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.