One season, told continuously

The 2026 garden began months before a harvest basket. Slow herbs were assigned February start dates, the 14 × 9 plot was divided on paper, and spring planting was allowed to move with Boonville’s late-frost window instead of against it.

By mid-April, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, banana peppers, baby bell peppers, cucumbers, and eggplant seedlings were spending longer days outdoors. Tomatoes and peppers entered the plot April 26. Two days later, storms supplied the first real test: the bed drained without pooling, the plants remained upright, and soil splashed onto leaves was gently removed.

May held two seasons in the same nine-foot width. Beans, squash, zucchini, and okra were direct-sown May 7 into prepared, already-moist ground. On May 20, lettuce and spinach were harvested and potatoes were hilled. Four days later, nine herbs and marigolds expanded the homestead beyond the vegetable rows.

The first problem was not damage but timing: spinach began stretching upward from the center. Instead of treating bolting as failure, selected stems stayed long enough to form seed clusters. The garden was already becoming both food source and classroom.

June began with deliberate row work. Beans, squash, zucchini, okra, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, onions, and carrots were weeded and top-dressed with compost or fed with 4-6-3 according to the crop. The berry wall expanded through raspberry cuttings, blueberry shoots, and strawberry runners.

By June 27, cucumbers and a substantial bean harvest changed the daily rhythm. The next days brought aphids and ants on potatoes, caterpillars in brassicas, a groundhog route over carrots, and Japanese beetles at the raspberries. Each problem received a different answer—soap, Bt, a physical barrier, or hand-picking—and each answer was checked again rather than assumed successful.

Early July closed the lettuce and spinach chapter and opened the main summer harvest. Banana peppers arrived July 2, carrot shoulders reached roughly 1–1½ inches, cucumbers produced regularly, tomatoes colored, and okra showed its first flower and pod.

The same week demanded close cucurbit scouting. Squash-bug adults, eggs, and a nymph were removed by hand. On July 8, potatoes were dug for curing, fallen-top onions began coming out, herbs received a broad harvest, and Bt returned to broccoli and cauliflower after caterpillars reappeared.

Zucchini’s enormous foliage kept promising more than the fruit delivered. Hand-pollinated fruit continued to abort, so the experiment shifted toward steadier moisture, flower timing, and no additional nitrogen. A bee at the blossoms and one squash bug inside a female flower made selective treatment especially important.

Away from the main rows, three basil shoots went into water, oregano flowers were removed, chives moved from bed to jar, and old brittle raspberry floricanes were cut at the base. Fall berry buds at primocane tips showed why removing spent wood mattered: renewal was already visible beside decline.

On July 20, the harvest basket and seed tray became equal parts of the same story. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, squash, broccoli side shoots, and okra were producing outdoors while broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans began under lights.

The heat mat came off as seedlings emerged. Every succession bean was transplanted; most stood upright without wilting. The last onion left the plot, the volunteer ‘gourd’ became a cucumber, rosemary joined the drying plan, and the broccoli tray developed steadily toward a cooler autumn crop.

The final July harvest included cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, green beans, and cherry tomatoes from volunteer plants. A later rain supplied the day’s irrigation and kept boots out until evening; crops that did not need intervention were simply left undisturbed.

The fall broccoli tray received quarter-strength 4-3-4. New bean transplants showed fresh top growth with one loss recorded. One or two zucchini finally appeared successfully pollinated, three aborted fruit came off, three small squash remained on the vine, and the pest check was clean.

Early-August rain kept irrigation off while cucumbers, okra, peppers, tomatoes, beans, squash, and zucchini continued growing. Fall broccoli seedlings hardened outside, broccoli side shoots returned, and the older beans began a third flowering flush.

On August 11, a few caterpillars on one broccoli plant, a squash-bug egg cluster on cauliflower, and two adult squash bugs on zucchini received narrow responses: hand removal, Bt on the brassicas, and a clean follow-up scout the next morning.

Six kitchen herbs received a substantial August 13 harvest and moved into a short recovery period. Nearby, fresh soil was loosened, mixed with finished Batch 4 compost, and tucked under straw for lettuce and spinach.

The following days brought baby bell peppers, okra, cherry tomatoes, broccoli side shoots, and hand-pollinated squash and zucchini. By August 16, eight broccoli seedlings, garlic, a test carrot, and several summer crops were clearly ready for the next day's transition.

The morning harvest included a cucumber, banana pepper, older green beans, okra, volunteer cherry tomatoes, broccoli side shoots, and a large healthy test carrot. Blister beetles were removed from the older beans while the newer planting remained clear and continued flowering.

