Your 2015 Garden, what are you doing?

I took some pictures of the garden today. We sure had a lot of rain at the beginning of our season and then the drought. It did better than we hoped. The Lord blessed us.

 

Yes! more ways to use zucchini!

I use a coffee grinder for fine powder on everything!

 

Got a bumper crop of tomatoes growing, sunflowers are doing good, first flower is done blooming, so the seeds are getting nice and plump

 

Be aware that I have not validated the effectiveness of the idea through empirical research. It may be worthwhile testing the idea to evaluate its effective range and spread. Just make sure that you are wearing appropriate personal protective equipment when testing and position your target downwind of yourself .... safety goggles, hearing protection and face mask...a face mask with particulates filter may be necessary for the purpose.

Also be aware that there may be legal issues if used on another person, in the same way that there may be legal issues, depending on the jurisdiction and particular circumstances, when commercially manufactured capsicum/pepper spray is used. My comments were for entertainment and education purposes only: Food for thought for those who are living in a WROL environment and one is facing an imminent threat to one's life.

 

Ok, chelloveck, I understand. Thank you very much.

 

I appreciate that for many it's just common sense...but am just covering my butt for those who seem to lack that precious commodity.

 

Or test it using flour? Good Idea BTW, Chell.

 

I remember a song by Alabama that was popular back in the 80s about walking in high cotton. At the time I remember thinking that was kinda funny as all the cotton I'd ever seen was barely 2 ft tall.
Then I grew Nankeen. Suddenly I see. It's as tall as me!

I'd read that commercial strains nowadays produce upwards of 100 bolls per plant. I thought well, my guys won't come close to that, they're from the 1800s. Guess again. I counted this morning and between the bolls already formed and the blooms coming on, these two will have around 80-110 per plant.


This morning's pickin's. I quit picking cherry tomatoes when my back started to hurt and I never made it to the jalapenos or banana peppers. What am I gonna do with all these cucumbers? Maybe some bread and butter pickles.... Okra gets sliced and coated in cornmeal (totally not primal but it's Hickory King so I cut me some slack there)The cantaloupe gets melon balled and then frozen on a cookie sheet. Once they're all froze and won't stick to each other they're tossed into a big ziplock and kept in the deep freeze. The Mr. loves frozen melon balls. I like to rip on him about gobbling balls, because I have the maturity level of a 13 year old boy.



Also have turnips, beets, carrots, cauliflower and lettuces coming up in the wicking bed I planted Saturday (or was it Sunday) night. I saw a couple spinach sprouts starting. The sugar peas always take a while to get going.

Starting to plan for the 2016 garden now...

 

@ditch witch great harvest! Lovely pics! And you are the crazy one

sounds like it's time to pick the cucumbers smaller and make mini pickles sweet tart or sour
Sweet Pickle Relish Recipe - Food.com

Summertime Sweet Pickles Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Sour Pickles: A Simple Recipe — Nourished Kitchen

I just like the name on this one
Flame And Tart Pickles Recipe - Food.com

 

End of the year report from New Hampshire. I made a total commitment to organic this year. The results were that if I had to depend on my garden, I would be dead. The late blight has destroyed my potatoes, tomatoes,and such, powdery mildow has taken the cucumbers, squash and such, the racoons and deer got the corn and anything they missed the woodchucks got. Anyone have any good ideas about woodchuck jerky as we might have to live on that this winter.

 

Duane, I laugh because I've been there. Thanks for the update. It was a good experiment for the year and you learned alot I'm guessing. And perhaps have a strategy for next year?

 

If I wish to survive out of my garden, I will have to use some non organic products in the short run, build much better fences and perhaps learn how to properly prepare woodchuck stew. The kenebunc potatoes and a couple of the hybred tomato seeds did best against the early and late blights. Please read what it says on the seed advertisements on disease resistance and talk with your successful gardening neighbors. Resistant seeds, proper chemicals, and proper gardening practices are really important tools in learning to build a survival garden or at least in New Hampshire. If I were to properly prepare for for a major event, I think that known effective stored seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides are at least as important as beans and ammo, in fact in year two, they may be the most important.

 

Fall is coming fast and I am starting to think preparation for mulching and protecting some of my herbs. I planted an herb garden mid-summer and I am hoping to protect the plants. Some I have potted so I can grow them inside. I have brought in two thyme plants, sage and comfrey. The comfrey is not happy but the other seem like they will do fine. I want to protect my lavender and mints plus I read that chamomile and dill can reseed and winter over quite well if protected. I do not have many leaves here so what would be the suggestions to protect the plants with. Straw? Mulch (wood chips)? I am a zone 5.

 

I get real suspicious of wood chips because the ones they say are natural still smell and I fear they have been treated. I read an article that you have to protect the plants from winter sun. I know the herb garden area gets lots of sun and is prone to have the snow melt faster. I really need to cover really good so they go dormant.

Straw doesn't have too many seeds does it?

 

We're going into the 40s at night now and our first frost date is about 2 weeks away so I'm winding it all down for this year. I didn't weigh stuff, but I did keep a sort of running tally as I went. 32 pumpkins and 26 butternuts later I think I'm good for both this winter. Tons of tomato this and that canned up, plus lots of salsa. 2, 2 gallon ziplock bags full of sliced/cornmealed okra ready to fry up, plus that much again of cantaloupe balls frozen. 2 gallon bag of habaneros alone, ready for bacon cures. I have a trashcan full of dried Indian corn for popcorn, which will be fun. Several gallons of peach ice cream, plus around 40 pounds of whole pears in the freezer that'll be used for booze and ice cream too. Hey, I like ice cream in the winter. There's lots more, I've lost track.
But the coolest to me right now is my cotton is poppin right now. This is Nankeen, the original source for khakis.

 

October Chores for Gardener's...... this is the time to wrap up 2015 and get ready for 2016.

October's Gardening Chores - Farmers' Almanac

I have the gutters cleaned, lawn raked and ready for fertilization. Piled leaves where the compost area is. I have started to cut back some of my shrubs. I am having a real issue with rodents, both mice and voles/moles.

 

We did a lot of clearing out over the weekend. Pulled all the peppers up and yanked down the huge cherry mater tree. Okra was done so we took all that out. Spaghetti squash vines put on this last minute crop, it'll never make it in time but I'm leaving it until the last second anyway. Tomatoes are still producing, pumpkins are done and I need to cut the last 4 pumpkins off the vines. Took the corn out at the first of the month. My wicking bed is full of salad greens. Grasshoppers ate the sugar peas in it tho.

 

Like many enterprises, there are winners and losers in the competition against four or more legged critters.

 

I may get snow this week. @ditch witch storm headed your way this week...............