Such a great time of year for veggies

11 years ago

This year has been a very productive one for my garden, and right now I am still harvesting a bit of spring produce (edible podded peas though the lettuce has bolted) while also having available most of the high summer warm weather crops. This week we've eaten peas, tomatoes, basil, parsley, garlic, Russian Banana fingerling potatoes and broccoli. A bunch of peppers are ready for harvest and I made two batches of pesto for the freezer. I love this time of year!

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Comments (6)

defrost49
11 years ago
I think fingerling potatoes are going to be on my list for next year. We've had our first two cherry tomatoes but still waiting for tomatoes to ripen. Waiting for the peppers to get a little bigger. Zucchini took a break - probably not enough water during our dry spell but it's still producing. Cucumbers doing well. Made a kale and swiss chard salad with Asian dressing yesterday and can have leftover stuffed chard rolls tonight.

Had to cut back garden sage so I tried sticking cuttings right in soil on the north side of a tomato bed just to see if it works. Severed other branches where I thought rooting had taken place. Will need to pot up for a plant swap.
Had our first beans on Friday. I think they are about to take off. The recent rain has been great.
carol6ma_7ari
11 years ago
It's amazing, isn't it? how our hard work is paying off at last! We've been eating lettuce (you have to keep reseeding patches every couple of weeks and you'll never run out), herbs, broccoli, peas (now over, but I just put seeds in for a fall crop), kale, chard, and now eggplant and tomatoes. Too bad I can't grow yogurt and eggs in my garden. And a nice olive tree.

Carol
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Gary, This is really an issue of resources and conserving them. More municipal water is used (and wasted) in Dade County on lawns than for drinking and bathing or agriculture. Instead of watering a lawn, I devote some of that area to a mulched vegetable garden watered mostly with a rain barrel and with soil that is being improved every year with compost. So, some rain water doesn't drain off my property, running over oil-slicked roads and over-fertilized lawns before draining into the Bay - where it pollutes. Tax dollars end up paying for storm-water treatment, to keep the Bay clean and the fish and wildlife there surviving. Instead some of my excess rain helps me grow tomatoes, beans, herbs, cukes and the occasional melon. Kitchen and yard waste that would end up in landfill go into a composter and then it's all ultimately spread in my veggie garden, under newspapers that could also go in the landfill. This reduces hauling and landfill costs that all taxpayers share. No harsh pesticides are used on my garden because a) I don't want to eat stuff with pesticides on it b) I certainly don't want my garden to contribute to polluted run-off and c) I'm not a professional farmer skilled in the ways those chemicals should be used. I use soap and water. And I haven't exactly withdrawn from the global economy. Just got back from Publix, in fact, where I bought pork chops and paper towels and dog food along with my organic eggs. While other people have other hobbies, this is mine. It does nothing to harm anyone and does a little to reduce the resources I'm using - resources we all pay for. Then, when I buy a Florida grapefruit instead of a California one, I'm supporting my neighbors, and in some cases, my family. I'm descended from a long line of farmers, including a grandfather who saw his land fouled by a nearby phosphate mine. There are still citrus groves in my extended family. My grandfather would be proud of my hobby and pretty confused by your concern that I'm endangering the global food supply by growing a little bit of my own. I am too. S
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Love the tableau with the angel. How peaceful-looking. Also love the red wagon & the huge pretty hosta next to it. I see you have several. Have you tried any of the ones with blue leaves? Your grass looks wonderful, too. All the grass around here is crispy & brown from drought & heat, and not soft like that no matter how green. Thanks for the mini-tour.
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If the idea is to save money, and especially if you're doing containers, I agree that herbs are your best bet. Potatoes and squash won't save a lot of cash. Okra and eggplant might be good bets. I especially like the latter because they produce well through the hot summer. Tomatoes and peppers turn off in the fiercest months of heat, though you might get a fall crop. Summer greens? Well, they say that they are "heat tolerant", but that phrase has a different meaning in Texas than elsewhere, and I haven't had a lot of success nurturing at least kale in July and August. Of course, if you're planting in June, we're talking about harvest in September and beyond, so it's mainly going to be about survival.
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diggingthedirt
11 years ago
Wow, you guys are industrious! I've slowly moved away from growing veggies, and this year I've just had lettuce, basil, parsley, and the perennial herbs (plus some asparagus, strawberries and blueberries). When I hear others talking about fresh peas and beans, I miss having those out in the garden. Kudos to you all!
spedigrees z4VT
11 years ago
I'm harvesting organic early golden crookneck summer squash! Yummy, yummy!

We used to grow a winter's worth of vegetables every summer long ago. This is the second year in many decades I've planted any vegetables, and just a small patch, but I'm re-discovering the joy of veggies right out of the garden. (We have so many farm stands and a farmer's market in close proximity that it's been easy to be lazy.)
defrost49
11 years ago
spedigrees, you have my grandmother's dishes! Those are lovely squash. I went on squash bug patrol this morning. Found a couple of striped cucumber beetles and one dead squash bug. There were three lives ones this weekend (of course, no longer alive). I try to grow organically so I've been scraping eggs and bugs into a bowl of soapy water. A dark zucchini, Raven, has pooped out after only a few squash and I'm not sure why. Right next to it, 3 Costata Romanesco zukes are going strong.

My garden keeps getting bigger. One thing we don't grow that we love is corn but figure the raccoons would win out. I was happy to stop at the local farm but last year the latest in the kid run corn business, only grew one variety of a super sweet corn. Near the end of the season it was just too big plus I missed the varieties they used to grow like Silver Queen. I'll be trying a new farm stand.

I like being able to pick just the amount I need but also having a bit too much that forces me to try some new recipes. Made a great zucchini banana bread this weekend (bought bananas and they were getting over ripe). Plus there's the ready snacks as I weed or just walk around checking on things. If I didn't have pea fences, I would have to put something else up so the birds would have a perch.

And maybe next year I will remember to seed lettuce every few weeks!
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
11 years ago
Very pretty squash! What do they taste like? Summer squash?

We had a good crop of snap peas in May. I cut back on the vegetable garden, knowing I wouldn't have the attention to give it this year. We did a CSA this year and have had a good supply of vegetables from that. We planted tomatoes, basil, peppers and a few string bean plants. That's about it.

Sungold cherry tomatoes are now coming fast and I keep trying to keep them
picked so they will keep producing. We could get another 6 weeks out of them, yes?

We tried a new variety last year, Bush Champion that only gets 3ft tall and is almost too bushy, but it produces lots of baseball size tomatoes that are very tasty. Those are coming in now too. Eating cucumber, tomato sandwiches on rye bread every day. Yum!

Basil....oh my....I put in more than usual this year and they are really growing like gangbusters. Huge! And I don't like Pesto. Anyone have any recipes for using a lot of basil? My kids love it but I haven't seen them enough lately to keep it picked.

Such a great time of year for veggies

Comments (6)

defrost49

carol6ma_7ari

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