New England August 2017

CC?  With a zucchini?  do my eyes deceive me?  

Now I feel the mild need to wax poetic!

Our dear Cape Coddess, with her eyes on some squash, 
Seems excited about the bounty awash!
Zucchini, Delicata, Patty Pan and Crookneck,
We cannot wait until we get a bite yet!

OK, need to work on my chops!

Yup!  Zukes and Delicata! Very exciting development here on Cape Cod. I covered this year with netting to keep out SVB and it worked...so far anyway.  She should be gone now.

However...the white butterflies still flit around. I just planted out collard starts this morning, under netting of course.

I am so happy!  You deserve a good squash or 2!  

I need to get busy out there, since I always wait too late for FALL....I have this weekend to fiddle, so plan to do some tending.

Today's Harvest -. Dunja zucchini, Gergana cucumber, Early Green broccoli, Detroit red beet and Supersonic tomato!

Do I hear laughing at the beet and broccoli? No laughing. We don't want to hurt their feelings. They did their best but it's difficult when you have turkey lips and bunny teeth gnawing on you all the live long day.

CapeCoddess wrote:Today's Harvest -. Dunja zucchini, Gergana cucumber, Early Green broccoli, Detroit red beet and Supersonic tomato!

Do I hear laughing at the beet and broccoli? No laughing.    We don't want to hurt their feelings. They did their best but it's difficult when you have turkey lips and bunny teeth gnawing on you all the live long day.

No one laughing here! Look at that tomato!!! And you've got zucchinis too...I explored the jungle yesterday, and still nuthin here. And I actually like beet greens better than I like beets. My little dog would gobble up that broccoli, he loves his broccoli, and that looks just his size. Nice haul there, CC!

CapeCoddess wrote:Today's Harvest -. Dunja zucchini, Gergana cucumber, Early Green broccoli, Detroit red beet and Supersonic tomato!

Do I hear laughing at the beet and broccoli? No laughing.    We don't want to hurt their feelings. They did their best but it's difficult when you have turkey lips and bunny teeth gnawing on you all the live long day.

No laughing here!  I think getting a head of any size on broccoli or cauliflower is a bit of a feat. And that is definitely a real beet, not a "if I wanted to grow baby swiss chard with a stringy root I would have planted swiss chard seeds." And look at that zucchini! Congratulations!

CapeCoddess wrote:Today's Harvest -. Dunja zucchini, Gergana cucumber, Early Green broccoli, Detroit red beet and Supersonic tomato!

Do I hear laughing at the beet and broccoli? No laughing.    We don't want to hurt their feelings. They did their best but it's difficult when you have turkey lips and bunny teeth gnawing on you all the live long day.

Beautiful!!!
Save

Agree wholeheartedly!  Nice haul!  My dumb Romanesco just made a great shade plant to mess with the rest of the bed before being cut down....grrr....

Enjoy!

I may be all alone here in New England and in zone 7, but here's a list of what to plant now:

from Gardenate.com
Planting now in August for the USA - Zone 7a zone
Beans - climbing
(also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) Sow seed Harvest from November
Beetroot
(also Beets) Sow seed Harvest from November
Broccoli Sow seed Harvest from November
Cabbage Sow seed Harvest from November
Carrot Sow seed Harvest from December
Cauliflower Sow seed Harvest from January
Chinese cabbage
(also Wong bok, wong nga pak) Sow seed Harvest from November
Chives
(also Garden chives) Start undercover in seed trays and plant out in 4-6 weeks
Collards
(also Collard greens, Borekale) Sow seed Harvest from November
Cucumber Sow seed Harvest from November
Kale
(also Borecole) Sow seed Harvest from November
Leeks Sow seed Harvest from December
Lettuce Start undercover in seed trays and plant out in 4-6 weeks
Mustard greens
(also gai choy) Sow seed Harvest from October
Pak Choy
(also Pak choi) Sow seed Harvest from October
Potato Plant seed potatoes Harvest from January
Rocket
(also Arugula/Rucola) Sow seed Harvest from October
Rutabaga
(also Swedes) Sow seed Harvest from December
Squash
(also Crookneck, Pattypan, Summer squash) Sow seed Harvest from November
Turnip Sow seed Harvest from October


I find it very interesting that this list shows squash from seed and potatoes now. I don't think that would work in my garden.

