Summer, What Summer? Tips from a Washed-Out Garden

I've lived in the same part of the South for most of my life and I cannot remember ever having a summer like this one.  In fact, I'm not even sure I should say, "summer," because it seems like the season never really reached us here.  Our growing season has been wet, cool, overcast, and moldy, oh so moldy...a far cry from the hot, sunny summers so conducive to gardening that I'm used to...and our garden has noticed. The weather has taken its toll in the form of stunted plants, mold, and, worst of all, a spider infestation (we are, apparently, the closest high ground for the little guys fleeing rising waters in our nearby gulley).

When August rolled around, I thought, "Here we go...we still have time for a garden comeback if we get our normal August sun and heat." I guess I counted my chickens before they hatched (but, hey, hope never hurts, I say)... With a cold snap that effectively ended our pool season a month early and rains every other day, it seems, I realized I simply had to let nature take its course, hope the fruits don't rot on the vine before they can ripen, and begin looking forward to a harvest of the warm-weather plants before they're decimated by root-rot and other fun fungi.

Before I began the culling, I decided to take one last photographic tour of my private little food jungle to assess what did and did not work in this, my second year of urban farming experimentation:

Not doing so hot :(
Savory, Tomatoes, & Parsley

Some plants fared better than others in similar conditions: While spiders ate my Summer Savory and Parsley, somehow the cucumbers beat out the cobwebs to make plenty of fruit (that I'm still hoping will ripen).  While tomatoes planted later in the season never fully grew, the ones planted early still have (slowly) ripening fruit - and a lot of it, despite moldy leaves and soil.

Now, that's better!
Tomatoes and Cucumbers

Tomato & Cucumber Tips: 

• Plant your tomatoes with Basil - the plants help each other grow tremendously!
• Prune the heck out of your tomato plants! This encourages the plant to use its energy ripening those fruits!
• Pluck the first set of blossoms on fruit-bearing plants to encourage more flowers and more fruit production as the season goes on.

Would have done better in a drought year:
Lavender, Sage, and Thyme

Drier climate plants, such as Lavender, Sage, and Thyme may do well down here in hot, drought years...but, this year, they had a hard time with the constant rains keeping their soil too wet.  The Aloe Vera and other cacti did far better being kept under the porch during rains than the plants that were left on the sill or in the yard.

Tip:

• In a wet year, keep the dry-climate plants in a sunny spot that is protected from the rain and lightly water them only 1-2 times per month.  

Looking good!
Aloe, Basil, and Oregano

Of course, we had some herbs that seemed to do wonderfully, as long as we remembered to prune them frequently to encourage branching: The Basil faltered at first, but picked up in the later half of the season and the Lemon Balm was as prolific as mint and has already provided us with three hearty harvests.

Bright-eyed and Bushy-stalked!
Lemon Balm

Herb Tips:

• Keep harvesting! The more you harvest, the more you encourage the plant to branch out and become bushier, leading to an even larger second harvest and so on.
• Basil and Oregano together in a planter is great for the growth of both plants.
• Some herbs, like Parsley, prefer to just be left alone. They'll bolt right up in their own time, given enough space, light, and water.

Doing just fine...
Parsley and Oregano

 Final Tip:

• When growing a practical garden, never underestimate the healing power of the low-maintenance ornamentals!  When the garden is struggling or the rains won't stop, having some hearty plants that you don't have to prune or harvest to fill in the gaps can bring a huge amount of positive energy back into the garden.

Patchouli

Chinese Money Plant and Clary Sage 

Eucalyptus