What's in your Garden?
- Thread starter Tom L.
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Chryssie
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Our tomatoes are done for the season. The heat of 100F just is too much. Next season we will get an earlier start. We may get one or two more from the Beefsteak plant but the others are dead and gone. The jalapeno continues to thrive though. We are going to try growing some fall/winter greens/lettuce in the pots. The salad mix we buy at the store goes bad so fast it is frustrating!
I have at least five more on the other plant. I hope they make it! I don't see any new ones, though, probably because of the blossom drop. But at least I did better this year. Maybe there is hope for me yet!
Peaches all gone now. *pouts*
BUT they were good while they lasted. And the squirrels evidently had a few too... or was it birds?... A few of my small peaches were on the ground with squirrel-sized bites taken out of them, so I'm fairly sure it was squirrels. I wonder if I should do the same thing next year and let the tree have lots of really small peaches instead of relatively fewer regular-size ones? I think I mentioned earlier that whoever is doing the munching just takes what amounts to a big bite and leaves the rest. If I'd had fewer, bigger peaches, I would have had a much greater portion of my harvest damaged.
I don't know if squirrels have diseases I could catch by sharing a meal with them (I'd cut out whatever they had munched, and wash the rest)... but even if they don't, and even considering I love squirrels... EEEWWWWW
BUT they were good while they lasted. And the squirrels evidently had a few too... or was it birds?... A few of my small peaches were on the ground with squirrel-sized bites taken out of them, so I'm fairly sure it was squirrels. I wonder if I should do the same thing next year and let the tree have lots of really small peaches instead of relatively fewer regular-size ones? I think I mentioned earlier that whoever is doing the munching just takes what amounts to a big bite and leaves the rest. If I'd had fewer, bigger peaches, I would have had a much greater portion of my harvest damaged.
I don't know if squirrels have diseases I could catch by sharing a meal with them (I'd cut out whatever they had munched, and wash the rest)... but even if they don't, and even considering I love squirrels... EEEWWWWW
WHOA- my mustard greens are like those Weeping Angels from Dr Who. If I take my eyes off them for a second, they've grown a bit. Okay, that's an exaggeration- but last weekend I thinned them out, transplanting the ones that were too close together instead of just pulling them up, and I swear they're about three times the size they were back then. The ones I uprooted and replanted are quite a bit smaller than the ones I left in place, of course, but still...
I harvested my first successful garlic- it's got about 10 good-size cloves. I'll make like Mark Watney in "The Martian" and replant some of them (but I'm sure glad I won't be growing them in my own... you know...). And my plum tomatoes are ripening. It took them some time, but I think they'll be really tasty. It's a nice cultivar- red, but with thin lines of gold or orange running down the skin from the stem end to the blossom end. I was going to try drying them- I think the less-juicy types are supposed to be best for this- but I don't know if I'll have enough for that. The cherry tomatoes are juicy, but they're small- so maybe they'll be easy to dry. I'll have to look that up.
I harvested my first successful garlic- it's got about 10 good-size cloves. I'll make like Mark Watney in "The Martian" and replant some of them (but I'm sure glad I won't be growing them in my own... you know...). And my plum tomatoes are ripening. It took them some time, but I think they'll be really tasty. It's a nice cultivar- red, but with thin lines of gold or orange running down the skin from the stem end to the blossom end. I was going to try drying them- I think the less-juicy types are supposed to be best for this- but I don't know if I'll have enough for that. The cherry tomatoes are juicy, but they're small- so maybe they'll be easy to dry. I'll have to look that up.
I picked some of my mustard greens (the larger ones), as well as some blackeyed peas. The mustard greens are pretty good- I didn't feel like cooking, so I made a sandwich out of them. Sometimes they taste too peppery uncooked and give you that fire-in-your-nostrils feeling, but these were okay.
There's a little volunteer tomato plant in my community garden plot, much too small to even come close to setting fruit, so I'll dig it up and keep it indoors over the winter. The plum tomatoes I've picked have been good!- but I don't have nearly as many as you do, KLS.
There's a little volunteer tomato plant in my community garden plot, much too small to even come close to setting fruit, so I'll dig it up and keep it indoors over the winter. The plum tomatoes I've picked have been good!- but I don't have nearly as many as you do, KLS.
MadamSarcastra
MadamSarcastra, over & out.
Where I work, we share office space with Cornell Cooperative Extension. They have a beautiful peach tree outside and they offered the peaches to whoever wanted them. They were so, so small, but I can't believe how delicious they were! They didn't even look that great...the skins were kind of marked up. But the insides were absolutely perfect. I would pick about a half dozen that were hard as a rock, but within two days, they softened up and ripened beautifully. I must have had about two dozen peaches total. I can't wait for next year!
I saved 3 cloves from that one good garlic plant I grew this season, and planted them last weekend. The paperlike covering of the bulb was almost gone when I dug it up, but all the cloves were good, and the ones I ate were great. I put old bricks near where I planted them so I'll be sure not to miss them next spring.
