August has continued the trend of a moody and wet month set by June and July. Although it has rained for only 11 days the amount has passed 174 liters and took this August well above average. The average amount of rain for this part of Croatia is 87 liters so with yesterday’s 50 liters the average amount was doubled. It was even wetter than the last year’s August which was above average with 122 liters.
When it comes to the temperature we finished in the average range with the highest temperature past Saturday 33.9°C and the coldest morning last week with only 13.3°C which is very cold for these parts.  

The wet weather speeded up the mushroom time so by the middle of the month we already started mushroom hunting for summer boletus. 

When it comes to the garden I’ve mostly spent my time harvesting. The amounts harvested were decent, I can almost say excellent after the cold spring with a harvest every 4 to 5 days. 

I did some transplanting of the late cabbage and Chinese cabbage seedlings. Chinese cabbage is already growing nicely while the rest of the cabbages are still standing without growing and it’s too soon to tell how many of them will survive the transplanting.

The beans I’ve sown in July are growing nicely. The ones planted in the shade are already huge with flowers everywhere and I should soon start harvesting the beans. 

The ones sown in the sun are growing but much slower and I’m not expecting any beans for at least 3 more weeks. 

 The cucumbers sown in July have also started flowering, but they are also starting to develop yellow leaves so I don’t think they will survive too long. I’m estimating a harvest or two before they start drying.

When it comes to tomatoes they have been a disaster this year and the only alive plant is Balcony yellow dwarf tomato in my herb box which is sick but producing healthy fruits. There is no chance for the second crop this year on any of my tomatoes,

Kohlrabi, on the other hand, is already ready for a second harvest and if the weather holds on just a bit without any sudden frost periods I could get a third harvest. 

 The rest of the garden is growing slowly and giving vegetables. After the rain we had yesterday and today I’ll need to clean the garden once more and I think this will be the last time I remove the weeds before the digging season.

As for September, I have lots of work: 

• Continue harvesting
• Deep dig the new flower bed
• Deep dig the tomato beds and plant onions for next year
• Sow winter lettuce
• Sow biannual and some perennial flowers
• Order and plant the bush plants in the front yard
• Start cleaning the beds and deep dig the empty ones
• Cook another batch of ajvar
• Harvest apples
• Plan the garden for next year to start ordering seeds
• Construct a cold frame in the garden
• Plan the LED light shelves for delicate seedlings
• Sew Christmas tablecloths, some more masks, and tracksuits

August has been a really weird month but it ended pretty well. Let’s hope September will be even better.