finally the first tomato bloom opens! Female cuke blooms starting to show up. Many more radish flowers (great contrast against the marigold i think). and parsley taking off.
Summer Gardens Part 2
It's so enjoyable to see the harvests you all are having! I'm in Georgia and it is getting really HOT during the day here now. But my rattlesnake beans have been going gangbusters and I've already harvested 28 pounds of them and put them up. My tomatoes aren't doing as well, but we have plenty to eat each day. I am in awe of your tomato harvests!
I have planted a bit of field corn which is about 10 to 12 inches high now. I want to plant field peas to vine up the corn stalks but am not sure exactly when to plant them. Any suggestions?
Today's harvest.
Lois, how many bean plants do you have to get 28 lbs?
1lisac - I have two 25 ft rows of bean plants. There are six tripods of poles (tied together at the top) per row. Each tripod of poles has 4 to six beans planted around each pole. If I've done the math right (!) that comes to approx 108 bean plants total. I picked 14 pounds the first week! The harvest has been significantly less since then because of deer eating the foliage off about half of my plants (did I mention that I loathe deer?) The plants are recovering, but it will be slow because the heat is setting in now and the plants will slow production until it backs down a bit. But, I seem to be able to pick three or four pounds of beans a day so far. My best year was 2012 when the heat went to 110 for a few days! I picked beans until November that year and put up 100 pounds. But that was a deerless year.... and I'd planted three rows instead of two. Here's a picture.
If you aren't interested in canning beans all summer, I'd say that three tripods with four seeds around each pole would produce plenty of good eating for you with a bit left over to freeze. And it's not too late to plant for late summer picking.
wow. VERY nice bean setup!
banana peppers are starting to roll in
loisf10
well done on your beans.
Do you have a recipe to can beans?
drthor and gymgirl, Thanks for the compliments! I use the standard canning recipes in the Ball Blue Book of canning most of the time. I cold pack my fresh picked and cut beans in hot sterilized jars, add canning salt (depends on the size jar you are using as to how much) and boiling water to 1/2 inch of the rim of the jar. Wipe the rim of the jar, place a simmered lid on it, put the band on "fingertip tight" and process the jar in my pressure canner as per instructions in my canning book. I freeze a few beans also. Wash, string (if necessary) and cut beans to size you want. Blanch them for three minutes in boiling water, remove them and cool them down in cold water, lay them out on pans to dry a bit, then place them in quart freezer bags and put in coldest part of freezer.
The canned beans will keep for up to five years, but the frozen ones you should eat in one year. I just made a green bean casserole last night with my fresh beans. Yummy! So much tastier than beans from the store.
I believe that the Jardin/Ball company has a website that gives advice and recipes for canning veggies. Once you get the equipment the process is easy.
My sister's recipe for Southern Green Beans - Cut up some pork side meat or a few pieces of bacon into your pot and fry it until it is crispy. Put your beans into the pot with the meat and stir them around for a minute. Lower heat under the pot. Slowly and carefully add water to the beans and meat (be very careful of hot grease!) and then add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until beans are as done as you like them. Serve up and enjoy!
drthor - I'm very interested in how you support your tomato plants and keep the old leaves cleaned away. Your plants look so large and the photos of your tomatoes are inspiring! Is that string or wire that you are using? (Eyes ain't what they used to be...) Also, what are you using for fertilizer? I've mulched my tomatoes this year and I'm not sure I like it. It does help keep the moisture level though. We are getting a decent amount of tomatoes, but they aren't as big as I'd like. thanks!
Thanks for the info lois...I have beans that are just starting to bloom they were slow starting bc it was cool for longer then usual. I sowed 4 types of long beans about 2-3weeks ago, they are growing much faster bc it's hotter now. I don't care for them canned but I like them frozen and fresh. With my youngest son I'm lucky if I even get to taste much from the garden, unusual for a 16 yr old! You do have a great set up.
loisf10
On my tomatoes I use wired cages I bought at Lowe's. They are green and made of 3 panels that I can shape in a triangle form. At the end of the season I store them flat.
I secured them with a wood/bamboo pole , then I went around the cages with regular cheap twine (this twine will last me for one season only ... but it is ok, because I just cut it away).
I build the cages when the tomatoes are still small.
I did fertilize my tomatoes at planting time (February 16th) with: Bat Guano, Azomite and egg shells. I also add one of those multivitamin pills at the trunk of each plant.
Last week I did add 1 Tbsp of Epsom Salt to each plant because a DG member suggest that it will help with the heat of the summer.
So far I am having the best tomato harvest ever ... I am buying a new freezer !
i would never have thought of the multi-vitamin idea...does it matter if its mens or womens formula? lol!
Can i plant cucumbers now in georgia?
