Diggin' for Treasure - A Lesson in Less-than-Perfection

Earlier this week, I decided to dig up my main-crop potatoes. I had high hopes for them as the plants grew tall and lush this summer. This year, I grew mostly All Blues (5 lb) and two fingerling varieties - Rose Finn (3 lb) and Red Thumb (1 lb). I was disappointed by how my potted potato plants had performed, so needless to say, I was anxious to see whether or not the ones grown in the ground had fared any better.


I planted my potatoes in a double row next to my asparagus bed. I chose this location in the back garden because it gets full sun all day long. When I started digging into one row, the first couple of plants were very encouraging. The potatoes were large and flawless and the yield was respectable.

Then came....

nothing....
nothing....
nothing?!

Yes, NOTHING for the remainder of the row. And the few I did find looked like this:


Hmmm...I began to smell a rat (or more likely a field mouse or chipmunk).

I also found a rodent's nest (made from the straw I had placed on the bed) and a buried horse chestnut. Too bad we can't eat either of these things. Disgusted, I decided to call it a night and munch on some KFC (my to-go crisis food).


The next morning, I halfheartedly began digging into the second row. Miraculously, not a single plant or potato showed signs of critter damage. (I guess the potatoes in the other row were much tastier.) At the end of the day, I lost about 40% of my potato crop to pests but still ended up with a decent haul.

I find it funny now to think that when I first started gardening, all I had were visions of green perfection. The reality, it turns out, is far from perfect. (Who knew that Mother Nature was so adept at crushing one's soul?) I'm sure the pros will tell you that you have to grow with the mindset that you will undoubtedly lose a percentage of your crops to forces well beyond your control. Well, in my defense, I never said that I was a fast learner.

The Gift of Seeds - A Call to Action

Today, I received this very inspiring email from one of my blog readers, Dahlia:

Hi Thomas!

I've only just discovered your blog this summer, and I am really impressed by your garden.

I'm sure you've heard about the floods in Pakistan; I've been thinking about what I can do to help, but have been hesitating to send money, since it's been a little tight. But when I learned that farmland and crops have been destroyed, it occurred to me that I can help by sending seeds. I've found a British aid organization willing to distribute the seeds to needy farmers, all I have to do is collect the seeds and send them over.

I was wondering if you could spare some seeds: I have seeds to spare, but too few to make much of an impact, so I am appealing to fellow gardeners to send me their extra crop seeds. The seeds should be clearly labelled, and I will take care of placing them in little baggies (to protect them from humidity during travel) and sending them off.

I would really appreciate it if you could also spread the word.

Sincerely,

Dahlia ChanTang
www.afoodiesquest.blogspot.com

I immediately thought of the Survival Seeds that Hometown Seeds had sent to me earlier this year. Specially sealed for long-duration storage, I thought it was only fitting that they be sent to someone across the globe who truly needed them now.

I'm a true believer in the fact that even small acts of kindness can greatly change the world for the better. If you would like to contribute to this effort as well, please reach out to Dahlia via her blog.

Thanks!

Mystery Mushrooms

I noticed the other day that we had wild mushrooms growing all over our lawn. I was hoping that someone out there could help me identify them (not that I would consider eating them).


Here's what the underside looked like.


And here's a side profile. Any ideas on what they might be???

Death and Beauty

I normally try not to post anything too ugly on my blog. But for some reason, I felt the need to bid a proper adieu to my Spacemaster cukes. They'd put up a good fight. However, in the end, the beetles and mildew came out on top. I guess I should just be grateful that they fed us well this summer.


The melon vines are on their way out too. I can almost hear all of the cucumber beetles feasting.

Surprisingly, the edible Calabash gourd is still going strong. The vines are very healthy and have practically taken over the back garden. Peeled and sliced, they are delicious cooked up in a soup.

On the side of beauty, here are some pics I took a while back of what's currently blooming in the garden:

Red Zinnia

Purple Cosmos

Yellow Calendula

SSSSSSSTRESSED

You would think that I wouldn't be since the summer growing season is drawing to a close, but ironically, the opposite is true. I'm a bit behind schedule on starting some of my fall and winter veggies and will have to play catch-up all this weekend. Also, the ultra-hot temps of this week (in the 90's) have been stressing a few of my fall seedlings, namely the spinach. So a word of advice to all of my local fall gardeners - water everyday and shade your seedlings with some row cover (properly vented of course)!

In addition to sowing seeds, here are some other items on my to-do list:

- Pull out all cucumber and melon vines (Curse the cucumber beetles!)
- Build a decent composting area
- Clear more bed space for winter veggies
- Clear and add more mulch to the garden paths
- Repair last year's mini hoop houses

Also, I'm considering building what I'm calling a PVC 'low tunnel' (not to be confused with traditional low tunnels). It's a space that will (hopefully) cover six of my growing beds. The tunnel itself will only be about 5 feet tall - high enough to duck into and low enough to withstand our winter winds (again, hopefully). I haven't finalized the design yet in my head but it's getting there. I'm aiming for a late-October installation date.

