Harvest Monday Aug 30th 2010

It's not a huge harvest this week.  The tomatoes are slowing down and a majority of the rest is done for the season.

The second round of cabbages was enjoyed in cole slaw this week.  We also wrapped things up with our corn.  The jury is still out on whether we'll do it again next year.  The pumpkin may be our one and only this year.  All around we didn't have a good pumpkin and squash year. 

Tomatoes are still coming in, but at a slower pace.  I'm hoping to can up a few more qts this week, but we'll see. 

This post is part of Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.  Head on over and see what else has been harvested this week.

After the deluge

This is what my tomatoes look like after 4 days of pouring rain. 

When I picked corn, I found this.  The poor pollination makes it look like it has some kind of disease.  Random kernels look rather silly.

Then I found this smart aleck grinning at me.  He's kind of cute, so I'll let him stay.  At least until lunch.

Corn on the cob

This is my first year attempting corn.  I grew a variety called Incredible from Fedco seeds.  These were grown in a 4x12 plot.  I added compost at planting time and think that I could have added more.  They were fertilized with fish emulsion every 2 weeks after they broke ground.  There is such a wide variance in how they did. 

I am a bit confused.  I had heard that corn did well in large patches, so that they could all pollinate properly.  Having seen corn grown in the fields nearby, the edges seem to be smaller.  In my case, the edges were producing the largest ears, with very little in the interior of the bed.  This is certainly not all the corn to be harvested, but I'm not expecting to get too much more. 

They were very tasty.  The family was thrilled with the perfect level of sweetness and corn flavor.  I'm not very happy with the yield.  It seems like a waste of garden space.  Should I have been more aggressive with the fertilization?  Did I just need a bigger bed?  I would love any wisdom from the more experienced corn growers.

End of July garden

After a long hot month, we're having a lovely few days.  The cooler temps and lower humidity are so refreshing.  It makes me wish for this weather everyday.  August is usually slightly cooler here in New England, we'll see if that's the case this year.

The corn is looking like it's almost ready to harvest.  I can't wait for the first taste.

The pumpkins are starting to grow into the bushes again.  My neighbors joke that whatever pumpkins grow on their side, they get to keep. 

The garlic bed is now the fall planting area.  This is a red cabbage.

This is from my second planting of cabbage.  The bugs have left them alone for the most part, so they look much prettier.

My broccoli steadfastly refuses to produce a head.  I'm not quite sure why, but not a single plant has produced a thing.  Any help is appreciated.  I suspect it's the heat we're having, but there may be something else to blame.

These are the Legend tomatoes.  They are certainly prolific.  They have produced a large flush of tomatoes on very small plants.  They don't seem to want to grow up, but rather sprawl no matter what I do.  If I grow them next year, it will be in cages.  The other tomatoes love the A frame support, but the Legends don't.

The green beans are giving up, but I'll be leaving them in to see if the cooler weather will prompt them to put on a second flush of fruit.  The tomatoes are really coming into their own now.  We have too many to eat fresh, but not yet enough to can.  I think within the next week or so, I'll be able to get a canner load going.  Boy, do we need a good year for putting up tomatoes. 

Most of the fall garden has been planted.  There will be a few more odds and ends put in in the next week, but it's mostly done.  Now I need to go get the supports for the hoops.  That can wait a while though.

Mid July garden

The garden is in full swing now.  Usually I say that about 3 weeks or so from now, but I'm taking the early season and running with it!

The tomatoes are huge.  They needed extra support, so I wrapped jute around the outside of the supports to corral them in.  I'm still loving these A frame supports.

Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?  I'm resisting picking this, as it is still just slightly under ripe.  Probably tomorrow.  It's extra exciting this year.  Hubby used to hate raw tomatoes, but after years of eating them by myself, I'll have someone to share the tomato goodness with.  Next year I have plans for cherry tomatoes since I won't be the only one eating them.

The corn is looking great.  The tassels are making the kids want it even more.  In a few more weeks we'll be eating lots of corn!

The lettuce has gone to seed.  I'm thinking that instead of saving seed this year, I'll just shake the seeds onto the ground.  This is in one of the hoop houses, so when it's ready it should come up on it's own.

