New England, July 2015

Marc Iverson wrote:

CapeCoddess wrote:Started giving away cherry tomatoes and eating pole beans today. I've come to the conclusion that I prefer Blue Lake bush beans to Kentucky wonder pole beans. I like the blue lake better than any of the other bush beans that I've grown or am growing, with the exception of the Landreth which was the last to be planted and hasn't produced yet. I think I'd better put in some more Blue Lake bush today.

Have you tried Dragon Tongue beans yet?  I tried them after reading all the raves around here, and they really are good.

Nope, I haven't tried them. Can you eat them raw? I read all the raves about Scarlet Runners, then read that you should cook them before eating them. I eat most everything from the garden raw.

CC

Yes, they are a type of bean that you can eat raw. Very good that way too. And gorgeous on a plate either solo or in a salad mix.

The scarlet runner beans are the only beans I've ever grown that need to be cooked first. Generally I like to eat my veggies either raw or lightly blanched, too.

Oooo Marc, they're beauteeeful.  Looks like they can be saved dried for canning, too?  Is that right?

Is anyone in New England growing Dragon's Tongue beans?  If so, how are they doing for ya? Can we buy a bag at the Stop & Shop?

(wonder who got to see a dragon's tongue to know to name them that???)

CapeCoddess wrote:I eat most everything from the garden raw.

CC

I heard recently that cooking actually helps makes nutrients available by breaking down the plants' cell walls.

CC -- I don't know how to can or dry, but the catalogs say they can be eaten fresh or dried, so they're very versatile.

NHGardener -- there's always a trade-off. Raw or lightly-cooked foods have virtues that completely cooked foods do not, and vice-versa.

Well, it's  finally the day to bring all my stuff to the fair. I've not got as much to bring this year because I have been so busy with work and school.  I am entering items in the following catagories:

Canning:
Tomatoes
Sauce
Jam
Jelly
Marmalade
Salsa
Dilly beans

Honey:
Extracted honey

Photo:
B&W
Color

Vegetables:
Maybe beans. I have to check them. Everything is so late this year!
Dried beans from 2014
Potatoes
Raspberries

Flowers:
Dahlias
Calendula
Bee balm
Echinacia
Blanket flower
Coreopsis
Cosmos

King Arthur Baking contest :
Bundt coffee cake ( have to use their recipe. It's not as easy as it sounds)

Also hoping to make some honey/beeswax sales.

No crafts this year.

Wow camprn! You are ambitious! And with work and school!

By the way, I'm not seeing the pictures show up on these icons. Are you all? Maybe my computer is too old, or maybe it has something to do with the Flash issue I heard about recently.

Go, camp!  We're rootin' for ya!!!

NHG, what photos?  You mean the emoticons?  Sometimes I don't see them but mostly I do.  Maybe it's weather related.  hahaha

Speaking of weather, did you guys hear that Matt Noyes married Danielle Niles 2 weekends ago?  wow!

Yup - icons and avatars aren't showing up for me, except for smileys. But isn't showing up, and my bee on the buckwhat avatar isn't showing up. If you're seeing them, then it's just me. Which is fine.

HAWTIE OUT THERE. I'm really hoping for rain. 30% chance of thunderstorms.

Camp,  What, no crafts??   jk

If camprn did put any photos in that last post, I can't see them either.

Marc Iverson wrote:If camprn did put any photos in that last post, I can't see them either.

Nope, I posted no photos, just the list.

Striped Romans:


Mystery volunteer:

Guess I need to put some flowers around the cuke bed:

Shallots drying in the bay window:

Finally pulled out the snow peas & sugar snap peas and replanted dried sugar snap peas right off the plants.  Harvesting lots of cherry toms, pole & bush beans, greens, basil and onions, and will be pulling the some of the beets & all the garlic this weekend.  Tater plants are about dead but never flowered.  Maybe I'll take a peek at what's under them. Haven't checked on the carrots in ages. Squash is going crazy but cuke plants are still small.  New little lettuces are growing fast but something is eating the ones in the 6" tall box.  I think I'll transplant the remaining ones into a tall box.  

These cherry toms go way over the top of the trellis:

Looking good CC!

Wow CC, so beautiful.  You should be proud!  I love that Striped Roman!  I've got Tigerella this year, but it's one of my worst when it comes to fungus.   Is the Striped Roman disease resistant?

