Garden Update. 11 Aug 2020.

 Lots of food and collecting seeds.  Shirley poppy seed heads are becoming light brown, so I cut them off and place them, pod down, into glass jars.  The dry seeds fall into the jar for collection.  It works out almost the same for garlic chives.

Harvest:  beans, potatoes, cucumbers, a few peppers, blackberries, a few figs, Asian pears.

Here is a cucumber salad I made, all but onions from the victory garden.

Here are some Roma beans.   I love these.  They are great, stir fried or air fried with a little seasoned salt, garlic, oil.

Here are some Chinese beans, from many (20?) years of home-saved seeds.  Tasty and "meaty", similar in a way to Romas but a more distinctive flavor.

Lots of big cucumbers.  Next year, try one or two plants instead of three.  These might be hybrid so 

I'm not sure if I want to save seeds.

Triple Crown Blackberries.  Of the ones I've grown, more productive, better flavor, juicier than almost any other.  This year I will cull out the inferior Arapaho, Babycakes, and maybe Prime Ark Freedom.

I big Brunswick fig.  This tree's production is miserly, but requires almost no maintenance and I have room, so I leave it there.  The figs are huge and sweet, when they ripen.

Still lots of summer squash.

Some Early Fruits and Vegetables. 7.14.19

Here are some zucchinis and supper squashes that I harvested today.  They are doing the usual highly vigorous zucchini thing.  Also some salad cucumbers, and a couple of banana peppers.

Today I also harvested my first fig, a Carni fig, and harvested a few more Methley plums.  Those are the first plums of the year.  There are a few Illinois Everbearing mulberries waiting to pick.

Squash, Potato, and Sweet CornZucchini Plants. 6.21.19

Potato Plants.  6.21.19

Most of the kitchen garden is looking pretty good.   I dug a couple of potato plants today, ones that had dried up looking leaves.  The vast majority are not ready yet. The summer squashes and zucchinis have early flower buds.  The sweet corn is irregular, with some large and some small plants, but the large ones are looking robust.

Zucchini Plants.  6.21.19

Sweet Corn Plants.  6.21.19

Kitchen Garden. 5.25.15

Tomatoes, Eggplant, a Dahlia, and Zucchini.  5.25.19

Tomatoes, Eggplant, Jalapeno,, and Squashes.  5.25.19

 Most of the kitchen garden is in and growing.  Two views here show the fenced garden for deer and rabbit vulnerable crops.   The bottom view is the first batch of sweet corn, with temporary covers to keep rabbits away from the tender small plants.

Sweet Corn, One Week After Emerging.  5.25.19

Yesterday I planted a bed of sweet corn "Delectable".  The seeds are from 2018 so borderline too old to germinate, for sweet corn.  I will give them a week or two to emerge and then, if not, plant newer seeds.

Kitchen Garden. Another Way to Eat Zucchini. 7.26.16

Basal in Tree Ring Container.  7.26.16

Okra.  7.27.16

Mid Summer is a nice time in the kitchen garden.  Every day feels like a combination Easter Egg hunt and Christmas. 

Basil in Tree Ring Open Bottom container, ready to pick and make a small batch of pesto. 

I'm very surprised to have actively growing okra.  I had given up.  A true Southern gardener would rightly laugh at these puny okra plants.  The first flower buds are forming, and there are still 2 months of warm weather for potential crop.  I don't know which varieties.  I mixed together several packets and planted all of them.

I used tree branches that I saved to construct fenceposts or other garden infrastructure, along with black plastic trellis with 1-inch openings, to construct a rabbit / deer fence.  One might think okra spines would deter these pests, but they eat blackberry and squash growth tips, despite spines.

We continue to get zucchini, of course, and collard greens.  There are occasional peppers.

Use a mandolin with the thinnest blade, and slice zucchinis into leaf-thin slices.  Add the usual salad fixings and dressing, makes a great salad. 

Today the sweet corn appears ready to harvest.  I'm too tired to prepare it tonight, so leaving in the husks. 

I shifted the largest pumpkin to slide a newspaper under it.  That was to protect it from potential rot underneat, something I read about.  BAD MOVE.  The pumpkin came off the stem.  A ripe one is almost red.  This one is golden yellow.   I will see if I can roast it tomorrow for pumpkin pie fillings and pumpkin puree for pumpkin bread.

This pumpkin was Rouge Vit D'Etamps.  I weighed it - 35 pounds.  What will I do with that much pumpkin?  Annoyed with myself for not letting it ripen on the plant, dammit dammit.  But there are many smaller pumpkins and winter squashes, so there will still be more than we can reasonably use.

Vegetables.  7.27.16

 Some of the radish seeds have germinated at 3 days.   I planted all of the Chinese radish varieties, mentioned earlier.  Meanwhile at one week the first Euro radishes, turnips, kohlrabis, are looking good  one week after sowing seeds.  The carrot seeds have germinated.  I also enclosed this raised bed in netting for deer and rabbits.  I don't know if that will keep out cabbage moths. 

