Pictured: “Pioneer apples” down in the woods on Saturday.
| This week a doe decided to be a pain in the rear for our little bucket garden and harvests will be winding down soon. A newly moved trail-cam caught some great shots of new animals, and birds are starting to migrate. Autumn feels like it’s arrived! Enjoy! Amy | Table of Contents: ~ Spying on Wildlife: Trail-cam Videos! ~ The Birds: Discovering with the Merlin App ~ Woods Walks: Hidden Finds & Plants ~ The Garden: New Blooms & Harvests ~ Garden Guide: Phenology at Work ~ Folklore Corner: Practices of Old ~ The Funnies: Plant & Nature Humor ~ The Blog: Upcoming Editions |
Spying on Wildlife: Trail-cam Videos!
Shane moved one of the trail-cameras down into the creek bottom, facing a pool of water. We saw Otters, Beaver, Raccoon families, LOTS of Black-tailed Deer, and both Great Blue Herons and Green Herons.
The Birds: Discovering with the Merlin App
Black-headed Grosbeaks have moved on and the Barn Swallows have gathered to move on. Shane counted 43 of them on the power line the other day. Saturday I saw a couple more Merlin “life birds”: Black-throated Gray Warbler and the Western Bluebird. FINALLY haha. While down in the woods my phone supposedly heard an Evening Grosbeak, but if it did, I’d wager it was a fly-by. We saw a Western Flycatcher down by the creek Saturday, too, but it was pretty quiet and didn’t pop-up on the app.
Woods Walks: Hidden Finds & Plants
The Oregon Ash and Red Alder are getting yellow leaves and dropping a few on the trail. You can see signs of early autumn!
The woods apple trees are popular spots for the deer lately. The red apples remind me of a Fuji or Gala type whereas I think the green ones might be Gravenstein (and not ripe yet). These are descended from trees planted down here in the early 1900’s by pioneers, so really not sure what was down there. There’s a pear tree down there too of unknown origin, nowhere near ripe yet. We call this area our “pioneer orchard” down there.
It’s the tail end of blackberries. The Himalayans are drying on the vine unless they’ve sourced some shade or underground water. The Cutleaf Evergreen Blackberries are still trying but are in the same boat.
The Garden: New Blooms & Harvests
This is Shane’s harvest this past week! Sadly a doe has discovered his garden and hopped the fence, eating his lettuce, carrot tops and the tops of some strawberry plants. He’s in the process of rearranging tubs to make it narrower and harder for her to jump into. Things are starting to wind down with a Sunday morning temp of 43 degrees!
Garden Guide: Phenology at Work
I switched to using phenology to plan my garden, so I created a practical planting guide to help you do the same! Instead of following a rigid calendar, phenology means watching local indicator plants to know exactly when the soil is ready for your crops and when it’s time to harvest.
What to look for in Mid to Late-August:
– Pacific Crabapples are ripening. Might also see the Hawthorn berries turning orange, though they are a way off from being ripe! A neighbor informed me the Blue Elderberry is ripe, which is an indicator plant. Early Autumn has arrived!
Harvest immediately as they become ready:
– Corn LAST CALL!
– Melons (look for that creamy yellow underbelly) LAST CALL!
– Evergreen Huckleberries LAST CALL!
– Italian Prunes LAST CALL!
– European Plums LAST CALL!
———————–
– Potatoes (look for green growth to die off, stop watering once growth turns yellow, harvest after a couple weeks)
– Beets
– Swiss Chard
– Pole Beans (Keep picking your pole beans every 2–3 days! Regular harvesting prevents the pods from getting tough and woody, while signaling the vine to keep pumping out new flowers for a continuous autumn yield.)
– Cherry Tomatoes
– Slicing Tomatoes
– Eggplant
– Peppers
– Tomatillos
———————–
– Figs
– Pawpaws
– Asian Pears
– European Pears
– Apples & Crabapples
Start Seed Outdoors for Fall Crops:
– Radish
– Mustard Greens
– Spinach
– Arugula
– Lettuce
– Cilantro
– Parsley
———————–
– Money Plant
– Primrose (shady location)
– Foxgloves
– Hollyhock
Note: While the air is cooling, the soil is still drying out fast, making mulching or light shade cloth even more important for those fresh fall starts.
If you grow any of your crops in containers or bucket gardens, expect your phenological timeline to move faster than what is happening in the ground. Because containers are exposed to the ambient summer air on all sides, their soil temperatures are significantly elevated compared to the earth. Whether it is root development, leafy green production, or warm-season fruiting, expect bucket-grown crops to hit their harvest triggers up to two weeks earlier than their in-ground counterparts!
Make sure you pay attention to what nature is doing, as the months listed are APPROXIMATE, especially with the crazy weather we’ve experienced this past winter! It may sometimes seem early to start some tasks, but trust that nature knows exactly what it’s doing! Just because I am here in Molalla, OR, doesn’t mean you can’t use the same phenology in your own yard! The concepts work anywhere, though the exact timing will shift—for example, higher elevations or colder regions may take longer for some plants to bloom or set fruit.
Ready to garden by nature’s clock?
Folklore Corner: Practices of Old
A quick question for my readers: I’ve been diving back into regional folk practices lately, looking at how older generations tied practical homesteading, timing, and regional plant lore together. Have any of you read the Foxfire series, or do you have any favorite regional books on authentic American or British folk practices? I’d love to hear what’s on your shelf—let me know in the comments!
The Funnies: Plant & Nature Humor
The Blog: Upcoming Editions
We’ll see you next week on September 7th for the next Gardens & Nature, where fall planting is happening and more crops are ready for harvest!
Be on the lookout September 1st for our monthly Livestock Edition, where we talk about how sheep breeding season is going!
In case you missed the latest:
Livestock Edition: August 2026
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~ Thank You!~
Hollow Hills Ranch 