Same Potato, Same Problem

After the problem I had with the German Butterball potatoes a few years ago you'd think I'd learn. But no. This time I put lots of crushed eggshells in the bed, because the expert said they lacked sufficient calcium. So I dug them up and what do you know? Same problem. I did some research and found that the condition is called Internal Brown Spot and some potato varieties are more susceptible to it, including German Butterball. So now I know. The big baking size potatoes seem to have it worse, so I've tossed all of them. I'm also tossing the tiny ones. I'll keep the medium size ones because I can cut them in half to check them before cooking them. I've also kept all the potatoes from the last two plants on the end, because they were way behind the others for some reason. They're still very green. Maybe they haven't been affected. We'll see. 

Next year I'll go back to Yukon Gold, and only one row.

More Tomatoes

Today I picked the first Cherokee Purple tomatoes and the first bell pepper. We had one tomato for lunch. Yummy! I picked the second aubergine, with several more smaller ones to be ready soon. The Boothby's Blonde cucumbers have been producing nicely. Two more today.

I've started some pak choi, which is now up, as is the chard. The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage that I started in the ground had not been doing well, so I moved them into small pots. I think the problem has been the roots of the arbor vitae hedge next door. The ground is almost solid tiny roots. 

I've cut all the growing tips off the melons and pulled off anything smaller than one inch. I'm not sure if the smallest ones will ripen, but we'll find out. 

More Fall Starts

It seemed like I could get one more row of carrots in, so I sowed more 'Yaya's. I also started a pot of 'Bright Lights' chard and a small pack of 'Yuushou' Pak Choi. I'm not sure where they'll go, but I'll find a spot.

I made a second batch of strawberry jam. The first one was very thick. This one is definitely thinner. Maybe it'll be syrup.

First Real Tomato

Finally! I picked the first Stupice today. There are several more coming soon. And there are two Cherokee Purples that look close. The plant is loaded with fruit. The Striped German looks a bit further away.

Already Planning for Next Year

I've decided that I want to reclaim the rose and lily bed for vegetables next year. Here's what it looks like now.

My plan is to remove two of the roses, leaving only Lillian Austin at the far end. I'll make two beds, maybe with boards, maybe not, with a path in between them for access. The lilies may go somewhere else, or not, and the herbs will go into the bed along the south wall of the house, where the melons are now.

Onions

Today I pulled all the onions. This was supposed to be a storage variety (New York Early), but it's obvious that many of them would not be appropriate for storage. They had very hard flower stalks going down into the onion. I saved the ones that didn't have the flower stalk, about half of them, and cut the roots and tops off. They are now drying in the bed. I don't have a lot of hope for them, but we'll see.

Next year I'll start my own plants from seeds, a variety I know will be good.

Two More Firsts

Yesterday I picked the first pole beans and the first aubergine.

The zucchinis are starting to get ahead of me. Right now I have nine in the refrigerator. I think I'll grate some and freeze them for zucchini bread later.

I decided it was time to braid the garlic. It wasn't hard, and I think it turned out OK.

Next I'll try the onions, but they aren't dry yet.

The squirrels have started in on the Orcas pears, so I picked them all. We got fourteen. They're much smaller than the Ubileens.