Thanks drthor, I am gonna try the epsom salts. And maybe next year I will attempt to tie my tomatoes up like yours. Makes a lot of sense! Congrats on having a harvest worthy of a new freezer!
kamikid - I would think you have plenty of time to plant some cukes. We still have a lot of gardening season left down here! I am just now planting my fieldpeas. I have had the best results with Arkansas Little Leaf cucumbers, but marketmores are also good. Never had any luck at all with Straighteights.
Just got home from a historic homestead at which I volunteer. We had a cook today who prepared delicious food over an open fire outside the house. We had Hoppin' John, hoecakes, and I ran over to our garden and picked okra, zucchini, and a green tomato which she cooked up for us right there. All of this was seasoned with a meaty pork rib bone and some fried side meat. Ummmmm! So very good! I swear, food just tastes better cooked over an open fire!
I must say the weather we are having in Tx is perfect for tomatoes and all other veggies, it's still cool enough for them to set fruit and the sporadic rain is also helping. This is how I remember it used to be until about 5-6 yrs ago. Then it turned into a blast furnace. Everything in my garden seems to be greener and growing faster then it has in years. Wed. evening my son and I sowed some seeds for long beans, Roselle, and cukes in the last of the EBs all of the seeds have already sprouted.
My tomato plants are just loaded! I have a few that are struggling, but all are doing well. We've got ollas in the ground for the tomatoes and that seems to really help with the moisture they need.
Cherry tomatoes thrive in our hot weather. I love how they grow in clusters of 6 or 8.
I'm waiting for my grapes to ripen. Don't ask me what variety they are because hubby picked up the plants at Aldi a couple of years ago.
We've got figs!! I got this plant from a DG friend 2 falls ago. Last year, I transplanted it to a pot. This year, we got it in the ground. It didn't even blink and kept right on growing and putting on new leaves.
Yesterday's harvest. Lots of Gray Striped zucchini, a yellow squash, and several maters.
I got my first green tomato today! Yay!!! On Early Stupice of course. Nobody seems to have much good to say about the flavor of them, so maybe their "bounty" is giving us way-behind-Texas growers hope. On the day summer started, no less. So there is hope!
Turtle, don't worry about being behind. Your garden will be producing when we're experiencing the inferno of summer and praying out plants don't fry.
stephanietx - So true! We are having 94/95 degrees here already and the plants are feeling it! No rain for at least a week, so we are watering like mad. Your harvest looks yummy!
Apparently the little "deer buffet" incident has strongly set back the affected bean plants. I have watered, and put down some organic fertilizer, but, I really think I need to do more. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm noticing bugs on them now that weren't there two weeks ago, a big sign that they are stressed.
Found a huge zucchini in the middle of the plants this morning, hiding under the big leaves. It weighs three pounds and is going to make a delicious zucchini and tomato dish tonight! But I think it is maybe time for new glasses!
1lisac - I've never tried long beans. What is it that you like about them? I might have to buy some and plant them. Plenty of growing season left here.
Maybe a foliar feed that bugs wouldn't like? Don't know if there is such a thing though. Hope you find the solution.
And don't worry, Stephanie, I'm still planting away!
AT LAST, a developing tomato on my german johnson--and a double / mega bloom of all things! :)
also some of the nasturtiums interplanted between them have one lone flower each, lol, and the cosmos blooms finally opened as well.
This message was edited Jun 22, 2014 2:40 PM
I love Cosmos! I think I need to plant some again next year.
We picked up about 1.25" of rain today, for which I'm very thankful and so is the garden. We had just emptied our rain barrels earlier this week. Took a little tour of the garden.
Sugar Baby watermelon just hanging out. Must've overlooked it as a baby since this is the first time I've seen it.
This little lady was doing her thing on the cucumbers.
This gray striped zucchini will be ready to harvest in a few days. There are at least 2 others out there; one will be ready tomorrow.
My first cucumber of the season! My plants are loaded. I think this is a Muncher variety.
Fortex bean pods are starting to show up. Yay!
Tomorrow, I will have a lot of tomatoes to harvest as well. There are these and then some on the plants!
uh oh, i see a leaf miner in that second photo, better pinch that leaf off ;)
Oh. Yum.
Oh my ,, oh my ,,, My Goodness !!! ^_^
A;; day rain here too: what a blessing !!
I picked some of the larger tomatoes yesterday because they were starting to crack under all this rain ..
This morning is still raining ... which is so good.
I hope I could harvest later today ...
Right now the tomatoes are turning color from one day to the other and ripening really fast !
Lovely plants in all the photos! Thanks for sharing! I'm praying that some of that lovely rain makes it's way over here to GA. 60% chance today, keeping my fingers crossed.
1lisac - Can you tell me which of the long beans that you like the most? I've never grown any (asian long beans) and I'm interested in why folks like them. I believe I read that they don't mind lots of heat, is that right? Thanks in advance for any information!
I planted some Asian Yard Long Beans and cucumbers in Earthboxes for my 7-yr-old niece, then built her a trellis for them and the cukes to grow on ("Madison's Square Garden," lol).
