Summer is not over for me. It ends Sept. 22nd. I'm hoping we don't get a frost before then. :) The cooler summer has been good for me. The electric bill hasn't been bad at all because we haven't used the ac as much. That's a big plus. My perennials have had a shorter blooming time this summer than normal. My annuals have really done well though. My veggies are another story. My purple greenbeans have not done well at all. My tomatoes are doing much better than last year, but still not like they have in our regular summers. I think if our nights wouldn't have been as cold as they have been for over a week, my tomatoes would ripen up faster.
All in all, I would say it hasn't been a bad summer. I would have liked to have had a warmer one though.
Btw, El Nino is developing so a lot of forecasters are saying the northern midwest will have a milder winter than normal.

Kat

"El Nino is developing so a lot of forecasters are saying the northern midwest will have a milder winter than normal" writes katusha.

Means.. one MUST get the snowblower in good order. Usually the warmer winter means more white stuff... which we've had lots of the last few winters. And given the lower than normal precip this summer... that well could chg.

Like most in Wisconsin I also experienced that the stuff that loves the heat was slow in developing, but most stuff did come around eventually. A lot of the stuff that wants heat I grow in containers so at least the roots warm up nicely when the sun shines.

I think I am done with any kind of peppers in the ground, they are just too iffy when the summers are cool. Container grown seem to always outperform the in ground ones.

On the plus side the cool summer seemed to keep the migrating cuke beetles at bay until just recently and at this point I really don't care anymore ;) Even now they aren't numerous.

I also had zero problems with stink bugs or squash vine borers which I attribute to the weather.

In terms of fungal problems powdery mildew is the only one I have had this year and it didn't come on until we got a few days of rain in a row so overall the weather has been a mixed blessing. Slow development of the warm season stuff, but fewer pest/disease issues.

No powdery mildew until this week, that was nice. Bugs were minimal here, as well. Tomatoes were not only slow, but less productive- only Wis 55 and my cherries still producing. Might get one or two more Cherokee Purples. My 'Royal Palace Prince' daylilies bloomed for seven weeks, which was nice. All in all a nice, albeit cool, year and it's not done yet.

tj

I'm going to do my tomatoes in pots next year. They took too long to get started and have been very slow to ripen this year so I'm not getting very many especially considering the number of plants I put in. The roses did well right up until the Japanese Beetles turned up. They've been getting worse every year. The rabbits are worse this year too. Oh well, time to start ordering plants for next year.

The early mornings are dark now, and the shadows longer. I love this transition time.

A fox or two moved into this city neighborhood that abuts a pond and wildlife corridor, so the rabbits are really under control this year. YES!

My out-of-control russian sage plants are badly in need of
trimming down, but the honey bees and bumblers are still on the flowers all day. I just cant deprive them yet.

Our surviving tomatoes are looking and tasting great. So far, we've eaten every single one in some recipe or another. I plan to roast any remaining ones and freeze.
Peppers I just chop and freeze. This garden is just the perfect size for one person, (two when dear daughter comes home to visit)

I spent years with a huge garden and the annoyance of trying to deal with excess produce. I can't honestly say that I appreciated the frozen/canned stuff much later on.
The thrill is in the seed, plant, watching and anticipation
and great taste of sun warmed veggies. So, I gave up the big garden, the canner, the dehydrator, all the mason jars.

How do the rest of you feel about the new-found back to the
earth movement that is gaining ground now? I must say that
I do appreciate the local small gardeners that participate in the local farmers markets. But it is the cheesemakers, the florists and bakers that usually steal my heart and money.
Aren't we lucky to live in Wisconsin, where the Germanic and other ethnicities combine to bring us some of the best food in the midwest?
Pondy

Even though it was cool and not everything performed as well as it usually would, I found myself outside much more to enjoy it. Our grass has been beautiful all summer. We still had plenty that bloomed and made for a nice view.

In short, I enjoyed the summer plenty!

This year, I finally realized that I spend the greater part of summer preparing for the coming winter!

