Gardening 2024 - Whatcha got going on this year?

[Willy]

That's a big one there partner.

 

[corkybstewart]

Some of today's harvest. We get smaller tomatoes every day, but a couple of times each week I get to pick some big beefsteaks.

 

[corkybstewart]

Over here tomatoes are so plentiful everyone of trying to get rid of them like they do with zucchini. Yesterday a friend showed up with about 20 pounds to give us. When I said no thanks and showed him our pile I thought he would cry. His wife was at home making tomato sauce and just didn't know how much more she could do. So I took them and we're making tomato sauce. With the ones on the vine still and the ones in the freezer we should have enough for 20 quarts

 

[Agent]

Looks like my evening plans have been made for me.

 

[Kent88]

Bicycling away from tomato processing?

 

[Deadalus]

Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I made salsa Sunday (11 pints) tonight looks to be whole tomatoes again. I've done marinara twice, salsa 3x, whole tomatoes 2x, ketchup, and a couple quarts of tomato juice. I still have a lot of tomato sauce left from last year but I may do that one more time. I gave away tomatoes to several neighbors twice (not 20 lbs at once!). Probably 10-15 lbs twice with cukes. That's my second 1/2 gallon pepper ferment. Just getting the habaneros, but a couple went in the salsa the past two times.

 

[Deadalus]

Pretty sunset from the garden yesterday...

 

[day_trippr]

Picked a bunch of tomatoes. Still plenty on the vines, especially heirlooms...

 

[Agent]

Snagged some this-n-thats for sides. Oven roasted the fennel, and man is that an interesting aroma to have lingering around!

 

[Deadalus]

Not much new today but I did get a few radishes and one ripe bell pepper. I had three other ripe ones but they were 1/2 rotted or buggy.

 

[Agent]

I feel ya - worms ripped through my spring radishes and turnips. So far it looks like I stayed them off the rutabagas though.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Pretty sunset from the garden yesterday...
View attachment 857200

OMG, beautiful view! So jealous!!

 

[hottpeper13]

My mom taught me to line the seed trench with wood ash to keep worms out of root crops. I don't get worms, although Larry the Cable Guy says "worms is good eats".

 

[Deadalus]

OMG, beautiful view! So jealous!!

Thanks! Hidden bonus of living on a hill. Required a little terracing for the garden, not so tough as the Aztecs. Looking up the hill in May where the beds are visible

and this morning from the top again.

 

[Agent]

Tomatoes today were easy pickings...

Cantaloupe are coming along despite the late start.

And next year I'll scortch the earth to exterminate the first sign of squash bugs, as the zuchinni has bought the farm, and I'm down to half my cukes already.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

A couple picks, bad year for us here, to hot and no rain. More tomatoes to come but other then zucchini we had a small crop. Maybe next year I'll run a line to the garden for some soaker hoses.

 

[hilljack13]

I have three different mints growing right now. Got hooked on mint green tea so wanted to grow some. I need to plan on getting them in in for winter and will need to repot. Anyone have success with mint? I'm not really sure of their hardiness. I'm straddling the line for zones 8A/8B.

BTW... some dang good looking tomatoes! I have had the worst luck the past few years, but I only grow from seed.

 

[corkybstewart]

We leave our house in France in 10 days,and our garden as well. It sucks we've got the best looking green tomatoes of the season. Beets are doing great but I need some suggestions on how to preserve them for when we get back here in March. I've got 2 rows of finger sized carrots, I'm thinking of leaving them in the ground for the winter but also looking for suggestions.
But my biggest success of this year's garden is my experiment to turn sweet peppers into jalapeños. Espaulettes are a popular French sweet pepper, about the size of jalapeños. I planted 2 plants next to my cayenne and today I tasted results. My espaulettes are as hot as any NM jalapeños I've ever eaten. I'll dry a couple for seeds and hopefully we'll be eating screaming hot poppers next summer.

 

[Agent]

Pickled beets are the only canned beets I've known. We dehydrated one to make beets "sprinkles". Needless to say, a little bit goes a long ways as a coloring additive.

Meanwhile, I'm finding there is no rest for the weary:

Fortunately, the weary shall have diced tomatoes this winter!

 

[Deadalus]

We leave our house in France in 10 days,and our garden as well. It sucks we've got the best looking green tomatoes of the season. Beets are doing great but I need some suggestions on how to preserve them for when we get back here in March. I've got 2 rows of finger sized carrots, I'm thinking of leaving them in the ground for the winter but also looking for suggestions.
But my biggest success of this year's garden is my experiment to turn sweet peppers into jalapeños. Espaulettes are a popular French sweet pepper, about the size of jalapeños. I planted 2 plants next to my cayenne and today I tasted results. My espaulettes are as hot as any NM jalapeños I've ever eaten. I'll dry a couple for seeds and hopefully we'll be eating screaming hot poppers next summer.

