The State of the Plots Mid-July Part 2

In the previous post "The State of the Plots Part 1", I went through Beds #1-4. In this post we will go through Beds # 5-8 and Plot 102.

Click on any picture to enlarge

This is Bed #5

In the front of Bed #5 are French Cantaloupe. I lost one plant so far and it looks like another one is on it's way out.

Behind the cantaloupe in Bed #5 are some more Pickling Cucumbers. They are struggling along just like the other cucs and just starting to produce.

The next in Bed #5 are two Small Sugar Pumpkin plants. They are very happy right now. Let's hope that it stays that way!

Following the pumpkins are a few leeks which I forgot to take pics of. They are struggling with this weather. Next are the cabbage. There are a couple of Savoy, Tet Noire and Red Acre. All of the heads are small and I have yet to harvest one. They were planted late.

This is where the spring Broccoli was planted. I sowed some Great Northern Dry Beans here and covered them with straw. These are starting to pop up too.

The Sweet Peppers are next in this bed. They are also much much smaller then the plants last year. I'm sure we will have enough to get us through the winter. At the end of this bed are two Zucchini plants which I failed to take a picture of. One was sown 2 weeks ahead of the other and are doing well.

Bed #6

The Raspberries and Blackberries are planted in this bed. They transplanted well. Hopefully we will get a late harvest of Raspberries. The Blackberries have some fruit and new shoots on them. Their harvest will be very very small as they were cut way back to transplant.

Due to the small size of the Blackberry transplants I was able to plant celery, onions and Purple Pole Beans in this bed. Next year I don't think there will be much space for any additional crops. The celery is really suffering due to our extreme heat and lack of rain this year. The onions are also very small.

The Purple Pole Beans are doing well and hopefully will start producing soon.

Bed #7 is the Strawberry Bed.

The transplanted strawberries are much much smaller then the roots I put in at the far end.

This is where the Strawberries transition from the transplants to the new roots. Boy, what a difference! They are even the same variety. Hopefully we will have a bumper crop of strawberries next year!

Bed #8 is divided in to 3 parts. 

There is Asparagus at this end. In the front I sowed some late peas where the Favas were planted. I also covered them with straw to hold moisture in so they would germinate.

In the middle of Bed #8 there are 4 Celery plants and onions. As you can see all of the celery is really struggling with this weather. It's a good thing I planted way more then we need to get us through the year.

The onions are so so small in comparison to last year. I really don't know if we will have enough for the year.

There are a few good size onions. But these are Walla Walla onions and they should be twice this size. I'm going to dice them up and freeze them.

The far end of Bed #8 is planted with another variety of Asparagus. I also sowed some peas here.

Last but not least is Plot #102.

Patti & I pulled all of the tall weeds in about 1 1/2 hours. Yesterday, I weed whacked the rest down. Now, we just need to get it tilled. Then we will put up the fencing we have accumulated and start planting fall crops!

Mystery Tomato Update & The State of the Plots Mid-July Part 1

This morning I heard from Lisa at Amishland Seeds regarding the mystery tomato. At first she thought it was a variety of tomato called Schimmeig Striped Hollow, since it looked similar and she files her seeds in alphabetical order. After I looked at the description on her site, I knew it wasn't. I emailed her back and she is going to do more research and get back to me. I have purchased seeds from her for years. She has very interesting seeds with detailed history and is a very kind lady. The week I ordered the seeds from her, she was moving from her home of 20+ years. So....the Mystery Continues!

Now onto "The State of the Plots Part 1". I was going to do this is one post....but, it would be way too long! The gardens are really holding up surprisingly well despite the weather. I'm really not sure how many heat waves we have had already this year and the lack of rain continues. The rain just goes right around us! Thank heavens Doug fills my barrels with water in return for an occasional jar of jelly and I weed whack the front of his plots. Thanks Doug!

Click on any picture to enlarge 

The front of the plots.

These are Red-Seeded Asparagus Beans. The vines are supposed to get 10' tall. Well, they are about 1' right now.

These are Chinese Red Noodle Beans. They are also supposed to get really tall. They are much taller then the asparagus beans.....but not nearly as tall as I would have thought they would be by now.

The King of the Garden Lima Beans are at least 8' tall! I guess they are just going to have to hang over. And...yes, the gates are finally up!

Bed #1 The Potato Bed

As you can see, the plants are dying off already. I have dug more then half of the Yukon Golds.

Bed #2 Tomato Bed 1

The plants are looking good.....kind of like a jungle!

