Fruit of My Labors

I know, two posts in one day but I had a rough week and just didn't have the energy so I'm catching up!

Yesterday I uploaded a phone picture to Facebook of the three sugar pumpkins I harvested this year. Here are a couple of better quality shots.  First the pumpkin vines got hit with powdery mildew.  I attempted to deal with that but it took off.  The worst was the squash vine borers.  They found my squash and pumpkins and did too much damage to support more pumpkins, and the last and smallest pumpkin didn't even have time to complete ripening on the vine before the vine died.  But I have three organic sugar pumpkins I didn't have at the beginning of the summer.  So no complaints.

 The largest pumpkin has the name of my adopted grandson.  As I described in an early blog post I scratched his name with a nail.  The pumpkin then creates a scar over the damage resulting in a really fun effect.

 I was surprised at the size of Joey's pumpkin.  It is huge in the world of sugar pumpkins.  I can't wait to weigh it.  I can't wait to make pumpkin pies!

Today's harvest -- Suyo long cukes and cherry tomatoes

After taking photos of my deck garden I headed out to the backyard garden beds to harvest cucumbers and tomatoes.  Lots and lots of cherry tomatoes.  Usually I eat what I find but every week or so I go out and gather all that I can. There were several bunches with green tomatoes on them still which I left to ripen.

These little tomatoes are so flavorful but not sweet.  I can taste the goodness, the healthfulness contained within.

And I have been ecstatic with the Suyo long cucumbers.  My vines are covered in cukes right now.  I used to buy the hothouse cucumbers from the grocery store because I prefer not peeling.  The largest Suyo long I have harvested so far was about 17" long.  Believe it or not there were only a handful of fully formed seeds in that one.

Next year I will definitely grow some pickling cukes for my pickle-loving sons.

 To harvest seeds from one of these cukes I will need to leave it on the vine, allow it to turn yellow, and then scoop the seeds out and ferment them for a few days.  I am not looking forward to doing this because it will signify the end of fresh cucumbers for the year. 

The summer growing season draws to a close an end. 

Garden Beauty

Sugar pumpkin vines are growing all over the cattle panel fencing.  Still getting very few pumpkins take but happy to have three so far.  That is three that I don't need to buy, and with canned pumpkin containing PBAs now fresh is best.

And I want those pepitas!

Did find a section of powdery mildew on my vines, though.  I just took a mixture of baking soda in water and wiped the affected leaves.  I have used baking soda on old furniture that had white mildew on it with great results.  Fingers crossed.

The light was just perfect for some beautiful shots of my front garden.  When I need to do little post processing I know the light is just right.

Closer shot of one of the pumpkin vines reaching for the sun, tendrils seeking the next handhold.  I am in love with my pumpkin vines.  I think growing plants that give me and my family food is such a beautiful thing.  Spiritual, really.

First San Marzano tomatoes ripening.  I had more than one with the bulbous part.  Not sure what causes that or if it will affect the tomato flavor or texture.  I shall let you know.

All I know is that I want to grow a lot of plum tomatoes next time.  I need more garden space.  I need more sun in my yard!

Sadly, I had to pull up and throw away the two freebie tomato plants I got from the nursery.  They both showed signs of what I think might be Late Blight.  So out they went.  I am not terribly sad.  I just made room to plant some of my fall planting seeds I received from Annie's Heirloom Seeds.

Tiny tomatoes on one of my deck canned tomato plants.  Lots more flowers and potential tomatoes.  I want to be harvesting tomatoes in October! I can dream, can't I?

Bell pepper plant with four sets of flowers getting ready to open and give me lots and lots of bell peppers.  I love peppers, and I love bell peppers.  I like slices of fresh bell pepper on my hamburgers with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo and ketchup.

I pinched the central stalk when I planted it.  So happy to get four producing stalks.  Did I mention that I can't wait to eat one of these?

This Suyo Long cucumber has been hanging down from the beginning promoting a straight fruit.  And it is ready to harvest.  These cucumbers are not growing fast enough for my family.  My boys saw me eating cucumber slices from a bag yesterday and descended like piranha.  I guess I will need to eat my cucumbers in secret if I want more.

