YAY! First ripe tomato of the year. It was still a little hard so I'll pick it in a day or 2.
May pics...
Ray: Those are nice looking tomatoes and that was a nice haul, it's always nice to bring in fresh veggies and fruits you grew yourself isn't it? Especially when they turn out picture perfect like yours, I watched a bee pollinating two of my tomato flowers today.
joy
I love it Joy. It ranks in the top 20 enjoyments of life. Funny thing is, I just like growing things....eating them is just a bonus for me. I just ate 2 zucchinis raw and they were by far the best I've ever had. Last year was a bad squash year for me. Store bought are tasteless as it gets. This year, 11 plants are far and away too many. The 5 zucchini plants are loaded. Even after cutting a few off, there's about 25 more almost ready.
Oh....and the bees are here this year. WOOHOO! Main reason why I am having a good start with squash and cucumbers this year. Speaking of cucumbers....I'm already sick of them. I may just cut them down and use the box for something I like. It's a toss up between more corn, more beans or more tomatoes. Then I think, I've never tried to grow Okra or Eggplant. Decisions decisions....
Silk showing....hope it gets pollinated well.
YAY! Bells are finally ripening.
Baby Watermelon forming :)
Ray: I love okra and it is easy to grow, I probably will have a lot to freeze though, I have both the burgandy kind and the green kind going and they have taken off pretty well. Yeah, my bees are busy at work and it's fun to watch them go for the flowers on my tomato plants. Nice looking plants, you got there, and no doubt whichever you decide to grow it will look great.
joy
Probably the last pics for May, more I'm sure in June :) Dang weather has been awful lately. Temps are fine(60-70) but no sun for 2-3 weeks :( Overcast and drizzling a lot.
Well, here's a harvest i pulled a day or 2 ago. 1 Cuke(my last before I chop them down. Gonna try Eggplant or Okra as Joy suggested), the beginning of my zucchinis(many more are ready, along with the Patty Pan and Sunburst squash), Beans(6th harvest and will be picking a 7th tomorrow), and 2 small little tomatoes but they were pretty good for being the first of the season and with this gloomy weather.
Some corn with silks. Hopefully they are getting pollinated. I'm doing my best to help. Should be ready in about 2 weeks.....
Here's what I picked today.
Ray, how do those yellow scallop squash taste? I've got a plant that is just now starting to produce. I've been hand pollinating all my squash except the yellow summers which are doing fine on their own.
You've got a great veggie haul this year. Congratulations!
I'm still waiting for something to ripen on the vine re: tomatoes. Actually there are a few Koralik cherries ripening, about enough to feed a very tiny elf. Reminds me of that ole saying about water, but in this case tomatoes: Tomatoes, Tomatoes everywhere, but not a one ready to eat.
Don't know which is worse, waiting for the fruit to form or waiting for it to ripen. I'll be picking all mine at first blush this year. Can't risk leaving anything outside here any longer than I have to or something else will have their way with it.
Hey Pugz! They are the best squash I've tasted. I hope everybody tries them. The Yellow is Sunburst and the light green is Patty Pan. I like Zucchini but both of the scallop squash blows it out of the water. The taste is hard to describe. It's like a mixture of zucchini and butternut squash but with more flavor.
Maybe we can put my few loquats and your cherries together to feed a mid-sized elf.
Tell me about the ripen waiting. I literally have hundreds of green tomatoes but only have picked 6 so far(not counting cherry toms). Waiting for ripening is far worse than waiting for fruit to form imo. It makes me talk to the plants in a not so nice way "Alright you %^$#*, start ripening!" lol Peppers are even worse than tomatoes. They take eons to ripen. I have a bunch of giant Bells that refuse to turn.
I guess I'm lucky, once they start to blush everything leaves them alone. My bugs, animals, etc.... like them green for some reason.
How's your weather inland? The coast is primed for diseases this year. Wet, overcast and doesn't get hotter than 65. We haven't even had our June Gloom yet. Glad I harvested a little bit but it could get really bad in the next few weeks. I miss the sun :(
Ray Der Phan: I'm getting cherry tomatoes and my daughter made stuffed bell peppers for dinner last night with the peppers I've picked, this weather has been crazy, I sprayed with fertilome triple action plus and it rained, so I sprayed with Sevin tonight, the bugs are starting to attack my leaves on my plants, no sign of the horned catepillar yet, he is the one I gotta watch out for. It's been sunny today, hopefully, will get sunny weather for a while and have two kinds of bees flying around busy as can be. LOL
joy
Very early in the spring, I had a few honey bee's. But now..............none!! What are the rest of you experiencing?
