Garden 2023

[Marlingardener]

No scapes here, but our garlic is harvested and drying in the barn. We also have cherry tomatoes (waiting on the Romas and Celebrities) and one little bell pepper, which will grow into a large bell, I hope.

 

[larry_stewart]

Picked my cauliflower today. Decent size. Two nice, white and perfect. The other two, slightly discolored, not as compact. Maybe a little over ripe. The two ' over ripe ' ones were bitter, so I had to toss them.
***Tomato in pic os for size reference. Not my tomato. ***

 

[pepperhead212]

I had to check all the plants today, after that wicked storm yesterday (though we only got .77" of rain - at least it was something), and I was fairly lucky that only a couple were damaged by that wind - 2 peppers, which I set back up, and packed the soil around the roots and stems, and put some stakes next to them, and clipped the plants to them. One still looked wilted later, when I came in, but the other seemed to be coming back. There were several tomatoes that drooped over, but only one small branch broke on one tomato. The cucurbits seemed flexible, and weren't bothered, and the eggplants also didn't seem bothered at all. Some of the okra seemed drooped over, but they too seem flexible, and soon, I'll post some large stalks next to those for later in the season.

 

[pepperhead212]

I went to Aldi when it opened, and got home before 9:15 - the reason I go when they open, almost all the time! I checked the peppers and those weathered ones were perked up, and not the least bit wilted anymore - I was happy! It's supposed to rain sometime this morning, but, as usual, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Kathleen]

I got three cucumbers! They are these small hybrids that I decided to try called "lunchbox" cucumbers. They are small, but have such a great flavor with zero bitterness.

 

[blissful]

Scapes are forming on garlic. We're giving them away free.

Anything we planted may-beginning of june, that didn't make it or didn't germinate (so there is space in the landscape fabric) is getting replaced with beets and snap pea pods, lastly swiss chard.

 

[pepperhead212]

I went out today after it stopped raining for about 2½ hours (though I only got .03" then), and started trimming the tomatoes (and cucurbits) again. I went out yesterday, and sprayed most things with the surround again (some had washed of, but most things had a lot of new growth since last time. Today I trimmed the suckers, re-trained the vines through the trellises, and buzzed the blossoms, as I was doing these things. Usually, I would have stopped doing this, by now, but there just aren't very many pollinators around yet, due to (I assume) the horrible dry weather I've been having. Hopefully, I'll start seeing them soon, as those cucurbits need pollinating - what I do makes sure almost every tomato blossom self-pollinates. And there are countless tomatoes I see out there now! The Oaxacan Jewels and Brandyboys are still the largest by far, and getting loaded with tomatoes.
Two of the Oaxacan Jewel tomatoes, over 3 feet tall, 6-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Two of the Brandyboy tomatoes, incredibly large, and loaded with fruits, 6-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also trimmed those suckers off most of the cucurbits, some of which grow them faster than the main vine! The calabash was the only vine that didn't have any suckers, but the vine was off the top of the trellis, over 6' high! I trained it to one side, and when it gets to the end, I'll snip it, and let it grow more runners, like the bottle gourd. Supposedly, it's flowers open during the day, so I don't have to hand pollinate them, like the bottle gourds.
Calabash vine - about 6 feet tall, with no suckers yet. 6-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Two bottle gourd plants, most suckers trimmed, but a couple runners in each plant. 6-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I saw the first open blossom on an okra today! A Little Lucy, as usual, for the first, and I will save the first couple of pods, letting them harden on the plant - this way, with these first couple, there's no other varieties open yet, so it won't be crossed. I'll buzz the blossoms, to make sure they are self pollinated - those are other plants I always see a lot of pollinators on, so I'll watch for them there.

The Superchilis have some almost full sized - about normal here, around 6-20, more or less. The garlic is looking good, but of course, the rain comes, once I stopped watering, to dry it out for harvest! That rarely cooperates, anyway.

 

[larry_stewart]

Picked about 100 + scapes the other day, stir fried some up. One part of my garlic bed looked a little iffy, so I picked a few. Looked like past years when they started to rot a little underground, so I picked about 20 in that area . I think I salvaged them, but Im at a loss. I've been doing the same thing forever with no issues. Only the past few years they've been getting soggy. First I amended the soil in the bed with no improvement. I then literally changed all the soil, with some improvement. This year I changed locations, and still running into some issues, but now , with experience, I know to pull them before letting them rot. I have not watered them at all this year, and in general, it's been a very dry spring, so I dont know why they are having issues. Maybe my mulch is performing too well, and retaining too much moisture in the soil. On a happier note, peas kicking in and flower bed is starting to fill in. Still needs another week or two until it really pops, but it's on its way. BTW, Thats Bill on the swing.

