New Seeds for 2018

Last night, I ordered most of my seeds for this coming year.  Not too many new varieties were on my radar, but I did manage to pick up a few (I'm an impulse shopper.)

New to me in 2018:
1. Five Star Grape - a grape tomato
2. Sunrise Bumble Bee - a specialty cherry tomato
3. Valencia - an orange heirloom tomato
4.  North Georgia Candy Roaster - heirloom winter squash (8-15 lbs)
5.  Cinnamon Girl - pie pumpkin (3-6 lbs)
6.  Early Giant - Jack-o-lantern pumpkin (30 lbs)
7. Mosquetero pepper - a poblano pepper
8.  Lemon Drop pepper - citrus flavored heirloom hot pepper
9.  Celebration Squash - acorn squash that is also decorative (so pretty)
10.  Cougar Squash - straightneck yellow summer squash
11. Cougar PMR - small Jack-o-lantern (10-12 lbs)
12.  Captain Jack - Jack-o-lantern (30 lbs)

I'm looking forward to trying these new varieties this coming year, as well as planting my stalwart favorites.    


Last fall after ripping out the existing plants, I tilled a tarp full of leaves into each of my two gardens.   Into one of the gardens, I also tilled in compost.  I should have done the other one too, but my husband only bought enough for one garden.  I'll add the rest this spring.  

From My Pumpkin Patch

Okay, my pumpkin patch is not all that big, but it is big enough to have something to use for decorations.  I love this time of year.  I love the weather, that canning is mostly over, the decorating, and the holidays.  

I'll use the little ones for decorating inside, I just wanted to show them in this picture.  The pumpkin variety that produced the most was Blaze.  Since this was my first year growing that variety, I'll make sure I grow them again in the future.  I like the look of the different varieties.  If I had more gardening space, I'd plant more.  My favorite eating ones are the pie pumpkins and the Long Island Cheese.  I'm looking forward to trying the Musquee de Provence.  One draw back of using them as decorations, is that I can't eat them until after Thanksgiving.

Reaping is the Best Part:

This past month has been a busy one.  My garden is winding down as the sunlight wanes and the temperatures drop.  I've been pleased with its production.  

I've canned many jars of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.  I didn't make salsa this year.  I should have.  I made a lot of pesto, froze many containers of peppers, made my own enchilada sauce and tomatillo sauce.  I feel 'done'.  I have more than enough of everything to last until next summer.  However, even though I may feel done with gardening, I'm still not done.  I picked 28 lbs of tomatoes today and just gave them away.  I also picked 26 lbs of tomatoes this past Saturday and gave those away also.  My husband says that next year I should plant only half as much.  As much as I enjoy canning and preserving what I grow, I also enjoy giving it away.  So I don't see my husband's idea happening.  

I grew a 60 lb. winter squash.  I have no idea what to do with it all.  I'm hoping it will taste good.  If it does, I'll share that as well with friends and neighbors.  

My 60.4 pound Naples Long winter squash.

My pumpkins did well this year.  I will post a picture soon.  I've picked several, but there are still some growing in the garden.  My biggest pumpkin weighed in at just over 28 pounds.  My cucumbers were wonderful.  I always feel I need to plant more of those because everyone in the family LOVES them.  


Notes for next year:
Grow one more hill of cucumbers
One hill of zucchini is enough.  
Grow more than 6 green chilies - try 8 or 10
6 Jalapeno plants are perfect
Don't grow Costoluto Genevese tomatoes:
  I thought they were cute, but I preferred the flavor of other varieties.
6 basil plants were plenty
Grow more mini pumpkins



The stink bug problem I had earlier this summer, was taken care of.  I made some traps from a Youtube video.  They didn't catch many adults bugs, but it did lure and trap tons of babies and adolescents.  I also started watering with a sprinkler once a week.  Many drowned, so hooray for that.  I haven't seen any during the last 5 weeks or so.  

Say Goodbye to Bindweed

I had the blessing of gardening without this noxious weed for about two decades, now it seems to be everywhere.  Sometimes this weed is referred to as morning glory.  Bindweed is in the morning glory family, but there is nothing good about this invasion and take over. 

This has been the first year that I have been diligent in dealing with it.  Here is my plan of attack.  First, I wait for the bindweed to get about 12 inches long.

Then I place a wide mouth drink bottle over it, that the bottom has been cut off of.  

I wad the plant up into the bottle from the cut end.  

