After an extremely hot July, August had been hot, but with a couple of cooler days. Usually, in this part of Croatia, summer is over around August 15th, and this year wasn’t different. Our mornings are now much colder, with a lot of fog and dew. The sun’s position is now behind the forest, so my garden gets only an hour or two of sun a day.

Still very dry

Although we did get some rainy days the garden is still very dry. The upper layers can be wet, but under the surface, the soil is very dry. The 45mm we managed to get during August didn’t help a lot. I’m still watering most of my plants. The only thing this late rain brought was diseases, which are now all over the garden. Tomatoes and cucumbers are pretty much lost and zucchinis are still hanging on.

The rain that we get is spread over 24-48 hours but the accumulated amount is very little, so there’s not much use from the rain. We’re hoping for a real rain in September, although the way things are going I seriously doubt we’ll get any.

Harvests still strong

Even with all the problems with the lack of water and heat, I’m really pleased with the harvests this year. I’ve managed to store a lot of vegetables for next year and have been using my vegetables during the summer. The only things I buy are potatoes and onions, everything else I get from my garden. I’m already planning new beds for next year and I’ll try to grow enough vegetables for the whole season.

Doing a lot of canning

August was mainly my canning month. I didn’t spend as much time in the garden as I did in the kitchen. I’ve stored a lot of pickled food. Right now there are 110 jars full of pickled and cooked food and 30 jars of dehydrated vegetables. I still have to store carrots, beans, peas, and autumn vegetables, so there will be a lot more jars in my basement, which is great considering the prices of food in Croatia lately.

Plans for September

During September I will continue with the August work. There’s not much work in the garden right now, but there’s a lot of harvesting and canning scheduled. Also, I’ve started growing microgreens out of the leftover seeds, so I’ll be busy there too. My balcony garden is also growing, the side garden will need to be sown and prepared for winter, and the almost greenhouse will need to be finished for winter. Basically, September will be as busy as August.

Hopefully, it will bring more rain and temperatures will be appropriate for autumn and not as hot as during summer.