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. 

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 Planting

I sowed a patch of snap peas (bush type) in the squash bed. I also sowed a row of kohlrabi and a row of beets, one on each side of the asparagus bed. And I sowed the last two rows of carrots.

I've harvested the last of the cabbage. One head had split, but the rest are fine. I made three more jars of sauerkraut, plus I left some for cole slaw and stir fries.

The weather has become very summerlike, with highs mostly in the 80s. The cherry tomatoes are ripening, but so far no other tomatoes. There's one cucumber about three inches long and an aubergine about two inches long. And I found the first tiny green bean. I've had to extend the bean trellis with some string. I hope it's enough.

We're getting lots of zucchini now, and the Delicata squash is finally being pollinated.

Getting Ready for Fall

Today I set up a seedling bed under the peach tree. I added some potting soil and compost and sowed a row each of cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. I'm hoping that by the time they're ready to transplant I'll have some place to put them. Right now I'm not so sure.

After the first two cherry tomatoes disappeared(!) I put a ring of 24" hardware cloth around the plant. We now have another tomato almost ready. We'll see if the wire stops any further theft.

Things are still moving slowly with the lack of sun and heat, but it looks like we have a good week ahead of us.

Late June Garden Status

After a rather cool spring, things are finally warming up. There are small green tomatoes on all the plants. No peppers or aubergines yet. After the snap peas fell over in a strong wind, I removed them yesterday. There were lots that were huge and fat, so I shelled them and froze them. Next year I think I'll try short ones. And now the cucumbers will be happy because they've been living in the shadow of the peas.

The potatoes are blooming. We've had some strawberries, but now they're taking a break. We've been picking blueberries for about two weeks, but most of them are still coming. I guess they liked the fertilizer I gave them, because they're huge. Even the new one that I just planted this spring to replace the Chandler has a nice crop. After we found a couple of stink bugs on the raspberries, I've pulled them all out. We haven't seen any since. In their place I planted some melons. They should like the heat against the house.

Both pear trees have a modest crop. The peaches are a washout again. Maybe it's time to give up on it.

The broccoli and cauliflower were a disappointment, but the cabbage is nice. I've cut one head and will cut another soon for sauerkraut. I will try them all again in the fall.

I've been doing a lot of interplanting. I've planted lots of dry beans among the roses and tomatoes, and lettuce as well. I've also just sowed some bok choi in shady spots to see if they'll work in the summer.

I pulled most of the chard, since I was spending a lot of time patrolling them for leaf miners. I have one of each color, much more manageable.

Strawberries!

Today I picked our first Seascape strawberries. They sure are good. Tomorrow we'll have some on our oatmeal.Our first raspberry looked ripe yesterday and today it has disappeared. A bird perhaps? Let's hope they leave some for us. The blueberries are showing some color, so it won't be long before we'll be picking them. I've put netting on both the blueberries and strawberries.

In the last few days I've planted lots of dry beans - cranberry, cannellini and navy beans. I've pulled up the last of the bok choi, as it was bolting. The broccoli was disappointing. I think it didn't like the recent heat. But the cauliflower and cabbage are still looking good. We've started picking snap peas.

The tomatoes all have flower buds except the San Marzanos. And both the zucchini and delicata squash have female flower buds.

Most of the pears on the trees have fallen off, but there are still a few on each one. The mandarin is just finishing blooming. If a tenth of the flowers produce fruit, we'll be inundated.

Uncertain Times

With the unfolding of the coronavirus pandemic, I've decided to plant more vegetables. I went to Wilco today and bought starts of chard, onions, kale, bok choi, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. I've planted the chard, bok choi and kale in the bed at the side of the house, in front of the dahlias. The onions went into the center of the onion bed. The brassicas will go into their own bed with an insect barrier over it.

On the positive side, the peach tree is blooming (I'm hand pollinating just in case the bees don't find it) and the pear trees are close. The early blueberries are starting to bloom. I've started more lettuce, bok choi, and kale, including Ethiopian kale. I also sowed a row of carrots. All my earlier starts are doing well under a fluorescent light, except the aubergines, which are not up yet. I think the heat mat was too much for them. I've put some insulation between the six pack and the mat, so it isn't quite so warm. We'll see.

