What Did You Do In The Garden?

Zeedman

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This might go a little long, since I am playing catch-up; my apologies in advance. :hide

Prolonged wet weather this year prevented much of what I had planned, and much of what I did plant went in late... the harvest is finally picking up.

Nearly all members of the gourd family are doing very well this year. Froze plenty of tromboncino squash, with lots more to come; the vines always go into overdrive in September. Gherkins are winding down, but I already canned 14 quarts of pickles from them. This was the first time I grew gherkins large scale; it was a new variety obtained in a swap, and I am very impressed with them (more about those gherkins in a future thread). Getting my cukes in late turned out to have a silver lining, mine are bearing heavily when almost everyone's are winding down. Cucuzzi has done really well too, have harvested enough to share, with many more young squash still growing. Bitter melon suffered most from the late start & cool summer, the vines are nowhere near as vigorous as they should be... but we are still getting a fairly good yield. The Australian Blue squash have a lot of squash set, but only time will tell whether they have time to ripen before frost.

Just started picking the first sweet corn from the partially-drowned first crop, and the second crop - an early variety, with much better germination - looks like it might make it. My entire crop was drowned out last year, so those first few ears two days ago really tasted great.

Not such a great year for the nightshades. Grape tomatoes did OK, and I am just now getting some large slicers from Tiffen Mennonite; but all tomatoes have struggled with disease due to the wet weather. Paste tomatoes are a nearly total loss, so it looks like no canned salsa this year. :( The peppers are loaded - about 150 plants - but it is questionable how many will ripen, given their late start. (The long-term forecast is reason for hope.) All of my most reliable eggplants were lost to flooding, but a new variety (trial) - which has done poorly all summer - has suddenly begun setting a pretty good crop. Maybe all it needed was a little sun, we haven't had such a long stretch of cloudless days until now.

No snap beans this year, total losses, their location was a puddle/mud pit up through July... probably my biggest disappointment. Several shell beans, though, are beginning to ripen, and have heavy pod sets. One of those, King Horticultural, had failed 3 times in my rural plot; so I am glad to see it prosper in my home garden. Bean transplants saved the season for many of my beans, after seed sown in the ground rotted due to the near-record rainfall; most of those are for shellies or dry seed, and most are ripening now. Trialed a new pole lima this year (also at home) and they are just beginning to ripen in large numbers today. Only 10 of 22 soybeans planted survived, but fortunately 3 of those were edamame varieties, which did very well (picking the last one now).

(The funny thing is, last year I had buckets of green beans, and no squash... this year it is just the reverse, lots of squash & no beans.)

For greens, water spinach has done OK, although it will stop at the first sign of cool weather. Chard has really prospered this year, have frozen a lot, given a lot away, and should still get another picking or two. Not many bugs on it this year, I'll count my blessings in that regard.

So while the garden began on a sour note, it hasn't by any means been a total loss - and it isn't done yet. Warm sunny weather in the 80's this week, next week still expected to stay in the mid to upper 70's... all of which may partially compensate for the late start. After the persistent problems with flooding in my rural plot, I will be abandoning the lower 1/3 to the weeds which presently own it... a shame, because it is such rich soil when (if) it dries out. I will be down-sizing to some extent, but hope to expand my better-drained home gardens to partially compensate for that loss. Need to grind a stump to do so, it hasn't been rotting as fast as I had hoped for.
 
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digitS'

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I can provide a little balance, @Zeedman ! The winter squash have done middling well, maybe more on the poor side. Most Summer squash has been fine but I will have a bad report for @ninnymary on Garden Spineless ...

Pumpkins: After a dozen years growing Rock Stars, I forgot to order 2017 seeds. I found two orange choices to try, Autumn Gold Hybrid & Montana Jack, and Casper, a white. I don't think that they will make it to Halloween! Too early maturing and the vines have died.

When I first grew a pumpkin patch, many of my pumpkins didn't have time to turn orange by Halloween. So, I searched for early varieties. Looks like I went too far in 2017.

We have picked green beans. Lots of green beans ...

