New England August, 2018

It's now August!

RJARPCGP wrote:It's now August!

Yes, it is!  And I just want to say, why are beans so itchy????  Just picked pole beans, gave some to neighbors, still have a bunch, and am itchy!  What are you all having coming on, and what is late/no go?  Here, it is a little strange.  Spring was wet and cold then HOT.  Now, it varies....

Scorpio Rising wrote:Yes, it is!  And I just want to say, why are beans so itchy???? 

I'm not bothered by beans making me itch, but my wife is severely bothered by them. She wears some Outdoor Arm Sleeves that Walmart sells (in the sports dept) when she is picking beans and the beans don't bother her then.

Itchy bean plants....now I've heard it all!    I get bothered by squash plants. Seems they like to bite. 

Lettuce is finished finally but I sowed some more seeds with high hopes.  Toms are coming slooooowly.  We have 3 Sungolds on the counter right now - first toms of the season. 

Cukes are a-comin, albeit some with handles, and I was able to pickle up a pint of beets with more ahead: 

The chard and the flea beetle infested kale & collards are still going, as are the green and pole beans.  Ground cherries and Delicata squash are forming.  No tromboncinos yet.   The hot pepper plants are still about 5" hi but I think I see flower buds here and there. The bulb onions melted away.  I may have over watered them.  I guess that's about it for now here on Ol' Cape Cod. 

CC

CC, what’s that light green thing below the bowl of apples?

Looks like our cuke garden, is doing super!

Scorpio Rising wrote:CC, what’s that light green thing below the bowl of apples?

Well, I don't really know.  It was from a volunteer squash or melon plant that the borer got.  I brought it in the day I took the photo, then picked it up later to figure out how to cook it and there was frass on the counter and holes.    Which means borer was INSIDE the thing!  Can't remember what I did with it but I think it went into the compost.
Gruesome!

CapeCoddess wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:CC, what’s that light green thing below the bowl of apples?

Well, I don't really know.  It was from a volunteer squash or melon plant that the borer got.  I brought it in the day I took the photo, then picked it up later to figure out how to cook it and there was frass on the counter and holes.    Which means borer was INSIDE the thing!  Can't remember what I did with it but I think it went into the compost.
Gruesome!

Pickle worms will make a small hole about the size of a +2 pencil lead.  There will be frass where the worm enters.  We have these down south but I did not think you all had them up north.  Pickle worms also go after summer squash or zucchini.

yolos wrote:

CapeCoddess wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:CC, what’s that light green thing below the bowl of apples?

Well, I don't really know.  It was from a volunteer squash or melon plant that the borer got.  I brought it in the day I took the photo, then picked it up later to figure out how to cook it and there was frass on the counter and holes.    Which means borer was INSIDE the thing!  Can't remember what I did with it but I think it went into the compost.
Gruesome!

Pickle worms will make a small hole about the size of a +2 pencil lead.  There will be frass where the worm enters.  We have these down south but I did not think you all had them up north.  Pickle worms also go after summer squash or zucchini.

Weird...

I found a borer in the stem end of a zucchini this year(!) - not sure whether it was headed deeper into the fruit, or toward the heart of the plant. In my case it was definitely a borer, not a pickleworm. That said, the pickleworms work their way north every season and depending on the weather, they do sometimes make it to Massachusetts.

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:I found a borer in the stem end of a zucchini this year(!) - not sure whether it was headed deeper into the fruit, or toward the heart of the plant. In my case it was definitely a borer, not a pickleworm. That said, the pickleworms work their way north every season and depending on the weather, they do sometimes make it to Massachusetts.

That’s strange...glad he got confused.

Well, it has certainly been a different summer than last year. Last year it was hot and dry, and I was running the drip hose at least every other day, if not more, and by this time, I was picking tomatoes like crazy. This summer has been hot as usual, but we've had nothing but rain, rain, rain. I feel guilty complaining, because I know how many of you out west would love to have some of this rain right about now. But it seems like the weather always comes in extremes, never a happy medium. I have yet to pick a full sized tomato, and we're half way through August! I get a handful of cherries every other day or so, but the big ones are still green, and not so very big. I've picked three cucumbers, and I don't even see any peppers on the pepper plants. (big sigh) I'm hoping that this long rainy spell will break, and things will pick up soon. Hope things are going better in your gardens.

hammock gal wrote: I'm hoping that this long rainy spell will break, and things will pick up soon. Hope things are going better in your gardens.

I hope things pick up for you real soon, too, HG!  We have had a lot of rain here in SW Ohio, too, but it has been scattered between sunny days so most of the garden is doing good - the sun dries everything out for a few days, then it rains for a couple days, followed by a few sunny days that dries things out just before it starts raining again. We are getting a lot of tomatoes, peppers, and greens, but the root crops are not enjoying the wet ground and the winter squash has mostly rotted right on the vine. Next year we'll have a better garden!

hammock gal wrote:But it seems like the weather always comes in extremes, never a happy medium. I have yet to pick a full sized tomato, and we're half way through August! I get a handful of cherries every other day or so, but the big ones are still green, and not so very big. I've picked three cucumbers, and I don't even see any peppers on the pepper plants. 

Ditto but with more fog than rain here.

Rain in the summer? What is that?

sanderson wrote:Rain in the summer?  What is that?

I know, sanderson. I really wish that I could blow some of these rain clouds your way. It seems unfair that we have more than we need, when you could use it so badly.

Ground cherries are a'comin! Yay!