 

[pepperhead212]

I went out about 4:30 this afternoon, about 3 hours and 45 minutes after the storm, and everything was dried out, from the sun and the wind, so I could start handling things. Nothing was broken, fortunately, just bent. You can see this first Oaxacan Jewel way away from the trellis (those plastic clips actually broke!), and several more down the lane, away from the trellis. Same with the bent okra, all of which I put stakes on (a couple already had them), so next storm won't blow any over.
I was worried when I saw these plants, bent away from the trellis, after the TS I had earlier, but nothing broke! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Star of David and Little Lucy are the best growing of the okra, though the Little Lucy okra, as usual, doesn't have very dense foliage.
Little Lucy okra, 6-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Emerald okra in front of the Star Of David, 6-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Hill Country Red okra, in front of Big Buck, 6-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The cucurbits are going nuts, and weren't bothered by the wind, with all those tendrils holding them in place. These melons are probably the smallest of my plants (the other kajari and the green bitter melon are larger), but taking off, and the kajari melon vines are trying to make another vine with every sucker, and it seems like even more than one tries to grow at the base of every leaf stem!
Kajari melon, on L, and White bitter melon, on R, shortly after the TS, 6-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[blissful]

Germination went well for most everything. I planted a lot of kale, since I eat greens every day. Every year I hope to can them. I've canned them once before and it is a lot of work, huge amounts to harvest, and clean then steaming it, then canning it. A large cooler full of kale will only result in 4 qts of canned greens. I planted more kale than I have before so I'm a little nervous that I'll have so much I won't get it all canned--we'll see how that goes. Wish me luck, and God willing.

I'm excited for this year's gardens.

 

[larry_stewart]

My okra is not happy. Possibly just hasn't been warm enough yet, but last year I had a similar issue. Same variety ( baby bubba) new seeds, did everything like I've been doing in the past (with previous success). On a happy note, picked my first tomato today. July.4th variety. Supposed to ripen around July 4th. Usually ripens a week later than that for me in the past. This year, 2 weeks early. Go figure. Not the greatest tomato in the world. A little acidy, but a heavy producer. I usually use this when I make gazpacho.

 

[pepperhead212]

That's weird with that tomato ripening early, since, like you said, it's been somewhat cool this spring. I grew it once, but something else ripened earlier, and I wasn't that impressed with the flavor, so never grew it again.

I was thinking that maybe it was the cooler weather that was holding some of my okra back, too, but 2 of the varieties - Little Lucy and Star Of David - don't seem to mind it.

 

[larry_stewart]

I like the baby bubba cause the plants are only about 2 feet high and dont shade anything.

 

[Marlingardener]

Today we harvested more cherry tomatoes, and first two ripe Roma tomatoes. Also brought in the dried garlic from the barn, after it had been cleaned up and the roots trimmed. We are still waiting for the first cucumbers, which are on the vines, but very small.

 

[larry_stewart]

Those garlics look great! What variety/ varieties are they ?

 

[Marlingardener]

Oh dear, Larry, I don't know the variety. They are hardneck garlic. I just got some from the local grocery, planted the cloves, and ended up with good garlic. I replenish the planting stock about every three years, but in between just plant some of our own garlic.
Sorry!

 

[larry_stewart]

Oh dear, Larry, I don't know the variety. They are hardneck garlic. I just got some from the local grocery, planted the cloves, and ended up with good garlic. I replenish the planting stock about every three years, but in between just plant some of our own garlic.
Sorry!

No need to be sorry. Whatever they are, and whatever you did, they look great!!!

 

[pepperhead212]

I was out there today, and it was very cloudy, and when I checked, rain wasn't very likely until late tomorrow, and on and off for a couple days (though again, I'm not counting on any of them). My Metechi almost all needed dug up, but most of the others had 3 browned leaves, so I figured I'd dig them all up before the thunderstorms come tomorrow. I only got 28 smallish Metechi heads (about the same number of small heads I dug up a couple weeks ago that had browned), and 14 smaller and 40 larger Music heads, and every single Music clove I planted grew into a head! Tomorrow, I'll have Georgian Fire and Estonian Red to dig up, before the rain.
28 Metechi garlic heads, harvested 6-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

54 Music garlic heads, harvested 6-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The calabash and bottle gourds are both starting to flower, and it looks like the calabash is also a night flowering plant. Both had some opened by 8 pm, but all male - no females, like I often see with winter squash. But that's better than the one variety of bottle gourd that started with a bunch of female flowers, that were wasted, until the male flowers started up.

The eggplants are all starting to set fruits, so they'll be coming in soon.
Ichiban eggplant starting up, 6-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First Choruoku green eggplant, 6-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First Asian String eggplant, 6-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Looks like my Okra is a bust. Started off with about a dozen plants. One by one they're withering away. They never looked terribly healthy, even days after germinating. Second year in a row that I had issues with okra. Same variety, same techniques. I have a new, unopened packet of seeds. I'm giving it one last shot. It's a miniature variety, and theoretically will be harvestable in about 60 days, so I planted about a dozen yesterday. We'll see what happens .
On the other hand, probably my best pea season ever. Picked about 4 - 6 quarts on out first picking. Not very large pods, but a lot of peas packed in there. The variety is " Easy Peasy".
Also, I grew " Butterfly Pea Flowers" this year. Common to South East Asia, I learned about it in an online cooking class I had taken. When dried , then brewed in hot liquid, it causes the liquid to turn blue. I had never heard of it until I took this class. I bought them off amazon, but I figured, why not try to grow it. Didn't think there would be enough time in the season here for it to flower, and especially with the cooler spring we are having this year. Sure enough, by surprise I saw its first flower the other day. I'll pick them, dry them, and save for future use. ( I dont think they have much of a flavor, it's more the color - visual thing. Here you can see it with more of a pale bluish color, cause it was mixed with milk. But if making a straight tea, the color is deeper and more vivid. And apparently, changes with acidity. If using something more acidic , like a lemon, I will turn the liquid purple.

 

[Kathleen]

I got three of my lunchtime cucumbers today. I love the flavor of this little hybrid and there are many cucumbers setting on each plant.