Gardening In Retirement

[FIREd]

We harvested our first potatoes this week. Despite the potato beetle infestation, drought, hail, and straight line wind that knocked the stems to the ground, the harvest is rather good.

The bean harvest is only starting. Cucumbers seem to be struggling because of the drought. I decided to go against our no-watering policy for them and it seems to make a difference. I should be able to pick a couple today. Our kale plants keep producing good amounts of leaves. We have already harvested two dozen zucchinis this year. Tomatoes are only now starting to ripen (the garden is at 3,000' above sea level).

I include a photo of our rather messy-looking garden.

 

[Gumby]

I include a photo of our rather messy-looking garden.

Very nice looking garden!

 

[MissMolly]

I only grow tomatoes because we love, love love homegrown tomatoes. They just started coming in last week. So yummy. Then on Monday we had a storm, neighbors tree was hit by lightning and it fell smack dab right on top my tomatoes

 

[street]

Wow! Nice garden.

 

[Gumby]

This morning's harvest from il mio giardino: bucket of beets, red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, sweet corn and potatoes. I'm in the middle of canning the beets (pickled).

 

[FIREd]

Today, we harvested our pumpkins (all 76 of them!).

 

[JDARNELL]

Today, we harvested our pumpkins (all 76 of them!).

What do you do with them?

 

[street]

Beautiful pumpkins.

 

[FIREd]

What do you do with them?

They get stored for the winter and will be eaten over the next 6 months.

 

[JDARNELL]

They get stored for the winter and will be eaten over the next 6 months.

That’s a lot of pumpkin pies

 

[StanV]

This morning's harvest from il mio giardino: bucket of beets, red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, sweet corn and potatoes. I'm in the middle of canning the beets (pickled).

Great Harvest! Lots of great eating there. Enjoy!

 

[StanV]

Today, we harvested our pumpkins (all 76 of them!).

Fine harvest of pumpkins indeed! Well done! The tomatoes are all done here, we just planted some Cherry Tomatoes for salads and just eating right of the plant.

 

[StanV]

My wife and one of our Granddaughters planted some pumpkin plants. There are a bunch out there that are just starting to turn. Some harvested already too. So perhaps it is a good year for growing pumpkins.

 

[Souschef]

We live in a MHP with very limited space to grow anything. My biggest thrill was last weekend when my 5 yr old granddaughter went to our little stand of tomato plants and picked 2 to eat right away.
believe it or not, I have a little patch where we are growing chives and parsley. With parsley at 69 cents a bunch, it is more for the fun of getting your own.

 

[FIREd]

That’s a lot of pumpkin pies

Actually not a big fan of pumpkin pie . The pumpkins will mostly be used in soups and casseroles. I also like them roasted.

Green beans are producing more than we can eat at this time, so I have been freezing bags of them for the winter.

Zucchinis and cucumbers are tailing off now. Potatoes and onions have been pulled and brought in for the winter (we have enough to see us through spring)

Tomatoes and peppers are ripening in droves now (the late ripening is due to our high altitude).

Cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and Swiss chard are steadily being harvested. It was our first time growing kale and I was impressed with its hardiness.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I just pulled out my two zucchini plants yesterday. I hadn't been out there is several days. I found 3 2.5 lb zucchinis. I also found that a long-abandoned bunny nest under some of the leaves. Tomatoes did poorly this year. Which is fine-I restarted my keto diet and my husband joined me.

Peppers are almost done-they did well and I'm doing a lot of cooking with meat and zucchini so the jalapeños liven things up.

I've had poor results with leafy greens-too many bugs and other critters. I'm also tired having more veggies than I know what to do with. My freezer is full of zucchini and I'm looking at about 10 lbs of them on my counter.

At the end of next month I'll plant garlic and onions to over-winter, and next year only herbs. I already have rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano, which usually do well in all but the coldest winters.

 

[Jeffman52]

We only planted tomatoes this year. We planted them in a flower garden beside the house rather than in a typical vegetable garden area. They are doing GREAT! Next year I will increase the number of plants.

When I have enough of a surplus, my wife and I will make salsa and can it.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

I put in zucchini and spaghetti squash and got some before the vine burrowers got to them. Peppers did nothing. Our mastiff ate all the cabbage heads. The white hybrid eggplants are doing ok. The loofah is just starting to blossom. Not sure we'll get any before the frost. Overall, not a good year. Marigolds have taken over everything though.

 

[Gumby]

The corn has long come and gone. We ate most of it fresh off the cob, but we froze a couple quarts off the cob for winter chowders. The cucumbers and zucchinis are gone and we're down to a single eggplant. The melons have also come and gone. And I don't think the artichokes are going to give us anything more this year. This year was our first year trying them. I'm going to see if I can overwinter them.

The potatoes are all dug up and on the drying rack, as are the pumpkins, butternut squash and spaghetti squash. The shallots and onions are pulled up, dried and hanging in the cellar. The leeks we pulled, cleaned, cut and froze in 5 one quart freezer bags. We also have 5 quarts of frozen okra, although the plants are still producing.

The tomatoes are just about done for. After the San Marzano's all came ripe at the same time about three weeks ago, we canned a mess of roasted tomato sauce and I then pulled up the vines. We are waiting on a few stray cherry tomatoes and two Big Boys to ripen, so we'll likely pull up the rest of the vines in a week.

Still in the ground and producing well are okra, sweet potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, tomatillos and peppers. Yesterday, we canned seven half pints of salsa verde to use up some of our abundant tomatillos, onions and hot peppers

This year, we made a second sowing of some crops and it appears to be paying off. We've started harvesting green beans and expect more peas, beets, lettuce and spinach within the next few weeks. We usually don't get frost until the end of October.

Over the next week, I will till manure into the beds that are now empty and plant winter wheat. I'll continue that as each new bed becomes empty.

In early November, we'll plant garlic for next year.

 

[Gumby]

A new season starts afresh!

Today kicked off our 2020 gardening season, as I started seeds for artichokes, cabbage, celery and leeks, inside under lights. I'll transplant out in mid to late April. (we usually have no frost after the first week of April)

The artichokes are backups, as we had artichokes last year. I am hoping that they will overwinter under a tarp and some leaves for insulation, but just in case, I will have new seedlings. If my old ones survived, I'll give the new seedlings to my neighbors.

I cut back on the number of leeks and cabbages, as we were unable to eat all that we grew last year. The celery will be a first for us this year.

 

[NW-Bound]

We just came in from the backyard. My wife harvested some mustard greens and snap peas, while I fertilized the trees with iron sulfate, and sprayed neem oil over the veggies.

Last year, our mustard greens were heavily infested with aphids, and they are absent this year. I think the neem oil makes a difference.