New England July 2017

@bigdogrock wrote:I saw the first Japanese Beetle of the summer today.

They have arrived here as well. A few days ago Mrs TD started to see JBs on the rose bushes and raspberry bushes. She knocks them off into a jar of soapy water. One year when I planted pole beans in the SFG, the JBs were all over them.

I haven't seen any J Beetles here yet.  We have lots of wild rose bushes here but not a JB in sight.
My maters are doing well, but all still green except for a touch of color here and there.

My pots of tomatoes above.


A close-up of one of my Better Bush plants.


And for a little beauty from the garden, how about this Snowball Hydrangea.

Beautiful, QB! So glad you're getting to enjoy gardening this year.

So today is finally the day.

My plan is to get them all pulled and hung, then compost, bone meal the box and plant beets.  I don't remember ever planting beets this late. I hope it works. My spring plantings of beets are only about 3 inches tall still, no root.

@CapeCoddess wrote:Beautiful, QB! So glad you're getting to enjoy gardening this year.

So today is finally the day.

My plan is to get them all pulled and hung, then compost, bone meal the box and plant beets.  I don't remember ever planting beets this late. I hope it works. My spring plantings of beets are only about 3 inches tall still, no root.

I pulled my garlic tonight, 13 cloves, cut the tops off and they are curing in the garage because we are in for 2 more days of deluge.....over it.  Officially.

Quiltbea, your tomatoes look like mine...big and GREEN! Love your hydrangeas.

I was surprised today to see how many itty-bitty cukes I have growing now, but that's on about a dozen plants.  Maybe I'll ignore them for few days and see if I get something smoothie worthy.  Is that the secret?

I really really need to water those cukes, as well as the rest the SFG, but I'm on crutches (due to pulled muscle last Sunday from lifting a heavy thing) and can't quite figure out how to do it without getting soaked.

BUT...I DID get my 2017 Chioggia beet seeds planted at lunch after letting them soak since this morning.  Fingers are crossed that I have better luck with these new ones than I've had with the Spring batch that consisted of all my leftover seed packs from years gone by, thrown onto the box and quickly covered with compost right after hip surgery. I'm not even getting any greens large enough to pick from that crop yet.  Geesh.

OK CC, you asked, so here goes. Welcome to the jungle! I have 9 tomato plants in there. (Two more in a pot, because you can never have too many tomatoes!) There are three Thunderbolt pepper plants, and I've seen two good sized peppers. I'd like to leave them on the plant long enough for them to get some color, but I may pick them sooner, or risk not being able to find them again. And then, there are two cucumbers and one zucchini. I picked another cuke today while I was taking these pics. It was about 5 or so inches long, and I ate it before I even got in the house, it was sweet and tasted like summer. The tomatoes are sprawling all over each other, and I'm doubting that I'll be able to tell which plant I'm picking from. There are loads of tomatoes, some pleated, some oval, some round...all beautiful. Lots of blossoms on the zuke, but they all seem to be males, and no fruits sighted yet.

But look at this "heart of darkness"...it's really jungly in there! Everything looks happy and healthy, but I'm thinking that the guys in the middle, especially the peppers, just aren't getting enough sun. I was really hoping for enough cukes to have for salads, and to make some pickles, and I'd love to have lots of peppers, too. I basically grew the zucchinis because I thought they were easy. So I will be disappointed if those guys don't produce as I had hoped, but if I get tons of tomatoes, I'll still be a happy gal!!!

Here's the SFG


Looking into the "heart of darkness"  




Tomatoes...




Tomatoes...



tomatoes...


and more tomatoes!




And lots of male zucchini blossoms.

All that is in one box???  That's amazing!  I like this because you only have to water one box.  

Please keep us updated on how it works out with each of the different veggies.  Obviously the maters are doing great.
Wonderful!

I'm going to uncover my zukes and delicatas tomorrow, put up the trellis and set them free to climb. Supposedly the SVB is finished end of July. I sure hope so.

@CapeCoddess wrote:
All that is in one box???  That's amazing!  I like this because you only have to water one box.  

Please keep us updated on how it works out with each of the different veggies.  Obviously the maters are doing great.
Wonderful!

