Garden 2015

[Boatboy24]

And a thumb still in the way……

Looking good!

It doesn't appear to be green though...

 

[the_rayway]

Yikes! I meant to update this awhile back - sorry! (Yaay me for being the on-the-ball thread starter!!)

Here's what our garden looked like today when we got back from holidays. It sort of...exploded. I was afraid I might not make it out of there until fall!

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Looks like someone did a little weeding when she came back from vacation They straw we used this year wasnt thrashed as well as usual, we have a good crop of oats coming in, I call it green mulching, wife calls me something I cant post What kind of trees do you have in the beds? WVMJ

 

[the_rayway]

Lol, the weeds were very well established after a whole week away! those little guys are my apricots. I hope one day they will give me some fruit, but they're still pretty tiny.

 

[barbiek]

Tomatoes are starting to come everyday now, cucumbers out the wazoo! Peppers are still on the plants getting bigger for stuffing, eggplants are beautiful! I've been giving away a lot of cucumbers to the neighbors! Next year I think I'll go with the heirloom tomatoes preparing my soil finally no blight!

 

[ibglowin]

Picked this last week when we got back from Seattle. Picked almost that much yesterday (a week later). Time to make some salsa I think this weekend!

 

[the_rayway]

Mine are just starting to turn - and it appears I've got blossom end rot on my romas, but not my heirlooms! Darn it!

 

[Matty_Kay]

I have been able to pick about 10 ripe patio princess tomatoes, Celebrity still waiting to turn. My fish pepper plants are absolutely loaded with peppers, a handful are starting to ripen. Both tomatoes and pepper crops should exceed expectations.

 

[Steve_M]

Just picked these now.
The tomatoes have been awesome!

Thanks
Steve

 

[the_rayway]

I just tried my first ripe "Mortgage Lifter" heirloom tomato today - incredible. I'm going to save some seeds if I can - plant a dozen next year!

 

[Steve_M]

That's a good idea. Maybe I'll do the same

 

[JohnT]

Holy Zucchini SteveM!

I have a bunch of tomatoes, both hot and sweet peppers, and some cucumbers. Time for...

B A C O N B R E A D ! ! !

This is only once a year (so it wont harm much) and a bit of a family (Hungarian?) tradition when the fresh home grown vegetables are in.

Steps...
1) Dice up veggies into separate bowls.
2) Render bacon in a pan (on the grill),
3) take 2 slices of rye bread, dip into the rendered fat, and grill until brown and crispy.
4) assemble sandwich with crunchy bacon, diced veggies of choice.
5) eat and wash down with good red wine or (even better) some good brandy.
6) repeat until your arteries harden or until the defibrillator comes out.


Funny: My dad always said that you should have brandy with this. The alcohol (he claims) will dissolve the cholesterol.

We think that he does not actually believe that and he is just trying to justify having some brandy!

 

[fabrictodyefor]

I've barely gotten some cherry tomatoes, but have canned lots of pickles and pickled beets and there are green beans in the freezer. My Yukon golds got ready early, so I dug them up and planted more beets in hope they'll make before it gets too cold. Your garden looks amazing, rayway, must be all the extra sunshine!

 

[Steve_M]

Holy Zucchini SteveM!

I have a bunch of tomatoes, both hot and sweet peppers, and some cucumbers. Time for...

B A C O N B R E A D ! ! !

This is only once a year (so it wont harm much) and a bit of a family (Hungarian?) tradition when the fresh home grown vegetables are in.

Steps...
1) Dice up veggies into separate bowls.
2) Render bacon in a pan (on the grill),
3) take 2 slices of rye bread, dip into the rendered fat, and grill until brown and crispy.
4) assemble sandwich with crunchy bacon, diced veggies of choice.
5) eat and wash down with good red wine or (even better) some good brandy.
6) repeat until your arteries harden or until the defibrillator comes out.


Funny: My dad always said that you should have brandy with this. The alcohol (he claims) will dissolve the cholesterol.

We think that he does not actually believe that and he is just trying to justify having some brandy!

I know what I am having for lunch tomorrow!
Thanks JohnT

Steve

 

[JohnT]

I know what I am having for lunch tomorrow!
Thanks JohnT

Steve

Just remember, Pictures or it never happened!

 

[barbiek]

rayway use a lime slurry for the blossom end rot. Put about 1 or 2 handfuls pellotized lime In a gal of water use a couple gal of slurry for each garden planted plant. You have a calcium deficiency. At planting time next year mix 1 tablespoon of pulverized egg shell to 2 tablespoon of vinegar in put in planting hole. Make sure you nuke the egg shells first for 2 min to kill possible pathogen this makes calcium readily available the slurry is to use when you already have blossom end rot and vinegar and egg shells are preventative. Try it! Good luck hope this helps

 

[the_rayway]

a) I'm SO having baconbread. That's incredible.
and
b) I've been supplementing my tomatoes with seaweed and epsom salts, which I thought gave more calcium. Have you heard of this @barbiek ?

 

[JohnT]

Just remember, you need to apply the rendered bacon fat to the bread before you grill it. I gives more bacon flavor and is more "fried" than toasted.

 

[barbiek]

Epsom salt is good for magnesium deficiency are you using calcified seaweed?

 

[JohnT]

My gosh, the cucumbers!!!

The cucumbers seem to have produced well this year. I ended up with 20 or 30 pounds of them.

Time to make pickles!!!

Ran out to the local Tracker Supply and picked up some Mrs. Wages Pickle Mixes (2 Kosher Dill and 2 Bread and butter). I used these mixes last year and simply loved the result. I also picked up some pint jars.

I hand slice them rather than use a mandolin. I find hand slicing makes much cleaner cuts.

The final result was 24 jars total. 12 are bread and butter, and 12 are kosher dill. I had just a couple of cucumbers left, and not enough for another batch of pickles, so I made some Hungarian cucumber salad to go with dinner.

I only used half of the mix I bought, so hopefully I will get more cucumbers.

We also stopped off at the local farm stand and got a box of peach "seconds". These are peaches with slight blemishes and are good enough to eat, but not good enough to sell as whole fruit. The seconds are perfect for pies or jam and is only $10 for a 25 lb box. We got to know the owner of the stand, and she always holds a box for us. Tuesday, SWMBO will be making peach jam. I can not wait!!!!

Here is a couple of pictures. Bread and butter pickles are the front 2 rows and Kosher dill chips are in the back two rows.