The September pickings are in, just as weather decides it will actually be fall-like!
Grand Total: 197 (rounded off)
(Slid on past the August total!)
Total season bounty: 459 pounds
Thank you plants, pollinators, and devas!
Posted in Community garden, Fall, Harvest tally, Uncategorized
Tagged basil, beans, buttercup squash, cucumber, eggplant, harvest, kale, lettuce, peppers, potatoes, summer squash, tomato
What would gardening be without some mishaps, failures, or faux pas to keep us humble? The mysteries of “why did this happen”? So, I am offering a sort of “comedy of errors” to keep us amused while the main part of the garden hangs in a sort of suspended equilibrium.
You’re looking at a 2-pound harvest of new ‘Cranberry red’ potatoes there in the next picture. An exceptionally good amount considering nearly 1 pound of eyes were planted! And the Yukon Golds and Banana Fingerlings each yielded the same amount. This is almost worthy of a booby prize!
'Cranberry Red' potatoes being dug up from growing bags
I definitely don’t have potato production down (taking place in my house yard in deep, black, breathable “growing bags”). I had a better crop last year, when I didn’t know much of anything except to keep adding layers of soil. After reading up on some of their preferences, it’s possible that really hot weather hit at an early stage in their growth, which they don’t like, and I may not have kept them as moist as they like, given their well-drained soil mix. If I were a grower I would be calling this a loss. The potatoes are disease free and good looking, just tiny; the vines seem to have thrived early on, but after the really hot weather in July they started floundering. My suspicion is they were nutrient-starved as I probably forgot to put in some fertilizer in first.
Upper left: Fingerlings (well maybe fingernail-lings); upper right: Yukon Gold; lower: Cranberry Red
Then, there are the “little peppers who could” or my “comedy team”. Three little bushes pushing out orange peppers as if their lives depended on it (which is what a stressed plant will do). Two of their neighbors grew out of their stupor and are each pushing out 2 or 3 full-sized peppers. Hey, at least the nearby basil took off. Actually, the stunted pepper syndrome has something to do with light availability, too, as they were shaded much of the day by tomatoes, come mid-July.
The comedy team peppers barely hanging in there 10 weeks after planting!
The comedy team peppers 17 weeks after planting-still hanging in there, now orange!
The weather continues to yo-yo by 10-degree increments for the daily high temperatures. The lettuce, basil, tomatoes, and chard are growing well, while cucumbers are putting out their last fruits, and the summer squash pushing out their last little groups of flowers where the newest growth is free of mildew. The now-giant kale is robust and still sweet, but is succumbing to aphid egg infestation, and difficult to clean. I think our resident ladybugs scattered away some as the old corn stalks were removed. A short row of purple bush beans survived the deer-browsing from 2-weeks ago and are delivering the goods, although their green bean companions got hit again last weekend, and aren’t long for the world after being half pulled out while still small. For anyone unfamiliar with deer browsing on beans, they don’t want the beans, they want the leaves, which is great if the plants are fully matured and no longer producing. (Time for a bigger piece of netting, now that our deer is getting more daring.) Next it’s time to start sampling the spaghetti squash! We humans, that is, not the deer.
Posted in Community garden, Oh..oh...., Summer, Uncategorized
Tagged basil, beans, chard, Community garden, cucumber, deer, edible landscape, kale, lettuce, peppers, potatoes, spaghetti squash, summer squash
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 Buttercup 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……
Posted in Community garden, Summer, Uncategorized
Tagged buttercup squash, Community garden, corn, cucumber, edible landscape, powdery mildew, summer squash, tomato
This week we had a couple of double-takes as the garden yielded fused corn and fused squash…
Double-takes on sweet corn
Double-takes on yellow straightneck squash
Our “browser” deer, who I believe to be a yearling-buck, may be trying to educate himself about mature versus green tomatoes. Either that, or he got spooked and dropped the green Roma tomato. Better to nibble off all the tips of the young bean plants! And, thanks to the lavender plant stashed against the row of chard, he only nibbled 2 or 3 leaves. The Irish Spring odor must have worn off the ropes over the last couple of days.
A deer-rejected Roma tomato!
The new (third?) wave of yellow squash is coming on as a heat wave hits us again this week, after an unseasonably cool two weeks. The dreaded “powdery mildew” just began to make an appearance on the bushcrop squash, so now we’re officially on the downside of summer, and we hope the night temperatures will rise back to the 50’s during this last summer hurrah, since the large tomatoes are so slow to ripen.
Squash sextuplets and this is only one group!
We’re also pleased that our new sign arrived during the week, along with small business cards, so curious passersby can learn a little more if they’d like.
New signage for project information
Since I’m receiving more questions about caring for particular plants, I’ll be adding a separate page of general comments, though by no means exhaustive. Thanks for the questions and comments that have been sent!
