The garden is looking pretty this morning. The heat wave we'd been having left it looking a bit droopy, but two cool days and a good watering have made it perk up.
"Daphne's Pumpkin" (the seeds came from Daphne, of Daphne's Dandelions) is threatening to overtake the north garden! The photo shows just half of the plant, it is equally as large growing off to the left. It is beginning to encroach on the tomatoes, which are growing in buckets by the fence. Luckily, the buckets can still be moved, I had to move one to get this photo, I just have no idea where I'm going to move them to!
The huge blossoms are visible from my kitchen window, and there are dozens of them! Unfortunately (or not...what would I do with dozens of pumpkins?) most of them are male blossoms. You can tell by the straight stem that holds the blossom.
The lone female (she has a rounded swelling below the blossom) has a good chance of surviving with all those male suitors!I'm loving the meals I'm getting from the garden. From berries for breakfast.......
To stir fry for dinner........
POTATOES!!
They got so tall I had to corral them with 4-foot long 1x2s and garden twine.
But I have potatoes! Mr. H was unhappy that I took them so small, but I can buy big ones at the store. I want these babies for tonight's beef stew! This morning's harvest totaled one pound of baby red potatoes, one pound of carrots (weighed with tops trimmed off), 6 ounces of purple beans, 8 ounces of green beans....and one strawberry that I missed last night.I was just commenting to Cheryl, who was unhappy with her short carrots that I wasn't any too pleased with my Chantenay variety, which were little round stubs of maybe 1-2" long, when they are supposed to be 7" tapered carrots. Then I went out to pull some for the stew, and they have grown considerably since the last picking! They are still rather stubby, but certainly a nice size for the stew.
I was happy that the green beans slowed down a bit with the cooler weather. I picked nearly three pounds on Saturday, and I was expecting at least that many today. Instead, I picked just under a pound. Of course, I didn't have my son helping with picking today, so I probably missed half the beans....darned bifocals! I sill have a glut of them in the fridge, and I really didn't want to freeze any, but I may have to. By the way, I staggered the plantings, but they are all producing beans at the same time. It didn't pay to plant extra early, as they just took longer to bear a crop.
We taste tested all three varieties of bush beans Saturday, and the ratings were unanimous. Number one was Contender, which had a "sweeter" taste. Number two was Royal Burgandy, which had a nice beanie flavor, and was the crispest bean of the three. The lowest on our list was Burpee's Stringless Green Pod, which is (of course) the most prolific of the three, but the hardest to pick because of its lush foliage. It also had the blandest flavor. But it only cost 50-cents for the entire crop, with seeds purchased from the dollar store. I mix all three varieties when I cook them, so they all taste pretty good.
The boys want pickled beets. So the boys will get pickled beets. I picked 1 pound 13 ounces (trimmed weight), and put them on to cook.
Well, almost.
I was happy that the green beans slowed down a bit with the cooler weather. I picked nearly three pounds on Saturday, and I was expecting at least that many today. Instead, I picked just under a pound. Of course, I didn't have my son helping with picking today, so I probably missed half the beans....darned bifocals! I sill have a glut of them in the fridge, and I really didn't want to freeze any, but I may have to. By the way, I staggered the plantings, but they are all producing beans at the same time. It didn't pay to plant extra early, as they just took longer to bear a crop.
We taste tested all three varieties of bush beans Saturday, and the ratings were unanimous. Number one was Contender, which had a "sweeter" taste. Number two was Royal Burgandy, which had a nice beanie flavor, and was the crispest bean of the three. The lowest on our list was Burpee's Stringless Green Pod, which is (of course) the most prolific of the three, but the hardest to pick because of its lush foliage. It also had the blandest flavor. But it only cost 50-cents for the entire crop, with seeds purchased from the dollar store. I mix all three varieties when I cook them, so they all taste pretty good.
The boys want pickled beets. So the boys will get pickled beets. I picked 1 pound 13 ounces (trimmed weight), and put them on to cook.I grew two varieties of beets this year (actually three, but we haven't tried the Chiogga yet), and although it didn't make any difference in the pickled beets, the best tasting plain beets by far were Ace Hybrid over Detroit Dark Red. Not only were they sweeter, they grew larger, faster.
