2010 Vegetable Gardens Midsummer Update

Robin your veg garden is astounding. I was impressed by the size of the Pumkin and Watermelon. The tomatoes also look great. For how much do you sell a pumkin and the wmelon? Sad to hear that youe Phlox did not survive.

Sharad

-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein

Thanks, Sharad! We haven’t sold any pumpkins (they are not ready yet) or watermelons (that is our only one that looks close to ripe so far). I let the boys decide on prices with a little research and guidance from me. We compared the price of the cucumbers and zucchini to the prices at the supermarket and the farm stand. Our price is definitely lower than both. My sons only get to sell the EXTRA produce that we cannot eat or preserve and so far they haven’t had any trouble selling what we have harvested. They get some some extra money and learn about farming and selling in the process.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

Robin –
Thanks for all the photos. I was wondering how our garden is doing. Now I don’t have to walk out there in the heat to check :-)

-- "...and the flowers bloom like madness in the spring."

Everything looks great Robin.Your zucchini and watermelon plants are humongous compared to mine.I have only had 1 zuke so far and the watermelons are just starting to form on mine.Maybe those little boxes I made for them weren’t big enough for the roots.and you already have big pumpkins wow.Mine are just starting to form from the flower now.So nice to see the seeds I sent you have grown into lovely flowers. :-)

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

yup.. definitely adding some really good mulch around my veggies next year!
My one watermelon is about the size of a golfball :)

looks like you are going to get a good crop of corn as well … how many corn plants do you have?

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Chuck, when it cools off and you can pull yourself out of your workshop for awhile, I will take you for a personal tour. : )

Bon, I don’t have very much experience growing things in containers so I don’t know how it might impact the plant’s timing but I think it is still early in the season. I think my plants are way ahead of normal because of the continuous 90 – 100 degree Fahrenheit weather we are having; the heat loving plants in my garden are growing like crazy.

Debbie, we planted six rows of popcorn with about twelve plants in each row, about the same as last year (72 total). This year; however, the pole beans are climbing up the stalks like crazy and the pumpkin plants are everywhere along the ground. The three sisters guild of corn, beans and squash certainly like this consistently hot weather. Today I noticed that tassels and ears are starting to form!

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

Robin, everything in your garden looks so vibrant and healthy. You have an outstanding collection of plants.

-- Donnie in sunny South Carolina

Wow ! ! Fabulous garden, Robin. It appears that the mulch really helped. Good thinking. Fantastic results !

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

Good to see your corn up and about ready! The corn here in Water World was only ankle high by the fouth :-(( Tomaters don’t set fruit until early Aug, nights are too cool:-(( The pumpkins are just little bushy palnts about a foot to 18” square. They always seem to ripen just before Holoween :-))

Great looking garden, makes me a bit homesick for the farm I grew up on.

Thanks for all your comments. : ) Today it really feels like we live on a farm. We discovered three baby chicks peeking out from under our broody hen this morning! And I forgot to mention we are also harvesting lots of beets; they are loving this hot sunny weather too.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

a goal achieved.. now to enhance it, expand it…
congrats on your “farm”!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Wow. Looks great Robin.

-- Alan - Prince George

Robin, I didn’t grow up on a farm and your pictures and narrative are making me home-sick. :)

Baby chicks! Wonderful. Everything in your gardens looks wonderful. The corn is so big….it won’t be long and you’ll be eating it. Yum! Same for the tomatoes and peppers. Oh, the taste of that fresh produce is making me hungry now! You and the boys did a great job with your gardens.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

Thanks. I am so happy that I have had the chance to create this little farm. We ended up with seven baby chicks! I will post photos when I get a chance. My youngest son checks on them every few hours. They are already quite tame and will just snuggle up in his hands.

Right now I am harvesting so many cucumbers that I am definitely going to have to learn how to make pickles. Does anyone have any suggestions or favorite recipes?

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

dill pickles are the easiest to make !!! WAY easier.

here are the Bernardin recipes

can’t wait to see pix of the babes!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Thank you, Debbie. I will look and see if I can find a Bernardin mix at our grocery store.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

I have a great recipe for freezer pickles if you are interested Robin.You just keep them in the freezer in plastic containers.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

I spy, with my eye, the shipping steel of a Ridgid R4511 table saw.

Garden looks really nice.. Mine’s a wreck right now.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

not all of their recipes provided require one of the mixes.

I have their book; it’s filled with all types of recipes. Everything you need to know – kind of book.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

We’ve had more luck with bread and butter pickles than dill.. Seems easier to keep from going soft. Spice pack is just store bought (Ball?)... Just heat up the mix.. Cold pack your jars and then fill… When water bathing, make sure to get your water up to temp before you add them in.

Freezer pickles are nice, too. Cool, crisp and sweet.. Only down side is the freezer.. In quantity, it takes up quite the space.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Thank you everyone for your help and advice. I went to three grocery stores today and did not find any pickle mixes in stock. Either everyone is busy making pickles or I am looking in the wrong stores. Does anyone have a good pickle recipe that uses ingredients from the pantry and not a mix? I will go through your list Debbie to find one that doesn’t use a mix.

Scott – Good eye. You are very close. It is actually from a Craftsman 22124. This is the third summer that we have used the steel cage as a trellis in the garden. I guess that is a good test that it will survive the trip across the ocean without corroding.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

Ohhhh… The zipcode saw…. Very nice unit. I’m planning on finishing up mine as a table for outside by the fire pit…

Well.. Once I get the firepit built.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

I want to report a personal gardening record! Today we harvested our first red tomato and there are more that are just becoming ripe. I have NEVER harvested a ripe tomato this early in the season in Massachusetts! Here are two photos. Sorry for the quality, I was so excited I couldn’t keep trying for better ones.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

oh wow… congrats!!!

I had a few cherry tomatoes today but no “tomato tomato”—congrats!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Oh nice, Robin, they look so good. I agree, this is very early for us northerners to have so many things in the garden coming on. I have cherry tomatoes, that I eat standing in the garden. :) And two small ones off the Early Girl plant. I am also getting swiss chard, onions, sm. beets and green beans. Had one green pepper…I’m waiting for the others to get bigger. I took a cucumber off my plants yesterday…couldn’t wait any longer, even though Wyndyacre has supplied me with several from her plants. :)

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

Congrats!! I think we only have ever had cherry toms before mid August here in Water World :-(

That tomato was definitely a reason for me to celebrate, thanks for your comments.

Iris, your garden has been very successful this summer. I am glad you are harvesting so many good vegetables. Are you hooked on vegetable gardening yet?

Bob, I wish you sunshine and beautiful ripe red tomatoes come August.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

Everything is so early this year. Well done, Robin. They look VERY good.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown