Today's harvest

[pepperhead212]

Those flowers look very similar. Is there an easily spotted difference between the male and female flowers? Or, do you have to look for stamens and pistils?

Here's a photo of an unopened male blossom that when I saw that first open female blossom. The male blossom is directly attached to the pedicel, while the female blossom has a small fruit started on it, ready to grow, once pollinated.
Male bottle gourd blossom, almost open. 6-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Even the female blossoms on these, and bitter gourds, are on fairly long pedicels, while the ones normally grown, in the Cucurbita genus - cucumbers, summer squash, and winter squash - grow very close to the leaf axils. These are easier to identify, as the males on those are also on long pedicels. Another strange difference is that my butternuts always get a lot of male blossoms (most of which I cut off, as another harvest), long before females start showing up, but with these, the females show up first (only the second year I've grown these, however).

@GreenEnvy22 Normally, I don't have to hand pollinate plants, but these open at nights, and different insects are out then, and last year I had to do this, at first, as they weren't getting pollinated. Looks like something is out there doing it this season, but I wanted to be sure.

 

[larry_stewart]

These things grow like they are on steroids, so I only planted one early, and today I am soaking seeds to start another plant, so I won't get so many at once, but spread them out.

Do you have enough growing season left for the second vine you just started to produce ? I figure the4 answer is yes or you wouldn't be doing it,

Cause if you do, I may start a vine or two myself, I just figured I might not have enough time

 

[larry_stewart]

Im noticing a significant decline in bee population this year. Not sure if its the cool rainy weather, or the news report about declining bee population applies to my area. hopefully when it warms up ( and the sun pokes out , after 2 weeks of rain), the bees will find their way .

 

[pepperhead212]

Do you have enough growing season left for the second vine you just started to produce ? I figure the4 answer is yes or you wouldn't be doing it,

Cause if you do, I may start a vine or two myself, I just figured I might not have enough time

These bottle and bitter gourds start producing after about 50 days, maybe sooner, given the heat of the summer. They were both a little slow, given the cool May I had, but as soon it started getting warm, they took off. I'm thinking maybe mid August, but this is the first time I've done this. And I have seeds in my seed sprouter, to speed things up - before, I just put them in Jiffy pellets, just before 5-1. This time, I'll direct seed them, after I see some seeds sprouted.

I have also noticed less honeybees this year, though I've seen a good number of bumblebees, mostly on my herb flowers, and some smaller pollinators - maybe wasps? - all over my tomatillos, once it started getting warmer. I'll have to watch for pollinators, once my butternuts start getting their female blossoms.

 

[GotGarlic]

Im noticing a significant decline in bee population this year. Not sure if its the cool rainy weather, or the news report about declining bee population applies to my area. hopefully when it warms up ( and the sun pokes out , after 2 weeks of rain), the bees will find their way .

Honeybees don't go out in the rain, or when the temperature is below 50F - they don't have enough strength to fly through rain with a load of pollen. They should be out when the weather improves.

The declining bee population stuff is exaggerated. The stories don't account for how quickly a queen can repopulate the hive once the spring nectar flow gets going.

 

[dragnlaw]

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The declining bee population stuff is exaggerated. The stories don't account for how quickly a queen can repopulate the hive once the spring nectar flow gets going.

Sorry GG, have 2 friends in the business.
You best speak to someone who earns their living with bees and see if they agree with you.

They suffer fungus and diseases - when you lose 8 out of 10 hives in one field - and the queen - spring nectar or not doesn't come back quick.

 

[GotGarlic]

Sorry GG, have 2 friends in the business.
You best speak to someone who earns their living with bees and see if they agree with you.

They suffer fungus and diseases - when you lose 8 out of 10 hives in one field - and the queen - spring nectar or not doesn't come back quick.

Yes, bees do suffer from disease and, primarily, varroa mites, but responsible beekeepers can generally keep that under control. The experience of two people out of the thousands (hundreds of thousands?) who keep bees is not proof of the overall health of the honeybee population. You might want to read up on it.
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/...re-not-driving-health-problems-and-heres-why/

 

[dragnlaw]

Have not read either article entirely thru but you might want to check out this one, which by the way, I got from the article you linked.

https://beeinformed.org/2016/05/10/nations-beekeepers-lost-44-percent-of-bees-in-2015-16/

I think one should consider both articles. I never said "why" there is a problem whether from mis-management, nature, or human interference. But I believe it should be investigated/addressed before it does becomes a crisis. I believe both articles contribute towards the proper understand.