The jalapeno peppers I brought inside are doing well, but the jalapenos themselves are quite mild-tasting. Maybe they need warm weather to be nice and fiery...
The jalapeno peppers I brought inside are doing well, but the jalapenos themselves are quite mild-tasting. Maybe they need warm weather to be nice and fiery...
I've wanted to find out if okra is a perennial, and my okra was really small (about 1' tall) this year, so I dug up and potted two plants two weeks or more ago. They're inside in a sunny place, putting out new leaves.
ETA: or maybe not. I had one recently and it was quite hot enough.
Another one bites the dust...
The okra plants I potted up and brought inside have died within the past week. But pot of soil has 3 earthworms in it- I found them surviving in some soil clinging to some pots I was putting away in the cellar about 2 weeks ago, so I just put them in with the okra- I thought it was really too cold to put them in the garden. I'll plant some romaine lettuce, mustard greens, or kale in the pot. This area is the coolest part of the house after the sun goes down (big south windows), but the veggies I just mentioned don't mind cool at all. Come spring, the worms get evicted to the yard, along with the greens if they still need to get bigger.
The okra plants I potted up and brought inside have died within the past week. But pot of soil has 3 earthworms in it- I found them surviving in some soil clinging to some pots I was putting away in the cellar about 2 weeks ago, so I just put them in with the okra- I thought it was really too cold to put them in the garden. I'll plant some romaine lettuce, mustard greens, or kale in the pot. This area is the coolest part of the house after the sun goes down (big south windows), but the veggies I just mentioned don't mind cool at all. Come spring, the worms get evicted to the yard, along with the greens if they still need to get bigger.
I'm trying to grow a few plants indoors, since I'm tired of waiting for spring. The bok choy and peas have sprouted. I'm still waiting for the green onions, dill, and spinach to come up. I have them all under grow lights with a makeshift reflector, so hopefully they won't be too leggy.
If these plants grow okay, I'll plant basil, thyme, and maybe edamame.
If these plants grow okay, I'll plant basil, thyme, and maybe edamame.
I think green onions, dill, spinach, bok choy, and peas all like cool weather, so you might be able to transplant them out in spring if they start getting really big... or maybe just put them outside on a relatively warm day. 'course, you'd have to do it gradually so they would get used to it... maybe put them outside only on warmer weekends when you'd be home to bring them back in at a moment's notice.
I grew edamame once. It was kind of neat: the plants didn't need staking or support, and looked like giant clover plants as far as the leaves appeared. The flowers were tiny, and the hardest thing about them was learning when to pick them: not too soon, when the beans wouldn't be good-sized, but not too late so they wouldn't be over-ripe. (I just planted those the next year instead of eating them). They didn't bear heavily, but the beans are such a rich source of nutrients. And they tasted good.
I planted some kale in the worm pot. No action yet (from the worms or the kale) that I can see...
I grew edamame once. It was kind of neat: the plants didn't need staking or support, and looked like giant clover plants as far as the leaves appeared. The flowers were tiny, and the hardest thing about them was learning when to pick them: not too soon, when the beans wouldn't be good-sized, but not too late so they wouldn't be over-ripe. (I just planted those the next year instead of eating them). They didn't bear heavily, but the beans are such a rich source of nutrients. And they tasted good.
I planted some kale in the worm pot. No action yet (from the worms or the kale) that I can see...
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Yeah, I plan to plant them outdoors eventually. The green onions never came up for some reason. They never do when I plant them! I tried them again in another container. This time I put a cover on it so the soil stays moist at all times. Maybe that will help.
What is a worm pot?
What is a worm pot?
I want to make a butterfly-and-bee-friendly garden this year, so I'll have to research which plants are best for my area. I'm thinking lupins for sure, just because they remind me of my childhood, and I'm pretty sure bees like those.
I also want to try growing strawberries again this year. Except this time, I'll cover it with chicken wire so those damn squirrels don't destroy them again.
I also want to try growing strawberries again this year. Except this time, I'll cover it with chicken wire so those damn squirrels don't destroy them again.
@Katrina I was just referrng to a pot of soil I had that I discovered had a couple of worms in it as I was planting some seeds in it about a month ago. One seed came up but the seed hull was stuck on the tiny leaves, so it died. I replanted some.
I've heard that onion seeds have a very short life: if you don't plant within about a year, most likely they won't come up. I don't know if that was your problem; I haven't had good luck with onions either. I've had better luck with chives and leeks (whose seeds also don't last very long). Leeks are great, but I don't care so much for chives...
Did the squirrels at least leave the strawberry plants themselves alone, so you didn;t have to replant them?
The garlic I planted last fall is coming up! I know it doesn't mind cold, but I was surprised.
I've heard that onion seeds have a very short life: if you don't plant within about a year, most likely they won't come up. I don't know if that was your problem; I haven't had good luck with onions either. I've had better luck with chives and leeks (whose seeds also don't last very long). Leeks are great, but I don't care so much for chives...
Did the squirrels at least leave the strawberry plants themselves alone, so you didn;t have to replant them?
The garlic I planted last fall is coming up! I know it doesn't mind cold, but I was surprised.
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