Sunday, September 9, 2012

Short Break - Now Back To The Garden


2012 Tomato crop - good year

Great yellow Zinnia - Profusion Yellow - well named

We are waiting on this beauty.

Pop-sorghum will make a good crop.

Horned Jelly Melon.

Black Figs on this tree are excellent.

Peppers in the Earthboxes are good this year too.

Our own Kaboch squash - a new crop for us.

One of the lakes in Canada that I fished.


I have been on the road- out of the country - and just not around  - for some time so the garden has had to fend for itself; and it has.
We have had loads of great tomatoes this year.  The salad varieties have been in a bowl on the kitchen counter for weeks and I even took enough with me to Canada fishing to last the whole week.  The "Tomatoberry" and the "Sweet Treat" are winners along with "Sugary" of course.  the "Red Peach" and the "Yellow Peach" just as good as always - but way too tender to even travel in a gift bag so they are eat right from the vine.
The beans are done and so are the cucumbers.  The one reluctant pole bean finally is starting to produce and the pods have little flavor and mostly they look and taste like soy beans so raw they are not the best.  I am glad the seeds man already sent me a credit for them as they were a poor crop and will just be compost material.
The cantaloupes have been good and the jelly melon vines took over everything they grew on, but this year they have made fruits and I am waiting for them to get ripe - who knows when that will be.  We had our first watermelon and there are three more in the garden - it is difficult to let them alone because they are soo good and we really have eaten many store bought watermelons this season.
The "pop-sorghum" is maturing nicely and its seems to be bird safe so far, but it is not ripe yet either.  Later in the season we will see what happens.
Both the fig trees are finally producing and fresh tree ripened figs are so so good.  Everyone should have a potted tree. 
We are into the apple harvest and noticeably the size is not there this season and I will have to blame the hot June and July that was rainless when they were growing.  However, we did not suffer from a killing spring frost that some orchards had this year and that means they have sadly no fruit.
Cucumbers, peppers, melons, beans, tomatoes, garlic, apples, and squash - nice harvest so far this season. I would also note that my most favorite veggie this year again was the red stemmed dandelion greens (really an endive) - they have been wonderful - bitter and edible all season - another experiment that one should try if you like greens.
Happy Gardening