I'm going to uncover my zukes and delicatas tomorrow, put up the trellis and set them free to climb.  Supposedly the SVB is finished end of July.  I sure hope so.

Yeah, watering is easy. I have a soaker hose snaked through the box, and I just turn it on and let it go. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I fear my tomato obsession has shaded out some of the shorter guys on the inside of the box. But I'm OK with that, if my tomatoes are happy. If the tomatoes are happy, I'm happy.

Good luck with your squashes. Hope they grow tall and produce like crazy! Looking forward to pics.

You guys are rocking it!  Looking good!  I canot wait to get out there and get some cherry tomatoes  and pull pea...replant some mustard leaves and more carrots.

After eating a handful, I finally pulled down the peas. Then I composted the bed and direct seeded these:

This is a second planting of cukes, both varieties I've never tried before - Muncher and an unknown pickling one..  Anyone tried Muncher?

First time trying cauliflower. The new victory garden book says to start it inside but I don't feel like messing with the heat pad, etc. Has anyone had success direct seeding it for fall?

Nasty weather we're having...low 60s, windy and misty.

You have time for more cukes? What's your first frost date over in MA?

@Robbomb116 wrote:You have time for more cukes?  What's your first frost date  over in MA?

Around Nov 10.  I usually have enough time, but a little birdie has told me that Northeast is going to have an above-average and extended fall tempwise this year. So if that's the case the second planting should work. Got my fingers crossed.

@CapeCoddess wrote:

@Robbomb116 wrote:You have time for more cukes?  What's your first frost date  over in MA?

Around Nov 10.  I usually have enough time, but a little birdie has told me that Northeast is going to have an above-average and extended fall tempwise this year. So if that's the case the second planting should work. Got my fingers crossed.

Where can I get long range weather info from this birdie?

Birdie's name is NOAA.
Sept-Nov
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=2

@CapeCoddess wrote:Birdie's name is NOAA.
Sept-Nov
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=2

Wow, I am surprised!  I am an NOAA fan and ninja!  Thanks, CC!!!!

It's a beautiful cool sunny day today! Although very windy.

I'm having a fantastic morning. Got the kombucha, kefir and laundry switched out, then harvested the last of the lettuce. I was able to fill a clam pack with bolted Rouge to hiver that will hopefully last for a while...



... until these babies are ready to eat. Marvel of the Four Seasons, Little Caesar, Rouge d' hiver, and Cape Cod collards.  
I'm not going to thin any of these as I will plant them all.

No tomatoes or Peppers to speak of yet but the Bulgarian 'Gergana' Cukes have lots of babies. One is 6 inches long already. I'm trying not to pick it because they grow to 12+ so I need to wait.


Off to clean out and compost the lettuce box...

HG, Amazing box!!

CC, I have had success with Muncher for 2 summers. They seem to survive the heat. I like them because you can eat the skin and they don't seem to lose their mild taste when deformed or over-ripe. "Pickling" comes in second place but they have to be peeled and they taste off if too mature.

@CapeCoddess wrote:It's a beautiful cool sunny day today! Although very windy.

I'm having a fantastic morning. Got the kombucha, kefir and laundry switched out, then harvested the last of the lettuce. I was able to fill a clam pack with bolted Rouge to hiver that will hopefully last for a while...



... until these babies are ready to eat. Marvel of the Four Seasons, Little Caesar, Rouge d' hiver, and Cape Cod collards.  
I'm not going to thin any of these as I will plant them all.

No tomatoes or Peppers to speak of yet but the Bulgarian 'Gergana' Cukes have lots of babies. One is 6 inches long already. I'm trying not to pick it because they grow to 12+ so I need to wait.


Off to clean out and compost the lettuce box...

Oh CC, that's a beautiful collection of greens. A little oil and vinegar, and I could make a meal of them!

OK, CC, why no thinning on your Fall lettuces?  I need to get this fall crop thing happening this week.....

@Scorpio Rising wrote:OK, CC, why no thinning on your Fall lettuces?  

They are so easy to pull apart at planting time and I have the space to use them ALL. I'm such a lettuce pig.
<<< it's a pig if you ignore the antlers