Posted in Community garden, Pests of any size & species, Summer, Uncategorized
Tagged beans, chard, Community garden, corn, deer, edible landscape, powdery mildew, summer squash
Gorgeous corn! In spite of inconsistent weather and some temporary nutrient deficiencies, our ‘Silver Princess’ sweet corn has matured and borne at least one ear per plant. The tallest plants have 2 to 3 ears apiece, and one even has a fourth (immature). Some ears are still filling out, but today (drum roll please) we harvested the first 5 ears! Almost clockwork to the day….70 days from planting.
First corn pickings and smiles of success
Irresistible sweet corn var. Silver Princess and not an ear worm to be found.
While enjoying our fresh, tender corn this week we’re keeping our eyes open for the next onslaught of squash and lemon cucumbers, after a slight respite. And, contemplate when the dozen “personal size” spaghetti squashes will mature, and ponder if they really are what the package claims; fortunately they stopped growing awhile ago. We’re also relieved to hear that formerly predicted “colder than average temperatures” for the rest of August won’t be likely; we need more warmth for our great crop of big, green tomatoes.
Colorful bounty: corn, eggplant, banana sweet pepper, cherry tomato
Posted in Community garden, Summer, Uncategorized
Tagged Community garden, corn, edible landscape, eggplant, summer squash, tomato
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.
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?
Posted in Community garden, Harvest tally, Summer
Tagged beans, chard, Community garden, cucumber, edible landscape, kale, lettuce, summer squash, tomato
When temperatures hover near 100°F my appetite switches gears in a big way. No amount of fresh beans, chard, squash, tomatoes, or cucumbers can lure me to a green salad today, and especially not to cooking. The last bit of bolting lettuce was plucked this morning to salvage a salad, maybe tomorrow.
First tomatoes were plucked a couple of days ago, and the squash are gearing up for another wave of production; lemon cucumbers are no visibly forming. Almost 6 pounds of green cucumbers were pulled this last week, which was a surprise. Corn tassels and silk are promising signs of ear production as the plants have grown taller. Bush beans abound and are a real hit, while thinned basil provides a delightful zest for pasta with garlic, salt, and olive oil. Nonetheless, tonight’s dinner is cold cereal, cantaloupe, and a blueberry smoothie.
Tasty peaches, apricot sized!
The prize picking was of the three small peaches that had formed on my new 2-yr. old dwarf tree. I wasn’t sure when they’d be ripe, and when I went to inspect them under their little “pom pom” branch clusters, they released themselves easily with just a gentle nudge. One was the size of an apricot, and the others a tad bit larger, very sweet and tasty nevertheless.
And the deer? They’re watching and waiting; today I found evidence of some minor nibbling on the chard, kale, and bean tips. Time to soap the lines again. After I have my unorthodox dinner.
Posted in Community garden, Summer
Tagged chard, Community garden, edible landscape, kale, summer squash, tomato, zucchini
The magic of zucchini: one day you can play billiards with the little round ones, the next you switch to lawn bowling.
Having shifted into a real stretch of summer for the last 5 days, the garden has responded in kind. The thunderstorms of my last post soaked the gardens perfectly; no watering was needed for five days, despite 85-95° heat. Summer squash and salad cucumbers showed their typical exponential growth in 2 days.
Plants are greening nicely in their new shoot growth, after more feeding; Swiss chard and bean plants are recovering from their deer-damage. The first handful of green beans were picked today; there will be many more reaching full size in a couple of days.
The pickling cukes are just setting while the lemon cukes are in massive flower-stage; had to pull out 1 spaghetti squash plant because there are so many forming on the remaining vine, and the delicata squash was getting overrun (it has the slows). There are some tiny buttercup squash setting as well.
Two or three corn plants are showing tassels already, which isn’t my preference. This somewhat predetermines their height, and these are nowhere near their projected height. We shall see!
In support of another sustainable urban garden movement, I’ve joined the project in their challenge to accumulate 1 million pounds of home-grown food; participants report their tally on any basis, be it daily, weekly, monthly. It’s not a race, and there are no deadlines; just a way to see how long it takes to cooperatively accumulate the million pounds among the participants.
Since we’d been picking kale, chard, and strawberries (house yard) for a few weeks before discovering this challenge, we’re guesstimating that yield. So far, the cumulative harvest stands at:
• Summer squash (combined varieties): 5.25 pounds
• Cucumbers: 1.75 pounds
• Kale: 5 pounds
• Beans: 0.5 pounds
• Swiss chard: 3 pounds
• Strawberries: 12 pounds
• Blueberries: 1 pound
• Artichoke: 0.5 pound
Oh yes, the sunflowers are winning….finally.
Posted in Community garden, Harvest tally, Summer
Tagged chard, Community garden, edible landscape, summer squash, zucchini
We’ve got a great case of “the yellows” from over enthusiastic watering most likely, even if it has been in short spurts on a daily basis. Possibly a combination with some fertilizer tie-up with decomposer organisms, too, but with our cool weather, I suspect more of a moisture issue. It’s always interesting to see which plants are sensitive, even when adjacent to each other. The peppers and 2 squash are not pleased with this return to below-normal temps, nor are the basil seedlings, which had nicely greened up and grown over the previous 2 weeks.
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