Tag Archives: cucumber

September showers are good for….a change of pace

The weather devas decided that it was time to clear the air with a good rain for at least half of Labor Day weekend.  In anticipation of serious showers many tomatoes were gleaned the prior evening, to prevent splitting.  When the steady showers picked up on Saturday we knew it had been the right decision, even if the bushes now looked “green” without hardly a ripening tomato. It was a good chance to focus on inside food preparation, like making sauce, or starting up the dehydrator.  Not quite sun-dried tomatoes, but a close equivalent.

BowlofBigBoyTomatoes-2

Tomato rescue before rain set in....

A rainy day task - drying tomatoes for winter

A rainy day task - drying tomatoes for winter

It’s been a good change of pace, spending time with all the other inside jobs one neglects when spending most of the time outdoors.  Spiders of all sorts are quickly spinning webs, even in the bath tub.  After two days of good rain showers the garden looks refreshed, although mildew has set in upon the squash and cucumbers with a vengeance.  Kale and chard keep growing like gangbusters, the basil is finally getting really bushy after a few prunings for pesto sauce, and another crop of bush beans is just about ready. The good news is we are warming again in a few days to nearly 90°, so we can ripen more tomatoes!

August Bounty

The August pickings total as follows (in pounds):

•    Summer squash:    53
•    Cucumbers:             49-½
•    Swiss chard:              6-½
•    Kale:                           10-½
•    Beans:                         5
•    Peppers:                      ¾
•    Sweet corn:              19 (25 ears)
•    Tomatoes:                19-½
•    Eggplant:                   4
•    Scallions:                   1
•    Artichoke:                   ¾
•    Beets:                         1-½ (tops & roots)
•    Basil:                          2-½
•    Blueberries:              2
•    Potatoes:                   6
Grand Total:              182 (rounded off)

Total season bounty:  262

Thank you plants, pollinators, and devas!

Juba skipper on 'Cherry Profusion' zinnias

Juba skipper on 'Cherry Profusion' zinnias

Slip, sliding away

Alas, we’re officially on the downside and downslide of summer when the inevitable powdery mildew shows up on the squash and cucumbers.  The ‘Buttercup’ winter squash is the hardest hit, since it was shaded more as it wound its vines beneath the corn, so with the corn completely picked it was time to remove some stalks to let more light in for the squash and increase air circulation.

Powdery mildew on Butternut squash

Powdery mildew on Buttercup squash

Powdery mildew on yellow squash

Powdery mildew on yellow squash

Although commercial growers may apply chemicals to retard the formation of mildew, it really is a natural phenomenon that ties in with a change in season, via changes in temperature and humidity.

In town I’ve spotted a slight color tinge to some vine maples, and other plants are exhibiting their seasonal “green fatigue”.  Given the lower sun angle and record low temperatures of 41 during the last week, it may be time to use plastic over the tomatoes, at least at night.  After another interlude of partly overcast days, we’re due to warm up to the mid-upper 80’s for a stretch, but the heat won’t be the same.

Meanwhile,  a new group a ‘Rainbow’ Swiss chard is sprouting well, along with a row of lettuce.

Stay tuned for the end-of-month tally next week……

July Bounty

The heat spike of the previous blog has eased to the high 80’s, yielding nearly 10 pounds of summer squash in 4 days.  This marks the first donation of surplus food to a local food bank.  We’ve been overrun with squash and cucumbers, and that’s before the lemon cucumbers are coming on strong.  Our one casualty was a partially sun-scalded bell pepper, which had to be picked long before turning its intended orange hue.

Aug-01-09

The July pickings total as follows (in pounds):

•    Summer squash:    30 1/4
•    Cucumbers:             15 1/2
•    Swiss chard:             5 1/4
•    Kale:                          5 1/4
•    Beans:                       2
•    Peppers:                   1/4
•    Lettuce:                    6 1/4
•    Tomatoes:                 3/4
•    Eggplant:                  1
•    Artichoke:                 3/4
•    Scallions:                  1/2
•    Basil:                          1/8
•    Strawberries:            10
•    Blueberries:              1
•    Peaches:                     1/2
Grand Total:        80 (rounded off)

The sunflowers and yellow straightneck squash still appear to be competitive, thus said squash plant is now over 4 feet high, which makes for easier picking at times.  A squash “tree” more than a bush.  Today it looks as if the sunflowers took another bound upwards above 5 feet.  Will the squash try it?

