August Garden Report

Frustration and despair are factors, but there is also satisfaction and hope.

The main source of frustration is the powdery mildew mentioned last month. Despite clearing out many leaves, it has spread. I can see why some people have given up on squash, but I am not ready to do that.

The other thing that makes me very sad is that I think I have to accept that I am not getting any pumpkins. For a while I could think that mine were just running late, but it kind of looks like I have had only male blossoms, and they are finding no females to pollinate. I did look into the possibility of playing bee, which is way more complex than you might think, because the pollen ferments after two hours and overhead watering can wash it away, but still, I would have to see at least one good female blossom to do it, and I'm not seeing one. I really wanted pumpkins.

However, I have now not only eaten things fresh from the garden, but I have cooked with ingredients from the garden. In the past there has been this salad that I would make with pea pods, orange bell peppers, lemon juice, olive oil, and almonds. I didn't have bell peppers, but I had the peas and I ended up tossing them with chicken for something a little heartier, and it worked out.

Also, many years ago in the Intel cafe they served up a gratin of cherry tomatoes and zucchini. Their gratin was perfectly arranged and layered, which mine was not, but nonetheless I made a zucchini tomato gratin with zucchini and tomatoes I grew myself, and my mother said it was better than how she remembered her mother cooking it. That was pretty cool.

(Mom's father was a great gardener, which was helpful not just for their large, not particularly rich family, but he was also always taking vegetables to the nuns. I would like to get a good enough harvest to be generous with it.)

So there are these ups and downs. I have had to let go of three of my six zucchini plants already. The mildew hastened their demise, but they were going to go in a month or so anyway, I am sure. I am getting more tomatoes than it looked like I would at one time. Also, there is hope that the next round of peas and the lettuce will start popping up soon. And things can be late; the beans suddenly came to life after doing nothing for weeks.

Also, when I went Friday night to water, it had looked like the zucchini was about done, but suddenly there was one really large one, and two that are growing. I hadn't seen any new crookneck squash, but there are a couple forming now. Tomorrow night I will trim more powdery leaves and hope for the best.

I can guarantee that I will not delay spraying the milk next time, and I feel like maybe I want to add a lot of lime to the soil. That's one thing that is probably worth noting - this season is not over, but I am thinking a lot about next year. Gardening is good for that.

Tomato Zucchini Gratin - my style

Lightly coat a casserole dish in olive oil.

Slice up zucchini and tomatoes. I sliced them separately, and then while I had the slices together but not piled on top of each other, I salted and peppered them. I then put them into the casserole dish, did more salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil, and then tossed them. The initial salt and pepper was partly to keep the zucchini slices from drying out, but also I wanted a good distribution of the flavorings, all of which are very basic.

Top with bread crumbs and shredded mozzarella. (Every other recipe I have seen calls for Parmesan, which texture-wise makes perfect sense for mixing with bread crumbs, but I prefer mozzarella. I also always substitute provolone for Swiss.)

Bake at 400 degrees for twenty minutes.