My poor tomato plants are slowly withering, but I just don't have the heart to pull anything that has tomatoes on it. My peppers, eggplants and beans are all in overdrive right now, but I expect they will slow in the next week or two. Daughter plants from my strawberries will be carefully assisted into their new pot homes for next year and I'm letting the only watermelon that is still hanging on to go a little longer.

I've had some nice successes in spite of the Wisconsin weather, but like many of you, several plants have been taken by early blight and powdery mildew. Bugs were not a huge problem.

One thing I did notice while traveling yesterday was the number of maple trees that are beginning to turn. Here in central Wisconsin, we usually don't see that happen until a bit later so I am reminded that wrapping up most of my garden projects should occur by month's end.

I am happy with the back to the earth movement as the availability of organic "anything" increases. Small cottage type businesses seem to be popping up everywhere as are CSA's and who can argue with that? I'm fortunate to live in a rural community where almost everything I purchase comes from a local source; meat, eggs, vegetables and fruit. I'll miss the fresh veggies when winter gets here, but I'm sure glad that I got those 6 cords of wood stacked this spring!

Donna H.

My tomatoes are finally ripening. I have a decent crop of jalapeno and serrano peppers, some scotch bonnets and 3 sweet bell peppers. All are in raised beds. The herbs did very well this year, but the basil leaves sun scorched during a brief period when the temps reached the mid 80s. It seemed like we had more cloudy than sunny days.

The evergreens didn't grow much this year and neither did the shrubs, but they all still look nearly spring fresh.

Bug problems... Slugs... despite the typically dry period of middle summer. I was able to keep them in check until it started raining in August. I didn't think to reapply the slug bait. Slugs have always been manageable in the past, but they've gotten into areas where I have never seen them before. Both slugs and pill bugs are climbing the clematis this year. I suppose that is because they've almost completely decimated the hostas they needed a new food source.

This was a good year for the clematis even though most bloomed early, then went into a summer dormancy when it got hot and dry. "Hot", really isn't the right word to use here, but you know what I mean.

I, too Janet, have ripening tomatoes just about every day.
The peppers are actually growing, and of course, the zukes are going nuts.
Donna, I really havent noticed any coloring of leaves in this area yet. Still, my front yard crab-apple tree has been shedding leaves like crazy.
I sure wish this fall season lasted longer. There was an article in todays MJ that said WI is showing warming signs and will end up similar to Missouri. Yikes! I will have to move to Canada. I can't stand heat or humidity.
Send your thoughts on to me. Pondy

There was an article in todays MJ that said WI is showing warming signs and will end up similar to Missouri.

Like what? ;) Wisconsin just had one of the coolest summers on record in 100 years or so. Last year wasn't much different. Not arguing the warming thing, just curious as to what signs they are referring to as I sure haven't seen any.

I don't know what warming signs they are talking about either. The last 2 winters have been like the harsh winters we had when I was a kid. Spring took forever to arrive this spring and we hardly ran the air conditioning this year. Lsst fall... well, we barely had a proper fall because winter stared so early. Now if it was a few years ago when we were still moving our lawn around Thanksgiving, I'd agree with the article.

Seems like down here (Milwaukee area) winters are warmer and summers are cooler. Go figure. I think I'll try to get funding for my "Global Mellowing" theory.

tj

Yesterdays 12 hr rain was such a relief for my front yard and the few plants within the one center flower bed. I admit that I had to water this tiny front yard twice in the past 2 weeks. Could almost hear the trees and coneflowers give a big AAAH.

There was a follow up article about the warming of WI, and the 'experts' said most of the Temperature difference will occur in the Northern part of the state. A 9º rise said one.
I've been thinking of retiring to the Shawano Lake area.
Do any of you know about this little city? My Mom and Dad lived there in their retirement years, and liked it.
I'm tired of this 4 bdroom house, the ½ acre lot...I want to go small.
Well, enough ruminating from me. Pipe in, the rest of you.
What are your immediate plans and dreams for home and gardens? Go bigger, get smaller, move away, enrich what you have?
Pondy

A nine degree warm in northern Wisc? If that's true then the climate there should be about the same as it is now in southern Wi.

Time to buy land ;)