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. 

Turned cool, thankfully . . . or not

It has been very, very warm for New England.  Hot and humid.  Thank God for those window units that still work.  And lots of fans.  We have survived.

Last night I went out on the deck to try to find one of my cats (they must come in at night or they could become a meal for coyotes) and was shocked to find it in the 60's.  Oh, it was so refreshing.  Yes, to a person it feels wonderful.  To a squash or cucumber plant it means almost coming to a standstill in growth.

This morning is it 58.4 degrees Farenheit at 6:15 a.m.  Brrrr.  I am not complaining for me.  It is delightful.  But I want more squash, cucumbers and tomatoes.  Strangely enough, August in Connecticut tends to be cooler than July, the opposite of the southern states.  In Texas or Florida, August is usually the hottest, and I mean scorching hot, month.

Sugar pumpkin turning beautiful orange.  Look closely at the bottom of the picture.

With those cooler, fallish temperatures it makes more sense to have my first Sugar Pumpkin begin to turn orange.  What a gorgeous contrast between the green and orange.  And if you look closely at the picture, what do you see beneath that pumpkin?

Joey's pumpkin

See Joey's pumpkin? This is pumpkin number two what is growing on the fencing.  And boy how it has grown.

Joey's pumpkin

Did you know that if you scratch a child's name on a growing pumpkin it scabs over?  When the pumpkin is ready it has the child's name in light brown against the orange outer skin?  I took a nail to Joey's pumpkin on Saturday.  I took this picture yesterday (Monday) and it was already scabbing over.  This morning it is much more pronounced.

Pumpkin blossom

I have taken at least 50 shots of pumpkin flowers but this is my favorite.  The color is so intense as though the vine sends up a big party platform declaring, "sweet nectar for all!!!"  The stamen is huge (though not captured in this shot) as though it was designed for blind bees, or those who accidentally stumble upon this giant flower.

Moskovich tomato plant

The tip of my Moskovich tomato (driveway container garden) reaching for the heavens, soaking in a shower of rays from the hot sun.  

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

August garden

    My deck garden gives me so much hope.  I still forget to check it some days but so far it is thriving.  The two free tomato plants that I got from a feed store in a nearby town are gone.  I pulled them up and tossed them as they were showing signs of Late Blight.  Next year I will not bring any tomato plants home from anywhere.  I just won't take that chance.

    These little tomatoes (left) are from one of my homegrown plants started in February and planted in tomato cans.  They are tall, not terribly full plants but it looks like they will be producing tomatoes and that is all that counts.

Yellow squash

    I absolutely love, love, love summer squash: yellow, zucchini, any and all of them.  I have been frustrated because my front garden just doesn't get enough sun except for the pumpkin area.  My squash plants have been slow to grow.  Finally, last week, I saw hope of some squash.

Zucchini squash

    I did buy some yellow squash at the farmer's market yesterday and am so glad that I did.  It was simply amazing.  I sauteed green bell peppers and summer squash and served it over short grain organic brown rice for dinner last night along with fresh ears of corn (for the boys -- I don't like corn).
    I have four zucchini plants.  This is the first fruit I have seen since I planted these 8 weeks ago.  I have a neighbor who makes the most amazing zucchini relish, and to be honest, I look forward to making some of this myself this year.  I will wait until the end of the zucchini harvest when we are all sick of zucchini and they are getting bigger and bigger because we don't want to eat anymore and just leave them in the garden.  And stuffed squash -- oh the possibilities.

Do watched pumpkins ever grow?

Just a little excited to see my first pumpkin starting to show just a little orange coloring.  I couldn't remember how long this guy has been growing so I checked and apparently this pumpkin was pollinated July 14th.  I cannot believe how quickly these pumpkins grow.  My boys wanted to set up my camera on the tripod and take time-lapsed shots to see if we could "see" it grow overnight.

My first and largest pumpkin

Joey's pumpkin -- growing so quickly

Oregano

Dragonfly sunning

Bartlett Pears

Hibiscus

My little bit of the sub-tropics here in Connecticut.  My hibiscus bush is about 8 feet tall now.