End of Summer Harvest - A Return to Blogging

Gees...I don't think I've ever gone a week without posting something. It wasn't really planned. I guess subconsciously, I must have really needed the break. Hopefully you all haven't forgotten about me!

I know that the official end of summer isn't for another three weeks, but from the looks of this harvest, it might as well be now. The tomato glut of summer is officially over. Sure the cherry tomatoes are still producing respectfully, but the slicers on the other hand are taking a hiatus at the moment. I think we'll still get a couple each week, but nothing like we used to.


This may be the last pile of slicing tomatoes for the summer.


I used some of these cherry tomatoes and peppers to makes salsa. The white ones you see are called 'Dr. Carolyn.' I would describe their taste as being very mild and sweet.


Due to heavy rains that came early last week, I lost a lot of my cherry tomatoes to splitting. Still, we ended up with a considerable harvest.


I picked a couple of Rosa Bianca eggplants this week. The honey dew and Charantais melons in this picture are pretty sad. Cucumber beetles have been a real problem for me this year. Left unchecked, they've destroyed my melons and cukes prematurely. Next year will be a different story.


Finally - a sure sign that fall is fast upon us, I picked some lettuce today, which along with some Thai basil ended up in a salad. It's also a sign that the heavier veggies of summer will soon be replaced by the feather-weight greens of fall. I'm close to reaching my goal of producing 500 lbs of food for the year. Hopefully the weekly totals won't drop off too steeply!

This week's numbers:

Cukes (2) - 0.95 lb (The last of the summer.)
Eggplant - 1.50 lb
Melons - 4.06 lb
Tomatoes - 22.68 lb
Peppers - 0.89 lb
Tomatilloes - 2.02 lb
Lettuce - 0.22 lb

Total harvested this week - 32.32 lb

To see what others are harvesting or show off your own, visit Harvest Mondays at Daphne's Dandelions.

Late August Harvest - Tomatoes and Peppers

Finally, we received some much needed rain today. This summer has been so hot and dry that I'm sure our plants appreciated it. I'm noticing that our nighttime temperatures have been to cool down as well. It seems that fall may be approaching faster than we think. For many reasons, I'm rather excited for it. Cooler temperatures mean indoor fires and roasted marshmallows. It also means plenty of baking and hence (my favorite) pies....Yum. Indeed, summer is beginning to wind down and the gardener inside me is looking forward to unwinding a bit.


At this point, the tomato picking is still going strong. Sometimes it takes me an hour or more to harvest them all. Picking 8 pounds of cherry tomatoes takes a lot longer than one might think, especially when the vines are overgrown and tangled all together like they are presently. Up until now, I've been giving most of them away but think I'll start to dehydrate much of the excess going forward. Their flavor and sweetness becomes more intense in the dried state. (My friend Tom seems to think they taste "like candy".)


While we're on the subject of cherry tomatoes, I should point out our favorites this year. I have to say that Sungold is a very good hybrid tomato even though it have a tendency to burst when picked ultra ripe. Black Cherry is richly flavored with a complexity you don't ordinarily find in a cherry tomato. Finally, I was surprised by how much I like the Isis Candy variety. Its sweetness rivals (and in some cases surpasses) that of Sungold without any tartness whatsoever.

While the cherry tomatoes are producing stronger than ever, the slicers are beginning to wind down. The plants are forming a good number of green fruit but who knows whether they'll ripen before the first frost.


I also picked a good amount of peppers this week. Most of the Poblanos ended up in a Roasted Corn and Poblano Soup that I made. (Delicious!) I also made and canned a good amount of Annie's salsa.


I love the look of these purple tomatilloes. I'm waiting for more of them to come in before I make a big batch of salsa verde.


The smell of these Charantais melons is filling up the kitchen at the moment. I can't wait to cut into them.


I also picked my second artichoke and gave away some Rhubarb Chard to my sister-in-law.


Finally, I picked my remaining two Thai watermelons this week. They are oblong and each measure about 8 inches long. I didn't have much hope for the one on the right because it felt soft to the touch. Sure enough, it was WAY overripe, so much so that the inside had started to ferment. I can't believe that I had let it go unpicked for so long. So into the compost pile it went (and off of my harvest total). What a disappointment.


To end this post on a happy note, the the last one I cut into was perfectly ripe. In fact, if I had waited another day or too, it would have been over-ripe. It was intensely sweet and absolutely delicious! The flesh was a nice salmon color and, unlike the Sugar Baby, had a sweetness like honey. I will definitely be growing this variety again! Hopefully this time next year, I won't be batting 1 for 3.