Then I wedge the cut end into the garden soil.  I then remove the cap, spray in a bunch of Roundup coating the leaves liberally, and I replace the cap. The wide mouth bottle is preferred because it's easier to coat the plant from a large opening, rather than the smaller opening of a soda bottle.  

The bottle serves a couple of important purposes.  One is to contain the Roundup so it isn't splashing on the surrounding plants that I want to live.  The bindweed often grows very close to everything else.  I am able to coat the plant good and proper in this manner.  When I screw the cap back on, the bottle will also provide a very hot greenhouse effect for the plant....aiding in the demise of the weed.  

(The bottle with the bindweed and Roundup is nestled into the same cage as my pepper plant, but the pepper plant is completely safe.)


Now this obnoxious weed will grow back somewhere close by.  But if you are diligent in tackling that one, and the next, and the next, it will become exhausted and vanish.  (It doesn't hurt to keep your fingers crossed.)

There have been a few times where I've been unable to get a tight fit of the bottle into the soil.  When this happens, I just get a sealable plastic bag and wad the plant into the bag, spray in the Roundup, and seal it the best I can, making sure none of it can drip out. With either method, I leave the bag or the bottle on for a few days to let the Roundup and the heat work its magic. 

These efforts have really made a difference.  I hope to tackle the bindweed in my raspberry bushes next year.  This year, my pumpkins have taken over the raspberries and I can't even get to them.  

Curing Pumpkins/Winter Squash:

I have picked 5 pumpkins:
  1 Casperita
  4 Blaze
  

I have a few more pumpkins growing in the garden, but I'm not sure what they are yet until they are closer to maturity.  I have a few Be-Littles that I can identify.     

Once I cut the pumpkins from the vine, I leave them in the sun to cure so that they won't rot in storage. Curing them helps them to develop a tough skin that is essential if you are storing them for later use.  This takes 2-4 weeks of sun bathing.  After the curing time, I'll store them in the basement.  



I had two Naples Long growing but one aborted.  So now I have just one, but it is HUGE.  I may have more.  This variety, and some others, have infiltrated the raspberry bushes and there could be some hidden in there.  This big one though, will be a fun one to weigh.

Over the weekend, I picked 10 Garden Salsa peppers and 10 Jalapenos.  After I diced them, I had 3/4 of a cup of the Garden Salsa peppers and 1 cup of of the jalapenos.  Even though the Garden Salsa peppers are longer than the Jalapenos, the Jalapenos have a much thicker wall, so they take up more storage space.


Here are two pictures of my ornamental peppers.  One is a "before" when the peppers were just starting to grow and one is an "after" showing the striking colors combinations.

"before"

"after"

Tomato Woes Part 2:

On  Saturday, I finally picked my first tomato that did not have blossom end rot.  It was one of my romas.  This weekend, I've picked about 12 ripe ones.  I've managed to solve the blossom end rot issue.  My plants just needed more water.  However, in giving them more water, some fruits have split a little on top.  But only a few are affected.

The next problem to manifest itself is Cloudy Spot.  I need to get a picture of this.  My tomatoes are covered with tiny little yellow spots.  Apparently this means I have visitors called Stink Bugs that are feasting on the tomatoes.  Dang it.  I've gardened for such a long time and I don't ever recall this huge of an infestation.  My plants are covered with these little bugs.  

I've read up on them and have watched a few Youtube videos.  The answers are these:
Neem oil
Canola oil 1:4 ratio with water
Liquid dish soap mixed with water
DIY traps

I'm making 2 traps as an experiment.  I'm spraying half of my tomato plants in the canola oil and half in dish soap.  We will see how it works.    

The fruits are still edible, but they are not very pretty.  This is a problem that plagues many commercial growers, drastically reducing the value of their crops.  Affected produce is often only sold for processing.  

I'll still can mine, I just wish they looked better.  

Tomato Woes

I've picked about 30 tomatoes from my garden....all with blossom end rot.  A few things can cause this: not enough calcium being absorbed, not enough watering in the cycle, a period of drought, some varieties are more likely to have this problem, and just google this to get even more possible causes.  I'm guessing my problem lies within the watering issue.  I purchased soaker hoses for the first time this year and I don't think I have set it to the correct watering time to give these plants enough water.  It worked fine, when they were much smaller plants....and I haven't increased the length in watering time, since they have grown.  I also need to take into account the high temperatures.  It has been over 100 degrees for quite a few days this month. So, I have now increased the length of the watering time....we'll see if that corrects the problem. 