Requires no maintenance, pruning, nothing, it just blooms year after year.

Just perfect!

Ignorance is Bliss . . .

Sunday morning.  House is quiet.  After my first cup of coffee I decide to spend a little time chronicling my new deck garden and other garden areas.

New deck garden started July 14th

A few days ago I was running errands in Colchester and decided to check at Mackey's to see if they had any seeds for broccoli or chinese cabbage, or carried any fall veggies.  The answer was no but when I mentioned that I would only buy seeds from non-Monsanto-related companies and non-patented seeds the lovely woman who was helping me told me they had several heirloom tomato varieties and I was welcome to them for free.  She helped me choose two plants, Oxheart and a white tomato (the name of the variety itself was missing so it will be a surprise).

Yesterday I filled my new inexpensive pots with my magic organic goat-house compost and planted the two tomatos and a bell pepper plant I had purchased.  The fourth pot is currently empty.  Oh, I planted some jalapeno pepper seeds in the larger black pot for my kids who love them.  I am guessing there is not enough of the growing season left to actually get any peppers from those plants but I can always bring these pots into the house on cold nights.

Cattle panels now fence in front garden

Heading out the front door I was anxious to photograph my baby pumpkins.  But first I must thank my 19yo son Daniel for deciding to fence in my front garden with cattle panels I had from when I raised organic dairy goats.  He worked very hard to put this fence up with only one metal stake.  He used salvaged springs from an old crib to attach the panels to one another.  Genius if you ask me.  See dog on the far right sniffing around perimeter of the fence.  Maya has turned out to be quite destructive, so we have been working on fencing in all of the garden beds that she seems to favor.

Baby pumpkin

My first baby pumpkin.  I missed the blossom stage which was yesterday.  I think I am most excited about my sugar pumpkin patch. 

Now I take some pics of raspberries, my milkweed and horseweed patch (that is an entirely different blog post for the near future), blueberries. I even discovered a blueberry bush that I had completely missed that is covered in ripening blueberries that I must cover in netting today.

Damage by deer

And so with the thrill of anticipation I head toward my biggest cucumber and can't wait to take a few shots to share its amazing growth with all. I head around the trellis to set up the shot and my heart drops. It is gone. My precious cucumber is gone. Some creature came in the night and ate it, half of my cucumber vines and a good one-third off the tops of nearly all of my tomato plants.

I have lived here 12 years and never once have deer touched my garden.  So what does any photographer do? I take a lot of pictures.  I try to make myself feel better.  I comfort myself with the knowledge that I will be able to share my pain and be comforted by friends.  What else can I do? Oh, and I start plotting . . . no, not revenge.  I start thinking about using my last cattle panels to fence in this backyard garden.

Now this new fence project is at the top of my to-do list.  It must get done today.

Finished with capturing the devastation, I even forget to head around to the garage area to check on my container garden there.  I just want another cup of coffee, to cool down (because it is downright hot outside at 8:30 am).  Okay, I am emotionally conflicted and not happy.

I get into the house, connect my camera to my pc and start downloading (I don't have a card reader on my desktop pc).  Grabbing a fresh cup of coffee, I sit down while the downloading continues.  I like watching the photos pop up as each is downloaded, like a slideshow.

All done.  I look in the folder with today's downloads and there are five pictures I did not take.  Hmmm.  One of the boys took five pictures of something.

Yep, that is a doe sniffing around my backyard.  Yep, one of the boys took this picture and then forgot to tell me that there was a deer in my backyard.  I am just a little peeved about this lack of concern but understand.  We have never had deer in our yard before.  We have never had to worry about deer eating any of our landscape or vegetable plants.  We enter a new era.  Now like most other gardeners in Connecticut we face the daunting task of trying to grow veggies and having them survive the local wildlife long enough to be eaten by the gardener and her family.  Just another challenge! I can do this!!!

I will leave you on a happy note.  This is another baby cucumber that I will be watching and waiting, anticipating the delight when I finally get to enjoy my own homegrown Suyo cucumbers.

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?