I can't quite describe the flavor.  They do not taste like typical grocery store cucumbers, as would be expected.  They don't taste like hothouse cucumbers (which I love).  They have slightly different flavor but the boys all agree that it is pleasant and delicious.

Here is a shot of my tomato bed mess.  Yes, I should have staked them.  The varieties I planted are still going strong out in the yard.  They have left the bed and are growing about 5-6 feet on either side.

Now that I know I can get 6 ft wooden stakes for $1.29 each I will be staking and trellising these guys in the future.

I think I shall dub myself the accidental gardener!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

It has been over 6 years since I did any vegetable gardening.  I had just begun to learn gardening for the New England region when I became too ill to continue.  So now I feel like I am relearning everything (not sure how much I knew and lost, either).  

The good news is that my grey matter seems capable of learning all over again and I am going for it.

Backyard beds June 14, 2012

My tomatoes are thriving and blooming.  So excited at the promise of fresh, organically-grown tomatoes.  The basil plants attract slugs and are growing but are very holey.  

In the far bed my carrots are finally growing after a second sowing.  I will not bother growing carrots in the future most likely.  They are inexpensive to purchase and take up a lot of space that I think would be better used for more garlic now that I know how well it does in that particular spot.  

My sugar snap peas (on left trellis in rear) are finally blooming.  I am pretty sure we will never get these in the house but will be a favorite "snack from the vine" kind of treat for all.  

Suyo long cucumber

 I have been disappointed in the cucumbers that I planted: Suyo long cucumbers.  They only seem to germinate at 50% and then are not doing well in our cool New England spring weather.  This is when I really wish I had a greenhouse.  Really and truly.  I planted an oriental cuke because I buy the hothouse cucumbers vs. the more common cucumbers when I shop.  This experiment might not be a success.  I will sow some more seeds and wait for warmer weather.  They might just take off when we get another week of higher temps.

Over 100 slugs

Yesterday, I went out in the rain and collected over 100 slugs from my gardens.  Next time I will wear rubber gloves, though.  Slugs can carry a parasite that causes deadly meningitis.  I sure did a lot of hand-washing yesterday.

These slimy guys do a lot of damage; they seem to prefer basil and lettuce to most everything else.  But I don't want to share my lettuce.  So the slugs must go.  

I had a thought this morning while doing my rounds: is there some type of substance I can put on the ground around my garden beds to keep the slugs from climbing the wood frames?  After a quick search I found that lava rocks, copper strips, and diatomaceous earth can all be used as a slug barrier.  Hmmm, I have a huge 50 lb. bag of DE in my basement.  That will be my afternoon gardening task.  I'll let you know how well it works.

Sugar pumpkin

Finally the pumpkins are growing.  Finally! We had an early spring, then a heat wave, then 4 weeks of fairly cool, wet weather.  Temps have been mostly in the 60's to low 70's during the day and in the 50's at night.

Now we need to see some warmer weather so my heat loving plants can start really growing.  

I have had no luck with the pepper plants.  The one plant that I had in the driveway grouping attracted slugs which ate it to a single, leafless stem.  It finally succumbed.  The seeds I planted in my front garden haven't even come up.  I think I might try to plant some inside and see if I can get them to germinate and give them a little head start before transplanting.  I knew peppers would be a challenge in New England but I was hoping I could grow some because we eat a LOT of red, yellow and orange bell peppers around here.  The boys love them raw, sauteed, in their eggs, well, in pretty much anything.

Sugar snap pea

Oh, the beauty of a pea blossom.  Took 10 tries but I actually got a decent closeup.  A camera that can take closeups and macros is on my wish list (when that million dollar check comes in the mail -- I can dream, can't I?).  

Considering this is my first season gardening in a very long time, I feel fairly successful.  Gardening is all about experimenting: failure and success both teach.  

Thank you for sharing my garden with me today.  How does your garden grow?