Notes for Next Year

I think the number of aubergines (two) and peppers (eight) worked out well. I tried a couple of pepper plants in large pots, but I don't think they did as well as those in the ground. 

The tomatoes were good, except for the Old German, which was very late and not all that flavorful. I think I'll stick with Cherokee Purple, Stupice, and Sun Gold. The four San Marzanos was a good number. On second thought, plant more San Marzanos to can and make sauce and maybe ketchup?

The Anton zucchini did nicely, with no mildew until the very end. But I'd also like to have a Cube of Butter. 

I thought by planting beets late in the summer I could foil the leaf miners, but that hasn't happened. Their leaves are still being destroyed. So NO MORE BEETS!

The melons were a great disappointment. We had a couple of early ones, but then the others just shrivelled and died, leaving tasteless fruit. So NO MORE MELONS!

I'd like to have more lettuce going into winter. I think planting them by the first of August might be about right. 

The cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower did well. The broccoli has held well, but the cauliflower got over ripe and got brown and soggy. I just didn't harvest them soon enough. So next year, keep checking them in the fall and harvest them when they're ready. Four cabbages would be enough. And I still haven't used any of the Chinese cabbage. Next year try some Brussels sprouts.

The cover on the fall spinach and chard worked pretty well. It kept most leaf miners out. But keep it covered over winter. This year the birds got into them and really destroyed them. 

Try carrots in wide rows next year to get a bigger harvest. 

First Frost

Two nights ago we had our first frost, although the temperature only got down to 36. But with the colder temperatures coming, I pulled out most of the summer vegetable garden. 

I sliced and froze all the bell peppers, except for four, which I'll stuff for a couple of dinners. The zucchini had a few small fruits on it, so we'll have those soon. I have several jars of shredded zucchini in the freezer for zucchini bread. I have several aubergines, which I'll probably make into more ratatouille. 

When a substantial rain storm was predicted a couple of weeks ago, I picked all the tomatoes, mostly San Marzanos, which had any color on them. I put them in the guest room to ripen. I now have enough tomato soup for nine lunches, plus two trays of roasted tomatoes, with garlic, basil, and olive oil. I'm planning to use them on pizza, or maybe as a pasta topping. I had also canned 26 pints of cut up tomatoes. 

We still have lots of things in the garden for winter. I have a row of kohlrabi, a row of beets, a row of chard, and two rows of spinach. One bed has cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower, several plants of each. I have about twenty bok choy plants, plus a few short rows of mache, arugula, and Ethiopian kale. And I have a row of turnips and rutabagas. There is still some lettuce, but I don't expect that to last much longer. I planted a few snap peas at the end of the strawberry bed. They probably won't produce anything until next spring. And of course, there are still several rows of carrots.

I got just four delicata squash, which was a bit disappointing. Next year I'll grow a vining one instead of the bush variety. I also have three small 'Honey Nut' squash, which may or may not make it. They're still not ready to pick. Again, next year I'll do a full size butternut vine.

Status of Fall Garden

The fall brassicas have been moved into the potato bed, with a net cover over them. They're growing nicely now.

In the box with the leeks I've planted some rainbow chard and sowed some spinach. They're all small, but coming along. 

We've had some really hot weather (and now lots of wildfire smoke!) The tomatoes are happy. I picked 4 1/2 pounds yesterday and canned them today (3 jars plus a smaller one). The melons are getting close. They also love the heat. 

I pulled out all the cranberry beans that were planted among the tomatoes. The other dry beans aren't ready to pull yet. 

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.