Gardens so far

[ProfessorM]

So with this very strange summer weather how are your gardens fairing. Considering we went without any measurable rain for almost 6 weeks while many others got tons I think I am doing ok. With the heat we have had I got some nice cantaloupes and watermelons. They love the heat and I have had very good success every year I have planted them, and talk about sweet. My tomatoes are behind like usual as I planted late this year.

[ProfessorM]

I have Basil coming out my ears and the Blueberries I have been picking for well over a month with several varieties which extend the season quite late.

[BigFish]

With the full moon tonight.....I should be able to find my way around your garden quite nicely! Dem melons look delicious!!

[ProfessorM]

and it looks good for pears and peaches which i can't understand as other than pruning I totally neglected them this year. Again no apples on the 4 trees I have left. They are the hardest to grow and require a constant spray regiment to get any fruit to harvest and I just didn't feel like going thru all the hassle involved so I expected the results. The other fruits got the same treatment but faired well.

[ProfessorM]

Larry those melons, which I start from seed smell so strong you can't even leave them in the house or the sweet smell will make you nauseated. Make store bought taste like plastic fruit

[ProfessorM]

potatoes ready to be dug one of these days and blackberries still producing to the point I am sick of them

[ProfessorM]

Thats about it, curious to hear how others faired

[Diggin Jiggin]

Paul your garden looks great. I'm suprised the animals leave it alone. Even witha fence they get into mine. Mine's just about done. My garden only gets good sun may-august, once it starts to get lower during the days its only in partial sun because of the neighbors trees.

We've had a ton of yellow squash and cucumbers, and a ton of blackberries which we make jelly out of.

Something is eating the tops off my carrots, my potatoes are pretty much done ans I should dig them. I tried onions this year but they did not do well where I planted them. Somehow in all that rain the weeds took over, I kept up with it for a while but between working on the house and fishing they got out of control. Kind of depressing when I think of all the work that goes into starting it in the spring.

I've got 1 pumpkin on the vine, we'll see how it does and if the animals leave it alone.

[ProfessorM]

Weeds were out of control this year and I pulled them for 2 straight hours today. 5 wheel barrels full of them. I too got side tracked, something called fishing I think, and figured the reason my tomatoes are so far behind is the weeds were shading them. Weeds love hot weather and add a little rain and look out. I don't like to use chemicals so I expect some but not as many as this year, brutal.

[ProfessorM]

Brandywine is my favorite . I tried a few new ones this year. I usually grow some hot peppers but I give them away. Too hot for me. I didn't this year

[striperman36]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

and it looks good for pears and peaches which i can't understand as other than pruning I totally neglected them this year. Again no apples on the 4 trees I have left. They are the hardest to grow and require a constant spray regiment to get any fruit to harvest and I just didn't feel like going thru all the hassle involved so I expected the results. The other fruits got the same treatment but faired well.

I always had fungus issues with peaches, and I also had little success with apples, I just go to the store now

[PaulS]

Peppers and Cukes are goiing great. Tom. fair - not a lot. I planted brussel sproats for the first time. The plants are good size but no heads yet.

[ProfessorM]

Fungus is always an issue with peaches. Apples it is usually mostly insects. IMO apples are most difficult to grow even with a spray regiment. As far as peaches go I just eat around the imperfections.

[RIROCKHOUND]

First year with a garden. (Small) Behind out apartment.
split 1/3 flowers 2/3 veggies w/ the wife. she has been converted to all veggies next year.
this year:
1 cucumber bush (doing great, but fading out on producing this week)
3 Peppers (green) doing good
5 tomatoes (Cherry, grape, plum) doing great, and beefsteak (doing poorly)
1 Pole bean (waste of space)
basil; doing great, but fading, we also loose sun this time of year. Just picked a ton of basil, we'll see how it or if it comes back.

Just made Salsa w/ our tomatoes and pesto with our basil.
not a bad first year. We've had something fresh almost every night for dinner.
all in a 10x3ft plot

[Fishpart]

For some reason I get wilted lower leaves on the tomatoes and it migrates up the plants and eventually kills them. I sprayed the along with the fruit trees one year and they stayed good, so I suspect a fungus of some type.

I have three apple trees and two nectarine trees. The apples look beautiful this year and I ended up picking the nectarines way too erly to keep them from the squirrels. They were very small this year because of the lack of early rain. I find the nectarines need more spray than the apples.

BTW, the gardens you guys posted are at least as good looking as your plugs.

