Garden TLC

In the garden today, I:

1) weeded a little (need to do more)

2) tested soil in the containers I’m growing tomatoes in (based on purpling veins in the leaves and no more flowers, I think it is low in nutrients) – I couldn’t read the nutrient testing, but my soil is a neutral pH.

3) fertilized tomato containers and pepper container with Tomato-tone organic fertilizer

4) set up mesh trellis for peas and switched out the solid one that kept falling down due to rain or squirrels

5) went crazy at the local nursery– no better sign than “All seeds – 40% off!”

6) decided to plant pumpkins and some winter squash (acorn and hubbard) based on sale seed purchase

7)watered the raised bed and other planting areas with compost tea.

8)came inside and lay down, pestered by dog and went for a walk.

My new favorite gardening quote: “A good gardener doesn’t have a green thumb, she has brown knees.”

Happy gardening!

A bit of beauty

Hosta Flowers

Sea Oats

Garden Watch: July 24th, 2009

Well here is a quick update about the other veggies growing in my veggie garden:

My peppers continue to do pretty well. The peppers (except for Holy Mole) are small, but the plants still seem to be growing bigger. I have eaten 3 jalapeno peppers. I had to throw out a Carmen pepper which looked great, except the back started to rot. I was very upset. However, the plant seems to be doing even better now that it is not concentrating on ripening its fruit. The Gypsy pepper is pale yellow, and I’m waiting until it turns red to eat it because I heard it is better when red. I am also doing similarly with Holy Mole, which is supposed to turn brown. It is now a dark green glossy color kind of like a pasilla.

Pepper Container

Holy Mole

Small Bell Pepper

My cucumbers were doing quite well. I did notice and kill a few cucumber beetles and squash bugs (horrible, horrible, pests that kill plants and won’t die–look them up, they are the bane of the squash gardener) although was never able to get pictures of them to pass on. Look them up and fear. Anyway, I got quite a few cucumbers but today pulled the last on one vine that looked like it had pretty much had it. I also pulled all the zucchini plants. I kept fighting but finally admitted that it just wasn’t working. I’ll add some pictures. I licked the first problem – yellowing and browning leaves, everything was looking good and I got about 3 zucchinis from the plants, then came horrible powdery mildew which spread very quickly and stopped production of the zucchini. I was out of Neem and some anti fungucides, and really was pretty tired of fighting with the zucchini plants. Plus, frankly, I had a horrible infestation of squash bugs last year and with the appearance of a few of the little buggers, I wasn’t really willing to continue to fight with zucchini that just wanted to die. So I pulled all the zucchini plants and am taking donations from my neighbor, whose zucchini, like most people’s zucchini, produces more than they ever want or can consume. I planted some suyo long burpless cucumbers in their place and in the place of the cucumber vine I pulled. I figure I have time for a harvest of fall cucumbers, and the squash bugs should actually be gone by the time these vines are flowering. So, hopefully I will win. Just a note, if you are container gardening and have an infestation of squash bugs, GET RID OF YOUR SOIL. Among other evils of this bug, they overwinter in mulch and soil. So really if you have an infestation, you shouldn’t grow squash plants for a few years. I happened to have gotten rid of my soil, so it wasn’t too bad, but chances are if I had kept my soil, I would have been fighting squash bugs daily. Another of my burpless vines has just started to really blossom, so I’m looking forward to it producing fruit which it hasn’t yet.

First harvest - cucumber 5.6 oz

Another cucumber

Baby zucchini - one of the few

Powdery Mildew - believe me it got worse!

Powdery Mildew again on another zucchini plant

New blossoms on a burpless variety

Cleaned up cucumber container

Beans & Peas:

Awesome! Getting a few beans every day and now just letting them grow so maybe my husband will get a few too. The pea plants have been growing slowly in the heat, but have just put out pods this week. I plan on planting a pea crop in late August to try and get a fall crop:

First pea pod

Yellow bush beans

Eggplant:

No harvest yet, but they are definitely growing. I’m not sure how large Ichiban eggplants are supposed to get, so I should look that up. But it is definitely a beauty. And my fairy tale eggplant slowly is getting bigger.