Two days ago, we ate the first Sungold tomato.  Today there were a few more.  I'm impatient for tomato season to start, even though there are so many other things to be happy about.

Okra Cage.  7.26.16

Also noting- We are getting figs every day.  Not enough to overwhelm me, but a really good crop.

Not pictured, I harvested all of the potatoes, other than Burbank Russet, which are almost ready.  Probably 50 pounds total of potatoes.  I harvested about half of the yellow onions.  Maybe 10 pounds.   I pulled out one of the raised bed / cages of favas, and used that bed to plant more Chinese Radishes last weekend.

Sweet Corn.  Trinity is shorter variety.  Bilicious is taller variety.  7.26.16

Trinity Sweet Corn Ready to Harvest.  7.26.16

 Rouge Vif d'Etampes Pumpkin, Harvested Too Early.  7.26.16

Radishes, Turnips, Carrots Seeds Germinating.  7.26.16

The First of the Sungold, by a nose.  7.26.16

Another Zucchini Fritter Recipe. 7.24.16

Zucchini Fritters with Salsa.  7.24.16

Similar to prior recipe but with Mexican feel instead of Italian.

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, shredded.
1/4 onion, chopped.
One egg, stirred.
1/4 cup flour.
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
pepper to taste
salt to drain fluid from zucchini.

I found that hand-shredded zucchini works much better than food processor.  Hand shredding makes thinner shreds, which lose their fluid better.

Shred the zucchini.
Mix in 1 tsp salt.  Let sit 15 to 30 min.  Drain in collander and use spatula to squeeze as dry as reasonably possible.  Mix in the chopped onion.  Mix in the egg, then the cheese, then the flour.
Fry in olive oil.  I dust with black pepper.  Add a spoon of salsa.

The makes a good breakfast.

Things to do with zucchini. 7.4.16

Baked Zucchini Spears.  7.4.16

Zucchini Fritters (Pancakes)  7.4.16

Zucchini Dumpling Filling.  7.4.16

The first two recipes are from the blog, damndelicious.net.  I made exactly as the author stated, and all I can say is they are delicious and excellent and simple.  I used both green zucchinis and yellow summer squash.  The fritters are a lot like potato pancakes, but with zucchini instead of potato.  Fritter recipe here.

The third is dumpling filling.  I don't claim to be a dumpling cook - those are Nings.  I shredded them for him using mandolin, he added salt to draw out fluid, drained, and mixed with scrambled egg and tofu, same as he does for tradition chive dumpling.

With what I hope is a summer with lots of zucchini and summer squash, these additional ways to prepare them are welcomed.

I should try some of the zucchini pasta.  We've also stir fried it like any other vegetable stir fry.

Last corn planted. First Zucchini harvested. Beans planted. 6.19.16

Today I planted another row of bean seedlings.  These are the Chinese bean seeds that are in the range of 10 to 15 years old.  Some of the seedlings had distorted leaves, and two were missing their first set of true leaves.  Most look OK.

I planted the final block of sweet corn.  I don't know if the season will be long enough, or warm enough for long enough, for a harvest of such a late planting.  But if I don't plant it, I could miss out on some sweet corn.  This is the first yellow variety that I planted, for variety sake.  This is a sugary enhancer (se) type, NOT GMO, 75 days to maturity so fairly early compared to some that are 100 days.

I take my I-pad to the store and research varieties that I'm curious about.  This is info on the sweet corn variety, "Bodaceous" via ufseeds.com:
 Beautiful, uniform, well-filled ear.
High quality yellow sweet corn that has large, mouth-watering kernels. Bodacious has 18 rows and 8" ears. Kernels are delicious, sugary and very tender. Bodacious is great for fresh eating, freezing and canning. A popular yellow market variety that holds well once picked. Tolerates cold weather conditions better than most.
 

Product Details

Breed: F1 Hybrid

Zones: 3-9

Germination: 5-7 days
Days to Maturity: 80-90 days
Ear Length: 8" inches
Ear Diameter: 2" inches
Plant Height: 84" inches
Ear Height: 28" inches
Color: Yellow
Genotype: Sugar Enhanced (SE)
Resistance: MS, MR
First Zucchini picked today.  Not bad, June 21.  

Beans from old seeds.  6.21.16

Corn Seeds Planted 6.21.16

Corn Seeds Planted.  6.21.16

First Zucchinin of the Year.  6.21.16

Miscellaneous. 5.2.16

Saved Marigold Seeds.  5.3.16

Zucchini seedling.  5.3.16

 I planted rows marigold seeds around some of the vegetable beds.  If I had to buy the plants, or even the seeds, this many would have been expensive and a frivolous expense.  Since I saved seeds from last year, I have more than I can plant.  It will be nice for the honeybees if they grow.

Most of the squashes and pumpkin plants are in the ground.  So are the okra plants that I started.

The tiny blackberry plants that I started a few months ago are taking off now.  Leaves are nice and dark. 

