Thursday, July 9, 2009

July 9, 2009

Well, I got out into the garden for the first time in ages. That is, not just to water it after dark.  I was getting tired of humming Gardening At Night by REM, hehe.

Much to my surprise, my garden marched along without me.  The kids have been harvesting carrots left and right.  In fact, they harvested a slew of them at once (against all I've taught them).  Thankfully, I learned from Good Eat's that storing carrots with an inch of stem left on them in bubble wrap is the best way to keep them fresh for a long period. 

I also found this in the garden.



These are (I believe) my bloody butchers that I should have pinched the blooms off of instead of letting them form fruit.  Sure I have early fruit (probably the earliest in the neighborhood), but the plant is less than half the size of the rest of my plants.  As I have read, all the energy went into the fruit and not growing the green vines, despite repeated watering with fish emulsion.  Oh well, I will get to save seed from these to create an earlier maturing variety next season (hopefully).  Anyway, aren't they cute?

I also found these during my personal garden tour.



These are likely yello pear as I found another that is likely roma.  I can't wait until these go from green to yellow!

Well, as I said, the garden marched on for two weeks without me.  I knew my cauliflower and broccoli were ready to harvest, but when you eat out every night and get home exhausted, it's tough to harvest in the dark.  What that meant is that my nice, tight broccoli and cauliflower bunches got leggy.  They're still edible I think, just not the peak of freshness.  Grrr.  Thankfully, I found this when I was out there.



I realize I don't have a hand in there, but you can tell by the 2x6 there that this is about 3 inches wide.  I pinched the inner leaves together and clipped them with one of my handy dollar store clips.

Lastly, I was giving the potato bins some much needed water and saw the pest damage was getting worse.  Contrary to popular belief, I don't know everything about potatoes.  Mostly I know about growing them, not pest problems as I haven't had too much of that.  Any idea what's causing this?


The plants look healthy desptie all the holes.  I hope that means the potatoes are growing bigger in the tower.  I also hope I kept them watered sufficiently so they aren't deformed.

Well, I'm back, and feeling better (though still sore and tired) back in the garden.  Thanks for all the kind words about the house.  It was listed today and there's an open house both days on the weekend. Fingers are crossed that it's a quick sale.

Oh, on a separate note, I just realized that this is my 400th post. Wow, that's a ton, hehe.

Enjoy your garden!

5 comments:

  1. Hurrah! First red ripe tomatoes of the season - it's always a reason to do the happy dance and celebrate!

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  2. Sinfonian, my potato leaves look just like that. I've examined them well, and there are no eggs and no sign of insects anywhere. I know it can't be potato beetles, as they and their eggs are easy to spot. Honestly, I've had a lot of insect damage in the garden this year, and the only insects I've been able to see are earwigs and sow bugs.

    You stinker....I will finally pick my first ripe tomato today, but it's just a cherry tomato. And one that was started last Feb. down in AZ at that!

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  3. I know that most plants if they're in good health and good soil can handle some pest damage. Unless it's getting much worse in the potatoes, don't worry too much. Keep monitoring, though.

    Isn't it funny how the garden manages without you? I'm glad you're back to tour it in the daylight, although REM is a fine accompaniment.

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  4. Happy Tomato season! Good to catch up on your gardening success :) I love the cantalope in the SWC, if only I had more room here I'd try it LOL

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  5. Congrats on the 400th post!!!

    Those tomatoes look great. I can't wait to see the yellow pear when they are ready to harvest. Let me know what you think about them. I've read where people can't even get them inside because they eat them all in the garden.

    I'm not sure on the potato problem. But I've had the same time happen. If you are not finding any bugs on them during the day, go out at night and see if it might be the slugs. If so, there is some organic slug and snail bait at Lowes that I've been using with a good bit of success.

    Glad you're back!!

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