Not a single honey bee here. I'm set to hand pollinate my cukes, cantaloupes, & squash.
However my bean plants are full of beans so something is pollinating them. I've seen some tiny Metallic Green Bees around the beans and peppers so maybe they are doing the work of the honey bees.
Jerry
Last year I didn't see a single one.....This year we have tons.
Sometimes you kill the bees if you spray the flowers of the plants, gotta watch that closely, I love my bees, they have caused lots of yellow flowers on my cucumbers to get pollinated, ain't into that hand pollinating stuff, a little too difficult and time consuming for me. LOL
joy
Reason I won't ever buy or use Sevin ever again. It kills bees so fast. The dust is even more poisonous too....they take it back to the hive with them. If you can, avoid Sevin at all costs(Spray or Dust)
Finally got the first blush on a Bloody Butcher today, it's on the window sill, along with the 4th of Julys that I've been picking before blush, but they are getting ripe anyway, I let them turn very gray before I pick and it works.
My scalloped squash are just labelel Yellow Scallop Squash, so I don't know which ones they are, I hope they are as good as yours taste.
Ray, the bugs are insane, I have whiteflies really bad, but they do not seem to be doing much damage. I'm spraying with stylet oil and used some dipel, everything appears to be ok. Nights are cold here for growing, only getting into the mid fifties and the days are low to mid eighties. Peppers are green and the hots that are flowering, all the flowers just fall off and die. The humidity is higher than usual, but lots of sun after the marine layer burns off in the morning. I hope this doesn't cause diseases. Got enough problems with the varmints with teeth.
Someone must have killed that ground squirrel I had, he's not eaten anything. Or else the plants are too big for his taste now, they love them when they're still sweet and little.
Ray: Yeah, I noticed that my bees aren't hovering as much anymore, after I sprayed. I should go back to the fertilome triple action plus, it's organic with neem oil, that doesn't hurt bees right, especially if you keep it away from the blooms?
joy
Quoting:
Finally got the first blush on a Bloody Butcher today, it's on the window sill, along with the 4th of Julys that I've been picking before blush, but they are getting ripe anyway, I let them turn very gray before I pick and it works.
My scalloped squash are just labelel Yellow Scallop Squash, so I don't know which ones they are, I hope they are as good as yours taste.
Ray, the bugs are insane, I have whiteflies really bad, but they do not seem to be doing much damage. I'm spraying with stylet oil and used some dipel, everything appears to be ok. Nights are cold here for growing, only getting into the mid fifties and the days are low to mid eighties. Peppers are green and the hots that are flowering, all the flowers just fall off and die. The humidity is higher than usual, but lots of sun after the marine layer burns off in the morning. I hope this doesn't cause diseases. Got enough problems with the varmints with teeth.
Someone must have killed that ground squirrel I had, he's not eaten anything. Or else the plants are too big for his taste now, they love them when they're still sweet and little.
Hey Pugz, I wish there was a way for you to let them vine ripen. Maybe later on in the year when the flood of tomatoes are in full swing you'll be able to let them go full color.
Ya, I'd be willing to bet they are Sunburst if you bought them locally. Pretty much the only kinda of Yellow Scallop squash I've seen sold in SoCal.
UGH! I HATE THEM WHITEFLIES! They love my pepper plants. The yellow sticking whitefly traps seem to be helping a lot. Plus this dreary, cool, misty weather isn't ideal for them. Think they like it sunny and warm. I wouldn't worry about diseases were you are so much. At least you are getting warm and sunny weather. Here, it's like the Pacific North West. Damp and overcast. BUT....I finally saw the sun today. About 3 weeks straight of bad weather has given me some concerns on a few tomato plants.
Quoting:
Ray: Yeah, I noticed that my bees aren't hovering as much anymore, after I sprayed. I should go back to the fertilome triple action plus, it's organic with neem oil, that doesn't hurt bees right, especially if you keep it away from the blooms?
joy
Pretty much anything you spray that kills other insects/fungus will definitely kill bees. My best advice is use it only when necessary and only in the evening when the bees aren't active. Yup, I never spray near blossoms if I can avoid it.
Ray: Lately, it doesn't matter when I spray, it seems to rain right afterwards. LOL
joy