My first harvest, other than leaf lettuce, are 4 tomatoes today.

On the left 3 Better Bush and on the right one Red Pride. They are all red to some degree, one more than others. I'll let the others ripen a bit more on the counter.

I'm ecstatic.  Finally fresh tomatoes to eat.

I'm so envious of all of those lovely zucchini! I have a mystery critter treating itself to my garden at night. He/She/It delayed my zuke and cuke harvest and my zuke plant never really came back, although the critter has been respecting the new garden bed fence. We think it's a groundhog/woodchuck kind of creature.

You might find this interesting: I planted my two cuke and two zucchini plants way too close to each other in the garden bed (one of a hundred mistakes I've learned from this summer) and, even though the "internets" said not to transplant them, I did as an experiment and they lived. They wilted for about a week in direct sunlight but would bounce back every night. They'd be doing great but I've surrendered those to the mystery creature as they are now outside of the fenced garden bed.

So...so far my haul has been one cuke and one zuke. And I am enjoying the HECK out of them lol I see a lot cukes coming in now! But the zuke is only sprouting male flowers. Are there any theories behind male vs. female flower production? aka anything I can do to balance it out?

Don't worry about just getting male flowers at first, that's typical. The females will be in the second wave.

QB, You have earned them!

Colleen, The first year is the great learning curve. Make sure you are keeping a journal. It's fun to read it in the winter and a valuable resource in planning the spring garden.

@sanderson Thanks for the words of encouragement. If the first year is a learning curve, I've nailed it! haha

A journal is a great idea. I have yellow post-its plastered all over my favorite gardening book and my Moleskine planner. The thought of compiling them into a journal makes me more optimistic about next season. And I could even break out my pencils and sketch in it ... another hobby I want to pick up again. 

This morning I harvested 2 jalapeño peppers and 6 mini-eggplants! Also have a bunch of basil and mint waiting to be picked. Off to find a recipe ...

sanderson wrote:QB,  You have earned them!

Colleen,  The first year is the great learning curve.  Make sure you are keeping a journal.  It's fun to read it in the winter and a valuable resource in planning the spring garden.

Mine should be titled "How NOT To Do it" vol. 1-22.

ColleenW wrote: And I could even break out my pencils and sketch in it ... another hobby I want to pick up again. 

You could also take pics now and sketch from them this winter. That's what I do with my rock painting.

Here's my 5th Better Bush tomato off the vine.  I have a report on flavors.
The one Red Pride mater had a thick skin so it was not nice eating fresh and in a salad.  It was quite chewy.  Now this may not be indicative of most Red Prides but I can't be sure til I harvest and taste a few more of them.
But the Better bush, mmmmm good.  Nice slicing, great flavor and they made a terrific salad.  I seem to find more and more Better Bush maters ripening on the vine with the Red Prides taking longer.  No more yet to harvest so will report on further flavor when I get a few more to taste.

Nice, QB!!!!  

Oh yeah ,Colleen, keep detailed notes.  I do mine on my iPad.  Year by year, plans vs what really happens, what you like, what does not work, what you don't like even though it grows!

I roasted my tomatoes today and got 2 qts to freeze.  Its a beginning.

As for the taste test:
Another Red Pride was tasted and again, the too thick skin was not tasty for a slicer.  Flavor not very good either.
Ate my first Patio tomato and it was very tasty.  Thumbs up for that one.
Of the three varieties, I'd say Better Bush is very tasty for a slicer.  Mmmm good.

