Gardening In Retirement

[FIREd]

My vegetable garden was pummeled with large hail last night. I need to go survey the damage tomorrow but my neighbor said that the potatoes did not look so good.

The main garden is about 30ftx70ft, plus a small green house, and the pumpkin patch. It is not pretty looking at the moment, as we are at almost 3,000' in altitude and our growing season just started.

 

[StanV]

My vegetable garden was pummeled with large hail last night. I need to go survey the damage tomorrow but my neighbor said that the potatoes did not look so good.

The main garden is about 30ftx70ft, plus a small green house, and the pumpkin patch. It is not pretty looking at the moment, as we are at almost 3,000' in altitude and our growing season just started.

Hail is a nasty thing for all Gardeners and Farmers. The damage it can do is just terrible to behold. If your plants are not too badly beaten up, you can help them out in their recovery though. Water them with some water that has both a product called Super Thrive and a root stimulator mixed into the same water. Water all the plants, shrubs, etc. with a fresh batch of this mix the next 5 to 6 times they need watering and can be used even more. The super thrive helps the plants deal with the stress and shock of the hail attack or any insect or fungal attacks. The root stimulator gets the root system functioning better to make the recovery quicker. I have done this for years with great success.

 

[Gumby]

We have been in Maine for the last two weeks, returning yesterday afternoon. This morning, we ventured out to our garden plot. It has run riot while we were gone. The corn has tassled out. The squash is threatening to take over the entire garden. The broccoli and lettuce is on the verge of bolting. The dill and cilantro are long past that stage. And, of course, the weeds are crazy. So much growth in only two weeks!

We spent a few hours harvesting green beans, carrots, beets, broccoli, leaf lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers. I trimmed the bad lower leaves from all the tomatoes to improve air flow around the base of the plants and reset their ties to the cages. I will go out later this evening when it is cooler to weed the paths and spray some BT on the corn.

We are letting the remaining peas dry out to save them for seed next year. The potatoes are starting to die back (but not from potato beetles, as I have squished them all), so I may start harvesting them in the next week. Our okra has just started to fruit, so I'm sure we'll also be harvesting them next week.

It's almost like I have a job.

 

[rayinpenn]

We actually have had a couple of back to back 90 degree days without rain. Prior to that the last 2 thunderstorms have brought brief torrential rains with unbelievable wind, especially 2 nights ago. That rain keeps washing the cayenne pepper off my tomatoes, squash and sweet potatoes. My yankee deer dont like the spicy stuff so ill be out there shortly sprinkling the red “deer be gone” magic powder

 

[Souschef]

My late wife's cousin, who is from Cincinnati,came out to visit in May. She is a Master Gardener, and we met at the Mission San Juan Capistrano.
She was blown away by the flowers growing there.
I sent her a photo of some of ours taken at the end of May. I then sent her an update taken the beginning of July. It is amazing what a difference one month can make..

 

[StanV]

We have been in Maine for the last two weeks, returning yesterday afternoon. This morning, we ventured out to our garden plot. It has run riot while we were gone. The corn has tassled out. The squash is threatening to take over the entire garden. The broccoli and lettuce is on the verge of bolting. The dill and cilantro are long past that stage. And, of course, the weeds are crazy. So much growth in only two weeks!

We spent a few hours harvesting green beans, carrots, beets, broccoli, leaf lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers. I trimmed the bad lower leaves from all the tomatoes to improve air flow around the base of the plants and reset their ties to the cages. I will go out later this evening when it is cooler to weed the paths and spray some BT on the corn.

We are letting the remaining peas dry out to save them for seed next year. The potatoes are starting to die back (but not from potato beetles, as I have squished them all), so I may start harvesting them in the next week. Our okra has just started to fruit, so I'm sure we'll also be harvesting them next week.

It's almost like I have a job.

That is a good job to have though! Fresh from the garden flavor is top notch all the way. We just got our first tomatoes on Saturday. Tasted sooooo good!

