New England, July 2015

Wanted to pass along the photo, to show how super hot greenhouses can get. Couldn't we somehow harness that energy? Notice even the pencil in the tray, bent. And the plastic wasn't even zippered all the way down, just about 3/4 the way.

NHGardener wrote:Wanted to pass along the photo, to show how super hot greenhouses can get. Couldn't we somehow harness that energy? Notice even the pencil in the tray, bent. And the plastic wasn't even zippered all the way down, just about 3/4 the way.

Thanks goodness there weren't any seedling in those things  


CC I too am waiting for my garlic so that I can plant something in the bed. Probably cukes, but I'm not sure what else. I'm off to google a squash vine borer because I don't know what she looks like. Sadly, I still have plenty of cabbage moths fluttering around. When do they go away?


Made some awesome garlic scape pesto today. I had to chop it super fine (some of it was hard) then I pulverized it in my food processor & then re-pulvarized in my Vitaminix. I think I might like it better than regular basil pesto. 

Garlic scape pesto! Now there's an idea!

CAgirlinMA wrote:Sadly, I still have plenty of cabbage moths fluttering around. When do they go away?

She doesn't. She's a constant summer/fall visitor...at least in my neck of the woods.

I used 2 each of garlic scapes & onion scapes, if that's what you call them, and blended them with a can of chickpeas & spices. Nearly blew my socks off. I've been reeking of garlic ever since...had to sit across the porch at a friends house afterward. But boy, am I healthy! NO bug is coming near this ol' bod.

NHG, that pencil!!! I think we do harvest that energy using solar panels. Altho, they work in the winter, too, so maybe it's the light and not the heat that operates them...?

I don't know but I'm considering wrapping my house in bubble wrap this winter...

CapeCoddess wrote:

CAgirlinMA wrote:Sadly, I still have plenty of cabbage moths fluttering around. When do they go away?

She doesn't. She's a constant summer/fall visitor...at least in my neck of the woods.

I used 2 each of garlic scapes & onion scapes, if that's what you call them, and blended them with a can of chickpeas & spices.  Nearly blew my socks off.  I've been reeking of garlic ever since...had to sit across the porch at a friends house afterward.  But boy, am I healthy!  NO bug is coming near this ol' bod.

NHG, that pencil!!!  I think we do harvest that energy using solar panels.  Altho, they work in the winter, too, so maybe it's the light and not the heat that operates them...?

The imported cabbage worm has 3-4 cycles in New England. 
https://nevegetable.org/crops/insect-control-3

***ALERT***
TAKE PREVENTIVE ACTION - LATE BLIGHT CONFIRMED IN VERMONT

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/9/first-case-of-garden-blight-identified-in-hinesbur/

cross posted

The imported cabbage worm has 3-4 cycles in New England. 

https://nevegetable.org/crops/insect-control-3

 I really don't like her.

Now blight...ugh!

Do you all hang your onions to dry? I just saw a youtube video where the guy not only hangs his garlic, he also hangs his onions.

I also saw a video on braiding onions/garlic. Once cured, I don't see why they can't be braided.

NHGardener wrote:Do you all hang your onions to dry? I just saw a youtube video where the guy not only hangs his garlic, he also hangs his onions.

I lay my onions out on a window screen across the arms of a chair in the basement with a fan blowing on them.  The tops get cut off down to about 2 inches first so I couldn't hang.  But I like the idea.

It was watering Wednesday at my SFG this morning. Every weekend & every Wed whether it needs it or not. Matt Noyes said the Cape will be spared the rain today.

He just doesn't get it.

I don't do onions any more but I used to.  I'd pull them and lay them on an old screen in the workshop with the door open so air could circulate and dry them.  They never lasted me thru the winter because I never grew that many and we like our onions.  I did the same with my garlic when I pulled it.

Expecting some rain over the weekend but in our area not very much so I took my light-weight hose out this morning and watered both the Back40 beds and my flower beds. I'm really happy I bought that hose.  Makes watering so much easier for this old lady.
 Picked more sugar snaps today.

My Legend tomatoes that I transplanted together are still doing well and even have small tomatoes on them now.

I pulled one garlic yesterday, but I think it's too early. It was nice and big, but the cloves don't seem to be well formed yet, altho I haven't opened it yet, it's just drying. I think I'll wait until later in the week to pull the rest. Also, even tho it looks from a distance like the leaves are turning brown, really this only had one bottom brown leaf and the tops were a little tinged but the rest were green. Too early.