We've had several days of sun and 60s temperatures. Tomorrow it cools off and we have a week of rain coming. I'm happy to have a rest, and the new plants will appreciate the rain.

Raspberries on the Move

Yesterday we moved some raspberries from the front yard into a bed in the back garden.  We plan to put a tallish hedge in front along the fence to block out the neighbor across the street's house, which is an eyesore. 

I moved one Meeker, one Willamette, and five of the nameless fall-bearing plants that Barb Crothers gave me.  We put up wooden posts to hold the wire through screw eyes.  We also put posts in the asparagus bed, to hold up some sort of fence, maybe lattice, to hold the ferny fronds in. 

I added four small bags of compost and some all purpose fertilizer to the raspberry bed before I planted them. 

The garden is nearly cleaned out, except for a few leeks, a few cabbages, and some greens and carrots. 

Today is foggy, but yesterday was beautiful.  It was sunny and in the low 60s.  We even had lunch on the deck!

Gloriosa

Today I turned over the pot that had the two gloriosa lilies in them.  I was happy to find a double bulb in each one.  They broke in half, so next year I should have four plants.  I've put them in the garage for now to dry. 

I also dug up two sweet potato vines.  The tubers aren't very impressive, but I'll try to plant them next spring and see how they do.

The two mandarins look like they are starting to turn orange.  They have a slight yellow tinge.

As for the winter crops, the broccoli and cabbage are doing well.  There are some small heads coming on the broccoli, and the cabbage is ready to cut any time.  The kale could be bigger.  One harvest will pretty much finish them off.  The spinach is still tiny, so next year I need to plant it about a month earlier.  And the last planting of carrots is very small.  Maybe they'll grow in the spring.  The ones I planted on August 15 are a bit small, but useable.

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Brassica Spacing

Now that all the winter brassicas are pretty much full size, I've gone out and measured them to determine the ideal spacing for next year.


The 'Hallmark' broccoli is huge, needing 36" spacing.  The cauliflower could also use 36" spacing.

The cabbage should do fine with 24" spacing.  Here they are overwhelmed by the broccoli.

The sprouting broccoli is not quite as wide as the 'Hallmark.'  They could be happy with 30" spacing.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is not to plant them close to the edge of the bed.  Some of the aisles are so narrow that it is almost impossible to get through them with huge plants hanging over.

Fall Veggies

Today I planted fifteen of the starts of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage into the bed they were all holding in.  Because it's been in the 90s, I put a temporary shade cloth over the butterfly netting.

The remaining thirty are now holding in the bed with the carrots and beets, covered, of course.  They're waiting for a bed to open up.

More Carrots

Most of the lettuce has started to bolt, including the romaine, so I pulled it out.  I left the Red Sails and Black-seeded Simpson, which are still good.  In the empty space I planted two four-foot rows of Purple Haze carrots, covered with Reemay.

I transplanted the fall vegetable starts (broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) to 4" pots.  I also gave them a boost with 1 tsp. fish emulsion in a gallon of water.  And of course, they're under the netting.

I picked another big bowl of bush beans and froze them. 

Fall Crucifers

I've started my fall crucifers in six packs.  I have one pack of Ruby Ball cabbage, one Snow Crown cauliflower, one Purple of Sicily cauliflower, one Hallmark broccoli, and two Harvest Blend sprouting broccoli.   I think by the time they are ready to set out, the bed with garlic and peas will be empty.   Next year I need to think ahead and hold off planting one bed in anticipation of the crucifers.

Survivors

A few hardy vegetables remain, including cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Winding Down

We just returned from Tucson.  We've been gone for a week and a half, getting our park model ready to sell.

The tomatoes are pretty much done.  The few ripe ones have split from all the rain while we were gone.  There are a couple of green ones, but I'll probably just toss them.  There are a few aubergines, which is good, because I'd really like to make the gratin again.

The zucchinis are still producing.  I even saw a honeybee this afternoon, so I'll let them stay for now, even though the plants look terrible.

The broccoli and cauliflower are finished, so out they came.  But the cabbages and Brussels sprouts are looking great.  There are six really nice heads of cabbage.

The tat soi is looking good, so it may be stir fry time.  The chard looks good but small.  Next year I'll start it a little earlier.