I still have beans, okra, squash, more cucumbers, and probably a replant of sweet corn. The only thing I have approaching harvest are my onions, garlic, and some radishes. My tomatoes are just starting their first blooms.
STARTING OUR SPRING VEGGIE GARDEN STAGE 5
The potatoes, onions and radishes are doing great. Even the beets are slow growing, they just don't know what to do. Only one tomato plant has unopened flowers, when I think what month it is it really feels strange.
Some of my tomatoes.
On the seeds I started on May 1st the cucumbers have already sprouted. Now waiting on the melons. Nothing on the greens yet.,
Gymgirl,
That's a beautiful cluster of tomatoes, I love to see them when they form clusters of four or five together like that.
Thank you, Seedfork!
It's my biggest cluster ever!
The onions are all bulbing and my tomatoes have survived the latest rounds of cold weather and winds with minimal frost damage. I found a teeny tomato on one of my Homestead tomato plants this morning!! Woot! Today, I will plant bush beans, okra, and cukes (from seed).
That is a precious picture!
Congrats, Stephanie!
I checked this morning, and one of the tomatoes in the cluster above is a full tennis ball size, and rusty red on the entire bottom half!
And today is only May 6th! The worms are under control, the vines are full, and setting new blossoms everywhere!
This is the best season ever!
Wow, gymgirl! That's so exciting, and it's not even my garden! LOL Congratulations.
Garden Update: Snapped this morning!
#1 FIRST real tomato of the season - Mule Team!
#2 Kimberly Cherry Tomato cluster (I picked three ripes ones Saturday!)
#3 VERY, VERY, VERY late transplanted cabbage in Earthbox.
Shouldn't even be alive...
#4 Bell Peppers under Tulle
#5 Mule Team Cluster
This message was edited May 7, 2013 10:59 AM
A few more pics:
#1 Yellow Granex Onions. Need to move EBs into the sunshine...
#2 Purple Onions
#3 Rosemary
#4 Short carrots growing in a SmartPot
#5 Long carrots growing in a SmartPot
Still have two empty beds. Need to fill 'em up with some seeds!
Linda,
Very nice! I am jealous of the ripe tomatoes. My plants are so late that I may not get tomatoes this year. My only hope is that the unusually cool weather persists long enough to allow some fruit to set. So far, only a few of my tomatoes are even blooming.
I'm going to have to completely replant corn. Don't know why, but non of the corn is growing -- of five varieties, and after watering. I lost all my sweet potatoes, too. It seems that the rabbits really like the taste of the slips... everyone of them was eaten to the ground. The sugar snap peas have seemingly stopped growing at about 8 inches. The beet seed tape I planted didn't sprout, so no beets this year either. Most of the squash and cucumber transplants died, so I will have to replant seeds for those. Finally, I haven't even planted beans, black-eye peas, or okra.
Sounds like it could be the basis for a country music or blues song....
David
David, none of the corn germinated? It sounds like you're having an awful time. The seeds may not have germinated bc the temps were too low. All of those like temps in the high 70s. My beets germinated but the lack of rain is doing them in. Radishes look good tho.
Oh, David!
If I could, I'd bring you some of my seedlings that are sprouting fruit inside under fluorescent lights!!!!
This is one crazy growing season!
That cabbage should be toast, but, it's happy on the shady side of the yard, with a cool breeze. At least I'll be able to harvest the leaves. Or, because I was such an UBERnewbie once, I do know how to grow a cabbage for nine months, LOL! Through the Texas heat, even, into the biggest head of cabbage I ever grew!
I've been comfortable with my two empty beds, because the temps won't stabilize for the okras, eggplants, and the heat-lovers. My tomatoes may go clean past July, which was my target ripping date. I don't even have the yellowing bottom leaves like I normally do!
Not holding out much hope for the bell peppers, though. They definitely need the heat and with nights in the high 40s, they're getting stressed enough to not crank out fruits. I checked this morning, and, while there are new buds forming, if the temps stay on the roller coaster, they won't produce much of anything, let alone anything sizable.
Linda
David, have you been tracking your soil temperature? With the cool weather this spring, perhaps it has caused your germination woes and has shocked your transplants. I know my soil temp has lagged way behind what it would normally be. Meanwhile the few really warm days have been stressing my cool weather crops. Peas are almost a total bust this year.
So today I planted my Burpless Cucumber seedlings and also my Sugar Cube Melon seedlings that I had bought at the nursery. Now I have to go water. Still plenty of room left for those that I am starting from seed myself.
Oh, my mail came late or I just noticed it late but anyway my WHITE ACRE Southern Peas are here. Gosh, they are small. I kinda thought they would be bigger. I planted cowpeas once but that was years and years and years ago. Now I have totally forgotten. Will have to google growing southern peas before I plant them.
I bet they want the soil hot or at least really warm.
Only a few beans that do not care about temperature in my garden ,a little shade keeps my cool weather crops happy . I am still getting around to my cucumbers . 70's and 50's most of the time here , only a 33 forecast for this weekend means no hurry there .. I have enough plants to protect as it is ..
A couple of those bean plants took a 30 degree night and a couple more, That did not effect them at all ..
Weather is still making me feel or reply goofy .....
Monday I set out my cabbage and broccoli starts and yesterday I planted my tomatoes. All heirlooms, every one. Today I am going to plant bean seeds. For several years now I have been saving Lina Sisco's Bird Eye beans, an old heirloom from Missouri. A friend of mine gave me my starting seed. She found them in her freezer after her Dad had given them to her years before. It's a bush bean and is good young as a snap, later as a shellie, or dried for winter. It's prolific here and very pretty, too. Have any one of you grown this bean?
