La Sylphide
Part of the new garden in the old garden space: rapini, broccoli, turnips, mustards and chinese cabbage from seed in addition to purchased fall plants. I did not amend the soil for this crop so I could see how the plants did in the unimproved soil worked by previous owners: Lots of cruciferous bugs and then the soil became waterlogged after the heavy rain this fall, causing the chinese cabbage to require harvesting. The kale also showed signs of root damage from the soil compaction and lack of drainage: yellowing, drooping leaves indicating nitrogen deficiency and in certain instances the whole plant losing tensile strength. Why would inundation result in certain plants responding this way? Hard rain for days on end gave the soil no chance to dry out, which resulted in soil compaction; compaction of the soil means fewer or dramatically reduced air spaces around the roots; those air spaces create opportunities for the roots to take up nutrients from the soil; with lack of nutrients, the plant begins to die.
Interestingly, crops other than the kale and chinese cabbage handled the heavy rain very well: the broccoli are forming heads, as are the western cabbage; the turnip transplants are thriving; the rutabagas are doing well; the brussel sprouts are teasing me with hopes of yummy bite-size cabbages later this fall.
As I harvest plants, I plant cover crops to improve the soil's drainage.
Interestingly, crops other than the kale and chinese cabbage handled the heavy rain very well: the broccoli are forming heads, as are the western cabbage; the turnip transplants are thriving; the rutabagas are doing well; the brussel sprouts are teasing me with hopes of yummy bite-size cabbages later this fall.
As I harvest plants, I plant cover crops to improve the soil's drainage.
Early fall harvest of chinese cabbage, rapine and turnips with zinnias and basil beside one of the buddleias in the front yard.
Sweet potatoes and early fall green peppers: I grew the sweet potatoes in soil beside the house that I had improved with a soil conditioner called "pine fines," which is made up of pine bark. Because of the drought conditions during the summer, I only watered the sweet potatoes when the leaves of the plants looked they absolutely needed it. I was amazed at the size of the tubers that resulted! I got the exact same results as I got the first summer when this region got so much rain.