Between six and seven that evening, eight broccoli seedlings entered the old potato row. Five rows of lettuce and three rows of spinach were direct-sown in the prepared bed. Garlic was lifted too, revealing small mostly undivided bulbs and preserving an honest lesson about early-spring planting timing.

August 19 brought a large volunteer cherry-tomato harvest, older green beans, several okra pods, one cucumber, and mature broccoli side shoots. Two blister beetles came off the older bean row while the succession stayed clear, flowering, and podding. In the herb bed, another failing lavender sprig was clipped for propagation after rain.

The August 20 scout began in fog with wet soil. Carrots, berries, and most of the herb bed were left undisturbed. Straw was pulled slightly away from the still-unsprouted lettuce and spinach so the damp seed zone could breathe, while seven fall broccoli transplants stood healthy and the mature broccoli scout stayed pest-free. Together, the fall broccoli and greens became the garden's first lunar-timed fall planting experiment.

The warm rows kept moving. Main tomatoes remained vigorous after browned foliage and suckers were removed, peppers carried flowers and new fruit, and five zucchini stayed under pollination watch. One older cucumber vine was cut away so established new growth already setting fruit could take over. The older green beans held the garden's first-ever third flush while the first intentional bean succession already carried flowers and pods.

Several lettuce rows broke the soil on August 21, marking the first emergence in the garden's lunar-timed fall planting trial. Spinach had not yet appeared, but the seven broccoli transplants were growing from their centers and looked excellent. By the next day's quick walkthrough, all five lettuce rows and all three spinach rows had germinated.

The summer garden kept moving beside them. Volunteer cherry tomatoes and part of the older bean row's third flush were harvested, main tomatoes set more fruit, peppers continued flowering and sizing, the succession beans carried flowers and pods, and new cucumber growth held four to five small cucumbers.

Pollination observations also became more definite. Two questionable zucchini aborted and were removed on August 21. By August 22, two different zucchini were confirmed successfully pollinated with a likely third still developing, while three summer squash were confirmed and younger female fruit continued forming among abundant male flowers.

On August 23, oregano, sage, rosemary, basil, and parsley appeared ready for another modest cutting, but no new harvest was recorded. Attention stayed on the mother lavender instead. Pulling soil away from the crown exposed roots that were neither soggy nor soft and had no foul odor. The plant was still declining, but the check ruled out several obvious surface signs without inventing a diagnosis.

The August 25 berry round brought a clearer seasonal marker. Each raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry plant received roughly two to five minutes of individual irrigation. Raspberry fruit began to blush while sizing, strawberries continued flowering and running toward the next patch, and concern about the blueberries remained an observation rather than a reason to record an untested feeding.

One basil plant was harvested and made into basil salt. That batch completed a five-path basil record for the season: flavor bombs, frozen leaves, dried leaves, pesto, and basil salt. The list captures finished kitchen work rather than a plan for future preservation.

In the herb bed, two additional sections of the mother lavender declined and were marked for removal and propagation cuttings. The choice preserves viable tips where possible, but neither rooting success nor a final diagnosis has been recorded yet.

The next berry check confirmed that every raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry bush had received an individual deep watering the night before. After that completed irrigation, the bed was left largely undisturbed rather than given another treatment.

At the following scout, raspberry fruit continued to blush and size. The blueberries showed no visible change, while the strawberry plants kept extending runners and opening flowers; several small fall fruits were also visible among the mother plants.

The August 29 herb harvest moved oregano into three hanging bundles, culinary sage into two, and rosemary into four to five small stem bundles. A full basil plant—roughly five to six cups—was cut and held in water while its use was decided, and parsley was harvested with its next step still open. Lavender, chives, mint, and marigolds were left undisturbed; marigold deadheading remained a future task, and no fertilizer or irrigation was applied.

Each berry plant received roughly three to five minutes of individual evening irrigation August 31. By September 1, a few raspberries were beginning to ripen and the first September strawberry came indoors, with a handful more fruit still on the plants beside continuing flowers and runners. The most established blueberry had been browsed the previous day but still appeared healthy.

The main garden recorded a harder result September 2: animal browsing had reduced seven established fall broccoli transplants to one survivor. That damage did not erase the earlier germination evidence, but it did make survival a poor standalone measure of the lunar-timed planting. The trial was left open until the end of the season rather than given a premature conclusion.

The side beds offered a recovery note. The mother lavender remained healthy after three declining sections were removed; watered and thinned cuttings included several with new tip growth. Oregano, sage, and rosemary bundles continued drying normally with good airflow. On September 4, every berry bush received more than five minutes of morning water before the heat, no new browsing was seen, and eight flower crops entered the plan for the next spring seed bench.

