FALL GARDENING!!

Last weekend we got off to a good start!  Amended soil. 
Put in transplants.  Seeded.  Less than a week later,
seedlings are peeking out from beneath the soil! 
(Photo on right includes radish and beets emerging!)

We have a lot going on in several areas!  Collards, eggplant and peppers (still producing from late spring plantings), cucumbers, tomatoes (Early Girl and Talladega), broccoli, cauliflower, onions, squash, zucchini, red cabbage, basils, and emerging seedlings of spinach, lettuce mixes, radish, beets, parsley, carrots and cilantro!  Notice the grid over one of the lettuce mix boxes?  That's to keep the cat out!  I ran her off, grabbed some twigs and short bamboo and the orchid clips to get a makeshift cover over it!  I already had to replace soil and reseed both boxes because the dogs made a bed in them! 

Now, we wait, hope and pray that the tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico doesn't wash it all away.  The forecast predicts over a foot of rain for our area along the coast.  Ugh.  We moved the containers under porch cover, except the ones next to the raised beds.  Gonna keep an eye out on the freshly planted 4x4 ..... supplies on hand to build a quick cover if needed!  Y'all stay dry out there!

I may have entirely lost my mind!  I was outside a little while ago, watering my newly planted fall garden and replanting my lettuce boxes, which my two dogs dug out yesterday and made themselves a couple of nice cool beds.  Even though everything had a nice cool drink of water earlier this morning, the sweet peas were wilting, as well as the squash and zucchini.  Looking across the yard to the deck, spotting the patio umbrella, I thought "I am not gonna let these young transplants suffocate in this heat" and promptly relocated it to the hottest place in my garden, sheltering my garden babies ... at least until they get a good grip in the soil and start climbing and put on some new leaves ... a sure sign they are gonna survive this end-of-summer heatwave.  Whew!  How's that for a run-on sentence?!   After giving everything a mid-day splash, including the eggplant, collards, cucumbers, daylilies and irises, I walked around to the other back porch to water a few things in the side yard.  Thinking my dear husband had replaced the worn out hose, I promptly cranked up the water nozzle and let 'er rip .... all over me. The hose exploded with rusty, muddy red water, all over my white pants!  Even the fence 16 feet away was soaked from it.  I gave up my gardening efforts for little while.  I've been chilling, reading a great book, while my grandbaby naps.  Suddenly, the thought occurred to me .... 'I need to get up from here and plant my lettuce.'   What?  Nope!  I didn't replant the lettuce boxes.  I refilled them with soil and put them in high enough spots the dogs couldn't reach .. the cat's another issue.  Then I layed eyes on the wilting transplants and forgot about the lettuce.  Good grief!  Thank you Garden Angels for reminding me!  But, the end-to-all-ends isn't forgetting to plant the lettuce, it's got to be the umbrella.  I can already see my husband's eyes rolling back in his head when he pulls into the driveway this evening!