What's in YOUR garden now?
16Just got back from a quick run thru the garden. Here’s a look at what I gathered in 15 minutes.
The green/orange peppers are still going gangbusters, as are the jalapenos. I get an eggplant now and then, and that is ONE days worth of okra from a dozen or so plants. The tomatoes have pretty well petered out. The only ones producing currently are the small cherry sized tomatoes that were volunteers from the Campari tomato seeds (Sam’s tomatoes that come in a cluster in a plastic clam-shell box ) that came up in the compost we used around the gardens (veggie and flower).
On the counter are jars of pickled okra, pepper jelly, and apple butter, all of which I made the past couple of days. My apples didn’t do much this year (pruned them too late) but these came from another nurse at our ER. I’ll probably make another batch or two of pepper jelly and some more pickled okra before it’s all said and done. The jalapenos that turn red are destined to go in the smoker to become chipotles/chipotle powder.
So… what’s still producing in YOUR garden?
[EDIT: Dammit… I had typed all this up on my phone but fat-fingered it when I was going to add the picture and it all disappeared! Came back to use the computer to do it right, and will add the pic from my phone (hopefully) once I get the topic created]
yea… success getting the pic inserted!
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What do you do with your eggplant? I have some growing but haven’t really found anything amazing to do with them yet.
My peppers did crap this year (just bell peppers and mini sweet peppers). My tomatoes are good, lots of cherry tomatoes and then occasionally a big one turns red. Half my cucumber plant was killed, I think it was the aphids and ants that did it in. The birds (and probably squirrels) ate almost all of the grapes and cherries. It got too hot for the broccoli.
I hadn’t had a garden for a few years. But next year I will prep a little better and try to rent a tiller again to mix some fertilizer into it.
@remo28
eggplant is destined to be
Locally I can’t practically grow broccoli in the spring. It inevitably gets too warm and it goes to flower before I can get it big enough to harvest. I generally will plant it for a fall crop since I can get it to grow until almost Christmas most years.
My cukes are shit this year as well. I’m thinking the squash bugs that did in the zucchini and yellow squash are to blame…
Used to have trouble getting sweet/bell peppers to grow, but lately have had much more success. I think it’s the amount of amelioration I have done to the soil in my garden spot with mulch/compost etc. It’s an organic garden, so no pesticides or other chemical fertilizers really.
Have a ton of muscadine and some scuppernong grapes that are ready, just haven’t taken the time to pick them. I may use them with the wine-making kit I bought from here a while back.
I have an electric fence around my garden to keep the critters out, but lately the damn armored-dildoes have been rooting up all the space I had nicely mulched between the plants. I think I may have a dead short to ground on my chicken coop or somewhere that is making it ineffective.
@chienfou @remo28 I second the grilling for eggplant. Slice them about 1/4" or so (best if you have a mandolin), slather with mayo salt and pepper and grill.
@chienfou @remo28
4. Baba ganoush
(Given that I generally don’t care for eggplant otherwise, I’m not sure if I actually like baba ganoush, or just like saying it. )
@chienfou @macromeh @remo28
I was going to ask if you make this - I love baba ganoush!
@remo28
I just made ratatouille with fresh everything from the local farm stand, it turned out so good. I always add some 4 cheese ravioli into it at the end (add an extra tomato for sauce and never really measure the veggies just cut up what I’m craving) and let it simmer for another 10 mins. It gives it a more hearty meal. I added lots of eggplant this time, as I bought a huge one. I had forgot about it for the past few summers but it’s a very good way to get some fresh veggies into a meal.
I also like to bread eggplant with some parm cheese in the breading and fry it and eat it like that.
Cactus. Lots of cactus. Also a couple succulents 2 bowls of aloe.
@yakkoTDI Any like this?
https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChQzozhFZ8b/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
@Kyeh @yakkoTDI
Or are you going into tequila making??
@chienfou @Kyeh Closet I got was these guys in 2020.
But they became this this year.
@chienfou @yakkoTDI
Wow! Those blossoms are beautiful!
@chienfou @Kyeh Thanks. I need to find a wider pot so I get more plants in there and thus more flowers.
If it would stop raining during my free time I could finish my updates to the cactus and get some good pictures.
Purple potatoes, purple beans, long purple eggplant…seeing a trend here…
banana peppers (hot and sweet)
Just harvested some humongous cabbage. Brussels sprouts are just stalking
@ybmuG @Barney s purple. @Weboh s gardening.
Skunks?
@mossygreen Almost certainly deer and a couple of rabbits. I’ll trade you a rabbit for a skunk - at least they’ll get the grubs out of the lawn. (Plus I had pet skunks as a kid, so I’m kinda partial toward them anyway.)