The open decision attached to the August 29 basil harvest gained a documented answer September 4. Cashew pesto was completed, flavor bombs and compound butter were prepared, additional basil was tied into bundles to dry, and basil was combined with olive oil for an infusion.

Only the pesto was recorded as finished that day. The flavor bombs still needed to firm overnight before being removed from their tray, the compound butter still needed to be cut after freezing, the bundles had only begun drying, and the oil still awaited separation and confirmed final storage. Keeping those steps open preserves the difference between a recipe started and food ready for storage.

The next hot stretch did not automatically trigger more berry water. The root zones still felt moist, so the raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry plants were left undisturbed. Strawberry plants continued extending runners, raspberries continued ripening, and the blueberries showed little visible movement in the heat.

The nearby herb bed did need a small adjustment. Around 7 p.m. September 5, the entire bed received a light watering, with extra water directed to basil, chives, and parsley. No fertilizer or additional harvest was recorded.

A later note planned another evening watering for the berry wall before the following hot day, but the completed action was not confirmed. The plan therefore remains a plan rather than entering the counted irrigation record.

The lavender propagation pots received another watering September 8. The cuttings remained an open recovery experiment: earlier new tip growth was encouraging, but no rooted plant was claimed from foliage alone.

A broader herb harvest was planned for after the rain. Because the cutting and its preservation steps were not confirmed complete, they stayed outside the harvest and pantry totals.

The fall raspberry crop reached its first harvest September 11. A few more berries finished ripening and were picked September 12, turning the early-September blush into a completed harvest milestone rather than only an observation on the cane.

Blueberries were left undisturbed throughout the same checks, while strawberries continued extending runners. The September 13 walkthrough also stayed observation-only, preserving a clear record of what changed and what did not.

A new pH meter arrived September 13 for a planned berry-soil check the following morning. Because no reading had been taken yet, the journal records the instrument and the plan without inventing a soil result or treatment recommendation.

The first berry-soil pH map used three probes at each of nine plants. Raspberry averages were 6.0, 6.1, and 4.3; blueberry averages were 5.4, 5.0, and 5.2; strawberry averages were 5.2, 4.2, and 5.5. The smallest raspberry produced readings of 4.3, 5.8, and 7.8, and two strawberries also varied widely, so the complete map became a repeatable baseline rather than an instruction to amend the bed.

The fall raspberry crop continued producing and another picking was photographed. The blueberries later received light 45-degree tip cuts to encourage bushier, more uniform growth, while strawberries remained undisturbed. A second full pH map stayed planned.

Batch 5 supplied a separate measurement-by-feel lesson September 16. After becoming anaerobic and forming heavy moist clumps again, the tote spent roughly five days with its lid off. Old potting soil from a repotted philodendron was then hand-mixed through the batch for about 30 minutes. The dry material separated the clumps without their reforming, and the mix became light, slightly cool and moist, with no visible food scraps and minimal paper. That is a successful correction, not yet a declaration of finished compost.

The parsley briefly became a nursery for seven black swallowtail caterpillars. They were removed without being killed, no Bt was applied to the parsley, and the September 12 follow-up found none remaining. Nearby, propagated lavender cuttings were watered and thinned again, with some still showing new tip growth.

The lavender record split in two directions. Another section of the struggling mother died back until only one sprig remained and removal became the plan. Elsewhere in the same bed, the other lavender had become massive and was pushing fall flower shoots. The hanging oregano, sage, and rosemary continued drying uniformly.

Basil moved through two preservation paths September 17. One harvested plant became a completed basil-salt batch. A separate 4.5-cup harvest was acidified for an oil infusion, but straining, oil addition, and final storage remained open, so the infusion did not enter the completed pantry count.

Batch 5 produced the clearest measurement of the period: 102°F, 52% relative humidity, pH 5.2, moisture 7, and fertility in the middle of the meter's green band. The tote remained outside with its lid off, and a critical design difference entered the record—the Batch 5 tote has no drilled air holes, unlike the container used for Batches 1–4.

The fall raspberry crop supplied another photographed cup of ripe fruit, extending the September harvest beyond its first two pickings. No count or weight was recorded, so the journal keeps the result at the scale the evidence supports.

Selected strawberry runners were visibly rooting. That observation moves them beyond simply extending across the mulch, although establishment in a future bed is still a later result.

The blueberries looked healthy at the first follow-up after their light 45-degree tip prune. That confirms no immediate visible setback; whether the cuts produce the intended bushier, more uniform growth remains open.

A three-to-five-minute watering at each berry base was planned for 7 p.m. Because the record does not separately confirm completion, it is preserved as a plan and not added to the irrigation count.