Speaking of hoop houses, this is some chard that I just transplanted into one.  There is still lots to plant, but they're starting to take shape.  I'm off to the farm supply for straw today.  That should help to insulate them and reduce weeds as well.  Usually I'm a straw fanatic, but this year I didn't use much.  The last 2 years have been wet and cool and the straw has been more hindrance than help.  It figures that this year, when I don't use any, is the year I needed it the most.  Better late than never.

The good, the bad and the ugly.

Let's start with the good.  The things I like about my garden.  I love these tomato supports.  They're keeping everything healthy and are working out very well.  I'll be putting some twine along the outside to try to keep everything contained.

The tomatoes are producing like mad.  I haven't had any red ones yet, but there are so many on the vine, that I should have a banner year.  No sign of disease either!

This has been my absolute best year for peppers.  Usually they do nothing until late August.  Many years I've had to buy peppers to make salsa.  Not this year!

This is a Rouge Vif dTemps or Cinderella pumpkin.  It's getting bigger by the minute and is being joined by many other pumpkins and winter squash.

The corn is getting very tall and starting to tassle.  I am so excited for my first taste of corn.  This is my first year attempting corn, so far so good.

Now onto the bad.

The weeds are unreal.  This is by far the worst.  This is my strawberry bed.  It was created from the composting of all the waste removed when I expanded the garden a few years ago.  It was covered with a tarp to kill weeds and compost everything  down.  It clearly needed to cook a bit longer.  The rest of the garden is weedy, but this is insane.  I swear I could clear this away today and it would look just like this within 3 days.  There is even a rogue lettuce and pumpkin growing haphazardly in there.  I'm seriously considering forgoing the strawberries and covering the whole mess with the tarp again. 

Then there are the squash vine borers.  I get them every year.  I've tried everything you can think of to combat them.  Some years I get a good crop before they're eaten, some years I don't.  This is one of those years where I won't get much.  The gold rush are holding their own, but not producing much.  The black beauty just got pulled out with not a single squash. 

Overall, it's been a great year.  The unprecedented warmth we've had has been wonderful for many of the plants.  The accompanying drought, not so much.  I've been watering lots, but have been unable to keep up with weeds.  My asthma has made it virtually impossible for me to breath in the 90 + degree heat with humidity in the 70s.  Thankfully, things seem to be struggling through the weeds for the most part.  They got a good head start.  Next year I'll mulch better to keep down the weeds.

Garden Update

It's been way too long since I've done a garden update.  Life has been a bit crazy here, but starting to get more stable now.  So....

The garlic is just starting to look like it is dying back.  It will still be a few weeks until harvest, but it is looking good!  I can't wait to see how big the heads are.  The tops have been huge!  I've never had garlic so big before.

 The Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage is really heading up.  I can't wait for the first cole slaw of the season.

 These are my Legend tomatoes.  All the tomatoes are covered in flowers, but these are the first fruits I've seen.  Hubby has never liked tomatoes, but has decided that this is the year he will try them.   He loves all tomato products and my bruschetta, that has raw tomato in it.  He even tried a tomato on a salad at a wedding without prompting.  Of course he said it tasted of watery nothingness.  I'm sure he'll love the tomatoes from the garden!

I'm having a very hard time getting a good picture of the tomato trellising.  They are climbing nicely up the supports and so far I'm very happy with this set up.  We'll see in August when they're taller than I am, not that it's difficult to be taller than me.

 The potatoes are starting to look a bit trampled.  The foliage is getting so big that it is falling all over the place.  It's making it very difficult to get around in the garden, since the 3 beds are right smack in the middle of the garden at the gate. 

The corn is not quite as high as an elephant's eye, but it is getting big.  Everything got a good soaking with fish emulsion last night, with a big concentration on the corn. That should get things moving along nicely.  I'm really excited to try it.  On father's day we had corn on the cob with our lobster.  It was obnoxiously sweet.  There was no corn flavor at all.  I hope that is not the trend with the new varieties.  This variety is from Fedco called Incredible.

Lastly, the squash patch.  We still have no flowers on anything, but things are getting bigger and starting to vine. Pictured is Waltham butternut squash and Rouge Vif DTemps.