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.