- Watering your vegetable garden
- Adding nutrients during the season
- Pruning tomatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkins
- How do you harvest zucchini?
- Get your vegetable garden ready for the new season
- Perfect vegetable garden and perfect plants?
- Mid-February: can you start sowing now?
- End of May, early June: harvest and add nutrients
- Vacation and your vegetable garden
- July: tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini
- August: sowing for fall
- Early September sowing
- October sowing
- Which vegetables can handle cold weather?
- Get your vegetable garden ready for winter
- White lumps on the roots: good for your plants
- Help the birds this winter
Almost all information about plants has been included with the plants in our free app. So, you don't need to remember it.
View the MM app
- Watering your vegetable garden
- Adding nutrients during the season
- Pruning tomatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkins
- How do you harvest zucchini?
- Get your vegetable garden ready for the new season
- Perfect vegetable garden and perfect plants?
- Mid-February: can you start sowing now?
- End of May, early June: harvest and add nutrients
- Vacation and your vegetable garden
- July: tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini
- August: sowing for fall
- Early September sowing
- October sowing
- Which vegetables can handle cold weather?
- Get your vegetable garden ready for winter
- White lumps on the roots: good for your plants
- Help the birds this winter
Seizoen
Early September: stop sowing or keep going?
"Hey Jelle, what are you doing in the garden now? Or is the season over?"
This question pops up around the end of August. When the garden's all misty and cool, I get it.
But stopping? Already? It's not even fall yet. And before winter sets in you can still do a lot.
It's actually a great time for the garden: the seeds sprout fast and the plants that are already there get an extra burst of energyy. Even the plants you pretty much wrote off.
Come on, I'll take you on a tour of my garden:
This question pops up around the end of August. When the garden's all misty and cool, I get it.
But stopping? Already? It's not even fall yet. And before winter sets in you can still do a lot.
It's actually a great time for the garden: the seeds sprout fast and the plants that are already there get an extra burst of energyy. Even the plants you pretty much wrote off.
Come on, I'll take you on a tour of my garden:
Re-energized plants
A lot of vegetables get an extra burst of energy at this point in the season.
I almost wanted to get rid of the Romano pole beans and bacon beans a few weeks ago, they looked so sad.
But I kept them around, and check them out now:
I almost wanted to get rid of the Romano pole beans and bacon beans a few weeks ago, they looked so sad.
But I kept them around, and check them out now:
Look at those new leaves, shoots, and flowers. What is this, spring?
The butter beans I sowed at the end of July - yeah, I know the app says that's too late, but I tried anyway 😉 - look promising.
The butter beans I sowed at the end of July - yeah, I know the app says that's too late, but I tried anyway 😉 - look promising.
A long, hot summer helps with that. Let's hope it stays mild.
Cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchinis
Summer vegetables keep going strong.
Cucumbers
See, the cucumbers are still in full bloom:
Cucumbers
See, the cucumbers are still in full bloom:
As if we needed more. The fridge is filled with them:
The plant itself will start to look less appealing, but in good weather, new cucumbers can grow for a long time.
Zucchini
Zucchinis just won't stop growing. I have to tie them up every few days as the vine stretches along the trellis.
Zucchini
Zucchinis just won't stop growing. I have to tie them up every few days as the vine stretches along the trellis.
In rainy or cold weather, mildew quickly rears its ugly head. The first signs look like this:
It's a quick fix. Just cut off any leaves with mildew on them. And do it right away: you want to prevent it from spreading.
You can find our tips identifying and treating mildew here.
Sometimes even that's too much of a hassle for me. And in my experience, plants with mildew last a pretty long time. Usually, they keep growing until the real cold sets in.
Tomatoes
These yellomatoes are overflowing from the MM-Mini.
You can find our tips identifying and treating mildew here.
Sometimes even that's too much of a hassle for me. And in my experience, plants with mildew last a pretty long time. Usually, they keep growing until the real cold sets in.
Tomatoes
These yellomatoes are overflowing from the MM-Mini.
And the bush tomatoes look great too:
Every day we harvest tons of super-sweet cherry tomatoes too.
Topping time
If you want as many ripe tomatoes as possible, then it's time to prune the tops. The plant will direct all its energy to ripening the tomatoes that are already there, instead of producing new flowers and fruits.
Topping is easy: just cut the main stem off above the highest bunch of tomatoes:
Topping time
If you want as many ripe tomatoes as possible, then it's time to prune the tops. The plant will direct all its energy to ripening the tomatoes that are already there, instead of producing new flowers and fruits.
Topping is easy: just cut the main stem off above the highest bunch of tomatoes:
But watch out: if you top a tomato plant, it will grow more suckers. Snip or pinch them off as soon as you see them.
Your plants won't be winning any beauty contests anymore, that's for sure.
Your plants won't be winning any beauty contests anymore, that's for sure.
Cut off any sad-looking leaves while you're at it. Don't be shy, the professional growers do it too:
And remove any leaves that block the sun from your tomato fruits.
As long as you leave about 4-5 leaves, the plant will get enough nutrients.
Tomato blight
It rains more this time of year, so I keep a close eye on my tomatoes. Rainy weather increases the chance of tomato or potato disease - Phytophthora infestans.