My cucumbers are producing very well.  I have been trying lots of new recipes containing cucumbers.  I may have to start canning them as relish.  My zucchini is also doing well.  I haven't canned any yet...but I have given several away. 

My pumpkins are looking cute.  I have also frozen several of my hot peppers.  I'll post a how-to soon.  

Baby, It's Hot Outside

A little cucumber vine sought shelter in the pumpkin plants, and this cucumber went unnoticed.

the 'Sweet Success' variety

Sweet Success also gave me my first cucumber of the season.  Sweeter Yet, though, has completely out produced Sweet Success and Sweet Slice.  

I picked my first jalapenos today.  
I made my third batch of pesto.
The tomatillos are plentiful. 
My cherry tomatoes are ripening (we've eaten a few already.)  All varieties will be ripening soon.

I have a lot of green tomatoes; two, however, are almost red (they are the romas). 

I have noticed the dreaded squash bug in my garden. That is so sad.  I stopped laying down the grass clippings because they seem to like that.  I don't use any pesticides so I have to be diligent in checking under the leaves for the eggs. I scrape the eggs off, crush them and put them in soapy water, along with any adolescent and adult bugs (which aren't many because they scuttle away fast.)  I use a turkey baster to suck them up, as I am a bit squeamish when it comes to touching bugs, even with gardening gloves on.

I've picked several summer squash.  I gave my neighbor three plants, and this variety, (Barq), is out producing her other summer squash.  It is definitely worthwhile to grow. 

SUMMER TOMATOES:

The earliest I've ever been able to pick a garden ripe tomato was on July 18th.  It doesn't look like I'll beat that this year.  But here are some pictures of my green ones.

Yaqui Tomatoes (roma)

Yaqui Tomatoes 

Costoluto Genevese Tomatoes

Today I picked 4 Garden Salsa Peppers, a zucchini, a cucumber and about 3 cups of raspberries.

Yesterday, I picked my first zucchini, my first cucumber, a bowl of raspberries (my kids and husband ate more than a few, but I managed to get a picture of what was left), and a bowl of basil.

I made some pesto, put the raspberries on a homemade cheesecake, turned the zucchini into zoodles and ate it with the pesto, and the cucumber went in today's salad.  

I also laid a thin layer of grass clippings down in the garden to help hold in the moisture and keep weeds away because it is warming up fast.  I will add to it, to make it a thicker layer, but I want to build it up slowly to give the grass time to dry out.  I don't want it rotting; I just want it dry.

I have fruit on my tomatillos, romas, cherry tomatoes, and my Holy Mole peppers.  I also have flowers on all of the pepper plants, one cucumber plant and my Barq summer squash and only male flowers on my pumpkins.

Pumpkin Blossom

Another pumpkin blossom

Some of these tomato blossoms are huge

Tomato Blossoms

Tomatillo Blossoms

The weather has been over 100 degrees three times at my house this month.  Most of the time the temperatures have been in the 90's.  I see lots of flowers, so I'm not worried about production. 

My ornamental peppers are looking cute with their little peppers jutting upwards.  So far they are small and only green.  I'll have to take a pic when they are in their full color glory.

We have had one day of 100+ degree weather so far this month.  Thankfully it was only one.  Usually, where I live, it doesn't hit 100 until the end of July to early August.  However, there are more hot temperatures on the horizon next week with the possibility of more 100 degree days.  (SIGH).  The problem with high temperatures so soon, is that the plants are not encouraged to set fruit when it is hot.  I checked my plants today, and many already have lots of blossoms on them, but sadly some do not have any. 


The four tomato plants I thought I lost in the snow storm, well it turns out I only lost one of them.  The three survivors are way behind in development than the other tomato plants, but they hung in there.  I was going to rip them out and put in some store-bought plants, but I thought I would just see how they did.  Below is a picture of them.  They are tiny plants 

(the three that survived the snow)

                                       (here are the sizes of the others)

I guess in this case, size does matter.  If the ones exposed to the snow were my only tomato plants, then ripping them out and planting new ones, would have been been the best idea.  I doubt the survivors will produce much.  By the time they are ready to flower, we will be in the middle of the high heat summer.  

  ************************

My zucchini did come up, but not the Papaya Pear.  All of my pumpkins sprouted except for Hooligan.  My cucumbers are present and accounted for.  

Here is the mound of my Jack O'Lanterns

The different types of pumpkins, squash, and cucumbers are all about the same size as the above picture.  

