Edibles '11

Howdy y'all -- I did end up getting an asian sun jewel melon for the back of the garden....also picked up a spare cucumber (stuck it in the ground between peas and lettuce, they'll be over by the time this guy starts taking off). Meant to pick up the pickler bush but ended up with a generically labeled "cucumber hybrid" - hate when I do that but sometimes it's for the best.

I also picked up about 20 various annuals and perennials that couldn't be left behind. Flower beds are full so I ended up digging out some more spots for them in the veggie garden. My husband objected initially ("why waste water on something we can't eat?" -- lol) but is quietly starting to see the value of the joy you get from looking at pretty things. All my photos are on a different hard drive so won't post here yet but you're welcome to look at my journal which is actually sort of up to date.

Oh -- and I have exactly 3 peas hanging. I hope I can wait until the grandsons get here to pick them -- they helped plant them way back on St Patty's day (I'm a sucker for tradition).

Sounds like a well-rounded variety...enjoy !

ireed the tradition sounds lovely, I too am a stickler for tradition. You can always tell your hubby what I tell mine...marigolds, 4'oclocks, and geraniums repel certain bugs. Nastruims CAN be eaten and so can daylilies! ^_^

Robindog, great that you have a fledgling gardener. Borrow her.

Pixie62560, after researching for an article on garden myths I found that marigolds don't actually repel bugs, but they do tend to attract beneficial bugs that then eat the bad guys. Who knew. I still love me marigolds, but have none this year as I can't find the little french ones which work best at attracting the good bugs and I like them best too. I will look again this weekend when we are up in Vt. I need some color in the veggie bed. We should have started them from seed. Jealous of your corn

Sherrie, spectacular. Can't wait to hear how the sawdust works as I could get a mountain of it. I thought it might be bad for the soil or are you going to rake it off in the fall? Or is it a good thing to incorporate into the soil? I haven't counted our tomatoes but I think it is around 40. Including many cherry which I will slow roast and freeze which has been the best treat all winter.

Thankfully we had no blight last year after the previous disastrous year in 2009. We had some of my DH tomato sauce from last seasons harvest last night for dinner that I added some braised leeks that strangly wintered over in the garden with some left over grilled Italian sausage over pasta along with a big salad made up of our garden goodies with 5 kinds of lettuce and fresh peas and spring onions. Heaven from the garden. I need to grow garlic. I have failed in the past. Fall planting plans. Tonight we are eating the last of that sausage in a kale soup with homemade chicken stock as some of the kale is ready to start picking. I wished the carrots and potatoes for the soup were ready. We are trying potatoes again after not having grown them for more than 20 years.

Thunder and lightening moving in, so no work in the garden this morning. We got a tiny bit of rain last night, but mostly thunder and lightening. Dogs not happy. I hope it rains, we so need it. Patti

Thanks patti, but im not telling DH that now! :)

Patti - as far as I have heard about people doing it up here is to have it rototilled in the fall. That way it will rot over the winter and turn into better dirt/compost. Jim said for me not to put it up against the stalks of the plant to leave a space 4-6 inches.

I have not got it started yet because of the humidity. Weeds are starting to grow - YIKES

I have a couple of paw-paws set! This is the first time and only one of the two trees set. But I am so excited. (Sure hope I like pawpaws...)
Now if my asian persimmon would set. I finally recoginzed the flowers - they look like tiny groups of leaves. I have a Fuyu and it is supposed to be self-fertile.
Also I have blooms on two elderberries - so I might get elderberries this year!
The asian pear is full of tiny pears on all three of the grafts. I learned my lesson and thinned them this year.
Not so much fruit set on the blueberries and the blackberries are just starting to flower. There are currants and black choke cherries and gooseberries set already.
The chinkapins had lots of cold damage so I don't know whether they will even bloom.
Of course the medlar is setting - it always sets because it doesn't need a pollinator at all.

Sounds wonderful. I will be anxious to here your report come fall. We currently don't mulch the veggie bed, just hoe. Patti

Great list of fruit. Will be following you too. We only have a peach, fruiting quince, moose berry, and lots of highbush bb and beach plums. Patti

Waiting for my persimmons too. Have had paw paw for years.

What do you do with Paw Paws? Patti

I remember seeing pawpaws here for the 1st time. Victor and I had some kind of roundy round. I thought it was a joke or something.

You eat them!

MOOSE BERRY?

Thought that might get a ? It is actually Viburnum edule which is an erect shrub that grows to 8'. It is native to the northern US, Alaska, and Canada and bears white flowers in small clusters. The fruit are red or orange and can be made to make very good preserves after the first frost as the fruit softens. The fall foliage is crimson red.