 

[StanV]

My late wife's cousin, who is from Cincinnati,came out to visit in May. She is a Master Gardener, and we met at the Mission San Juan Capistrano.
She was blown away by the flowers growing there.
I sent her a photo of some of ours taken at the end of May. I then sent her an update taken the beginning of July. It is amazing what a difference one month can make..

Indeed it is. Right now it has been so hot outside that the roses are blooming almost fully over night! Hard to enjoy them as much. Things can happen fast in the garden when we get consistently warmer weather.

 

[FIREd]

Our family garden is doing well so far. We had a heat wave a couple of weeks ago, with temps in the upper 90's, and very little rain since. But we have not yet watered the garden once this year. The plants seem to be fending for themselves just fine.

We have been eating some lettuce, zucchini, kale, spinach, onions, and beans from the garden. Zucchini season is really on (we harvest 2-3 zucchinis every day). The cucumbers are not far behind. Within a week, beans should be plentiful. We plan on harvesting some potatoes (early varieties) at the end of the month. I pick a few leaves from the kale plants every couple of days. Tomatoes and peppers are still green (at this altitude, they take forever to ripen). The salads and spinach have started to bolt. Berries are almost ready to pick (lots of currants and raspberries).

Some of the issues we have been facing this year:
- some of the onions went straight to flower
- we had a small infestation of potato beetles that we squished by hand
- the beans are full of aphids and we are treating them with a homemade nettle spray.
- we had some hail and very strong straight line wind which damaged some of our potato crop
- little rain / dry conditions / heat wave over the last couple of weeks

 

[rayinpenn]

I had a few cherry tomatoes ripen but this container baby is about 3 or 4 days away from peek goodness and a caprese salad.

With the chain saw assisted departure of a couple of huge pine trees- This is my first season with a full sun garden. I am loving it squash and cucumbers galore and tomatoes are coming. A bumper crop will start in a few days..

 

[samclem]

I had a few cherry tomatoes ripen but this container baby is about 3 or 4 days away from peek goodness and a caprese salad.

IMO, you should immediately step away from the keyboard and harvest that red beauty right now. It is at tremendous risk.

In my experience, the typical tomato's last few days on the vine are ones of great peril. It's during this time that those giant worms appear, or the fruit's skin will split, or a chipmunk will decide to look inside for those same seeds he got last year, etc.

Your tomato is like one of those tiny sea turtles desperately making that 200 yard moonlight sprint from their nest to the ocean. Every manner of seagull, tern, shark, "helpful" tourist, etc is there. Few tomatoes survive the final sprint to the caprese salad.

 

[StanV]

Our family garden is doing well so far. We had a heat wave a couple of weeks ago, with temps in the upper 90's, and very little rain since. But we have not yet watered the garden once this year. The plants seem to be fending for themselves just fine.

We have been eating some lettuce, zucchini, kale, spinach, onions, and beans from the garden. Zucchini season is really on (we harvest 2-3 zucchinis every day). The cucumbers are not far behind. Within a week, beans should be plentiful. We plan on harvesting some potatoes (early varieties) at the end of the month. I pick a few leaves from the kale plants every couple of days. Tomatoes and peppers are still green (at this altitude, they take forever to ripen). The salads and spinach have started to bolt. Berries are almost ready to pick (lots of currants and raspberries).

Some of the issues we have been facing this year:
- some of the onions went straight to flower
- we had a small infestation of potato beetles that we squished by hand
- the beans are full of aphids and we are treating them with a homemade nettle spray.
- we had some hail and very strong straight line wind which damaged some of our potato crop
- little rain / dry conditions / heat wave over the last couple of weeks

Sounds pretty typical. You just never know from year to year what the gardens will hold for us. The ripening of the berries has to be a high point!

 

[StanV]

I had a few cherry tomatoes ripen but this container baby is about 3 or 4 days away from peek goodness and a caprese salad.

