I'm curious what's popping in your gardens. It has been an incredibly cool summer here in MI. Our tomatoes are slow, but we have a few small varieties starting to turn red. I've already taken a full load of peas, of course lettuce and spinach, the cucumbers are coming on strong, along with radishes. Summer squash and zucchini are starting to be harvested too. pretty much everything was seed sown or I started a few plants inside. Heirloom seeds of course ... The corn is starting to tassle too! That's about it though. Peppers are REALLY slow. Almost forgot about the wild black cap raspberries, those are about two warm days from being prime. So ... What's going on in your gardens?
Tomatos are small and green yet, same with the peas ,sweet but not plump yet tried some"rocket arugala"(peppery salad green) it went nuts and almost took over just not very useful..potato plants are bout 2'tall and full, We have had little to no rain...Glad we are not subsisting outta the patch this year, ...cabbage broccoli and half the peas fell to the groundhog. Neighbor lost radishes only radishes to him...
on my second crop of tomatoes, cukes are about all gone, melons already been eaten, corn eaten or put away, still getting some purple hull peas and pole beans, sq
Well,,, ok since you asked what's "RIPE" in my garden... I'll tell you... But, first mind you, that the tomatoes and artichokes have along with the rest of my plants and even grapes, (no longer even raisins now), just turned into DUST! They all burnt up from the 110-to-116 degree temps we have had here.... So, the cats took to the raised bed, and made it their own, and oh yes it is RIPE! I won't go into the gnarly details.....!
Darn wild turkeys ate all of the cucumber plants a month ago. For some reason, they only liked the cucumbers and beans. The deer finished off two cherry saplings, they ate everything except the trunk.
Northern New Hampshire has rained every day, and it is very cool too. Tomatoes, but not very many. Not a good garden year.
Had some garden fresh sauted zucchini and summer squash tonight. Also some sliced cukes and the first of my grape tomatoes. Sorry to hear about the bum luck in other areas though.
Cat poo it is very ripe. There is an abandoned house across the alley that has a bunch of cats living under it. There is a lady that comes from out side the neighborhood and feeds them. The cats are destroying all of the plants in the neighborhood.
Awesome tomatoes..... Some okra.....and cukes. Great sandwiches for lunch yesterday...... And going to have fried okra with dinner tonight....
Carrots are big enough for selected plucking. Green beans are starting to come in too. Corn is getting ears, but its very early. Lettuce is done for a month or two. I'm thinking of setting up an indoor greens garden for this winter. Anyone done that? I'm torn between an indoor set up with lights, and just extending the season with a small pop up greenhouse. I can get my hands on a scrap greenhouse cover. I just need to fix up the interior trusses. Its very small though. 4'x6' I think. I can get some black buckets for holding heat during the nights. I can take other steps to lengthen the season too. Thoughts?
Oh gosh, where to start? No bell peppers yet, lots of cherry tomatoes, big tomatoes just starting to turn orange, lots of broccoli, cabbage, snow peas, strawberries, arugula, radishes, carrots, some corn, lots of summer squash, cucumbers, leaf lettuce, spinach, orange cauliflower (more beta-carotene there) past the season for asparagus, but it was delicious wrapped in bacon and grilled. We also had some miner's lettuce, purslane and dandelions were in the spring. Life is good living in the country!
Most of the garden is done for the season, here. I'm waiting until September until we rototill it one last time and I'm going to plant wheat. I just got a bag of feed wheat a couple of weeks ago. The mill didn't know what type of wheat it was, just whatever the local farmers grew. I took a large handfull and planted some at various locations in the garden to see if it would grow. I was afraid that there may be some GMO's in there. Not so, they all grew well. Wheat looks like regular grass when it sprouts up. Some of the locals were telling me that it is probably spring white wheat, so it should be ready for harvest (if needed) by spring. If not, it will get tilled under for fertalizer for next season's garden. I was reading up on wheat harvesting, and it is so simple I don't understand why more people don't bother. I just need to find out what wheat does to the soil if you harvest it instead of plow it under; so we can get what we need to condition the soil for vegetables again in the spring. On another note, the apple trees didn't do too well this year. They were just planted last season, so I guess that is to be expected.
Green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and zuccinni are all coming in faster than we can put them away! Other squash are starting to mature, corn is on its way, jalapenos are almost ready too. Carrots are nearly there. Sunflowers are starting to head, pumpkins are very slow this year. Blackberries are nearly done. I've marked some wild ones on the property that will be moved this fall for cultivation next season. I'm very excited about that. I also discovered two green apple trees that I'll trim back this fall and see if I can get some production for next season. I had been growing an indoor tobacco crop and I finally moved it outside. Boy oh boy, is that what those plants needed. They are taking off! I'm not much of a smoker, but I thought I'd try an heirloom tobacco to have as a barter item. The curing is going to be the tough part. I've also been thinking very hard about my winter gardening. I've never done it, but I think I need to give it a try this year. I have a small greenhouse that will require some small repairs, but it will be used in conjunction with a second layer of either cold frames or an inner layer to maximize daytime heat. It'll go over one of my squares ion my existing garden and it'll be a simple salad garden this year. I'm also going to do some herbs inside the house. I have a small grow tent that will do a great job of sprouting and sustaining herbs. Man, this got to be a long post ... One last thing .... ten pounds of blueberries put away this weekend. My favorites!
Figs: for jam and chutney. 'Maters: for preserved tomato sauce Okra: for good eating Blueberries: this year for the squirrels Jerasulem Artichokes Swiss Chard just finished Egyptian onions are up Laus Deo Overbore
Figs sounds awesome. I wish I could grow them. Hot peppers are coming along now. Green beans are on the second picking. Peas just won't die! First corn will be in soon too. Acorn squash and butternut are getting close too. I'm looking at putting in another crop of beets this weekend. Its been a great year for them. Looking forward to apple season here in MI.
You feed the Jerusalem Artichokes to the squirrels? I used to grow it in my garden when I spent Summers at my house in Maine....and put it in stews, soups and a few other things...I loved the flavor!