I didn't get any beets this year even though I planted them multiple times. Last year I had enough to can so I canned them as pickled beets but didn't add any spices. I pretty much have just been eating them with cheese and crackers but they could be added to roasted vegetables. The carrots I think would be fine in the ground but you want to catch them early in the spring before they start growing again. I pulled a small patch out like that one year and they were fine.

Got some butternuts and delicata squash as new additions. A few bells finally too.

 

[Agent]

An unsuspecting co-worker said they wouldn't mind some beans if I had extra. Why yes, yes I do.

And to top off our "Everything is just a bit off this year" the lilacs are blooming again.

 

[Deadalus]

Got to the peppers finally last night, two half gallons. Those giant jalapenos are really oversized compared to the regulars. Some habaneros in there and a few fresnos too. Too much of a lightweight to test any out before fermenting. Hoping for a little kick from the habs, last year's was good but fairly mild. I had Thais in there last year with japs and fresnos.

 

[VApatriot]

No pics on this post, sorry. We did harvest 5 lbs of green beans from the garden so far they're really happy on the trellis I built. As with green beans you need to find many different ways to prepare them. Here are a couple new ways we found that we really like, and yes she's on a Keto kick again.

https://thebestketorecipes.com/sweet-and-spicy-green-beans/


https://thebestketorecipes.com/keto-bacon-wrapped-green-beans/

 

[Agent]

Cabbage is just about ready to go, which makes this delivery from a relative quite timely!

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Cabbage is just about ready to go, which makes this delivery from a relative quite timely!View attachment 858547

After the first year of making my own sauerkraut I won't go back. I should soon be getting some going as well.

 

[Agent]

After dumping my very first batch due to paranoia, it's become apparent how cheap and easy it is over the years.

But the cabbage slicer is a new addition. I'd been giving the food processor a day of hell annually in the meantime.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

I used a deli slicer, I should get myself a cabbage slicer for better results but ya know, it works.

 

[Deadalus]

After dumping my very first batch due to paranoia, it's become apparent how cheap and easy it is over the years.

But the cabbage slicer is a new addition. I'd been giving the food processor a day of hell annually in the meantime.

I only saw the cabbage slicer at first and thought very nice but then I saw the five and 10 gallon crocks! I lost both batches I had going on this year sadly. I do have more cabbage planted but we'll see how it goes. I also make sauer kohlrabi, but barely got a jar this year. I do have that too planted again. I like it as much as the sauerkraut so delicious!

 

[corkybstewart]

The last pick of the beets. We ate a bunch at lunch with tomatoes and split the rest between a couple of my wife's brothers

 

[Agent]

Despite residing in the heart of midwestern potato country, I never bring my A-game. Looks like I grew as many as I planted this year!

And I found a not-so-little buddy.

 

[Deadalus]

Despite residing in the heart of midwestern potato country, I never bring my A-game. Looks like I grew as many as I planted this year!
View attachment 858641

And I found a not-so-little buddy.
View attachment 858642

I've never tried growing potatoes, not usually enough space, but I think I will try them next year. Very common to grow them here in WV. Many of the gardens in WV are quite big, people put in several staples for the year. Besides potatoes, corn, beans, tomatoes, and cabbages are popular.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Well my giant pumpkin project was a flop this year but we toss previous years decorative gourds into a spot each winter and get stuff like this the following year. Probably half a dozen of the small pumpkins Probably 8 or so inch diameter and about the same amount of gourds still on the vine. Pic color is off both are a creamy off white color.

 

[Kent88]

We had a promising pumpkin plant, too, and it flowered, and it dried out and mostly died.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Exactly what happened with my big pumpkin. Last year I got an 80lb and a 65lb. This year they got to about softball size then both plants dried up and died. Hopefully I'll do better next year, gonna work on my soil a bit more.

 

[Kent88]

This year was a story of the wrong amount of rain at the wrong time.

 

[corkybstewart]

This year was a story of the wrong amount of rain at the wrong time.

Same thing happened in France. No rain during the heat of summer, daily rain in September.

 

[Agent]

Went ahead and pulled the remaining onions. Faired pretty well for being late started seeds.

And time to put the old cabbage slicer to the test.

 

[day_trippr]

I was out and about mowing leaves today and swinging by the garden noted we still have at least 20 pounds of tomatoes on the vines, along with a crap load of various peppers - which started out reeeeally slow this year but are all gangbusters now. We'll keep the toms out there until the threat of frost kicks in and maybe get some to ripen, then the rest will go in paper bags in the basement, with an apple in each bag...

Cheers!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Bramley apples by the hundred, without the chair the tree falls over. Shame I don’t like cider.

 

[Agent]

And just like that, black walnuts are raining down on earth and small children alike.