It’s squash vs. sunflowers…

Our crazy, often cold weather hasn’t been the best for fast sunflower growth, so now we find them almost engulfed by several squash.  I’ve had a talk with them, urging them upward.  They reply, “Get us some consistent, hot days and warm nights, please.”  Granted, they look better than the yellow California Wonder peppers, who have stubbornly refused to grow.

Some of the summer squash and cukes have been hiding their offspring under their huge leaves, and although we’ve been peeking, the plants are pulling their usual “overnight babies.”  We’ll be starting to harvest yellow straightnecks and the cue-ball zucchini, and a few cukes in a few days, provided yesterday’s rains didn’t rot anything.  Hopefully not too many blossoms were damaged, and the predicted hot weather is to arrive tomorrow.  The scalloped Patty-pan in the house yard is bearing 2 or 3 small squashes, so they’ll be ready soon.  Quite a few small spaghetti squash are forming on their vines, too, which is a great sign.

Picked the first quart of blueberries (var. Bluecrop) of our joint blueberry patch last evening when the rain let up.  Most were ripe, with a couple of tart ones mixed in; mainly didn’t want deer or birds picking them! There are other varieties ripening up.  Since these are first-year transplants there are mostly one or two clusters max.  Instead of removing them early, as often suggested, we wanted to see how big and how long they take to ripen.

Planting day……finally

Two days ago I set an oscillating sprinkler on for 2 sets of 1-hour duration, separated by 1-hour breaks, to dampen down the upper 4 to 5 inches of soil.  We’ve had a stretch of unusually warm weather during the week; moisture setting in nicely after the second day of soaking.

I spent most of today in the new garden spot, beginning at 8:00 a.m., contemplating and editing my layout while soaking the soil for another couple of hours.  The Ferti-loam mix is wonderful; not a weed has shown up yet.  With our spell of hot weather, the raised soil bed is wonderfully warm, perfect for planting corn and other warmth-lovers.  Lettuce won’t be done until later summer.

Participating neighbors dropped by to help spread organic fertilizer on the beds and rake it in.  Soaker hoses appeared, and I started configuring the hose systems, not that they’d be used right away.

Planting proceeded quickly after 5:00 pm., when westerly breezes arose; stores ran low on various plants, so not everything planned was planted.  More bell peppers and tomatoes are still needed.

The morning after.....planting that is.  Where's Juniper?

The morning after.....planting that is. Where's Juniper?

The overall planting includes:
5 tomato plant varieties
6 yellow bell pepper plants
3 summer squash (seeded): patty-pan (or scallop), round zucchini, yellow straight-neck
3 winter squash (seeded): delicata, spaghetti, buttercup
3 cucumber plants: lemon, sweet-slice long, bush crop
2 Japanese purple eggplants
1 chives plant
1 parsley (seeded)
16 ft. of green bush beans (seed)
8 ft. of rainbow Swiss chard (seed)
8 ft. scallions (bunching onions) (seed)
4 rows (@ 6 ft.) white corn (seed) to yield 24 plants total
6 kale plants
8 sunflowers (seeded among the squash plants)
6 vine-type nasturtiums to climb bamboo teepee (seed)
15 bush nasturtiums to stabilize and color the front edge of the bed (seed)
8 basil (seeded)
3 lavender plants (move in fall)

Amendments and supplies:
5@4-lb.boxes of E.B. Stone Organics All Purpose Plant Food (5-5-5); raked into top 3 inches of soil; furrowed under corn rows.
Tomato cages
250 ft. of soaker hoses
150 ft. of solid hose (3@50 ft) to connect soakers to house faucets
Brass or plastic multi-channel hose-connectors
Many large cardboard boxes to cover the entire 600 sq. ft. of lawn