COMPOST!!
Well, almost.It's the closest I've come to real compost since I stopped having access to all the horsey-poo I could use. It still has some leaves in it, but they're small enough that I'll go ahead and use the entire two garden carts nearly full in the pots, pails and beds!
My harvest for 2009 has now gone over 50 pounds!!!
Oh that is awesome! Other than herbs, our garden hasn't produced much (started later than yours) but we do have enough broccoli for tonight and should have some cabbage and lettuce this week. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, granny....there's no catching you now! Your garden is producing alot of stuff for meals, too...
ReplyDeleteMy beans aren't producing as much as I expected.....There's only enough for a meal for two right now. Will you be making pickles this year? I'll probably make a small batch of bread and butter this weekend. Looks like your compost is coming along nicely!
Teresa, you are a bit behind us in weather, but knowing Mike, you'll catch up soon! I wish I had lettuce, but I'll wait for a bit to plant more...we're expecting another heat wave.
ReplyDeleteEG, I hope to make bread and butter pickles and zucchini relish. I planned a lot more cucumbers this year, but not sure it's enough. I still have time to plant an entire fence of them, where the snap peas came out. I might have to do that. Right now I'm trying to find room for a second crop of beets and carrots. My kids love the baby carrots and pickled beets. I thought I'd have enough, but I'm already running short! And only one of my three zucchini plants survived the cutworms. I hope the ones I planted at the neighbor's take off!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the over 50lbs of harvest. I'm not anywhere close to you yet. But I hear that summer starts here on Thursday. Not the calendar summer, but you know, the date where it finally gets warm. We are going from mid 60s to mid 80s.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see the pumpkin taking off. I keep hoping my pumpkin substitutes will take off soon. If you have too many male blossoms they are quite edible. I used to shred them and put them in my salads. It made the salad quite festive. I tried stuffing them once, but me and fried food just don't get along.
That's good to know about the pumpkin blossoms. I've never tried eating any of the squash/pumpkin flowers, but I might try dipping them in tempura batter and deep frying them. Mr. H will eat anything that's fried ;-)
ReplyDeleteWow! You are eatin' good now! That stir fry looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteGrafixMuse, it was pretty darned good!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness are things looking good. How many squares of beans did you plant to get 3 pounds out of them!?
ReplyDeleteWell, Ribbit, I planted some triple rows at the edges of some beds. I guess the rows are about a foot wide, or at least they were when I planted them. Now they take up about four feet of width! At least.....I can't hardly walk through my pathways. I'd say, if I figured squares, it would be 16 at about nine seeds per square. My next planting(s) will be six per square, in TWO rows! The triple rows are too hard to pick, I plant them that way every year, I never learn.
ReplyDeleteSo seriously, what did you do to those potatoes?? I have NEVER seen them that tall. Do you live near a nuclear power plant?
ReplyDelete;)
Granny - did you say zucchini relish? OMG, i've never heard of that....maybe you can share the recipe with me? Also......you planted more stuff at your neighbor's house? Oh...you've got it bad...Ha!
ReplyDeletewow you have got so much good stuff in that post I don't know where to start! Doesn't Mr. H know that smaller potatoes are more nutritious! Everything looks so good. Those berries....mmmmmm! I so want some berry bushes next year. I gotto build slow though or dh will have a fit with all I want!
ReplyDeleteYou could share a dozen pumpkins with the neighborhood kids! Boy would they like that! I hope we get a bunch and at least one big one! Thanks for sharing your garden with us!
EG, you'll find I posted the recipe last year
ReplyDeletehttp://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/2008/09/september-9-2008-in-garden.html
It's a really sweet relish that is so good on hot dogs I won't eat them without it!
LOL, Sue...
ReplyDeleteThe Hanford Site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works, Hanford Nuclear Reservation or HNR, and the Hanford Project. Established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project in the town of Hanford in south-central Washington, the site was home to the B Reactor, the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world.[1] Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the first nuclear bomb, tested at the Trinity site, and in Fat Man, the bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan.