We both missed the first flush of long beans that were hidden in the foliage! They're so thin, and are well camouflaged amidst the vines.
I'm still out on a flavor verdict, cause the first ones I tasted weren't very tasty. There was a hint of sweet, but, these may have been too old.
This weekend, I grabbed a handful that were much thinner and younger. They were more tender, and much sweeter!
Still trying to decide if we'll grow them next season..
Hugs!
gymgirl - What a lovely trellis! Thanks for the pic. I'm just curious about the Asian beans. I generally plant heritage Southern veggies like my family has been doing for over 100 years. I have branched out into new things a few times and had mixed results. Since we eat what I grow all year long I don't have many beds in which to try unusual plants (the Malabar spinach was a bust!), so I like to go with plants that will produce enough to make it worth the trouble! I keep hearing good things about Asian beans and I thought they might be a good change from the standard rattlesnake beans that I grow every year. We eat a LOT of beans, corn, squash and tomatoes here! A trellis like yours could grow a lot of beans in a small space and I am intrigued. I think I'll hit the online Southern Exposure Seed Exchange website and see what Asian beans they offer and what they say about them.
Thanks for replying to my questions! And hugs, right back to you!
Lois
Lois,
Thanks for your kind comments, re: the Trellis!
And, just so you'll know, it was built with FREE 6' cedar fence pickets that I got from the cull pile at my local lumber yard (pieced together in a double layer for the two side uprights), 1x2 cedar pieces for the horizontals (48" long, same lumber yard - FREE), and three 8' cedar 1x2s I had laying around in the garage, for the center verticals.
I tacked the 1x2 horizontals to the sides with the pin nail gun and also where they intersected with the verticals. I used deck screws on the side and top piece sandwiched layers. Finally, I cut out the points on the top with the circular saw (can use a scroll saw, too), and painted it with a Behr outdoor stain.
The most laborious part was piecing together the cedar pickets to make the sides. Culled lumber from the reject pile is less than perfect (knot holes, splits, etc.). So, I have to cut out the usable sections and piece them together, making sure to offset the seams. Then, I screwed two layers together to make some strong side supports, and the top piece...
Next time I make one (soon, cause I'm about to start my OWN beans at home, LOL) I will:
►Cut the 1x2 pieces to size as I collect them from the lumber yard
►Pre-sand, and paint all the pieces before construction, little by little
Once all the pieces are cut, sanded and painted, it should take about 15 minutes to screw and tack it all together, LOL!
The weight of the two EBs sitting at the base holds the trellis up. It's just leaning against the garage. No need for the three 7' T-Posts I bought....
Voila!
This message was edited Jun 23, 2014 12:17 PM
Linda, I'm always so impressed with your ingenuity and "got get 'em" spirit! Glad to see you posting again.
We had more rain this morning (yay!) and we've made a very small dent in our drought. Picked up another 1/2" of rain this morning. It's now cleared and sunny and humid.
Here's my harvest today. My little harvest basket was overflowing! Lots of Marmande tomatoes and large cherry tomatoes. A few of those little ones didn't make it in the house... LOL
here are how my tomato plants are looking so far, definitely not as totally amazing as all of yours, but then again i am still a freshly colored green thumb as well. I do have one little green zebra tomato plant that is having a hard time, i made a post specifically about that one in the tomatoes forum to see what other folks think is up with it.
Photo #1 is a mystery volunteer, #2 is german johnson, #3 is white wonder, and #4 is another mystery volunteer
Stephanietx,
You're a sweetie for saying. You always spur me on with your encouraging comments!
Makes me wanna go tackle that next trellis, right now! Too bad it's raining out, LOL!
Glad you're getting some rain, Linda. I've loved the rain we've gotten yesterday and today.
JMC, your tomato plants are looking great!
Steph and JMC1987,
Nice tomatoes and plants!
I pulled out my first bag (ever) of roasted tomato sauce last week. I made it last summer from some of my home grown tomatoes, and some Romas I picked up from the Farmer's Market.
I DEFINITELY have to grow more of my own tomatoes to make more sauce!
A lot of rain in the past few days. Some of the tomatoes did crack and they were full of juice ... I ate them right on the spot. Sooo good !
I never had so many large tomatoes like this season.
The rest of the garden is doing good too.
loisf10
you can see a few "Red Mosaic" long bean on the bottom of each picture. They self seed from last year ... the one that I seeded a few weeks ago are still growing.
Long beans do so well in our climate. They just grow with no problem or pests. They love our heat ... hotter the better.
You eat the pods and they are just really sweet.
I like the red variety the best ... so I can see them between the green leaves.
No harvest for me today, but I do have a few Muncher cucumbers almost ready to harvest. I also found the first National Pickling cuke on the vines today.
I have some maters on my windowsill....and counter...and in the fridge....