[gldnbear93]

My yard is super shady so there is only a small space right up front at the edge of the sidewalk that get enough sun, so I turned it over early spring and planted beans (got two crops out of them kids had a ball picking them-sugar snaps were excellent), some regular green cucumbers that are excellent (crisp and full, a little light on the flavor though), lemon cucumbers (size, shape and color of a lemon-tast just like a regular cucumber), radishes that I might as well not have planted), and a variety of heriloom tomatoes (black cherry, yellow pear, orange sprite, patio princess, whitequeen, black zebra, purple calabash and several others). The smaller tomatoes have really done well in the ripening-very colorful and tasty. The larger tomatoes have not yet ripened-maybe this week with the wamer weather.
There has been so much rain that some tomatoes have split and I think it also may be why the cukes are a little on the bland side.
I had a ball this year with the garden and have some plans for a bit of an expansion and some different crops.
I'll post some pics of the cukes and tomatoes later tonight. There are some nifty heirlooms out there (check out tomatoegrowers dot com and burpee for heirloom seeds.)

Strike king.....which heirlooms did you plant?

[gldnbear93]

Strike king-saw your other post but I get little red xs for the pics.

Are the golden pear tomatoes small like a cherry or grape size? I have probably 8-10 plants of "yellow pear"-very prolific producer and flavorful--small pear shaped fruits bright yellow

[Back Beach]

Great pics professer.My garden is comprised of 125 acres of close cut turf. With all the rain this summer, I'm curious to hear how you guys with the gardens have fared. For me, the lesser draining areas have been the biggest challenge. We had 6" of rain in a little over 2 hours on Friday PM.

Strike King- Nice looking salad there, I would have loved a sample yesterday...

[Back Beach]

couple more..

[RIROCKHOUND]

what course are you at Mike?

[gldnbear93]

looks like the yellow pears I have (must be the same kind)

a couple pics of the bounty. the second one is a pile I picked about 5 minutes ago

large yellow round things are the lemon cucumbers

There are five different kinds of tomato in there

[gldnbear93]

I laid a soaker hose down the middle of the garden and for the containers I laid a drip system. I put it all on a timer with a manifold for four water stations-though with all the rain I have not had the water on for over 2 weeks and it is still too wet.

[Jenn]

[QUOTE=ProfessorM;612771]So with this very strange summer weather how are your gardens fairing. Considering we went without any measurable rain for almost 6 weeks while many others got tons QUOTE]

I am in W. Mass and we have had more rain in the past 6 weeks than we can deal with......garden was doing good until it got hammered by a week and a half of torrential downpours! Personally I dont think its been hot enough and the tomatoes (the majority of them) finally ripened over the weekend! peppers, cukes, squash and beans have been doing great (despite the rain beating). Also the deer & bunnies munching on them for that matter,,,,,

[ProfessorM]

Yeah Mike where is that course, not Franklin country club is it? I know your family has had some ties to that place for years.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

Yeah Mike where is that course, not Franklin country club is it? I know your family has had some ties to that place for years.

Its FCC

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

Weeds were out of control this year and I pulled them for 2 straight hours today. 5 wheel barrels full of them.

P., God bless you my son, and your back too.

[bloocrab]

Thanks Professor!!

Black are just about gone, White are finally showing up!!....not as tasty though...



Still a bit confused though, I stopped by Goose's house the other day,,, he has some steroid fed blackberries growing in his backyard, I mean they look like clusters of grapes, they're so plump...
I was under the impression that as this plant grows, it will not produce fruit the first year, it WILL produce fruit the 2nd year, then dry up. The new sprouts that pop up will continue the cycle.
Goose says he's had those same plants producing fruit every year.
I have new whiteRB plants giving fruit already...as well as the old ones. My fruit bearing blackRB that produced fruit last year, dried up...and the new sprouts (if I can call them that), that came up last year, are the ones that produced fruit this year.

[ProfessorM]

Blackberies or black raspberries? 2 different animals. I have thornless blackberries right now that are about the size of Kiwi's. The canes are no lie 1 " dia. and up yo 12 feet high, like a darn tree. The problem is getting the yellow jackets off them to pick em and you have to leave them on the cane a long time to get them to turn real sweet. You pick them too early and they are as sour as a lemon even thought they have turned black from the early red color. They need time and the yellow jackets start on them as soon as they are black and not good to eat yet. Blackberries will produce, at least the variety I have, produce sometimes for 2 years. I know this because I sometimes miss some shoots and they do produce the next year but not as heavily. I prune the blackberries the same as black raspberries. After they put out fruit I cut them to the ground to make way for new growth. Works for my variety and it is not to say that his variety may be different. I will have to look into this a little more, you got me curious.
On another front my Peaches are just about ready. They are sooo good. Also had a banner year on Pears, but my apples were crappy for the 5th straight year. Just not into pouring tons of Pesticides on them any more so they don't do good, the other fruits do good without the heavy spraying and sometimes no spraying at all. I get some loss but still get a decent harvest and I don't mind ugly fruit as long as it tastes good i am happy.

[bloocrab]

Wow, now I'm confused...

Goose, were they BlackBerries OR Black Raspberries???


I just googled them both and the pictures are VERY similar. It appears that the BlackBerry, has a smooth texture, and the BlackRaspberry has a furry appearance...????


.......feeling silly now.

[basswipe]

Tomatoes and eggplant did well.Zuccinnis and squash not as well as expected.