SoCal Home Gardening

This raised bed (which I call NORTH8) is 8 feet long and is where I grow tomatoes each summer. With the cooler weather we have been experiencing this fall, I didn't think the tomatoes were going to do much more, so I started planting seeds in my garage-nursery for my fall garden on September 21, 2023.

I think that was a good decision and a good time to start my fall/winter garden. Here is how it is going over the last 8 weeks.

The Summer Season is About Over

My tomato crop this year was mediocre at best, with a constant supply of cherry tomatoes (super sweet 100s) and a few different harvest times. Don't get me wrong, I was never out of tomatoes, but I did not have the abundance that I normally do.

September 25, 2023

September 27, 2023

What a difference a day makes..... Everything has been removed in this raised bed (NORTH8) and I am ready to start planting.

2-Week-Old Seedlings Going In

October 1, 2023 - After only 2 Weeks in the garage-nursery, I am ready to risk putting them in my garden. If I have any issues, I will just plant some more to fill the gaps.

Week 6 - November 4, 2023 - Doing Okay with Some Speed Bumps

I had a problem with a nasty pest that I seemed to work through, and a few of my Super Sugar Snap Peas have bit the dust (or soon will), but I am happy with where I am at.

Bok Choy

The Bok Choy is doing fine, with some of the leaves being eaten a bit, but overall I am really happy about their progress.

Super Sugar Snap Peas

The Super Sugar Snap Peas are beginnig to have harvestable pods, but three of my seven plants have died. We had some santa ana winds come through, so the heat might have taken them out. I am not sure. I will just add some seeds direct planting in the raised bed.

Lettuce

Pretty early I had a pest issue, but the thing with Lettuce is that there seems to be enough to go around, and I picked of the offenders, and hosed them down real good with a strong spray.

Bush Beans

My bush beans have been doing fabulous! There have been no issues and they are getting ready to start producing with small beans forming already.

Week 7 - November 10, 2023

Everything is going good. I have planted more super sugar snap pea seeds, so they should start to sprout soon. Lettuce is available for harvesting-as-needed in the kitchen. I at the first two snap peas, raw-in-the-garden....

Week 8 - November 18, 2023

We just had a little rain, and everything is doing fine.