Fresh. Very tropical-looking tree. I like it a lot.

I have blossoms one one tomato plant.

It has cooled off and is now hackable to work out in the veggie garden before weeds take over

Ity bity toms

another

Nice!

I have little fruits on my Sun Gold.

Woohoo!

What do you see? Busted my Keister Today

A bicycle in the back?

Yes - its a racing Puch, Paid 600 for it in 1987. Its going to auction.

Update: Got all of the tomato's done with the sawdust. Now I will start the rest of the veggies and I will be able to get the wheel barrow in and not having to use a bucket.

This sawdust gardening is going to be interesting needless to say. Been reading about it online and there is good with the bad. It will keep away insects and some disease.

Never use it raw as it will suck you dry of nitrogen. This has sat over a year and people wont buy it for animal bedding as it wont take up their waste. Never get it up against the stems. Keep it away 8 inches as the plant has to breath.

The more I read I get a bit skeptical but yet if done right there wont be a problem. If there is a problem It could be devistating. If that does happen there is no one to blame except me, and that is acceptable. Its kind of hard doing something unknowing.

I will get some pics at some point.

This is from May 29...Sungold. It's ahead of Fourth of July and Sweet Million. Hooray for the new veggie beds!

Pam

Cool!

The Fuyu persimmon thas set!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the first tree I planted and it took six years to set fruit. (Can you tell that I am excited?)

i have been slow to post here - reduced the normal 48 t's down to 24 this year, 10 eggplant (two kinds), 10 peppers (4 types), 100 shallots (first time), 100 leeks (i think they did not germinate like normal so very small and a band of turkey maybe eating them), 5 types of squash, 2 types of cukes, carrots, bush beans, and now i remembered i should have planted swiss chard will get that done tonight maybe.

Everyone's gardens seem to be doing great.....I have tomato blossoms, and pea blossoms.....can't get into the garden because of the mud......too much rain!

Been down in the garden all morning and now its raining again. Been raining on and off since Saturday. The plants need some warm sun.

We are up in Vt and it has been raining and cold, but now clearing. I hope the veggie bed is growing back in Nantucket.

Before I left I counted 50 tomato plants and know we have 14 hot pepper plants and at least 12 regular bell peppers. I planted at least 4 types of eggplant including 3 white one, 3 neons, 3 classic and 3 something else and maybe a couple more. Put in cabbage( savoy and green ball ), bush beans, pole beans, sugar snaps, carrots, radish, many leaf lettuce types,cukes (pickling, bush and regular) broc, basil, dill, coriander, 12 bulb fennel, spinach, beets as well as pumpkins, zucchini, and yellow squash, 3 types of kale, Gillfeather turnips and baby watermelons and some onions (red and yellow) and 4 potato plants. I think we also planted some brussel sprouts. I just bought a yard long bean plant for fun at a nursery up here.

I don't think we ever have planted swiss chard...not sure what to do with it. I wanted to grow sweet potatoes and leeks, but didn't. Next year.

We saw a cool apple tree with 5 types on one espaliered tree at a nursery that my DH wants to buy in the fall and I saw some nice cherry trees that I would love, so we are planning a truck trip in Oct to pick those up if they still have them. I think I might like two the espalier apples at the entrance to the new veggie bed.

schickenlady, I am very interested in your sawdust situation and I have heard about nitrogen depletion with using it, but that may have been just for fresh. Nice bike.

Pfg, sungold is my favorite little one for slow roasting, no flowers for me yet.

AYankeeCat, Congrats on the fruit set. 6 years is a long wait. Patti

Slow roasting? How do you do that? It sounds good!

I will find my post from last fall. Still have a few in the freezer and everyone's favorite nibble. Back later with it, but it is basically cutting them in half and seasoning them cut sided up and cooking at a very low temp for a couple of hours. But I will find the actual directions as they were so good and easy last year. Patti

Yum, can't wait! Pam

Thanks!!! It sounds wonderful. I'm really looking forward to using this recipe, as I will have twice as many cherry tomatoes this year, and last year we had an over-abundance. I always have to have Sweet Million, and a friend insisted quite vehemently that I try Sungold too. I can see already that they will out-perform everything else...but my Millies are sooooooo good...

Pam

Yesterday I had to treat the veggie garden for the Flea Beetle. I belive that is what they are/were.

Very tiny and black. I took a small twig and touched it and swore it jumped and fast! There is small round holes in some of the bottom of the tomato leaves.