@mehcuda67 @mossygreen Deer and rabbits here too, plus squirrels, raccoons and now that my plums are almost ripe, I won’t be surprised if a bear comes around.
@mehcuda67 Deer and rabbits are both delicious, though. You may lose some of your crop, but you get a nice protein source in exchange.
@mehcuda67 @Weboh Availing yourself of the venison without official permission is Sternly Frowned Upon in large parts of the country. (This does not keep such harvesting from taking place, and I begrudge nothing for people who accomplish it on their own property.) Nutria, on the other hand, is reportedly delicious - and entirely free to take in any quantity at any time.
@mehcuda67 @werehatrack No kidding. I have a friend who loves meat. All meat. He’s like Ron Swanson but polite when a meal doesn’t have a lot of meat. He’s had lots of different kinds of meat (even goat, iguana, and water buffalo). His favorite, of all time is rabbit meat. Can’t buy it in the US, so he had to raise his own rabbits to “harvest.” Thankfully they breed like rabbits.
Weeds. Lots of them. And pinwheels from Dollar-ish tree for whimsy.
@heartny
If marketing had their way they would have turned it into the ‘buck-fiddy’ store
@chienfou @heartny I’m old enough to recall when the five-and-ten was still a common fixture in this country.
@heartny @werehatrack
you mean Woolworth’s for instance?? I can well remember them also
I’ve got zucchini coming out of my ears! About the only thing that I’m getting to produce at a high level. My tomatoes are absolute crap this year, which stinks because I love making salsa. It doesn’t help that I have a rodent problem, mostly voles, all of a sudden… Probably lost half or more of my tomatoes that did actually grow to them. Tomatillos are growing like crazy, but not producing fruit very well. We’ll see in the next couple weeks how they end up. Green beans did very well, but reached their end about a month ago. I have 4 different peppers “growing” and I use that term loosely, as they are all about 12" tall instead of the normal 20-24", of which production is consistent with the size. I have started peas from seed about three weeks ago, and they are doing well…hoping for a bountiful Fall harvest.
@tohar1
Nice. I Have a terrible problem with squash bugs getting my zucchini. I get plenty for a few weeks in the spring, but by the time the weather heats up well they end up all dying. By the way if you ever run into some that get too big (AKA marrow) they make wonderful relish. I made a bunch this spring from some that were two or three pounds a piece. Everyone who’s tried it has loved it. I actually have one that’s sitting in a bowl on the counter that I picked probably about 2 months ago. It still seems to be in pretty good shape. It is also destined to become relish more than likely.
@chienfou Good Call on the Zucchini relish. Mrs. H. just made a big batch this past weekend for the first time & it’s really good! That said, we’ve been eating Zucchini casseroles, stir-frys, brownies, bars, breads, fritters, etc. since ours started producing in June. They are finally starting to slow down a little bit, but really no complaints here!
@tohar1 @chienfou Try some 0-10-10 fertilizer or something similar to get the tomatillos to fruit. If they’re otherwise healthy but not flowering, that means they’re low on phosphorus or potassium. Home Depot and Lowe’s sell a liquid fish oil that works really well for this.
And you can make a homemade natural pesticide out of ground hot peppers and dish soap to reduce the squash bug pressure. Load it into a spray bottle and coat all the leaves with it, reapplying after it rains. Just squashing all the bugs you see would also help.
@tohar1 @Weboh
The ones I have trouble with are the borers that drill into the staulks causing them to whither. You can’t really see the bugs themselves
@chienfou @tohar1 Once the bugs are already in the plant, it gets a little trickier. You could always try a systemic pesticide. You can find a mild one at stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot. If you follow the instructions, veggies are still safe to eat.
Some people are wary about using those, though, and if they’re already killing the plant, it may not help that much. Best bet may be to take it as a lesson learned for next season. You know the bugs are there, so take proactive measures next season.
One option is to wait a year or so before planting cucurbits like zucchini again so the bugs don’t have a plant to eat when they emerge from underground. If your property is big enough, you could instead plant in the front yard instead of the back and alternate every year. That makes there be a much smaller population the following year which is easier managed.
You can also protect your plants with natural sprays like the one I mentioned the first time you see one or two squash bugs (or if you really can’t see any, just spray a few weeks before the time you usually start seeing damage, and be consistent). That will keep them from eating enough to reproduce and lay eggs inside the plant.
Or try planting a little earlier. If the heat contributes significantly to the plant’s decline, the squash bugs may not be doing much anyway. Maybe healthier plants could put up with the heat for a little longer, but maybe not. Planting early might give you the week the bugs steal, or having the extra growth before the bugs emerge from the ground may make them healthier and better able to resist with their natural defenses.
