Garden out and doing great

[Bartcephus]

Harvesting a lot of squash. Okra just comming up. Leaf lettuce is going strong. Picked two cabbage heads last night. Peppers are producing and harvested a couple. Bell peppers are filling out. Tomatoes have plenty of blooms. Potatoes getting tall. Broccolli has been steady producer. Harvested all of the cauliflower. Onions are full of weeds but still going strong. (All that from the home garden.) The garden at the deer lease has squash going good. Bugs are starting to infest it though. Tomatoes are blooming. Peppers are producing. Only three pea plants germinated and are about a foot tall. Corn was dismal in germination. Onions about all harvested. Potatoes going good. Radishes never germinated. Watermellon is doing well. Hoping for a harvest about July 10th on them. (Six mounds) Weed crop is excellent. :laughing: in both gardens. Only one cucumber plant is still alive. Something is pulling them out of the soil.

 

[jinman]

Only one cucumber plant is still alive. Something is pulling them out of the soil.

Cucumbers and squash plants have big "sails" for leaves that make them easily broken off by wind when they are young and tender. We always lose a few after a day or two of gusty 30-40 mph winds.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

Sounds like you are really starting to get the produce coming on, isn't it wonderful? Wish I had it year around.


Hubby went up and picked 14 dozen ears of sweet corn. I am just finishing up processing for freezing 11 dozen, he shared others with friends and kept some for dinner.

He figures 60 dozen total off the patch we shall see.

That made 30 pint and a half containers and 1 quart container. Some more good eating for the winter.

I plan to do some more relish soon as I get the kitchen clean and I'm rested a bit. That will be the last of it. I traded tomatoes with my neighbor for cucumbers. I got 3 pints and 3 half pints, it takes a lot to make it.

The corn should be the last of the vegetables. I would love to find a bushel of peaches and one of apples, but will I?

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

We gave the shucks and cobs to the neighbors horses behind. They are getting hardly anything green. They are eating cobs and all. The chickens got a few also, nothing here goes to waste.

 

[jinman]

It's great to hear you are getting a lot of corn. I'm glad my 'coon faces didn't jinx you. There's nothing better than picking an ear of corn and eating it raw right in the field. Nothing is so sweet as fresh-picked sweet corn.:licking: I also love fresh picked sweet peas raw. They are terrific in salads. Heck, asparagus is another thing I love raw. I snap off a spear and crunch it right there on the spot. All of those are terrific when steamed/cooked, but they are delicious also when raw.:thumbsup:

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

We are all so full of corn tonight, had it for lunch and dinner, like hubby said couldn't hardly get it any fresher. We had sliced tomatoes, corn on the cob and sandwiches. Taste pretty durn good to us and I was tired. OH MY GOD, its good.

And we have some happy neighbors and friends I'm pretty sure tonight. We will give them lots more but I wanted to really get going on it with the first fresh batches.


I just took 11 pints of relish out of the canner, I have 5 or 6 jars in there already so that's enough. Done with that. Done with all the canning unless I find some fruit to fix.

I'm tired, sleeping in in the morning and not canning or freezing anything tomorrow, I'm pooped.

 

[keegs]

Got my first bunch of radishes yesterday. I'm going to browse for some spinach and lettuce in a bit too to take for lunch. Everything but the peas are coming alone nicely. I have the peas running up the fence and it looks like the deer have been nibbling on them. I've been away for a week or so and the soil here seems pretty dry. Didn't stop the weeds from setting in though.

 

[ericrm2005]

Finally found my camera... thought it was gone for good. And there it was right out in the open before my very eyes. My dad always told me that growing old is not for the timid. Here are some pics of my garden. Sorry about the quality. I must have not given the camera a chance to focus on some.

that garden looks great. i love seeing pictures of what everyone is growing

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

I have enough canned for a year I suppose, or will soon with more corn being put up. Looks like hubby is 90% sure of going to Borneo and work for 15 months. That will be the contract period, could be more or less you never know. So I'm up to my ears in food!:laughing::licking: I guess my grocery bill should really go down, we shall see.

The main contract with his company and the subsidiary he will work for is done, he has to go down and review it. He still doesn't know what his rotation home will be nor the markup. He found out today, its a camp situation, some per diem, not very good food. It's also on the equator.

They said he will fly into Singapore, change planes then into East Kalimantan, change planes, then on to the campsite. It's sounding pretty definite, I think he goes down tomorrow to review the contract. Then he has to pass a physical, has one for every new project. He is 65 but in good health so far as we know.

Looks like DD and I will be hitting the road soon if he goes. I have to finish out my corn processing, knock off the chickens, and I'm pretty much done.
My tenant takes care of my dog while I'm gone, we take the cat. She is going on 16 and does not take to strangers, never did. I took her last year, she travels well. Only issue is I have to keep the AC on all the time and so the generator running when we are out and about, but ok.

My back neighbor will take care of the remaining 4 chickens for the eggs, they should start laying in a month or so. Or I may just dress them out also.

But we will take lots of food with us, chickens, corn, canned goods, so will eat well, that's for sure. I will eat the food up to 2 years old, its still good after that, just colors and flavors may be off some.

So gardening about done for this year.

 

[Bartcephus]

Carolyn, you are way ahead of me... :thumbsup:

Jinman, how's it going in your neck o' the woods? We were blessed with almost 0.2" of rain yesterday evening. Temps droped from 99.9 to 72.4 in about an hour. Temp was 67 this morning when I was driving to work. Already back up to 95 by 11:45 this morning though. We need more rain....

I wouldn't call my gardens great by any means this year. This is the first year I put one in at the house and it has been tough. Soil full of trash and clay. Broke two tines on my new tiller the first day I used it. Replacements were quickly ordered and installed. The soil at the dear lease garden has been worked for years. It is also much more fertile soil and things just seem to grow easier up there. But, splitting the work between two gardens is tough.

Next year, I expect the home garden to be easier to work. I will have the chance to prepare the bed durring the winter. Adding compost etc. Should also have an effect on the weeds.

Regards,

Bartcephus