It's across the river from us :-)
Shawn Ann, I love the little potatoes, they are so sweet and the peel is so tender. I'm just about ready to try them out, just as soon as the asparagus is finished grilling!
ReplyDeleteI just started my raspberries this year, with four plants, and my strawberries with 25 plants. I'm hoping to get a better crop the second year, and I think I'll put in another 4'x8' for more raspberries. I'm letting the strawberries form runners so I can double the size of that bed.
Your garden looks terrific...and wow what a fantastic harvest you have had.
ReplyDeleteThat compost is looking good- I have to get to work on some compost.
A friend is bringing me some chicken poop- I was told that a tea of it was good for my plants...what do you think?
I'm laughing at the potato comment! I, too have had people remark on how much growth I have on my potatoes...no nuke plant here but I live right next to a naval air station..maybe jet fuel exhaust, LOL? Congrats on the compost! The stir fry looks awesome, one of my favorites for using up fresh pickins'. And a big "right-on!" to the buckets...I, too have plants in buckets and pots that I am still moving around, not sure where I can fit them. I think they will probably just be nomadic vegetables the rest of the season! Great looking pictures
ReplyDeleteSusan, chicken poop is good, but it's a hot manure and needs to be composted before you use it or it could burn your plants. Most manures are like that, rabbit being the exception. Rabbit poop can go straight from the rabbit to the garden.
ReplyDeleteErin, maybe we have the secret...jet fuel fumes and nuclear waste!
ReplyDeleteI think my bucket plants look healthier than my garden plants! Probably because I fuss with them more, and give them individual attention. My oldest daughter brought me a dozen 5-gallon buckets. I couldn't let them go empty, could I?
Congrats. Over 50 pounds already is phenomenal. I'm at a big old 5 pounds. I've got the salad bar and you've got the farmer's market.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Cheryl, I wish I had the salad bar now. I'm missing my lettuce! I would never have guessed my harvest to be over 50 pounds already. It doesn't seem like I've brought in that much, but it adds up fast. I know at its peak last August I was getting about 7 pounds a week, but that was with tomatoes. If all my tomatoes ripen this year, I'll go way over that.
ReplyDelete50 pounds!!! FANTASTIC!
ReplyDeleteThat stir fry sure looks good! I bet your stew was delicious!
Thanks for sharing all the wonderful pictures... dreaming of my garden looking like that!!!
The weather here in Wyoming has been really off too! Cool... wet... Gosh you'd think we were in WA!
It's really rocking along! Your potato plants look wonderful. I'm staking all of my poundage plans on the squashes, hee hee. Everything else is being kind of disappointing.
ReplyDeleteYour compost is a thing of beauty!
Toni, the stew was delicious!
ReplyDeleteI had a bunch more pictures, but my blog was getting too long. I'll post again tomorrow. Funny, when I began today's post I didn't think there was much to blog about!
I'm freezing tonight, but not looking forward to 90 degree weather by Wednesday.
Stefaneener, I'd have that poundage thing cinched if male pumpkin blossoms gave me pumpkins! I do have 3 melon plants and 3 squash plants that I'm hoping will up the poundage....and I think I'm up to 28 tomato plants now. I don't know what on earth I'll do with all those tomatoes. If they all survive. Feed the hungry, I guess. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou continue to be an inspiration Granny! I love how you share your meal prep too - as a fellow cook and gardener I like to see how others use their harvests as well. I am next to a nuclear submarine base (bangor) and my poatoes are as tall as yours too! May be something to our locations that has everyone else trumped?! ;)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I used your microwave parsley dehydrating trick last weekend (posted about it on my blog and referenced folks back here for the info) and it worked out really well. Thanks for posting that info.
KitsapFG, what a compliment! We belong to a mutual admiration society :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the parsley drying worked well for you. It's the only way I'll do it, I wish it worked as well with all herbs. Now I need to zap a bit of thyme!
Do you think our potatoes will glow in the dark? LOL
Beautiful strawberries! I saw the first blush of color on mine yesterday and today I believe the birds got them. I covered the bed today, hopefully well enough to keep them out.
