This week's harvest has been slow but steady. The champion continues to be my bush green beans. I also have Fortex pole beans, but they have not been terribly productive.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Harvest Monday
It's Harvest Monday over at Daphne's Dandelions where fellow gardeners are showing off the week's harvest. Kind of like show and tell, right? Hop on over and join the fun!
This week's harvest has been slow but steady. The champion continues to be my bush green beans. I also have Fortex pole beans, but they have not been terribly productive.
The broccoli plants are getting old and ravaged looking, but I still keep getting little harvests of side shoots so I can't bear to pull them out yet. They'll likely be gone later this week as garden clean-up begins in earnest.
Cucumbers have been coming in at a trickle and there is the beginning of powdery mildew on the plants. No pickles this year, but we're enjoying the fresh cucumbers and since I was able to make a batch of pickle relish earlier this summer, I'm happy.
Likewise, the tomatoes are coming in in small batches. The plants look just awful, but I met my minimum goal of canned pints and will certainly surpass it so we will have enough canned tomatoes for the year. I'll be posting my evaluations of some of the varieties someday soon.
Ah, winter squash. I have here four Kabocha, two Buttercup and one tiny New England Pie pumpkin. None are very big, but I'll take them! Here's the back story: Four summers ago every one of my winter squash plants died before producing a single squash. The following year, I got one tiny pumpkin. I got mad and said to myself "as God is my witness I WILL grow a winter squash someday!!!" Last summer, success! I finally did it. I got six; another pie pumpkin and a mix of butternuts and buttercups. This year I've counted sixteen, so we're getting there! They are rather small. The ones that still have a relatively healthy vine and stem are still out there, including the three small butternuts I have coming.
So there you have it! My week in harvest. I actually spent a minimal amount of time out there in the garden due to an unexpected visit from my younger son and his sweetheart, a wedding to go to and helping out a friend who's moving to a new house. Hoping this week to get out there more. But for now, I'm off to check out how the rest of you gardeners are doing with yours! I love seeing everybody's harvests and getting great ideas and inspiration from fellow gardeners across the country and the world. Have a great week, all!
This week's harvest has been slow but steady. The champion continues to be my bush green beans. I also have Fortex pole beans, but they have not been terribly productive.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Nice harvest of squash! Our vines of Sibley succumbed to squash vine borer, but the delicatas are doing well. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on the tomato varieties you grew.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Sorry about those vine borers. They are a problem for me too,but I've found spraying neem oil on the base of the stems regularly seem to control them. Now if only I could figure out how to stop the squash beetles; they were terrible this year! I have never tried delicata squash, but everyone around here seems to grow it successfully, so I think I'll have to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteYou have definitely succeeded - as the squash look great. Your bean harvests are nice looking too. I grew Fortex this year for the first time and noticed the foliage is not as dense as the other varieties I am growing but they seem to be producing fairly well despite that.
ReplyDeleteWell thank you! I wish those squashes were a little bigger, but I'm certainly happy to have them!
DeleteYour harvests look fantastic! What I wouldn't give to have harvested some winter squash this year. *pout* My favorite! Your beans, cukes, tomatoes look good, too!
ReplyDeleteThank you Barbie! There's always something we wish had worked for us and always other things that do great. That's why there's always next year, right?
ReplyDeleteEverything looks really good! My Kabocha have only set a couple of fruit so far, so don't know about them, but I will probably have spaghetti squash and tromboncinno coming out my ears!
ReplyDeleteOoh, spaghetti squash is another one I should try! Plus I love the cool look of tromboncino. My pattypan was a flop so maybe those are the ones to try next. Thanks for the kind comment!
DeleteI hear you about beginning garden clean up. It seems like just yesterday when gardening season begun. Nice collection of winter squashes. Glad the rabbit did not harm, hope they know better and stay away.
ReplyDeleteSo far so good where the rabbit is concerned! I haven't seen him back yet. Every season seems to go by faster than ever!
DeleteYour harvest looks great. We are only about a quarter of the way to our tomato canning goal but our tomatoes are just now starting to come on strong. We are struggling with winter squash this year! No butternut (lost the plant to a wilt) only 2 pie pumpkins. But of course the jack-o-lantern pumpkins are producing like crazy so I guess the chickens will be happy.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried the big pumpkins. Figure I have a hard enough time with the little ones! Sorry about your butternuts. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteQuite a lovely harvest for a minimal garden week!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I guess it's pretty good, I'm just a bit blinded by the rampant disease and bugs down there. Always a challenge.
DeleteYou definitely succeeded with squashes - looks great!
ReplyDeleteJenny, now I need to work on getting them to grow a bit bigger. They really are undersized, but I'm just so happy to have them!
DeleteYour doing great with your winter squash this year. It is so hit or miss isn't it. Those borers and squash bugs are such a pain! I did not grow any winter squash this year out of my frustration. And my summer squash were gone pretty quickly too. Your harvest looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yeah, I seem to have gotten a handle on the borers for now, but those squash beetles are nasty! Nothing I did put a dent in them.
DeleteGood looking harvest. I like the size of your broccoli sprouts, mine are puny this year. Too bad about the Fortex. I have a 4 foot row growing up a trellis and am getting a reasonable harvest from them every week. Not big baskets like your bush beans, but enough for meals a couple times a week.
ReplyDeleteDavid, the camera makes those side sprouts look considerably larger than they really are. But they made enough for us to have with supper! I kind of like the Fortex, those nice long beans, but the output is pretty puny. I'm not giving up on them yet! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteCongratulations on the winter squash! I always say practice makes perfect. You've got more cukes in that photo than I've gotten total this year, so it's always something. That broccoli looks good too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you! I do keep on trying. Sorry about your cukes. Last year we were giving them away by the bagful, but not this year! Very interesting to see the differences from year to year. What doesn't do well is made up for by something else that does!
ReplyDeleteNice basketfull of beans and other veggies! Some of my cucumber vines are not looking so good either but still getting a few cukes from them. We keep eating them fresh so don't know if I will ever get enough ahead to try making refrig. dill pickles. Congratulations on being successful growing squash and pumpkins! Nancy
ReplyDeleteThank you Nancy! I really am very pleased with my squashes, but you would laugh if you saw how little they are. Pictures always make things look larger.
DeleteI so enjoy your posts, and the progress of your garden. What a fantastic and abundant harvest. Funny how every year is different...and you are right, what doesn't do well is made up for by something else that does.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words! We certainly can't get bored with gardening can we? It keeps us on our toes.
DeleteI love growing winter squash but have had an interesting time of it. Butternuts are my favorite (though, because of a seed mix up, we're not growing any this year) but I do love a good ol' pumpkin, too ;-)
ReplyDeleteWinter squash is so delicious and versatile, but not always easy to grow! I love Butternuts too. I don't think my little pumpkins between them will be enough for a pie. Soup, maybe!
DeleteGreat looking harvests. I can't believe you're harvesting broccoli in late August! That's impressive.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jody! The broccoli is sheer luck. This is the first year I've ever gotten a decent amount.
Delete