But wanted to post a photo of my recent walking (Egyptian, whatever) onion, with a spoon next to it for size. I need to replant these elsewhere because they have overtaken their rock garden and don't look so attractive anymore, so I'll "hide" them. I had a complaint. (from my own household) But, I cut up the bulb and partway up the stem and sauteed it.

Today's haul. Boy is it hot & humid out.

Beautiful onion!  & huge!  How'd it taste, NHG?  & what variety of raspberries are those?  Will they come again in fall?  Man, they look good!


I met up with SVB in the Delicata squash plants.  I pierced the stem above the frass with a sewing needle here and there, and I think that may have worked.  No more frass spotted for  3 days now and the plants seem to be holding up:

The tomatoes are doing so well this year that I need to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming:


A couple of them have reached the top of the trellis and all of them are loaded with flowers from top to bottom:
Also, all have fruit, even the volunteers.

The greens box that was planted in spring is still producing profusely.  I can't keep up with it and they are pressed up against the netting at the top and sides, which means cabbage butterfly gets to them:
I keep meaning to make higher hoops.

First time with leeks:
Can we eat the bent over leaves?

Cherry toms, leeks, pole beans (which are now growing down the other side of their 6 ft trellis), bush beans, collard and kale in this box:
Parsnips, Waltham butternut squash, Delicata squash, Dunja zuke & asparagus make up the hedge in the back ground.

Front bed - beets (one actually formed!), bush beans, trombocini squash, greens, peas drying for seed harvesting.  Back bed - chives, beets and garlic to be harvested in a week or so:

Toms, leeks, squash, scallions, fall beets, peppers:
The peppers are so small you can't even see them.  Not a good pepper year so far.

Taters at the far end, daikon, greens, carrots, carrot seeds under tulle, recently sprouted Dunja zuke lower left, Marketmore cukes trying to grow on the right.  Just planted Burpless cuke seeds at the left side trellis today after a critter at the heads off the ones I planted last week:

Other rather unattractive boxes have lots of fallen onions & shallots that aren't quite ready for harvesting yet and with them some chard, more peppers, greens, lettuce, bush beans & sugar snap peas drying for seed harvest. 'Cept they keep producing, too. Constantly.

Outside the box-
Tromboncino squash, bush beans, 2" hi corn (only 5 left as a critter ate the other dozen):

Elsewhere there are ground cherries, more fallen onions & lots of just transplanted squash babies.

Anyone care to guess what this mystery volunteer is please? I won't hold you to it. Some kind of squash or melon I think.  The leaves are only 3-4 inches wide & it's a climbing vine:

CC

What great looking stuff and so much of it!

Watch out for those cabbage moths.

I ate that little red tomato tonight. It's called "Sweetie" but I wasn't impressed. Maybe I should have waited a couple more days for it to get sweeter. But who can wait for the first tom of the season???

Maybe too early to judge? I've found that sometimes tomatoes are ripe enough to be good but not quite ripe enough to be great. Each one has a learning curve on when to pick it.

Yup, the berries are all gone now.

Good idea with the needle on the SVB!

That vine looks like a pumpkin to me.

NHG, Berries!

CC, Wonderful tour of your garden. I am amazed how the northern gardeners have such abundant gardens considering how late in the season you plant.

That's wonderful, and made my mouth water.  I'm picking them one-a-day still.

Love the looks of your garden CC. Very Impressive.

I came back from a 3 day get away to find my garden looking pathetic  Everything was droopy & looked like it had been neglected for weeks. The worse part is most of the flowers on my tomato plants fell off....I could cry. I watered before I left, but looks like it wasn't enough. I drenched everything today but I don't know if it will make much of a difference.

So what do you all do when you know you're going away? I honestly thought it could go 3 days without water.

Wow CAgirl, I haven't watered mine in weeks. Altho I go pretty heavy on the mulch and maybe we've even had more moisture here. Could your garden just have gotten too hot? I read somewhere that drooping mid-day on hot days is actually an intentional act by the plant to conserve moisture, something like that.

I've heard that too NHG. I was in western MA & we got quite a bit of rain out there. I assumed incorrectly that my area also got it but it was apparent that it did not. Looks like I need to mulch better for next year....  but until then I'm not going to be getting the tomatoes I planned on & even the squash withered up.

CAgirl - Don't you think they'll grow more blossoms? Did the whole plants die?