Sorta goes along with global warming, human garbage, and probably the biggest problem of all, overpopulation.

 

[GotGarlic]

Have not read either article entirely thru but you might want to check out this one, which by the way, I got from the article you linked.

https://beeinformed.org/2016/05/10/nations-beekeepers-lost-44-percent-of-bees-in-2015-16/

I think one should consider both articles. I never said "why" there is a problem whether from mis-management, nature, or human interference. But I believe it should be investigated/addressed before it does becomes a crisis. I believe both articles contribute towards the proper understand.

Sorta goes along with global warming, human garbage, and probably the biggest problem of all, overpopulation.

I definitely agree with you there. I didn't mean to imply that I didn't think there were any issues facing bees - just that in the general media, it's exaggerated, with headlines saying the bees are in danger of imminent extinction, etc. Some writers think colony collapse disorder is still going on, when it was primarily caused by the varroa mites. Once a treatment was developed for them, colonies largely recovered. People are working on treatments for the diseases as well as adding flower borders to farm fields, etc.

 

[larry_stewart]

Been picking scapes all week.
Today picked about a quart of string beans
Some fungus is hitting my potato plants , so I had to harvest a few buckets early. Potatoes are big enough to work with ( about golf ball sized). Hopefully the other potato locations dont get affected.
Snippets of Arugula every night in my salad.
Dill in my spinach pie
Parsley in my tabouleh
Pinching off the basil to make a more bushier plant, adding to a sauce ( made with last years tomatoes I got in the freezer , only a few quarts left, but made it a full year without buying canned tomatoes).

Already starting to plant more string beans and chard in cells to get big enough to place in my garlic and onion locations when I pick them in a few weeks. Probably get a row or two of carrots in one of those locations too.

Squash flowers seem to be evening out (M/F). so hoping to get a few squashes in the near future.

 

[bbqcoder]

Harvested a second batch of strawberries. Also harvested spinach, sugar snap peas. Will have to post some pictures. Planted a bunch of dahlia tubers which is a bit late for me. I’m a bit behind since I spent a few weekends putting up a fence around my community garden plot.

I have some seeds started for cauliflower that I hope to plant early July for a September harvest.

Has anyone have good luck planting cool weather stuff for fall harvesting? I tried peas last year but they didn’t do well.

I’m also known as the Allium King in my area. Have ~500 garlic growing (14 varieties) plus 5 different types of onions, potato onions, & 2 different kinds of shallots. They seem to have no pests which is why I enjoy growing them.

 

[pepperhead212]

That's more garlic than I have (only 168), bbqcoder! Tell me, do you eat all that?

I always grow 2 seasons of cold crops, mostly Asian greens, since they are so fast, and some are the most cold resistant I have found (tatsoi and mosome [tatsoi x komatsuna] the two best). I don't plant those or peas until well into August, though, of course, you are in a cooler zone. And peas I have almost given up on for spring, as we get heat spells that trigger them, and make them mature smaller. They do better in fall here.

 

[larry_stewart]

I haven't had too much luck planting for fall harvest
Part of my problem is judging the best time to start them to avoid the heat of the summer, yet to go e enough time to mature into a harvestable crop.

In addition to that , finding room to plant them is sometimes an issue, as I dont want to cut any of my summer crops short to make room for something I haven't had much luck with.

I always get peas out early, as they are supposed to be a cool weather crop, but I find consistency that they have little to no growth at a very slow rate, until the weather starts to get warm anyway, and they therefor take up room in the garden for a very long time.

I have tried planting them for fall harvest, with poor results.

 

[blissful]

Larry, I'm in Wisconsin, and we don't get 2 planting seasons at all. So, lettuces, yes, plant all summer. The one exception that works for us, is to plant green beans in the garlic bed after garlic harvest. We've had really good luck with that, large harvest of beans really late in the fall. I usually plant contenders (bush) and they can up beautifully.



Beans are good for 2 reasons, instead of the garden being left to fill with weeds, we get a crop. The beans collect nitrogen and make the soil more fertile, so just leave the roots of the beans in the ground after harvest.

 

[larry_stewart]

Last 2 years ive done a late bean crop.
The first year I started too late, so didn't get much.
Pulled it back last year and better, but I think I need to get started a week or two earlier than that.

Good thing I keep decent records, so Ill just start them up even a littler earlier and hopefully I get a second bumper crop.