Read here what it is and what you can do about it.
As soon as I see the first sickly leaf, I immediately remove it. And remove any tomatoes that turn a strange brownish color.
As long as you leave about 4-5 leaves, the plant will get enough nutrients.
Tomato blight
It rains more this time of year, so I keep a close eye on my tomatoes. Rainy weather increases the chance of tomato or potato disease - Phytophthora infestans.
Read here what it is and what you can do about it.
As soon as I see the first sickly leaf, I immediately remove it. And remove any tomatoes that turn a strange brownish color.
Sugar snaps and snow peas
Snow peas and sugar snaps sown in early August will be growing really well now.
Depending on the weather, the first flowers should be out and the snow peas should be popping up soon.
And when they do, make sure you pick them quickly. Because at this time of year, your plants only want one thing: to produce offspring. They produce their seeds - the peas - faster than in the spring.
Depending on the weather, the first flowers should be out and the snow peas should be popping up soon.
And when they do, make sure you pick them quickly. Because at this time of year, your plants only want one thing: to produce offspring. They produce their seeds - the peas - faster than in the spring.
Harvest, harvest, harvest
In the meantime, we're harvesting our fill of cucumbers, tomatoes, and zucchinis. It's almost embarrassing how much the plants produce. That's why we often put some out on the street:
Does everything always go perfectly?
Well, no. It's still nature we're talking about. You've got heat waves - we've had them a couple summers in a row now - and those are tough on the plants. Then a lot of annoying critters show up. Apparently extreme temperatures don't bug them 😛
Saskia is always quick to remove any duds, so I don't have a lot of examples to show you.
Except for this chard that bolted:
Saskia is always quick to remove any duds, so I don't have a lot of examples to show you.
Except for this chard that bolted:
That's pretty weird because chard usually only flowers in its 2nd year.
Dino kale often looks pretty busted around this time. Thanks, butterflies and caterpillars 😉
But you'll see: it'll look beautiful again in the fall. These plants are tough as nails.
Dino kale often looks pretty busted around this time. Thanks, butterflies and caterpillars 😉
But you'll see: it'll look beautiful again in the fall. These plants are tough as nails.
Keep your patches full
The season is far from over. With a bit of luck, you've got another two to three months before it gets really cold.
Don't be too shy about removing some of your plants even if you haven't harvested everything yet.
You can sow again immediately in those empty patches. If most of the plants are ready to harvest, I'll harvest the rest along with them.
Don't be too shy about removing some of your plants even if you haven't harvested everything yet.
You can sow again immediately in those empty patches. If most of the plants are ready to harvest, I'll harvest the rest along with them.
You can sow something new right away. That's how you make the most of your garden box.
Starting in September: What can you still sow right now?
The app shows you exactly what and where to sow.
I even sow Asian salad mix. Not all the varieties in there will grow well now, but the mizuna and the mustard should still come up.
They can handle the cold really well, so I'll leave them to grow for a while. lot. With a bit of luck, I can harvest them all winter. Great for stir-frying 😀
They can handle the cold really well, so I'll leave them to grow for a while. lot. With a bit of luck, I can harvest them all winter. Great for stir-frying 😀
Not up for more gardening?
Once in a while, I get a message from someone who has become so discouraged by the extreme heat, drought, eaten up plants, and other headaches that they just give up.
I can understand that, especially if you've just started. But what looks hopeless now, can turn into something amazing in no time. Nowhere else can you find so much variety and new opportunities as in a garden.
But if you don't feel like it now, that's no problem either. I sometimes neglect my garden boxes too. Even that can be fun.
Just look at these weeds:
I can understand that, especially if you've just started. But what looks hopeless now, can turn into something amazing in no time. Nowhere else can you find so much variety and new opportunities as in a garden.
But if you don't feel like it now, that's no problem either. I sometimes neglect my garden boxes too. Even that can be fun.
Just look at these weeds:
Overgrown garden boxes
Think about it: what if you let your boxes get completely overgrown. So what.
A Planty Garden is easy to get back into shape. Just tear up everything, add some extra nutrients, mix it up and voilá: in an hour your garden is ready for sowing again.
You can even do it now in September, or next spring.
A Planty Garden is easy to get back into shape. Just tear up everything, add some extra nutrients, mix it up and voilá: in an hour your garden is ready for sowing again.
You can even do it now in September, or next spring.
Want to start right now?
That's no problem either. Even if you don't have a lot of space. Just look at our MM-Minis:
What I want to say is: you don't have to do anything, but everything's possible. Just do what you want. That's why you started this adventure, right?
Because what could be better than picking your own homegrown vegetables?
Because what could be better than picking your own homegrown vegetables?
Garden care
- Watering your vegetable garden
- Adding nutrients during the season
- Pruning tomatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkins
- How do you harvest zucchini?
- Get your vegetable garden ready for the new season
- Perfect vegetable garden and perfect plants?
- Mid-February: can you start sowing now?
- End of May, early June: harvest and add nutrients
- Vacation and your vegetable garden
- July: tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini
- August: sowing for fall
- Early September sowing
- October sowing
- Which vegetables can handle cold weather?
- Get your vegetable garden ready for winter
- White lumps on the roots: good for your plants
- Help the birds this winter