CC, Your tomatoes look so nice and healthy.

Those striped romans look wonderful! I really dig unusual looking tomatoes, and those sure qualify.

Gorgeous, CC! Are those Romans a Roma type? Or eating?

Thanks, folks.

Windmere wrote:Wow CC, so beautiful.  You should be proud!  I love that Striped Roman!  I've got Tigerella this year, but it's one of my worst when it comes to fungus.   Is the Striped Roman disease resistant?

Probably not since they are heirloom. Matter of fact, the 2 Roman plants in 2 different beds with lots of other tom heirlooms on either side of each both have some BER but none of the other toms have it. Good to know about the Tigerella's in case I ever come across them. But I have to wonder if different varieties behave differently in different parts of the world, or even in different gardens. For instance, I know my neighbors always get early and late blights but I seem to be lucky so far.

SC, I ate the my first Striped Roman this morning and could tell right away that it's best as a sauce tom and not eating. It was kinda mushy but not runny. Like the meat is soft. I won't grow them again and will go back to the Roma's next year, which come earlier and I can do both with.

So hot and dusty these days....

The garden is doing great this year.  This is the first cutting of basil, we're enjoying tomatoes earlier than we ever have but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the Tarragon.  We don't use it in cooking and I was thinking I might use it in soap.

CapeCoddess wrote:Thanks, folks.  

Windmere wrote:Wow CC, so beautiful.  You should be proud!  I love that Striped Roman!  I've got Tigerella this year, but it's one of my worst when it comes to fungus.   Is the Striped Roman disease resistant?

Probably not since they are heirloom.  Matter of fact, the 2 Roman plants in 2 different beds with lots of other tom heirlooms on either side of each both have some BER but none of the other toms have it.  Good to know about the Tigerella's in case I ever come across them.  But I have to wonder if different varieties behave differently in different parts of the world, or even in different gardens.  For instance, I know my neighbors always get early and late blights but I seem to be lucky so far.

SC, I ate the my first Striped Roman this morning and could tell right away that it's best as a sauce tom and not eating.  It was kinda mushy but not runny.  Like the meat is soft.  I won't grow them again and will go back to the Roma's next year, which come earlier and I can do both with.

So hot and dusty these days....

I grew the striped Romans a few years ago and came to a similar conclusion. They were also too stringy for me, but fabulous to look at. The next year i switched to San Marzanos, and with gilberties make up he bulk of my canning tomato harvest. They also make satisfactory table fruit.

I was very happy to find a few blueberries left by the birds.  I have 5 bushes, but every year the birds get them before me.

Just enough for a swallow.

My harvest today wasn't very productive, but at least its coming in.  The tomatoes are just starting to turn a bit pink or red, but mostly they're green.
The last of the peas I think.  I won't be putting in more for fall.  I'm winding down myself and am glad to get a summer harvest of anything.
The cucumbers are blooming like crazy but no baby cukes yet.

I only have one broccoli head left which I will cut today and these above are the broccoli nubbins from a couple plants harvested earlier.

The determinates are producing before the indeters I see.  These above are a couple Lizzanos.  Their fruit are about 3/4" across.

The newspaper mulch I tried hasn't kept me from getting the blight.  Several of my bushes have it.  I've been cutting off leaves today hoping to hold it off long enough for the tomatoes to ripen.   The Winterbor Kale is doing well even in the shade in my flower beds.

CC, I thought the shape lookes "saucy" vs eatey! I grew Mr. Stripey once, and it was tasty, and very pretty, too! It however succumbed to the "Jungle" fever that I had...so didn't get many fruits. I would grow it again, though.

quiltbea, great pics! Your bee balms are gorgeous, and honestly, I really didn't know that was how kale looked, I am putting some in for Fall here.

CapeCoddess wrote:Good to know about the Tigerella's in case I ever come across them. But I have to wonder if different varieties behave differently in different parts of the world, or even in different gardens. For instance, I know my neighbors always get early and late blights but I seem to be lucky so far.

Absolutely. The sungolds, for instance, that grow in one of my neighbor's gardens taste fantastic compared to those a nearby neighbor grows. Their two lots are right next to each other and both get full sun all day, but the neighbor with the great tomatoes has much better soil and refreshes it with new and better-quality compost much more frequently.