I like green beans cause they freeze well so the last throughout the winter.

 

[Addie]

Sorry GG, have 2 friends in the business.
You best speak to someone who earns their living with bees and see if they agree with you.

They suffer fungus and diseases - when you lose 8 out of 10 hives in one field - and the queen - spring nectar or not doesn't come back quick.

I have to agree with you dragnlaw. The cranberry crop in Mass. is in great danger this year. It is a major industry in this state. And it has been on the news regarding how the bee population is in danger not only here, but also in Europe.

Having one successful hive in your back yard, does not speak for the whole industry.

 

[bbqcoder]

That's more garlic than I have (only 168), bbqcoder! Tell me, do you eat all that?

LOL, no. I give a lot away after keeping the best for myself. I'm still learning the varieties that I have in the sense which grow the best, and are the largest. So far, the best variety I have comes from Sun Moon Farm in Rindge NH. I get bulbs the size of a baseball. They also keep very well, lasting until May/June which is great for a hardneck.

I'm also experimenting by planting them in multiple locations. I have some at my house which are in raised beds. I get a lot of sun but nothing like my community garden plot which has no trees whatsoever. Lastly, I have planted in a community area of the community garden. I'm trying to understand the effect of sunlight on the bulb size.

I always grow 2 seasons of cold crops, mostly Asian greens, since they are so fast, and some are the most cold resistant I have found (tatsoi and mosome [tatsoi x komatsuna] the two best).

Yes, I'm amazed how fast some of the Asian greens (toy choy, bok choy) grow. Some of the plants get huge in 30 days.

I don't plant those or peas until well into August, though, of course, you are in a cooler zone. And peas I have almost given up on for spring, as we get heat spells that trigger them, and make them mature smaller. They do better in fall here.

Yes, that's the problem with fall planting. Some of the seeds don't like germinating when the soil is too warm. A trick that I've learned for peas is to pre-germinate them by soaking them in water for up to 24 hours. My plan is to do that, and then after planting them, cover with a light layer of hay to keep the soil cooler.

I always get peas out early, as they are supposed to be a cool weather crop, but I find consistency that they have little to no growth at a very slow rate, until the weather starts to get warm anyway, and they therefor take up room in the garden for a very long time.

Yeah, I tried early this year (end of March) and they didn't sprout until 2 week of April, almost 4 weeks later. Seems that the soil was too cool.

The one exception that works for us, is to plant green beans in the garlic bed after garlic harvest. We've had really good luck with that, large harvest of beans really late in the fall. I usually plant contenders (bush) and they can up beautifully.



Beans are good for 2 reasons, instead of the garden being left to fill with weeds, we get a crop. The beans collect nitrogen and make the soil more fertile, so just leave the roots of the beans in the ground after harvest.

I will have to try this tip. I harvest my garlic sometime in July. Hopefully there's still enough time for a bean crop.

 

[GotGarlic]

I have to agree with you dragnlaw. The cranberry crop in Mass. is in great danger this year. It is a major industry in this state. And it has been on the news regarding how the bee population is in danger not only here, but also in Europe.

Having one successful hive in your back yard, does not speak for the whole industry.

Dear, I don't base my opinions on things like this on my personal experience. If you know nothing else about me, you should know that by now. See my link above.

Btw, we have two successful hives and have sold three nucs (nucleus beehives) this spring by raising queens and moving them, with a number of worker bees, to new hive boxes.

 

[pepperhead212]

I harvested my first eggplant! Ichiban, as usual, and there are at least 6, two or more inches long, so they won't be far behind. Neon has some fruits just forming, but the "Indian" variety, that I had to buy, due to seed failure, only has flower buds forming, though the plants are as large as the others, though they were started later.
First Ichiban eggplant of the season! About 6 smaller ones, not quite ready. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Little Lucy okra, 6-23 and 6-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomatoes are starting to ripen, Sunset Falls first, as last year, with Sunsugar (my usual first ripe), very close behind.
Sunset Falls ripening, 6-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Sunsugars ripening, 6-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Looking good pepper !!
You still got a few weeks on me.
Eggplant flowers are there , but no fruit yet
No flowers on Okra yet, but Im patiently waiting.
Tomatoes green green green.
This week is supposed to be mid 80's , humid and one day of rain ( tomorrow) so Im sure this long awaited heat will give the plants a well needed Kick in the butt ( bud would bee more appropriate).