This week's numbers:

Tomatilloes - 1.7 lb
Peppers - 2.87 lb
Tomatoes - 61.05 lb
Cucumbers (10) - 4.32 lb
Watermelon - 8.26 lb
Charantais melon - 5.20 lb
Swiss chard - 0.88 lb
Artichoke - 0.32 lb
Beans - 0.31 lb

Total harvest this week - 84.91 lb

Melon Mishap

As I'd mentioned in my latest harvest post, I picked my first melons of the year last week. This is my first year growing them. And as expected, it's been quite a challenge trying to judge their ripeness. Unfortunately, it seems I have much to learn.


This is what my Sugar Baby watermelon looked like when I cut into it. As you can see, it's not quite ripe. On a scale of 1 to 10, its sweetness was at a 4. Looking back, I probably should have waited a while longer before harvesting it. It had developed a yellow spot and made a hollow sound when thumped, but the tendril closest to the melon was still green. Hopefully the next one I pick will yield better results.


And this is what the Charantais melon looked like on the inside. Again, I probably should have waited another day or two before picking. It's sweetness was at about a 6 on my scale. The leaf closest to the melon had turned beige and it smelled incredibly fragrant, but its skin had only just begun to take on a yellow hue. Strike two.


Finally, a while back I noticed that the field mice had gotten to one of my Thai watermelons. I felt sick just looking at it. What a waste. A closer inspection revealed that it was close to being ripe. Next year, I am determined to grow all of my melons on trellises. Not only would that make it easier for me to check the melons for ripeness, but it would also keep the mice at bay. Also, I need to come up with a strategy for dealing with cucumber beetles next year as my melon plants are slowly succumbing to bacterial wilt (which is transmitted by the bug).

How do you grow your perfect melons?

Mid August Harvest - Tomato Madness & the First Artichoke

I can't believe we are half way through the month of August already. The summer is just flying by now. Again this week, it was all about the tomatoes - 79.42 pounds to be exact. The harvest is approaching its peak and the vines still look relatively healthy. Does that mean we'll have loads of tomatoes well into the fall?

Not to bore everyone at this point but here is a look at some of the tomatoes we picked this week:


Top left - the first San Remo Paste Tomatoes, the seeds of which were given to me by my blogging friend, Winnie.




Bottom left - the first Anahue tomatoes (again from Winnie).


Top - Beautiful and tasty Black from Tula tomatoes. Also, I harvested a second round of Pepperoncini to make more pickles. We went through the first batch in a matter of days. They are so unbelievable tasty. I will definitely have to grow more next year.


The cherry tomato vines are exploding with ripe fruit now. Here is a mix of Sungold, Isis Candy, Black Cherry, Dr. Carolyn, Green Grape, Komahana and Couer di Pigeon Juane.


Luckily, we're harvesting a few things besides tomatoes as well.


I bit the bullet and picked the first Sugar Baby watermelon of the year. (Results tomorrow!)


The first Artichoke and Aunt Ruby's German Green tomato. The artichoke was REALLY tasty! Hopefully we will get a few more before the first frost hits.


I also picked the first Charantais melon of the season.


Finally, I harvested loads of celery in order to free up more garden space for fall veggies. I was going to grow Chinese celery this fall but at this point, I think we'll have enough for the winter.

This week's harvest numbers:

Tomatoes - 79.42 lb

Calabash gourd - 7.32 lb

Artichoke - 0.32 lb

Cucumbers (11) - 5.09 lb

Celery - 5.87 lb

Sugar Baby watermelon - 6.63 lb

Charantais melon - 3.20 lb

Peppers - 1.39 lb

Corn - 0.82 lb

Beans - 0.08 ib

Ground Cherry - 0.15 lb

Total harvest this week - 110.29 lb

Winter Alliums

I'm sure most of you would agree with me that gardening is a hobby that requires a lot of patience and planning. There's also the anticipation that comes naturally with the change in seasons, which is why I usually find myself focused on what the garden would look like 3 to 5 months from now. At the moment, I'm focused on November, December and January. During the past 12 months, I've been able to pick something from the garden each month, even when temperatures failed to get above freezing. Granted, some of those harvests were rather meager. I'm hoping that with a bit more planning this year, I can get some of those cold weather harvests to be more substantial.

Above are some of the leeks I planted in the Spring. They are definitely slow growing. I think I'll top-dress them with a bit of compost and fertilizer to get them growing again.


Last week, I decide to transplant my winter alliums. These scallions were started a few weeks ago. If all goes well, they should be ready by late November or December.


Last spring, I also planted a clump of leeks for transplanting later in the summer. These are my experimental winter leeks. I'm hoping that, if all goes well, they will mature sometime during mid to late winter.


The entire clump lifted easily with a simple turn of the garden fork...

Then I went about sorting through the bunch, trying to pick out only the largest leeks for replanting. (I'm learning to be more cut-throat this time of year.) After a quick trim of the leaves and roots, they were ready for transplanting.


At this point, I'm watering all of my fall/winter seedlings almost every day to protect them from the summer heat and they seem to be responding well to it.

If you're growing a fall/winter garden this year as well, I'd love to hear about it!

On a random note, how creepy is this!!! Makes you think twice about inhaling your food (literally).