Ichiban eggplant

Fairy tale eggplant

My tomatillos are also…slowly… coming along. It’s actually starting to drive me crazy. Grow faster!!!!!!

Tallest tomatillo plant

Potatoes:

I’ve never grown these before. It’s been about 3 weeks since I planted. Some shoots have come up. I’ve had to add compost to one plant. Wondering when and if the other seed potatoes will come up or should I put compost over the entire can? Hmmm. Definitely a learning experience….

Can 1: 1 growth, covered with compost

Empty potato can

Potato Can 3: 1 shoot

Fingerling potatoes planted in raised bed

2nd growth in raised bed

Other crops (in other words, fun with the hoop house):

In my raised bed, I’ve planted radishes which are going gangbusters! I think I may be able to harvest some in a couple weeks. I’ve also planted cabbage and broccoli, and am succession planting greens (planting a row of greens every week). For fun, I also put in some garlic cloves that have sprouted. Although I don’t think I’m going to let these grow into bulbs (I have more coming in October, which is a more appropriate time for planting), I’m going to have fun eating and using the garlic greens for cooking, which apparently taste (surprise) like garlic! I’m also salivating at the mustard greens….

Mustard green seedlings - 7/8/09

Mustard Greens

Radishes - 7/12/09

Radishes today

Cabbage seedlings - 7/8/09ish

Cabbage - first real leaves have emerged

Broccoli plants

Garlic

Nevada lettuce seedlings

Chard - first seedling spotted!

Hoop house I made

Tomatoes Gone Wild

It’s the end of the July in Maryland, and what a weird growing season it has been! I am finally seeing “real” sized tomatoes ripening in the garden. Although it has been a tight race and I thought that the Cherokee Purple was going to win, it looks like true to name, “Early Girl” is going to be my first ripe tomato. However, it looks like the birds had started finding the Cherokee, so I pulled it when I saw what looked like a beak mark so that the fruit can finish ripening inside. For the past week or so, I’ve been enjoying my cherry tomatoes, although my husband has been teasing me because the cherry tomatoes that have ripened have not made it into the house except for yesterday. I’ve been getting a few ripe ones a day, anywhere from 3-5, so they have just been eaten standing in the garden (the best way to enjoy a tomato). The cherry tomatoes I grew this year are “Sun Golds” and taste very sweet. I would say they are definitely a hit. The plant is full of them, and they are awesome. I’ve also been snacking a bit on my green beans and getting a few of those daily. I’m now going to wait to harvest them until I can get a good 2 servings. I think I may be pulling them a bit early, but boy have they been good! (Worth all of those nights slug hunting, let me tell you).

But in any case, I wanted to do an update on my wild surprise tomato plants. The one growing in the rocks (See my post called “Life finds a way”) has definitely thrived. I caged it, and it now has it’s first fruit. I can tell by the fruit that it was one of my favorites from last year, the “Juliet” tomato. As an added bonus, this plant and the new wild ones growing seem to be the healthiest plants growing this year! I’m loving it. I haven’t mentioned it, but I also have a wild “tomato bush” growing near where I kept my vines and rotting plants from last year. The bush is really about 3 different tomato plants that I’m just letting grow wild like the vine it is. And they are starting to produce fruit as well. I’m hoping to be up to my ears in tomatoes this year, and happy that I decided to start canning this year. Mmmm homemade tomato sauce and salsas!!! 🙂

Here are some pictures of the tomato plants:

My Wild Tomato Plants:

Wild Tomato Identified...

...As a Juliet plant

Another tomato vine growing in the rocks...

What kind of plant will you be?

My Tomato Bush

With Type 1 fruit

...and Type 2 Fruit

And for tomato lovers… Tomato Porn (enjoy):

Sun Gold tomatoes

Juliet

Pink Girl

Early Girl

Lemon Boys - starting to turn yellow!

Brandywines continue to grow bigger

Celebrity Tomatoes

Cherokee Purple-- a much abused fruit

Mr. Stripeys

San Marzano plum tomato

I’ll post when I pick and weigh the Early Girl!