Kitchen Garden Harvest. 10.8.17

 The turnips were planted in a raised bed in July.  This is a massive turnip now.

The squashes are butternuts, scallops, and some compost volunteers.  Those may be natural hybrids of different types that I grew last year.

More Pumpkins & Squashes. Persimmons. 9.28.16

Pumpkins and Squashes.  9.28.16

If there's a famine this winter and we have to live on pumpkins and squashes, here we are.  Here are some more that I harvested this week.   The big pumpkin is Golias Pumpkin, and the squash on my knee is a Pink Banana squash.  The flatter pumpkins are Rouge Vif D' Etampes Pumpkins, and the smaller squashes are Butternut and Spaghetti squashes.

Nikita's Gift persimmon is looking great.   Waiting for the rest to ripen.  Beautiful tree and beautiful fruit.

Saijo is not as attractive and doesn't have as many, but it looks like there will be a taste of that persimmon too.

Ripening Saijo Persimmons.  9.28.54

Nikita's Gift Persimmon.  9.28.16

More Seeds Planted. 5.12.15

Seed starting stand, sunroom.  5.12.15

This weekend and today I planted more seeds.  Now into the more warm-requiring types.

I'm not accustomed to planting squashes and corn indoors in containers.  That may be needed here due to cool spring season soil and temps.  Yesterday and today are cool and rainy.

I have planted most of the winter squash seeds, the summer squashes, green and yellow zucchinis.

Today I planted sweet corn, Trinity Hybrid, sold as a cool tolerant, early bearing variety that may work here.

LaCrosse Seed lists Trinity as "Trinity is a homozygous sugary enhancer bicolor with a clean compact plant, refined ear and good husk protection."  Purdue states, Sugar enhancer sweet corn "has a higher sugar content and is more tender than standard sweet corn" also "Isolation Requirements All sweet corn types should be isolated from field corn pollen by a distance of 250 ft. or by a tasseling date of 14 days. Supersweet (sh2 ) varieties must be isolated from standard (su) and sugar-enhanced (se) types by a distance of 250 ft. or by a tasseling date of 14 days. If not isolated, kernels of both varieties will be starchy instead of sweet.".  There is no nearby field corn.  I also have seed for Early Sunglow Hybrid which is an su type.  Continuing, "It is not essential to isolate sugar-enhanced (se) sweet corn from standard sweet corn: cross-pollination will not result in starchy kernels. However, isolation will permit the full expression of the sugar-enhanced traits. To maintain purity of color, white corn should be isolated from yellow or bi-color corn. Pollen from yellow or bi-color corn will cause some yellow kernels in white varieties. Pollen from yellow corn will lead to extra yellow kernels in bi-color varieties. Pollen from white corn will not affect yellow or bi-color varieties"  So I may decide to either plant the Early Sunglow 2 weeks later, or distant from the Trinity.  Complicated.

What to do with squashes? 10.24.14

Two squashes for roasting.  Butternut and Verte et Blanc

Butternut.  Sliced and seeds/soft contents removed.

Did the same with the Verte

Ready to roast.  On parchment paper.

Baked 375 for 75 min.  Butternut is easily pierced with fork, but not Verte.

Blurry pic.  Butternut contents scooped out.  Pureed in food processor.

Same with Verte.  This one I froze for future use.

I used the butternut puree in the same amount as I would use canned pumpkin, for a pumpkin pie.  Flavor was excellent, richer than my usual pumpkin pie.  I might do the same with the Verte, for a blond pumpkin pie.  Or find a different recipe.

Today's Kitchen Garden Yield. 9.21.14

Kitchen Garden Yield.  9.21.14

Fingerling potatoes, Asian Pears, more Tomatoes, various winter squash, a yellow summer squash, okra, various peppers, containerized Thai and Tabasco peppers, and probably some things I forgot.

This is one of our best garden yields ever, for this time of year.  Very happy with the result.

Kitchen Garden. 6.8.14

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In the kitchen garden.

A basket of ripe strawberries.  Photo not very good.  via ipad.

A Portugal Red chili pepper.  This is from the battleground raised bed.  Some of the other varieties have fruits beginning to form.

Zucchinis and other squashes have a growth spurt.  They got a dose of organic nitrogen boost today.

Potatoes are nice and green.  Ditto on the nitrogen, last time and not much.  They also got some slug pellets, organic type. 

Yesterday I cleared out the herbs and weeds around 2 caged fruit trees, both plums.  Then a layer of waste paper - food packaging and newspaper.  On top of that, grass clippings, to hold down the paper and hide it.  That will last until fall, I think.

Tomatoes are blooming.

Lots of snowpeas.

Planning for 2014 Garden

I've been looking in the online catalogs for next year.  I know it's early.

Main things I'm interested in so far -

Short season Okra.  This year I had a few on "Clemson Seedless" but nothing to write home about.  I want to try containerized and transplants.  Burpee has a dwarf hybrid, "Bubba". 

Bush Butternut Squash.  Also from Burpee.  It would be better, take less room in a raised bed.

Snowpeas - this time, I want to grow the actual Chinese type.  If not in an online catalog, I can probably buy local.

So far.  Peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, beans too.

Kitchen Garden

Today...

I picked a bowl of ripe figs.  Most were Petite Negri and Hardy Chicago.  Two Lattarula.

I picked a big yellow bell pepper.

And a few Thai peppers.

Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe

 The first cantaloupe.  I've been watching for ripeness.  Today when I picked it up gently, the stem detached itself from the vine.  So it's ripe.

The flavor was good.  Tasted just like a cantaloupe.

This is a convenient size.  Like a grapefruit.  It ripened soon enough for us to get a taste.  There are a few more on the fine.  None went to waste.  The chickens like the seeds.

Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe

Butternut Squash

 One of the watermelons developed a big hole in the size.  Then spoiled.  So the chickens got it.  They liked it

Another watermelon is looking almost ripe.  Maybe tomorrow.

The butternut squash is my first attempt at Winter squash.  Nice size for the two of us.

These were I-phone pics.  I misplaced my camera.  The colors are a little off. My hand is not that pink.  But the melon looks right.

Some of the harvest 9/21/13

Pole Beans. Zucchini. Butternut Squash. Watermelon. Borage. Tomatoes.

Tomatoes

 Tomato fruits are setting.  The plants are growing.  I don't know how they will do in the Battleground raised beds, but I think OK.  They need some mulch.

Zucchini

Polebeans

Borage and Butternut squash

Watermelon "Petite Yellow"

Zucchinis are living up to their reputation for fast growth.  There are small flower buds.  I think starting them in containers then setting them out in garden works well.

Pole beans have replaced garlic - 2 weeks ago - and I installed deer / rabbit fence last weekend.  Easy job, just have to do it.   Ditto on the container starts.

If not for fatigue I would have done a lot more.  I'm good for about an hour at a time.  New raised beds will have to wait.  If I can construct the sides this month, then filling them won't be so bad.

Borage and Butternut Squash growing nicely where I cleared out a pile of leaf compost a few weeks ago.   Borage seeds were planted directly. 

Small watermelon plant replaced Inchelium Red garlic.

This is the first year growing vegetables at the Battleground place.  So everything is new. 

If only I had some energy.  I could do a lot.