Okay.  We did get snow for two days last week.  I covered all the plants with a tarp (4 tarps to be exact).  To my rude awakening, I wasn't expecting so much snow.  The snow was so wet and heavy on the tarp causing the tarp to settle in the path on the back side, which pulled it right off of the back row of tomatoes, leaving them exposed to the elements.

Since I had to leave for work I didn't have a lot of time to fix the problem.  I brushed off the leaves and covered the row with a plastic sheet I found in the garage, 2 rain ponchos, 1 emergency blanket (the kind that looks like a piece of tin foil) and 2 extra large garbage sacks.  My garden was 'stylin'.  It may not have won any beauty awards, me either for that matter, but it saved the plants the next day from more snow.  Thankfully I only lost 4 (all on that back row).  

I lost:
my one and only Early girl
my one and only New girl
my one and only Beef Master and
1 Delicious

I have good news though.  The plants I thought I lost in the hail storm, actually came back.  They had the whole tops chopped off, and yet they survived.  So yay.  They are much smaller since they practically started over, but they are in fact alive.

My plants are doing very well in the garden.  This week, however, it is supposed to be in the 30's with a chance of snow.  I will be covering them at night with a huge tarp, to help trap the heat of the soil in.  I don't want them to freeze.

All of my cucumbers came up.  Two varieties of pumpkins didn't come up (Hooligan & Jack-Be-Little).  The seeds were older, so maybe that is why.  I don't plan on replanting those because they also didn't come up last year.  My Summer Squash also didn't come up.  Here again, the seeds were older than most of the others.  So, I'll have to get new Barq seeds next year.  My family won't miss it at all, but I will.  I will see what variety of zucchini my local nursery has and buy one or two.



On the north side of my house, is a lot of shade.  I cleared a space that was weed ridden, and planted the following:

Ground Ivy - hiedra terrestre - variegata glechoma hederacea
Snow in Summer - cerastium (this will get some sun)
Purple Chablis - lamium maculatum
Anemome Harmony Orchid 
Columbine Swan Blue & White
Bleeding Heart Pink
Creeping Jenny 
Woodland Phlox Blue Moon - phlox divaricata
Columbine Origami Red & White

On Monday, the 8th, I planted all my tomatoes, my peppers, and my basil into the garden.  And of course, 45 minutes later, huge hail fell from the sky.  I only lost 4 plants out of 100+ (thankfully they were small plants or the damage would have been greater.)  I did feel panic when it started.  I lost an Anaheim pepper, a tomatillo, my only Big Beef tomato plant, and my only Sweet Million cherry tomato plant.  

I will take pictures of the survivors soon and get them posted for comparison.  The little plants are greening up nicely in their new space.

So far, all of my cucumbers have sprouted except for the little Mexcian Sour Gherkins.    Most of my pumpkins have also sprouted, but I'm still waiting for a few of them to show themselves.  My summer squash also has yet to emerge.  These won't go into the garden until the night temperatures are a little warmer.  

The garden is tilled.  I have two small-ish gardens.  They are about 180 sq. ft each.  Added to each garden were 8 bags of compost, 2 bags of Nutri-Mulch, leaves from last year, and composted kitchen scraps of my own making.  I also had a cubic yard of mulch/garden soil delivered that I use to make my flower beds look nice.  Whatever is not used for that, gets thrown into the garden.  

Hardening Off:  
All last week, my plants were trotted out to the deck, and left in a mostly shady spot, where parts were dappled with sunlight.  Then hauled back in  for the night.  The night temps were still quite low.  

Yesterday, my seedlings received 3 hours of direct sunlight. It was a little hard on them.  I watered them before they went into the direct sunlight, and I watered them again when I moved them to the shade.  I kept an eye on them, looking for obvious signs of distress. Healthy plants are much more forgiving than scrawny and weak ones.  

Today, they will get 4-6 hours, depending on temperature.   I'd love to get them planted on Saturday, but that might be pushing it.  I'll just keep an eye on them and see how they react to more sunlight.  Monday is probably the day for garden planting, if the weather stays nice.   

In yester-years, I've planted them sooner without spending a lot of time acclimating them to the sun.  This just causes unnecessary struggle once they go in and then they require a much longer recovery time.  I would also lose a few in that process.  However, when I properly acclimate them, the recovery time is substantially lower and they take advantage of their new found freedom and get down to business.

You can google how to properly acclimate your plants.  Everyone has their own way of doing this.  You just need to find out what works best for you and your schedule.  My husband works from home, so he is usually the one with the timer and he hauls them in and out of the house, and in and out of the sun. 

