunder and lightning.  Now comes the heat for a week along with the humidity and then a chance of more rain next week.  Make sure you are ready. 

There has been a lot of mowing and eating of weeds at the garden all week long.  Thanks to a local business here in Guthrie there has been a lot of wood shavings added to the beds.  We will put more in as time allows. 

The tomatoes just don’t know whether to produce or not produce and the confusion tends to lead to less productivity.  These kinds of years make large gardens do well and smaller ones become a challenge.  But that is why you have a garden.  Just for the challenge!  Yeah right! 

Your spouse probably talked you into doing the garden because they know how much work is involved and this is their way of getting even for something you have done.  So the next time you eat some canned vegetables in the middle of winter and you think how they came from your garden you just make it a point to grow twice as much next year.  You grow it and your spouse cans it.  Fair is fair!  Right?  Everyone wins. 

Remember to be ready for the Logan County Free Fair at the end of the first week in September.  There are a few new things going on out there that the OSU Extension staff has arranged for everyone to enjoy.  Get out there and have a good time and enjoy all the animals.   But don’t forget all the displays and the pie and cake contest.  Bake it, enter it, and then let the fair sell it to raise some money.  If the price holds it will cost you a single dollar to sample the desserts after the winners are announced. 

Time is fast approaching for you to plant your fall garden.  Do you have your seeds?  Time to get down to the store and buy some if you didn’t save any from what you have already grown.  This is really like a second summer garden so you can have a lot of fresh vegetables on new plants that will be stronger and less stressed out.  It may seem like a small break as the new plants grow and take over but then you have to start harvesting and then planting some things for the winter. 

The long-range forecasts for the winter, from all the different sources, all say the same thing.  NO ONE KNOWS what the winter is going to be like.  Some say colder and some say warmer so break out the shorts and parkas so you can be prepared to work in the garden.  No matter what happens it looks like it will be a really good fall and winter for a garden.  The only concern is that you may not get a break before the next summer garden is due to be planted.