ReplyDeleteAmy, I wish we got more berries from ours. Mr. H and I have to take turns, as I only get a small serving at each picking. I don't think there will be strawberry shortcake this year!
ReplyDeleteWow! Those pumpkin blooms are awesome, and 50 pounds?! Incredible! Your pics always look so scrumptious. You should consider a career as a product photographer. :)
ReplyDeleteRachel, that sounds like fun! I enjoy taking the photos almost as much as I enjoy the gardening. And it's a lot less work!
ReplyDeleteThat is Awesome Granny! 50 lbs. I am so envious!
ReplyDeleteOK compost question. I have a compost going and I just cant get it to look like...well pictures of compost that I have seen. Mine (when I turn it over) looks more like yours with the leaves. I do have some horse manure that was given to my brother in law uh...March I think? April? that I haven't put in there yet. I am just a procrastinator. People talk about the compost steaming and getting hot. I have never seen this from my compost. Will the manure do this? If not, will the seeds that I have put in there die (we have put in there gord seeds and cantelope seeds etc and i dont want them coming back in the garden but have heard of some people having that happen when their compost didnt get hot enough)? As you can see, I am compost challenged. LOL Thanks!
Jen
JenGC, you are asking me? Me, a failure at compost? LOL!
ReplyDeleteYes, use the horse manure! I haven't made decent compost since not having horse manure! My compost pile does get hot though. It has to have the right combination of browns (leaves, shredded paper, etc) and greens (kitchen scraps, grass clippings, garden waste), it has to be kept moist and it has to be turned occasionally (unless you want to wait a loooong time for it to compost on its own). If you add the manure to the browns and greens it speeds it up a lot. It also helps to chop stuff (like leaves) up with the lawn mower before adding it to the pile. I just started rebuilding my compost pile a couple days ago, with the uncomposted stuff that was left after I took out the good. I threw in some old dry straw, then some garden and kitchen waste, then some unfinished compost. If I had manure, I'd have tossed that on too. I watered that down quite well, then added another layer of everything, tossed in a shovel full of soil, watered it again..it was steaming hot last night. I don't mind the slightly unfinished compost like I showed, I use it just like that. It will add a lot to the garden soil, and the decomposition will continue there. I's also good to use as a mulch at this stage.
If I were you, I'd turn the pile and add some fresh grass clippings and horse manure to it...mix it all in well and make sure it is as wet as a wrung out sponge. That should get it heated up. Some advise to pee on it, but that's just gross sounding to me. I am NOT going to go out and pee on the compost!
Good luck.
I like your potato wrangling idea. My spuds kept flopping last year and I kept tie them every time it rained it seemed. I was going to use bamboo and trellis netting to support them but the thin wood you used looks much better.
ReplyDeleteDan, I bought an entire bundle of those 1x2s for trim on the shed, and I'm finding them really handy for the garden. Besides the potato corral, I've also used them to tie my bucketed tomatoes to, just pushed an 8' one into the bucket then screwed the other end to the fascia board on the patio.
ReplyDeleteHeehee - you wish you had lettuce and I wish I had green beans and carrots! Ah well, we're just a bit behind you. Also a big congrats for hitting the 50lb mark! Amazing!
ReplyDeleteJenn, don't look now...I went over 60 pounds today :-)
ReplyDelete::shuts eyes real tight!::
ReplyDeleteheehee
OK, Jenn...you can open them now ;-)
ReplyDelete@ JenGC - your compost is too brown. The manure is a green and will help your pile. Kitchen scraps, grass clippings, cottonseed meal etc. will all help. If you add in about 1/4 of the total volume in greens to your pile, turn it and water it so it's about the consistency of a wrung out sponge it should heat up. It needs to get to at least 140° - 150° to kill the seeds. Turn it about every two/three days and water just the dry bits (you don't want the water to cool your pile down) until it starts to cool down on its own and looks more like compost. Happy rotting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great looking garden and an inspiration! The meal pics make me hungry. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you're talking about the Fort fireworks, there won't be any this year, but it sounds like you might be on the east side of the Cascades.
Anonymous, yes, I'm way east of the Cascades. Our fireworks are shot off a barge on the Columbia River.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great compliments!