August 2013, New England

August Garden Chores for the North East ~ by Margaret Roach

Well, I am finally seeing some good action in my pokey garden...

Overall things look good, but there are still beds that need rebuilding.





Rattlesnake Beans





Poblano peppers



Aubergine



Tomatoes



Potatoes




Florida weave is doing ok so far.

How do you like your Florida weave? We are trying it with some tomatoes that are struggling. We used bright pink string which I don't like...sticks out like a sore thumb! LOL

looking good camp. those San Marzanos look good. mine are fighting some form of blight or another. Also lost a lot of tom to blossom end rot.

Camprm....Your garden is looking good.  I like the closeups.
I puttered in mine today after the rain stopped this morning very early.  We got another nearly half inch of rain thru the nite.  In the 70s now and sunny and just lovely outside.

above:  I thought this was my Fairy Tale eggplant but it looks more like a Black Beauty or a Specialty No.226.

above:  Among my peppers, my container sweets, Redskins, are doing the best.  So far I've harvested 8 green and there are lots more on the two plants.  The tomatoes are a variety of different types, from grape to Iron Lady.

I was even able to harvest some of my French Nickel beans from the few squares I planted.  This variety are edible right from the garden, no strings and tasty.
The other day I harvested some Round Red turnips, shallots and chives along with more tomatoes.
No cucumbers yet now zukes or squash.

Is anyone else having slow growth on their cukes and squashes

Looking very good QB. Doesn't black beauty still have a green fruit stem?

Camprn....I can't remember. I sowed some Gretels (white), Specialty 226, Ophelia, Black Beauty, and Fairy Tale (lavender with stripes). Whatever it is, we'll happily eat it.

quiltbea wrote:
Is anyone else having slow growth on their cukes and squashes

Hmmm... ...not sure if that's what you'd call it...

Cucs  





As for squash, I operated on all the summer squashes the other day and lost only 2, but ALL the squashes are covered with PM and I'm about giving up on it.  Our weather drizzles every couple days just enuff to wash off the bkg soda spray & wet the porch chairs, but no more, so I would have to spray every other day and I'm not willing to keep that up.  I planted more seeds last week, as they do in the Victory garden, and I see they are up today - zucchini & acorn.  Hopefully the weather will straighten out   and I'll have better luck with them.
On the happy note, this is what I have so far from about 20 squash plants, any others shriveled up and died:

 

...and I'm eating cherry toms by the handful, and the pepper plants have cashew sized fruit on them!  The Sugar Snap peas, bush snow peas and the 2nd crop of bush beans have sprouted.  The parsnips are getting bushy and the new broccoli seedlings are still out there.  I just pulled more beets & planted 4 different lettuces, some kohlrabi & some daikon for fall.

Just turned the compost pile - it's beautiful!!   I'm starting a new one now so this one can finish cooking up the latest garden scraps.

Dull and drizzly today.  Good day for ....laundry.  
Later kids...

CC

I forgot to mention, when I was turning some MM into the empty squares after pulling the beets today, there were these long white roots running thru the MM.  I thought, UH OH, the pine trees have finally made their arrival.  So I followed one...right back to an heirloom tomato 2 squares back!   Couldn't believe it.  I'll bet the roots of these 5 heirloom toms are all over that box.  Not sure what to do about that, if anything.  

Also, that patty pan squash in the photo in my post above is called a 'Peter Pan'.  My mother bought that one from the nursery.  I'd love to save the seeds but not sure how and googling it doesn't really tell me.  Do you wait for a fruit to ripen fully then scoop the seeds out?  Then let them dry out, or do we have to do the smelly water thing like with tomatoes?

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:I forgot to mention, when I was turning some MM into the empty squares after pulling the beets today, there were these long white roots running thru the MM.  I thought, UH OH, the pine trees have finally made their arrival.  So I followed one...right back to an heirloom tomato 2 squares back!   Couldn't believe it.  I'll bet the roots of these 5 heirloom toms are all over that box.  Not sure what to do about that, if anything.  

Also, that patty pan squash in the photo in my post above is called a 'Peter Pan'.  My mother bought that one from the nursery.  I'd love to save the seeds but not sure how and googling it doesn't really tell me.  Do you wait for a fruit to ripen fully then scoop the seeds out?  Then let them dry out, or do we have to do the smelly water thing like with tomatoes?

CC

There is plenty of room in the box for everyones roots, but you may want to topdress or otherwise feed the mix.


