And the hits keep coming!

Just spent the evening partaking of a very good meal tonight.  My lovely wife made stuff peppers that were fresh from the garden.  She also made me a mix of the mortgage lifter tomato and one of the 9 cucumbers I have picked in the last two days.  They were very good with a dressing of balsamic vinegarette dressing.  Oh, how lovely they tasted while we sat and began to relax for the evening. Well, some of us did.
I went out and watered down the cucumbers so I could pick them tomorrow morning before heading to work and I also picked two Better Boy tomatoes and another scad of cherry tomatoes.  They have been very prolific this year.  I also watered down my watermelon plant.  I will have to get a picture of it so you can see it too.   Along with those, I watered the canteloupes which I have about 6 in various stages of growth.
After that was completed, I ran a bunch of tomatoes over to my in-laws as they really do like them. See, I believe you should share with others as the bounty comes in.  I haven't met too many people who have ever turned down any of the vegetables I have offered.  And this year has been a great year and I expect it will continue right into the fall.  That is, if I stay vigilant about tending to the garden. The hardest thing, as I wrote previously, is to maintain the drive to bring the garden to fruition.
On a side note, I threw some mammoth sunflower seeds into a spot where my wife could see them from the house as she has asked me to grow them.  After about a month or so, they are now over 8 feet tall and, from what I can tell, are getting ready to set flower.  I guess they meant it when they named these Mammoths!  I will get pictures of them when they come into bloom.  It was a nice side activity which was a diversion from the veggie garden routine.
Well, that's all for now.  Been a busy day and there is more to do before I put a wrap on the day.  I hope your garden is giving you great harvests too!  Till next time, happy gardening everyone!  

Harvest time!!!

Yes, it's that time in the garden.  You know - the time when you go out to the garden with a little bit of wonderment of what all your diligent work in the garden will reward you with.  Last night, due to other activities, I wasn't able to get to the garden until around 8:15 pm.   I knew I had vegetables to pick and after inspection, I decided to water them down and then pick them in the morning when they would be their freshest.  So, with headlamp on to see what I was doing, I watered the garden down.  I know my neighbors, if they were looking, must have had a chuckle.
But, this morning I woke up with anticipation of what I had spied last night.  I picked a bunch of the various cherry tomatoes I planted along with a beautiful (in my eyes at least) Mortgage Lifter tomato. It's a Heirloom tomato with quite a story behind it.  It dates back to the 1930's when a gentleman by the name of MC Byles, with no experience of plant breeding, bred 4 different varieties of the largest tomatoes he could find at the time and developed this plant.  Legend and his recorded story has it that he sold enough of these plants to pay off the mortgage on his house.  Good for him and thanks for such a wonderful tomato I say.
So, here's the first Mortgage Lifter of the season.

I find that the first fruits from this plant are a little smaller than they should be.  I will let the next ones sit on the vine a little longer to see if maybe I was a little over eager to pick this one.  They can get close to 2 lbs each and are consistent producers throughout the season.

I also picked a bunch of the various cherry tomatoes I planted this year.  

This is about the 3rd set of these I picked so far this year.  I have eaten some and given away more to various people I know.  Last year I was asked repeatedly if I had them when in fact, I didn't grow any.  Never knew people loved these so much so I guess I will have to grow them due to the demand. 

Lastly, I also picked two cucumbers.  These come from seeds I bought in Italy years ago.  

These are some of the best cucumbers I have tasted.  I'm going to have to do a little investigation as I need to either save the seed if possible or get new seeds.  I ran an experiment with these two cukes. The one on the top hung from a trellis and the one on the bottom was laying in a melon basket as seen below.

Not sure if this will affect the taste or the amount of seeds in the cuke.  I will find out when we cut it open in the next day or so.  My guess is that there will be more meat to the basket cuke.  We shall see!  

So there you have it.  We are in the throes of quite literally "reaping what we have sowed".  I hope your garden is producing in excess so you too can share with others in your life.  If you have anything to discuss or need some help, please leave a comment and I will be glad to share my experience with you.  Until then, happy gardening everyone!    

