What are You Eating from the Garden?

[flowerbug]

The crops that mature during the final half of August are late crops, by my thinking. Usually, there is a significant cool-down during late August and the first frost sometime in September. (I'm sure that the locals are all hoping for some measure of normalcy coming in these next few weeks. Yep.)

Some crops require the entire frost-free season. Most cucumbers are not like that, here. In fact, the plants will begin to "play out," soon. Not quite so with Lemon Cucumbers. I had the very first, yesterday. DW had found it for me after I had given up .

There have been "cool" summers (Oh Heavens, when?). A couple of times, I was a little anxious that frost would take out those sensitive plants before the lemons could be harvested. And, I don't wait for the lemon look to really set in. Too mature, the fruit will be a bright, lemon yellow. Just developing a blush - that's the perfect time for me ☺️ .

So, if you have problems with your cucumber vines playing out in late summer, but want the whole patch to be planted at once, a few lemons might be of help. Only now and then do those vines also play out but they always add to a nice long season.

Steve

for cucumbers we've been having great luck with a generic pickling cucumber that will flower and put on new fruits the entire growing season. in fact we had such good luck the past four years that we didn't grow any at all this season as we were both sick of them and the amount of work they made for us. it did probably help to have a fair amount of clay in the soil to hold moisture and that i watered them regularly, but they never died off once they got growing. they started producing about 1 month after the plants were put out and we started them from plants from the greenhouse so i'd have to ask him about what variety they might have been.

this region grows a lot of cucumbers. there's some pickle factories around.

 

[digitS']

I once drove by what was called by locals "the pickle farm," with its farm stand and a few other things to sell.

But, I gotta tell you, I am no pickler . We just don't eat enuf to warrant the effort.

No. There are 2 American slicers (Speedway and Talladega), a Biet Alpha (Muncher), and the Lemons.

We eat lots of fresh ones and I have no trouble finishing the big slicers by myself on a Hot, Summer Afternoon. One Lemon isn't enough. Peel them like an apple ... Just as they are, sliced and sprinkled with apple cider vinegar and Mrs Dash, or in a salad .

Steve

 

[Prairie Rose]

I managed to get one peach off my peach tree! The deer hit them about a week before the peaches got ripe, pulled every single one of them off the tree and left them on the ground. I found one that wasn't too bruised and close to being actually ripe and brought it inside to finish it. It was wonderful!

 

[seedcorn]

Today enjoyed first watermelon-yellow.

 

[heirloomgal]

i have a little wind-up Doozer on my shelf. his little plastic belt got too brittle and broke but i can't get rid of him.

LOL but a Doozer is from Fraggle Rock, which I loved too ☺

 

[heirloomgal]

Today enjoyed first watermelon-yellow.

How was it?

 

[seedcorn]

How was it?

Sweet & good. More watermelons to ripen. This was a yellow one. Anxious for the Mamba to ripen.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I managed to get one peach off my peach tree! The deer hit them about a week before the peaches got ripe, pulled every single one of them off the tree and left them on the ground. I found one that wasn't too bruised and close to being actually ripe and brought it inside to finish it. It was wonderful!

I had the same problem back when I had a peach tree, but it was with squirrels! the first year or two I could get the little peaches (I was a miniature tree so the peaches were about the size of golf balls) but then the tree got substantial enough that the squirrels and chipmunks could climb up it, so they would pull off all the peaches when they were still hard and gnaw them to get at the pits.

So far (barring herbs) all I have been able to get out of the garden is cucumbers, but we are getting a fair number of those. (okay technically I got a few grass peas, but not enough to eat (and most aren't good enough seed to re-plant either).)

My tomatoes have produced absolutely nothing. Ditto the corn (which is still barely up to my mid calf) Ditto the long beans rice beans soybeans etc. (thought those may simply not be at their appropriate day length yet)

 

[flowerbug]

LOL but a Doozer is from Fraggle Rock, which I loved too ☺

didn't they visit? i don't know... those shows were on much later than i would have seen them. the one Fraggle Rock show i did see was the one where the character saw the Doozers building and the Fraggles kept eating the buildings so she got on the case to keep the Fraggles from eating the buildings and eventually the Doozers had to move on because they had nowhere left to build. my sister-in-law got me the Doozer after that.

 

[Phaedra]

A kind of mixed veggie fried rice noodle , no recipe, no rule, just cook with the mood.