They are loaded with tomatoes!

This is the Mystery Tomato plant.

Lots of big beautiful Cherokee Purples!!

Bed #3

This end of Bed #3 has the Three Sisters Planting. They are all looking good. I did have another squash planted on the other side. But, it just died. I have no idea what happened to it. It looked like SVB. But, when I pulled the plant, I couldn't find any evidence of SVB damage.

Behind the Three Sisters are two trellises. The one in the front of this picture has pickling cucumbers. They are struggling along with this weather and just starting to produce cucs. The trellis behind the cucs has Ottawa Cranberry Dry Beans growing on it. They are slowly moving along.

Next in Bed #3 is a recent planting of Great Northern Dry Beans. This is where the spring cauliflower was planted. It's been so dry that I decided to cover the area with straw to keep the moisture in. It worked and the beans are starting to pop up through the straw!

The next area in Bed #3 is where the Eggplants are. They have quite a bit of fruit on them. I'm not sure how big they will get with the lack of rain. Time will tell.

Following the eggplant in Bed #3 are the Hot & Spice Peppers. The plants aren't nearly as big as they were last year. Most of them have a good amount of peppers on them. One variety that is having a problem is the Paprika Peppers. Many of them are getting what looks like BER. I just cut the ends off and hang them to dry. We are out of Paprika Powder....so, I'm using every bit I can.

At the end of Bed #3 are two Watermelon plants. I think I planted Sugar Baby.

The jungle in the misty background is Bed #4.

This is the second tomato bed. They are also loaded with tons of green tomatoes.

Stay tuned for The State of the Plots Part 2!

The Mystery Tomato

We all get some of our plants mixed up at times. But, this time it wasn't me! The seeds were supposed to be Speckled Roman Tomatoes. This is the description of the seed; STRIPED or SPECKLED ROMAN TOMATO - Stunning &unique, long pointed red fruit have wavy golden stripes! The fruits are a perfect mid-size fruit, with brilliant color and exotic markings. Very meaty flesh with excellent sweet flavor. They have very few seeds. This great variety was developed by John Swenson from a stabilized cross of Antique Roman and Banana Legs. He called it Speckled Roman.

At first I thought one of the two plants of this variety were mislabeled by yours truly. When both of the plants fruit are exactly the same, I knew it wasn't me.

It's definitely not a Kelloggs Breakfast or....

a Pineapple.

Does anyone have an idea what variety this tomato is????

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard ............07/12/2012

The harvests in the gardens are starting to trickle in. I'm getting a bit impatient after seeing everyone's nice varieties of harvests lately. I'm sure in a couple of weeks I'll have more then I can handle to process! Monday I dug some of the Yukon Gold potatoes at the plots. Yukon Gold is our favorite potato.

The potatoes that I dug weighed about 17 lbs. I think I dug about half of this variety.

Here are some tips on storing potatoes. Potatoes should never be washed before storing as this will promote decay. Initially potatoes should be kept at temperatures between 50-60 F at about 95% humidity for 2-3 weeks. This will permit the skin to cure and wounds to heal. For long-term storage (up to nine months or longer), you should gradually drop temperatures to about 38-40F. The potatoes should maintain this temperature through the storage season. Good air circulation will reduce storage rots and sprouting. Humidity levels should remain high to minimize shrinkage due to moisture loss.

Avoid storing raw potatoes in the refrigerator because potato starch can change to sugar. This can result in excessive browning during cooking and an undesirable sweet flavor. Do not store potatoes close to fruit. Ripening fruit give off ethylene. Ethylene is a plant hormone that encourages potatoes to sprout prematurely. Do not store potatoes where they will be exposed to light. This causes them to green.

In the past I have kept my potatoes in baskets away from light in the coolest spot in the basement for the winter. They store pretty well this way. This year we are going to move them to the stairs on the outside entrance to the basement when fall and winter arrive. This will keep the potatoes at a cooler temperature for winter storage. 

What's been going in or out of you Kitchen Cupboard or stores lately???

The Big Day has Finally Arrived......

kind of! Today is the day that I picked our first ripe tomatoes! Here they are.....

The little red tomato on the left was supposed to be an Eva's Purple Ball. As you can see, it's not. It looks like a miniature Belgian Beauty to me. It weighs a whopping 1.25 ounces. I've had cherry tomatoes that weighed about that much.  The first small tomato of the season is a Sungold, seed from Dave

The tomato plants are loaded with nice big tomatoes......now, come on and get ripe!.