I have head of that year's ago never have grown it though ,, below are lima &Kentucky Wonder so far ,, Garden a little messy as of thus far.
Here's the first tomatoes - a creole tomato that is already waist-high, and in the second photo, fino verde basil and a cherry tomato of unknown origin (the packet said "heirloom cherry"), all in a little plot about 2x2 feet.
MY thought looking at that:
HOW I long for summer!!!!!
The fino verde basil is my favorite thing I've grown yet. It's so tasty in salads.
My favorite chef (my Nonna) says if you're using basil for pesto, soak it in water first to take out some of the sharpness and toughness.
I've got beans!! Also discovered some grape clusters on the hubby's grape plants.
I've got my eyes open for salad burnet too, as well as the fino verde basil...
Stephanie do you know when you sowed the beans? Mine are just coming up and they've been in the ground about 2 weeks, they never take this long. But the soil temps are much cooler then normal.
It didn't frost last night despite the potential warning, but 39 is sure uncomfortable in mid May and tied our record low for the day. Finally, however, it looks like warm weather will be arriving to stay for a while with days in the 80's and nights in the 60's. Maybe I can get caught up in the garden!
How do you process carrots for the freezer, or, is there a better way to use them immediately? I just pulled a batch, and don't have a clue!
Thanks!
I sowed them a week ago this past Sunday, so May 5th. I did soak them overnight in water with a bit of hydrogen peroxide.
Linda, I've chopped up and dehydrated carrots for use in soups. The ends and ugly pieces go in a bag in the freezer with other vegetable bits until I have enough stuff and a will be at home to let a pot of vegetable stock simmer on the back of the stove for 8 hours or so.
Thanks, NicoleC!
I made a root cellar in the fridge, according to Alton Brown on the Food Network's "Good Eats."
He figured that since root crops grow under soil, they'd be comfortable in cold storage under a nice bed of sand. He did a segment once, showing his carrots and beets nestled under sand in his veggie drawer.
So, I layered my carrots under sand in one of my veggie crispers. Turned the humidity LOW...(I learned a neat trick for remembering how to set the humidity: Leaves & fruits grow up HIGH; Roots grow LOW -- how cool is that?)
I'll let ya'll know how long the carrots stay crisp in the fridge cellar, LOLOL!
Linda
Great idea, Linda! Wouldn't it be great, too, if we all had two refrigerators? :)
Well...I harvested my first crop of big old Romano beans last night and did a stir-fry with the beans, onion, green pepper, and ground elk meat. Man was it good, and those beans were delicious. It's still growing in the house, so i guess it will be a permanent "house plant" as long as it lives - which I hope is a long time since I cannot seem to find any more beans like it to plant. The Kentucky wonders are coming along, but they're a lot smaller. My scarlet runner beans are about 6" high now and will need to plant those out on a new trellis in the garden area, between the corn straw bales. Can't wait to see them climb the trellis. I put a bunch of plants out on the picnic table in the shade to begin hardening them off to later go into the topless greenhouse. Could still get a freeze, here, so will have to put a temporary top over everything out there, probably. It's really warm during the day, though. I've been informed that 24 sweet potato slips are on the way but I don't know where the strawberry plants are- guess they haven't been shipped yet, due to the cold zone, here. Guessing. Cooking up the rest of the ground elk for a late-lunch taco. Happy gardening.
I have planted eggplant for the first time ever this year. I planted mine in pots. Just need it to warm up so they will start growing.
Then this square garden has tomatoes and pepper plants. Then in the section in the middle I will plant yard long beans to grow up the netting. Haven't even planted the yard long bean seeds as it has been chilly lately.
These cuke seedlings already in ground I bought at the nursery. They are a variety I get there each year just called "Burpless". I also started seeds of Camilla, Straight Eight and Suyo Long myself and will plant those out as soon as it warms up. Camilla is one of those cucumber types that makes female only flowers. And Suyo Long one of those Asian types.
And I have melon seedlings to plant out also. Avara, Cugar Cube, Sakura and Green Machine.
I realised I had forgotten to start my Armenian Cucumber seeds so just put them up today. I start them inside so they will sprout quickly.
I will do some Lemon,, Wonder,(white).good old Straight Eight , and I believe a Wonder bush cucumber , I will start them all here shortly(today or tomorrow)
Outdoor chore is rather hot and exhaustive with temps going from cool, comfortable , to baking sunshine as today 84 now .
Did plant a Tomato plant in the garden , frost free day is May 15 here .. Maybe? So I have a Belle Starr paste tomato and a yellow cherry planted ..
All is going good ,and only a bit iffy ..so far anyway ..
I really enjoyed the Armenian when I grew them , after a few years to much fungus though , That is a really delicious cuke!!! sometime I will grow them again .
This message was edited May 14, 2013 5:46 PM
NewYorkRita,
Just a tip: Eggplants are hungry, hungry Hippos and water Hogs! Transplant them to some enriched soil (add some compost), and feed them weakly, weekly!
Also, they will definitely need staking, and a larger container, unless you're transplanting into the ground or a raised bed.
That's a Black Beauty Eggplant growing in an eBucket. It was 11" tall, and, it was delicious!
Linda
This message was edited May 14, 2013 4:13 PM