With the chain saw assisted departure of a couple of huge pine trees- This is my first season with a full sun garden. I am loving it squash and cucumbers galore and tomatoes are coming. A bumper crop will start in a few days..View attachment 32114

Being able to enjoy a garden is of the highest importance for me. That tomato looks like one I would harvest and let it finish inside on my windowsill. My luck, some bug would get after it before I got it picked.

 

[StanV]

IMO, you should immediately step away from the keyboard and harvest that red beauty right now. It is at tremendous risk.

In my experience, the typical tomato's last few days on the vine are ones of great peril. It's during this time that those giant worms appear, or the fruit's skin will split, or a chipmunk will decide to look inside for those same seeds he got last year, etc.

Your tomato is like one of those tiny sea turtles desperately making that 200 yard moonlight sprint from their nest to the ocean. Every manner of seagull, tern, shark, "helpful" tourist, etc is there. Few tomatoes survive the final sprint to the caprese salad.

I agree with you on that. I have lost some nice tomatoes in various ways trying to let them ripen just a bit more!

 

[Gumby]

The garden this morning

 

[TrvlBug]

You all have inspired me to include a small veggie garden in my landscaping redo! I love fresh from the garden veggies (mom and dad always had a veggie garden). DH will be assigned the bug squashing job as I am too squeamish.

We have always maintained our own landscaping...no lawn and love it but need to redo it to reduce the maintenance as well as include some other wants.

One of the landscapers/designers on my short list is coming over tomorrow .

 

[anethum]

So far, it's looking like a very good tomato year. For several years, I've had to completely enclose my tomato plants with netting to keep squirrels and birds away. Years ago, neither was a problem. Now I see many home garden netting or wire enclosures because of these critters or for deer. I'm fortunate that I haven't had to contend with deer, but if I lived just 4 blocks away, they would be a big problem for me. I have 2 blocks of 6 tomato plants. I put in green 8' poles and top each pole with a tennis ball to support the netting. I use two 14' x 14' pieces of netting to enclose each block of 6 plants. There's a 2' high chicken wire fence around them which the netting drapes over. It's a PITA but it works. The 2' of chicken wire also keeps out rabbits which would otherwise devour the bean and pea seedlings. (I plant bush beans between my tomatoes. They produce a decent crop before being shaded out by the tomatoes. I love the French variety Maxibel.

I've got a total of 12 tomato plants and am growing 8 different varieties of tomatoes. Here are 7 of them. Clockwise from the upper left corner they are Big Beef, Lemon Boy, Chef's Choice, Enchantment, Sungold, Sweet Chelsea, and Golden Rave. I've chosen them all for their taste and productivity. I'm trying 1 new variety this year, Purple Boy, but none of those have ripened yet.

I don't grow heirloom varieties. Each time I've tried, the yield on my heirloom plants has been abysmal. Lots of lush foliage but few tomatoes. Anyway, hybrids bred for home gardeners are crosses of heirloom varieties, so their flavor is just as good, IMO.

 

[StanV]

The garden this morning

The garden looks like it is growing well. There will always be some weeds, I don't care what a person does. Sweetcorn coming soon!

 

[StanV]

You all have inspired me to include a small veggie garden in my landscaping redo! I love fresh from the garden veggies (mom and dad always had a veggie garden). DH will be assigned the bug squashing job as I am too squeamish.

We have always maintained our own landscaping...no lawn and love it but need to redo it to reduce the maintenance as well as include some other wants.

One of the landscapers/designers on my short list is coming over tomorrow .

That is a wonderful thing to do! You will enjoy the veggies. Make it just a bit bigger than what you first think you will need though.

 

[StanV]

So far, it's looking like a very good tomato year. For several years, I've had to completely enclose my tomato plants with netting to keep squirrels and birds away. Years ago, neither was a problem. Now I see many home garden netting or wire enclosures because of these critters or for deer. I'm fortunate that I haven't had to contend with deer, but if I lived just 4 blocks away, they would be a big problem for me. I have 2 blocks of 6 tomato plants. I put in green 8' poles and top each pole with a tennis ball to support the netting. I use two 14' x 14' pieces of netting to enclose each block of 6 plants. There's a 2' high chicken wire fence around them which the netting drapes over. It's a PITA but it works. The 2' of chicken wire also keeps out rabbits which would otherwise devour the bean and pea seedlings. (I plant bush beans between my tomatoes. They produce a decent crop before being shaded out by the tomatoes. I love the French variety Maxibel.