Hot time in the summer

This morning, I got up early to work on the garden.  Even though it was a Sunday, I had to get up early due to the weather in our area.  I got up at 6:00 AM to do some maintenance and to water down my garden.  It was 75 degrees with a heat index of 84.  It was sticky to say the least.
And that's what I wanted to comment on today.  When you hit the middle of July, you have to contend with heat, humidity and periods of insufficient rain much like today.  This is the time that you need to stay with the program and guard all your work to date from mid summer blues.  It's a time to redouble your efforts and make sure you stay tuned to the basics.
The first item to watch is watering.  This is where the conditioning of your soil comes into play.  If your soil does not retain water easily, you will then have to water more frequently.  And when you do water, you will need to make sure you soak the soil deeply to reach the root zone.
At the point we are now, the time to apply any last application of fertilizer if you are not doing any fall seasons crops is now.  After this point, your main concern is getting the vegetables that are set to ripen and not to get the plants to grow anymore.
Mainly, at this point, you need to concentrate on picking your vegetables to insure you get every vegetable you deserve.  Following these tips will help ensure you take the crops to your dinner table. Afterall, that's the payoff for all your hard work.  

Early July musings

After partaking in the usual festivities of the July 4th weekend, I woke up this morning to pick my first batch of green beans in the early morning hours of a calm, quiet Sunday morning.  Of course, my trusty companion Barkley meandered along with me as we made our way out to the garden. I think he was expecting some kind of treat but it was not meant to be.  It was the first set of beans for this season which reminded me that I needed to plant some more seeds for future crops.  There is nothing that can even begin to describe the taste of fresh picked green beans.  I mean, just look at this scad of beans I picked this morning.

Don't those look great?  Can't wait to eat them as these are so far superior in taste to that which you will find in any grocery store.  I didn't plant a ton of these but rather have spread them out over several weeks by planting about 18 seeds every week.  That way, they don't lose their taste.  

On another note, I am getting ready to pick a bunch of Bell Boy and California Wonder Peppers in the next couple of days.  I took a picture of one Cal Wonder just to show the quality you can get in the garden.  

And, in further proof that I am succeeding(I think) in my organic quest, while perusing the garden this afternoon, I found a guest that I never would have thought I would have seen.  Take a look. 

I am no expert, but logic tells me a frog would not be in my garden if I were using pesticides and such in it.  The tiny creature surprised me as he just hopped out from under one of the pepper plants and stayed still while I went about my business.  I can't really remember seeing a frog in my garden before so I will take that as a sign things are going in the right direction in my organic quest.  Frogs, for the most part, are very good to have in the garden as they eat insects by the bunches.  Now, with that being said, they aren't that selective either and thus can eat beneficial insects too.  Most of my experience says they are good for the garden so I am very happy to oblige this little visitor.  Who knows, he may stay.   

Well, that's all for now.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding your garden space, let me know as I would be glad to assist you with your needs or issues.  Until then, happy gardening everyone!

Progress in the garden

Lots has been happening in the garden since I last posted.  About two weeks ago, I fertilized the garden with an 8-8-8 balanced fertilizer called Purely Organic.  Catchy name eh?  I did research this and it came out looking pretty good.  Again, I prefer organic and will seek it out and yes, I will pay a little more for it versus the chemical fertilizers.  It is blended for both quick and time release of nutrients to the plants.
I must say, the plants did respond to the fertilizer and have shown some real significant progress. The tomatoes and peppers have shot up like rockets and most of the tomatoes have put on both healthy growth and fruit buds.  I saw my first pepper that is about the size of a dime today.  Very exciting indeed!
All the other plants have also shown significant increases in growth to a point I think they have overcome our earlier stunted period in late May.  Since I haven't changed anything and the weather has only recently heated up, I can attribute this growth to the fertilizer.  Will I use it again?  Yes indeed.
I also did on two waterings of compost tea in the last 3 weeks and I think this, combined with the fertilizer, may have done the trick.  I have to keep an eye on things but it is definitely promising at this point in the season.
One other thing that I have done is to use a cover crop in the fall of each of the last two years.  I covered that in an earlier post but it bears repeating.  When it is cut and left to rot and then lightly rototilled in the spring, it enhances the overall nutrient levels in the soil and it also helps with the tilth of the soil.  A organization called the Rodale Institute in Kutztown Pa. has pioneered these processes and done the hard research for well over 60 years.  If you're in the area, you should visit them.  I plan on doing that in the near future myself.  If not, look at their website - rodaleinstitute.org.
I think that my soil has taken some big leaps since I went all in on organic.  I will post about that when the time comes in the fall to begin the next round of soil improvement.
And, the big news is, I have mason bees in the hive I hung up this past Spring.  Establishing the hive is, from what I have read, the hardest part.  Putting it simply, the bees just have to find the hive and they will do all the rest.  I am hoping since they found it, they will stay put.  If you have no idea what mason bees are about, do a little research and you might too want to establish a hive.  In all honesty, it was my wife that spurred this on by buying me a hive for Christmas.  I had no idea until then.
Well, that's about it for now.  I hope everyone's gardens are going great guns now.  Until next time, happy gardening!