As to the saving summer squash seed. After you have harvested all you want to eat, leave a few on the vine and let them grow as large as they are inclined to. The longer they stay on the vine, the more robust your seed will be.  After removing it from the vine, cut them open and separate the seed from the web inside and dry on a screen or newspaper. Store in a container that is NOT airtight.

A day like this makes it all worthwhile.  

How gorgeous! All that in one day, too!

I've taken to not visiting my garden sometimes, just so I'm more likely to have a bigger harvest when I do.

Lyndee....What a great harvest. Love all the varied colors.

Oh Lyndeeloo...your harvests are always so beautiful!  Yumo!  You're very artistic, unlike me who plops em and shoots em.  

Todays Harvest - collards, mustard spinach & kale in the buckets; beets & Rainbow chard on the counter w/ a Roma & some dried Champion collard pods waiting to be de-seeded on the back of the counter:

Oh...and probably the only cucs I'll get this season due to PM.  They are called "Straight 8".   

I wonder if the Garden of Eden had aphids, cabbage worms, PM and squash vine borers...and it was good?   

CC

LOL, The story of Garden of Eden is a good subject lesson for if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

*lol*  ayuh.

Hey folks, I have 2 empty squares.  Call me crazy but I'm heading out to plant some spinach.  

Wish me luck!  

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:*lol*  ayuh.

Hey folks, I have 2 empty squares.  Call me crazy but I'm heading out to plant some spinach.  

Wish me luck!  

CC

I was thinking something similar just a few hours ago!

Hey, I harvested two eggplants today.

above:  The little eggplant is an Ophelia from a variety made for plant pots and the other is unknown.  My first cuke from the potted plant, Alibi, is not small and the vines are spreading a lot.  The purple pepper is sweet Lilac and the green is sweet Redskin. These will go in my Supreme Steak sandwiches I'm making for our supper tomorrow night along with more Redskins already picked and sweet Georgia onions, EVOO, Rib Eye steak, deli roast beef shaved and thinly sliced Genoa salami. I haven't made the Supremes for years but they are absolutely delish.

I also got several tomatoes, in red, orange, and yellow, today which I'm saving up so I can roast them tomorrow and freeze them.  I've been shaking the corn tassels hoping to pollinate my corn silks that way.  My potted watermelon, Golden Nugget, has a baby on the vine.  Yippee!  Things are looking good and tasty.

Early blight has hit my tomatoes with all the rain we've been having.  I'm still pleased with the tomatoes I've been getting.  There'll be enuf to roast for the winter and we eat fresh every day.  Mmmm good.

Hi, all!

I don't want to double-post, but I would like to show you-all my garden, which despite the late Spring and the never-ending rains has started to *finally* look like somethin'! So, in the interest of saving bandwidth, I posted my update in the August Avatar Thread.

Now, if Fall would behave nicely and stay away for another 8 weeks, I might be able to harvest a couple of green tomatoes...  

Molly, your garden is so LUSH!  So beautiful and healthy looking!  We're all crossing our fingers that this fantastic weather keeps up.  

Look at you go, QB!  They just keep coming.

I can actually see new growth on my squash & cucs that doesn't have PM.  Humidity is in the 50's.  Yay.  I should probably spray them with bkg soda tonight anyway as the gutters are getting power washed tomorrow, then the humidity goes back up. 

I was also moved to top a few beds with compost since Camp mentioned it in another post.  Should be like rocket fuel.  

Planted for fall:
pak choi
5 different lettuces
beets
carrots
kohlrabi
spinach
daikon
...so far.

Has anyone else planted for fall yet? 

CC

I planted some leek seedlings the other day. I need to get going on the sowing and my sewing.  

Bowl full of tomatoes... Going to try to make homemade sauce with the san marzano ones!!


Some nice green beans from a 1x4 area of bush bean plants.






 Anyone need a few tomatoes? Honestly, they are almost 9 feet tall and covered in fruit. I put 4 plants in a 4x4 foot area of my 4x8 bed and they took off!!!

Phil, what great photos! What kind of tomato plant is the wicked tall one.

camprn wrote:Phil, what great photos! What kind of tomato plant is the wicked tall one.

 The two on the end are San Marzano. The other row, which you can't really see, are yellow pear and some super sweet cherry.

I've found two horned tomato worm's that I threw into the woods and unfortunately my cucumber plants were destroyed by cucumber beetles... I'll take a few more pictures to share with my other bed. I have some nice pepper and bean plants going.