I've got a total of 12 tomato plants and am growing 8 different varieties of tomatoes. Here are 7 of them. Clockwise from the upper left corner they are Big Beef, Lemon Boy, Chef's Choice, Enchantment, Sungold, Sweet Chelsea, and Golden Rave. I've chosen them all for their taste and productivity. I'm trying 1 new variety this year, Purple Boy, but none of those have ripened yet.

I don't grow heirloom varieties. Each time I've tried, the yield on my heirloom plants has been abysmal. Lots of lush foliage but few tomatoes. Anyway, hybrids bred for home gardeners are crosses of heirloom varieties, so their flavor is just as good, IMO.

The tomatoes look awesome! My DW and I have gone to Roma and Cherry or Grape tomatoes, as we can use them in more things. The cherry and grape tomatoes go great just dropped into a salad. Yum!

 

[Gumby]

I've got a total of 12 tomato plants and am growing 8 different varieties of tomatoes. Here are 7 of them. Clockwise from the upper left corner they are Big Beef, Lemon Boy, Chef's Choice, Enchantment, Sungold, Sweet Chelsea, and Golden Rave. I've chosen them all for their taste and productivity. I'm trying 1 new variety this year, Purple Boy, but none of those have ripened yet.

I don't grow heirloom varieties. Each time I've tried, the yield on my heirloom plants has been abysmal. Lots of lush foliage but few tomatoes. Anyway, hybrids bred for home gardeners are crosses of heirloom varieties, so their flavor is just as good, IMO.

Nice looking tomatoes! We are growing 3 varieties - Sungold, San Marzano, and Brandywine, all started from seed.

I'm also doing an experiment with a volunteer tomato that just appeared in our garden very late last summer and started to grow like crazy with zero attention from us. It was too late for the fruit to ripen fully before the frost came, but I was able to save some seed from the ripest ones and start them again from seed this year. They are the most robust and healthiest looking tomato plants in the garden right now, The tomatoes grow in linear clusters like the Sungolds, but they are about the size of a golf ball. I can't wait to taste them. If they are good, I'll keep the line going by seed saving. I have informally named them '39, from the Queen song ("In the year of thirty-nine assembled here the volunteers . . .").

 

[Jeffman52]

Nice looking tomatoes! We are growing 3 varieties - Sungold, San Marzano, and Brandywine, all started from seed.

Brandywine has got to be the tastiest tomato out there. Love them!!

I'm also growing tomatoes in my landscaping. Early girls, better boys, Goliath and Cherokee purple. We started getting red ripe tomatoes a few weeks ago. The Cherokee purple is loaded up but nothing ripe on there yet.

 

[Gumby]

Today was a red letter day in the garden - we harvested the first two of our artichokes! This was our first attempt to grow them. I started the seed indoors in mid-February and transplanted them out to the garden in April. At first, I thought they might not make it, as our Spring was so cold and wet. But they persevered and have now started giving us their bounty.

For those who are cooks, we had them for dinner as carciofi alla romana. Mmmm, mmmm good. We also picked some of our sweet corn and had that on the cob, and we used our own potatoes and chard to make pasties. It was a very good dinner.

 

[street]

The first beans, carrots and onions of the year. I went out and picked these and fried them up for lunch. We have had about 4 cucumbers so far also.

 

[Gumby]

The first beans, carrots and onions of the year. I went out and picked these and fried them up for lunch. We have had about 4 cucumbers so far also.

Looks good, Street. Our green beans have come and gone, but the carrots still flourish. We will start harvesting our onions at the end of the week. We are having an onion ring party with the neighbors on Saturday, so that we can use up the Walla Wallas (we grew a lot of them).

 

[street]

^ produce in the north country is just starting to come on now.