Later summer is a test for any gardener. Heat, humidity and relentless pests push both plants and gardeners to their limits. In my garden, some crops flourish despite the challenges, while others demand constant attention — from cherry tomatoes still producing in late August to squash battling bugs on vertical trellises. In this week’s encore presentation, I am resharing my August 2024 audio journal, which I recorded in my garden so I could walk you through everything happening with my plants in late summer and the valuable lessons I learned.
Amid the struggle, the garden offers small victories that make it all worthwhile. Hummingbirds flit among zinnias, bees gather at a fresh birdbath, and peppers and eggplants hang heavy with fruit. These moments remind me why I love this rewarding work.
I’m popping in with an audio garden journal from here on the GardenFarm.™
Every decision in the garden is a balance between beauty, productivity and maintenance. Flowers draw pollinators and reduce pests, compost nourishes the soil, and water sources sustain wildlife during dry spells. In the end, it’s this careful attention, season after season, that transforms a patch of soil into a thriving, lively ecosystem.
Read on for abridged show notes, or read the full show notes from the original airing last year.
Some Tomato Plants Hang On
Here in zone 8a, north of Atlanta, summers are hot and humid. My crops thrive, but tomatoes often struggle with disease despite constant care. I planted just 24 tomato plants in 2024 — far fewer than usual — knowing how high-maintenance tomatoes plants can be.
Planted after the mid-April frost-free date, the first heirlooms ripen by late June and produce well for about a month. I manage disease by pruning, but by August most plants look rough, so I pull them out and shift focus to the fall garden, when conditions are cooler and pests are fewer. Of the original 24 plants, only four remained by late August.
One keeper was a cherry tomato called Cherry Ember. It continued to produce heavily with minimal disease — though its skin is a bit tough. Still, it earned its spot, carrying the tomato season into late summer.
Cherry ember tomatoes were a huge success in my 2024 garden.
The Squash Struggle
Generally, I don’t enjoy growing squash, but I tried winter squash on two trellises for vertical interest, and it looked great. The problem is insect pests love squash. As an organic gardener, I avoid spraying and prefer manual controls, but that’s tough with vining plants.
I’ve spent countless mornings picking off squash bug eggs, beetles, leaf-footed bugs, and pickle worms, plus removing powdery mildew foliage. It’s a lot of work that needs to get done during a time of year when I am very busy. By mid-August, the plants don’t look good — though they’re loaded with fruit. Unfortunately, about half the fruit that my squash plants produced last year were affected by pickle worm.
Squash trellises add a lot of vertical interest to the garden.
Water for Wildlife
I keep a water source in the garden that attracts birds, bees, and even my cat Larrie. Though cats can be a risk, Larrie’s too old, lazy, or both to hunt, which makes her safe company among the birds.
Just outside the garden, a birdbath draws bees daily. They crowd the rim to drink, and when I refresh it, they swarm eagerly for fresh water. It’s uplifting to see, but also a reminder that when rain is scarce, natural water sources dry up. We can’t assume wildlife finds what it needs. Providing water in our gardens is a small but vital way to help.
Bees visiting my bird bath for a drink.
Flowers That Change Everything
As I watch a hummingbird at my zinnias, it reminds me why I now grow flowers in the vegetable garden. A few years ago, Tobi (my farm manager) and I added dedicated flower beds along the perimeter, planting both native perennials and ornamentals like zinnias and dahlias. The impact was immediate — more birds, more pollinators, and fewer pests thanks to beneficial insects.
The garden, once strictly vegetables, is now both more beautiful and more productive. Every day blooms are alive with activity, and in fall, marigolds shine alongside chard, beets, mustard, and kale, creating a look you can’t find any other time. We save seeds each season to plant again, and some even reseed themselves — ensuring flowers will always be part of this garden’s rhythm.
The presence of flowers in the vegetable garden brings in pollinators.
Growing Peppers, Eggplants and Bee Magnets
My pepper bed exploded with fruit, looking like a Christmas tree with green, orange and red peppers. Peppers take time to establish, but once warm weather hits, they thrive — peaking just before frost cuts them down, often while still loaded with fruit. Though they can be overwintered indoors, I usually just start fresh from seed each year.
Eggplant also lasts until frost, and I grow it more for its striking foliage and fruit than the flavor. Still, Tobi turns some into eggplant parmesan for our annual feast. Nearby, lemon basil perfumes the air and draws pollinators when in bloom.