My only advice is to keep them watered, look for signs of distress, and DO NOT NEGLECT them.  They are like babies.  They need attention and care, but it is only for a little while.  Then these little darlings will start 'doing their thing' without any hovering.

Today I started my cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash indoors.  Well, they are in pots, but they are all out on the deck.  So technically, it isn't indoors.  

Cucumbers:
   Sweeter Yet
   Sweet Slice
   Sweet Success
   Barese - novelty
   Mexican Sour Gherkin - novelty

Pumpkins:
   Musque de Provence - new this year
   Naples Long - new this year
   Jill-Be-Little - new this year
   Blaze - new this year
   Long Island Cheese
   Harvest Time
   Casperita
   Baby Bear
   Hooligan
   Wee-Be-Little
   Jack-Be-Little
   Some Jacks (seeds saved from previous years)

Squash:
   Barq
   Papaya Pear (I only had one seed left.  My favorite seed companies don't sell this variety anymore.  Hopefully, my lonely little seed will come up.)


   

I moved my seedlings to bigger pots this week.  I ended up having about 50 extra tomato seedlings and a few hot pepper seedlings that I gave away to friends and family.  

I purchased some compost for my garden.  This year, I'm using Oakdell compost.  I  didn't add anything last year, and the two years before that, I was unhappy with the other company we purchased compost from.  One year, it had a ton of weed seeds in it, then the next year it didn't seem like compost at all because it looked like sand.   

So now, I'm just waiting for it to stop raining and to dry out enough to get this all tilled in.  Then I want to get my plants in the ground in a few weeks.  Where I live (zone 5), the last day of frost is considered to be Mother's day.  Sometimes my plants go in before that, sometimes after...depending on weather.  This year doesn't look like it will be an early planting year.   The night temperatures are still in the 30's.  But I'm so excited to start.  I'm wondering if I should try the wall-o-water...but then I roll my eyes at what that would cost me for as much as I grow. Probably not cost effective, for the first year or two (maybe even 3).  

Prior to moving the seedlings to bigger pots, I used a 4-12-4 Miracle-Gro seedling fertilizer, diluted by half.  They looked good and were not as 'leggy' as they get without this fertilizer.  Just remember, seedlings don't need as much nitrogen.  They need phosphorous, which should be at least double the number  of nitrogen. I will say here too, that 'leggy' tomato plants are okay as far as I'm concerned.  They do just fine once they've been moved into the garden. They settle in, fill out, and live up to their potential. 

I'll be starting my cucumbers, zucchini, and pumpkins in the next couple of weeks.

Some new varieties I'll be giving a trial run are:
   Naples Long - these sounded fun to grow
   Musque de Provence
   Jill-be-little
   Blaze

I'll also be growing Long Island Cheese.  The taste of these are my favorites.  They are so sweet and wonderful.

Sunday, 16 April 2017

Wow, it's already that time of year.  In the process of redoing my kitchen, I got a late start on my seedlings (but at least I got them going.)  However, I started them the week before I left on vacation.  I asked a cute little neighbor girl to keep them watered....I'm not entirely sure that happened.  They looked pretty parched when I got home.  I didn't have my usual success rate with the seeds this year, but I always start way more than I need.  

Cherry Tomatoes
As always:
   Pink Bumblebee - new last year
   Sweet 100's
   Sweet Million
   Yellow Pear
   Sun Sugar
   Sweet Gold
   Sugary

New this year:
   Snow White (this was a free trial)
   Sun Gold


Determinate Tomatoes
As always:  
   Yaqui
   Heinz 1370
   
New last year:
   Skyreacher


Indeterminate Tomatoes
As always:
   Lemon Boy
   Celebrity
   Superfantastic
   Early Girl
   New Girl
   Goliath
   Jetsetter
   Porterhouse
   Delicious
   Big Zac
   Mexico
   Parks Whopper
   Parks Beefy Boy
   Better Boy
   Big Beef
   Burpee Supersteak


New Last Year:
   Country Taste
   Big Boy
   Beefmaster
   Ball's Beefsteak

New This Year:
   Cherokee Chocolate (free trial offer)
   Costoluto Genovese - I found the seeds for these and wanted to give it another go.



Peppers
   Anahiem
   Ancho San Luis
   Mucho Nacho
   Guajillo
   Pasilla Bajio
   Holy Mole
   Mulato Isleno
   Garden Salsa

Ornamental Peppers:
   Chilly Chili
   Medusa


I dispensed with the herb garden this year, but I did plant a whole bunch of basil.  I love pesto.