Thornless Primocane Blackberry "Prime Ark Freedom"  5.3.16

Kitchen Garden. 8.8.15

Bean Bed, 2 Weeks after Sowing.  8.8.15

 It looks like about 1/2 of the beans germinated.  If they reach maturity before frost, that's plenty.  The big thing I want from the Chinese pole beans is enough seeds for next year.  With 15 plants, if there are only 2 beans each, 4 seeds per bean, I'll have 120 seeds.  If those germinate, it's more than enough.  The big question is time.

There are about 15 Romas growing.  I filled in with soaked bean seeds, in between.  Regardless, if they bear, they are enough for one or 2 meals, for the 2 of us.  Zero cost, since the seeds were old packets.

I'm letting the 1st bean patch go to seed.   There is nothing to that other than watering the plants so they don't dry out and die too soon.

From the Kitchen Garden.  8.8.15

Elusive Pullets.  8.8.15

 Lots of squash, zucchinis and summer squash.  I'm less enthusiastic about the zucchinis than the other summer squash.  They grow too big, too fast.  The historic  varieties are less like something steroid-induced.

The new pullets have been here a month.  They are starting to look like hens now.  I forget the age.  They hang around together.  Rooster is very protective.  Won't let me near the pullets.  When I feed them, he calls them to the food, then stands back while they eat.  Which is his role.  If they make baby chickens, they will be some kind of off-breed, which is fine.

Elusive Pullet.  8.8.15

Protective Rooster.  8.8.15

Veggies 7.23.15

Veggies.  7.23.15

Getting more and more veggies.  Tomatoes, a few every day.  Ditto for summer squash, sometimes zucchinis, sometimes the yellow summer squash.  I have not tasted the pale yellow crookneck squash yet.  They have an interesting oily feel to the skin.   The green beans are the first of the Romas.  We had an earlier crop of yellow wax beans.

As usual with zucchinis, we have too many.  We can shred some to feed the chickens.  I have given some away.

Walking Around. 6.28.15

Kniphofia.  6.28.15

First Zucchini of the Year.  6.28.15

Squash Vines Growing Huge.  6.28.15

 Lots of flowers blooming.   This Kniphofia is a named variety but I forget the name.   This is a one year old plant.  Bees are not going after the flowers.  The web info says they do, but my honeybees do not have internet access to read that.

This is the time of year when squash and corn grow really fast.  That zucchini must be one week after blooming.  It's always amazing how fast they develop.  I pollinated with a different squash variety, because the zucchini does not have male flowers yet.

First Tomatoes of the Year.   Sungold.  6.28.15

 Back when I planted the squash seeds I didn't have much energy and neglected to label them.  I am guessing the most vigorous is Pink Banana but it could easily be another type.  The vigor must be in part, due to the nitrogen boost I gave them, pee-cycling.  Ditto for the corn.  It's been 1:4 dilution, about every 3 weeks, over a 100 sq foot are.

Sungold is the first tomato this year.  They are so sweet.  Others have their first tomatoes growing rapidly.

I'm glad I planted nasturtium seeds this year.  They are very rewarding.  The leaves are very distinctive and tasty in salads, peppery flavor.  No pests.  All of the types are nice, this one is from a mix.   In full sun, some varieties get a little sunburn on the leaves.  That does not seem  to hurt anything.  When seeds start to set, I intend to save seeds for next year.

Nasturtiums.  6.28.15

Trinity Sweet Corn, started in containers on  5.12.15.  6.28/15

Walking Around. Vegetables. 6.7.15

Corn and Squash Bed.  6.7.15

Walking Around.

Corn and Squash are growing nicely.  Squash includes winter squash, summer squash, zucchinis, and pumpkins.  So are the beans, and tomatoes.  Peppers are OK, we might get some.

Ning's garden is ahead of mine.  He's proving to be a great gardener.

I've left this bed un-mulched, so the sun warms the soil.  Then it requires some hoeing.  As long as I don't let the weeds grow beyond small seedlings, it's easy.

The corn and squash have been boosted via pee-cycling.  I think that's why they are so green and lush and growing so fast.

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.

Garden Harvest. Bud Grafts. 8.23.14

Garden Harvest 8.23.14

Not much chance to garden this weekend.  All work via internet.

But here are the items Ning picked in the kitchen garden, raised beds.

Really nice.  We have a bunch of zucchini already.  I like the yellow supper squash better.

I did remove polyethylene tape from a few of the 3 weeks old bud grafts.  They look pretty good in general.  On some, the buds are hard to see, on others the buds are large and plump.  A couple might not have taken, but most are promising.  Also on the lilac that I budded.

More from the Kitchen Garden. 8.10.14

Zucchini and Scallop Squash.  8.10.14

Tomatoes.  8.10.14

 In addition to the tree fruits, we have squashes of various types, tomatoes - mostly Sungold -, eggplants, and today had a taste of honey.  Oh wow that honey was good.

Honey.  8.10.14