We also grow borage, a bee magnet and prolific self-sower. It’s incredible for pollinators but can overrun the garden, so we scaled it back. Sometimes, no matter how beautiful or beneficial a plant is, you have to balance its value against the space and maintenance it demands.
Eggplant adds a lot of visual interest in the garden with its purple flowers and gorgeous fruit.
The Fall Seedling Nursery
Some of my favorite edibles — kale, spinach, bok choy, cabbage, broccoli, beets, chard, kohlrabi, and lettuce — only grow in the cool season. Nurseries don’t carry many fall seedlings, so I start my own near my greenhouse. Last August, I grew about a thousand seedlings under 50% shade cloth, which cools the area by 7 degrees and softens the sun.
Starting early ensures they’re mature enough to thrive once frost arrives, which actually sweetens their flavor.
Some are in Winstrip trays from Neversink Farm. They work like soil blocks, with open sides that air-prune roots for fast, healthy growth. They’re durable, and I often see germination in just two days.
Winstrip trays work just like soil blockers. When the roots get to the edge of a block or cell and are exposed to air, they stop growing in that direction. They “air prune” rather than becoming rootbound.
My New Arbor
I’ve built an arbor to grow New Dawn roses on. These pink climbing roses look spectacular. The arbor adds a lot of vertical interest and some structure to an area that only had a blank wall and was just looking very bare.
My new arbor for growing New Dawn climbing roses.
Compost: The Not-So-Secret Ingredient
I have nine compost bins, each one 4 feet square. Compost is my go-to for great soil — everything in the garden gets top-dressed twice a year, before summer crops and again before fall. I use my homemade supply plus a regional source called Soil3.
These topdressings replenish nutrients and beneficial microbes lost during the season. I don’t till; worms and soil life pull compost down naturally. As a result, I rarely need supplemental fertilizer — compost does the work.
2024 was the hottest, driest year I can remember, yet I’ve watered surprisingly little. Soil enriched with compost and covered in organic mulch holds moisture beautifully. Together, compost and mulch are the one-two punch that keeps the garden thriving, even under stress.
I make loads of compost at home. I have nine compost bins in total, each one 4 feet by 4 feet.
I hope you enjoyed my audio garden journal. If you haven’t listened yet, you can do so now by scrolling to the top of the page and clicking the Play icon in the green bar under the page title.
Do you have something to share from your garden journal? Let us know in the comments below.
Links & Resources
Some product links in this guide are affiliate links. See full disclosure below.
Episode 019: GardenFarm Audio Journal – First Day of Fall, 2017
Episode 321: Joe’s Summer Observations and Takeaways from the GardenFarm™
Episode 379: My Audio Garden Journal: Winding Down Summer, Readying for Fall
joegardener Online Gardening Academy™: Popular courses on gardening fundamentals; managing pests, diseases & weeds; seed starting and more.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Organic Vegetable Gardening: My new premium online course. The course is designed to be a comprehensive guide to starting, growing, nurturing and harvesting your favorite vegetables, no matter what you love to eat, no matter where you live, no matter your level of gardening experience.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting: Everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed — indoors and out.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Beginning Gardener Fundamentals: Essential principles to know to create a thriving garden.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Growing Epic Tomatoes: Learn how to grow epic tomatoes with Joe Lamp’l and Craig LeHoullier.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Pests, Diseases & Weeds: Learn the proactive steps to take to manage pests, diseases and weeds for a more successful garden with a lot less frustration. Just $47 for lifetime access!
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Perfect Soil Recipe Master Class: Learn how to create the perfect soil environment for thriving plants.
Milorganite® – Our podcast episode sponsor and Brand Partner of joegardener.com
Disclosure: Some product links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we get a commission if you make a purchase. However, none of the prices of these resources have been increased to compensate us, and compensation is not an influencing factor on their inclusion here. The selection of all items featured in this post and podcast was based solely on merit and in no way influenced by any affiliate or financial incentive, or contractual relationship. At the time of this writing, Joe Lamp’l has professional relationships with the following companies who may have products included in this post and podcast: Milorganite, Soil3, Territorial Seed Company, Proven Winners ColorChoice, and Dramm. These companies are either Brand Partners of joegardener.com and/or advertise on our website. However, we receive no additional compensation from the sales or promotion of their product through this guide. The inclusion of any products mentioned within this post is entirely independent and exclusive of any relationship.