I made steak pizzaiola for supper today.  I love steak made that way, cooked in sauce.

It went well with spaghetti.
Putting roasted tomatoes in my sauce gave it that added punch I like.

quiltbea wrote:I roasted my tomatoes today and got 2 qts to freeze.  Its a beginning.

As for the taste test:
Another Red Pride was tasted and again, the too thick skin was not tasty for a slicer.  Flavor not very good either.
Ate my first Patio tomato and it was very tasty.  Thumbs up for that one.
Of the three varieties, I'd say Better Bush is very tasty for a slicer.  Mmmm good.

I made steak pizzaiola for supper today.  I love steak made that way, cooked in sauce.

It went well with spaghetti.  
Putting roasted tomatoes in my sauce gave it that added punch I like.

OMG, if I could only reach through the screen for a mouthful! Not Italian by birth, but definitely Italian at heart. And stomach.   Mmmm...I bet those roasted tomatoes gave that sauce such nice flavor.

So far, my favorite tomato is Carmello. http://www.territorialseed.com/product/Carmello-Tomato-Plant/all-plants  I'm liking it better than Cherokee Purple, Bloody Butcher and Stupice. The three "cherry" tomatoes that I got at the flea market are actually two different varieties. One is oblong, and reminds me of your description of Red Pride, chewy and thick skinned. The other is a delight, small, round, thin skinned and soooooo sweet. They usually don't make it into the house, I eat them right off the vine.

I would love that pasta/steak dish right about now!  We had 6" of rain overnite here.  Unheard of and a new record.  Basement slightly flooded, rug all squishy, etc.  Unbelievable!  Sure hope this isn't the new normal.

Yesterday morning I sowed these seeds:

...along with some lettuce seedlings.  Then, fortunately, I covered the box with burlap over the seeds and screen over the lettuce:  
All is well.

Do raccoons steal pears off the trees?  I had 18 and now only 2.  No sign of the missing 16 pears.

Awwww CC, 16 pears??? My heart breaks for you. My aunt used to have a pear tree in her front yard and I still remember the taste of those pears, dead ripe, and dripping juice as we ate them. Those would have had to be some pretty hungry raccoons, are you sure you don't have some pear loving neighbors?

CapeCoddess wrote:I would love that pasta/steak dish right about now!  We had 6" of rain overnite here.  Unheard of and a new record.  Basement slightly flooded, rug all squishy, etc.  Unbelievable!  Sure hope this isn't the new normal.

Yesterday morning I sowed these seeds:

...along with some lettuce seedlings.  Then, fortunately, I covered the box with burlap over the seeds and screen over the lettuce:  
All is well.

Do raccoons steal pears off the trees?  I had 18 and now only 2.  No sign of the missing 16 pears.

Groundhogs climb trees (yes, it's a little scary to look up a see a groundhog overhead, particularly when you imagine for a moment, said groundhog falling out of the tree onto you.) Groundhogs like fruit. Do you have groundhogs?

I've never seen a groundhog. Although I wouldn't know what it look like if I fell over it. But I've never seen anything that I think could be a groundhog around here so I'm thinking we don't have them. I'm trying to think that it's not people that took my pears. It's hard though when there are no remnants anywhere.

I picked some beet greens for dinner tonight.  This beet crop this year is not the most successful that I've ever had.

Gorgeous weather today! I'm feeling moved to mow my Meadow (aka the lawn).

I took today for me to play. Don't know about you, but harvesting all my garlic scapes is fun. Thought about this earlier in the year, so I found a recipe for Garlic Scape Pesto, I used to make it all the time but lost the recipe, this is close as I remember.

I have a few different types of cucs.

EVERYTHING is late this year! My beans have just started, I counted three that are about three inches ling. In less than a week I will break out the canning equipment for them!

I put the orange original fidget spinner in to show size. It had two uses when I was kid, to measure and meditate, without ball bearings;) CC has one in her picture of the beets, it is made of wood.