Usually, the Sping-planted beans have many problems by now. As soon as they begin that downhill slide, I'm willing to quickly take them out and not wait for a 2nd crop. They just stayed healthy and we began picking them again several days ago.

Then, there are the bush beans that followed the peas. They are just now starting. Oh Boy!

DW is much quicker on this task than I am but we are spending much too much time out there in the beans.

Steve
 

digitS'

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Same.

They went into the garden first week of July, with the Stick of Butter. Those cream colored ones have been kicking out squash for weeks! About half of the Garden Spineless have produced nothing.

I would guess that they have about 50% of the spines of my other zucchini.

Steve
 

ducks4you

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Only had one insect problem this year, cabbage moths, which is ok THIS year bc I'm learning how to grow them. Btw, NONE of the beautiful marigolds that surround my cabbages has done a hill of beans good. They just look pretty.
NOW I find squash bugs on my very late planted pumpkin!!! AAARRRRGGGGG!!!!! :barnie
I am treating with Dawn and water in a sprayer and I have left the spray bottle hanging on the fence for easy access bc I have a late planted zucchini RIGHT NEXT TO IT and IT has fruit. I grew only ONE cucumber near this spot last year, but I am DEFINITELY cleaning up after the season is over and burning it all. of COURSE I will rotate next year. The other pumpkin only 25 feet away has not shown any signs of attack.
Learning curve...
 

ninnymary

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IMG_3260.JPG
I've been painting and moving stuff.
I've moved that lion head because you couldn't see it in the back. Moved the urn to the left that was there and painted my angel. I still need to write on the heart Leave Room in Your Garden for Angels to Dance. Planted Cala lilies behind the lion.
 

ducks4you

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I go away for the weekend and come back to surprises!!
Late planted and late blooming gladiola, 09-18-17.jpg
Zucchini I found, #1, 09-18-17.jpg
Zucchini I found, #2, 09-18-17.jpg

I didn't even know that any zucchini had sprouted. I thought it was part of the massive pumpkin vine taking over the south part of my beds (that is plural, 3 beds and pepper section, too.) :weee
Looks like lunch! :drool
 

catjac1975

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My kids are 24 and 18, but I know exactly what you mean about children and spirits. I believe animals do too. Very odd thing happened after he died. Within the hour, I was on the phone calling his brother and mother, and DS said the cats are going nuts. I never saw them act like that other than how cats will stare at something not there. They were meowing and running around like they saw something. Then, it stopped. I have lost both parents and I just felt different with them. I think kids and I wanted answers of what is happening, does he know us, will we all know each other in heaven. I guess I already believed that with other people, but I think DD and I wanted our protector watching out for us. I wanted to see my handsome husband with a mustache about the age of 45 and she wanted her daddy to be worrying about her, loving her, wanting to see her. I know we will not be husband and wife in heaven and I realize I am not going to see a 45-year-old man with salt and pepper hair and a mustache. DD is not going to have a daddy in heaven, but if we know each other and God has promised it will all be good, so I trust him we will be happy. I feel God protected DH through all of this cancer. He did not die skinny, never threw up, no diarrhea. They said his hair would not grow back and it did. He took all the treatments and went to work. When he could not work, he mentally did not care anymore and just ate, slept, watched TV. The way God protected us with money, friends, etc. We never went without and then the words the pastor spoke to DD to bring her relief. Even for me and DS. We feel relief DH is not suffering and we both feel he is close. We have both thought I wonder what dad wants for supper and then realize and the house does not feel lonely. I went to the grocery store by myself and felt so lonely I about cried, but yesterday went with DS to the store and was fine, but I can be home alone here and I am fine. When he was first diagnosed and in the hospital, I could not sleep, the bedroom was so lonely, I could not eat, but I will never be the same. I know that. He will always be on my mind. Mother, father, brother, sister, husband and wife, just too close to never see each other again in heaven. Thank you for the story of your brother.
You will get better. My parents are gone 17 and 15 years. Just recently I was reaching for the phone to call my Mom for just a second.
 

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