Or try planting a different variety. Get some local seeds from a farmer’s market or online from something like Seed Savers.
Or…!
I’d try the natural spray next year and see if that’s enough. If not, I’d skip planting for a year and try again the following one.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Tire tracks.
A thief attempting to elude the sheriff drove a stolen pickup across my lawn, hit a 20+ year old apple tree, then exited via the garden.
He made it ~1/4 mile down the road and ducked into a gated access road to nearby timberland. Broke the gate but also disabled the truck. He took off on foot into the woods, leaving his girlfriend behind. AFAIK, the driver has not been located.
Swell.
@macromeh
Damn! Is the tree okay???
@Kyeh It has seen better days (but may survive )
@macromeh I hope so. What a jerk, ditched his girlfriend, too.
@Kyeh Yeah, a real class act. I saw her sitting in the sheriff’s car, looking pretty glum. I hope she at least ID’ed him.
@macromeh
Me too! And dumps his sorry ass.
Dirt and some weeds due to the drought. Rock landscaping is in the eventual future, though.
@narfcake Don’t give up; there’s lots of drought tolerant fruit trees! Or you could plant some fruiting Cactuses like dragon fruit or Peruvian apple cactus.
I’m the main parent gardener for the local elementary school garden. We split the garden between stuff for kids to eat and flowers for pollinators. The kids are like locusts, eating all the lettuce, tomatoes and other veggies as soon as they are ready (which I consider a good thing). They even eat the kale, but not the swiss chard.
The main thing in the garden for me is all the bugs: butterflies, moths, wasps, bees, beetles, etc. I really enjoy trying to sneak up on the bugs to get macro photos. We even had a Monarch cocoon.
@fibrs86 I’d love to see some of those photos!
@Kyeh I’ll limit it to yesterday’s pics to avoid swamping the thread. Here’s what’s in my garden:
@fibrs86 Marvelous - thanks!
@fibrs86 @Kyeh
due to all the rain we have had lately we have an abundance of mosquitoes. That has led to an overabundance of argiope spiders. I was going to post pics of some recently, but feared it might trigger some meh-tizens.
@chienfou ooh Argiope have some of the coolest webs. I also usually avoid posting spider pics. Very strong reactions can happen.
@fibrs86
Yeah the webs are really cool. I just wish they would quit making them across the walkways that I have to go through at night on my way home after work!
@chienfou @fibrs86 When I walk through our surrounding woods this time of year, I always carry a stick held vertically in front of my face. I really hate walking into spider webs.
@fibrs86 @macromeh
I tend to wave my arms around while I walk thru potential trap areas-- which I am sure makes me look pretty stupid, but I’m with you… walking thru one SUX! All I can think of is “where’s the f’n SPIDER??”
@fibrs86 @macromeh
J
Dammit… I just walked through four or five different spider webs trying to get to the shop to pick up a shovel. I needed to move a dead armadillo off the road before It got flattened totally.
@chienfou @fibrs86 @macromeh Yeesh, i hope one of your spiders isn’t responsible for taking down the armadillo!
@chienfou @fibrs86 I know! They get so dried out on the grill when they are too flat!
@fibrs86 @macromeh
Got up this morning and there were 3-4 buzzards having breakfast when we left for church. Creepy part is that there were 6-8 on the ridgeline at Mom’s house (she lives next door to us) waiting their turn at the buffet… Glad I flung it across the road when I did.
@ircon96 I should be so lucky!
@chienfou @fibrs86 @macromeh When we’d canoe through the Okefenokee Swamp when we were in narrow passages ways whomever was in the bow of the canoe would hold up a paddle due to all the webs. Well and wave it in the air back and forth to try to break up the webs.
The big banana spiders were something else. Harmless but I ended up with one on my head and it started to walk across my face. Felt all soft and fuzzy. Didn’t stay there long though as I brushed it right off. Hope it could swim. The smaller blue ones were creepier. And faster. None of those ever landed on me, but we did get them in the canoe. And a fish that jumped in as well. That was weird.
@fibrs86 @Kidsandliz @macromeh
must have been suicidal.
Just spotted this beauty on the floor in the back hallway in front of the lab.
Google lens tells me it’s a giant leopard moth…
@chienfou Wow! How big is it?
@Kyeh
1.5 - 2 inches or so.
@chienfou @Kyeh Too bad you didn’t have your scaling banana handy.
@chienfou Spectacular!
@Kyeh
This guy was a black witch moth we saw in St. Lucia. It was bigger than my hand!
@chienfou
That’s gorgeous - I’m envious!
Landlord pulled up all the rose bushes, cut down all the trees, dug up the bushes and ivy. We have mud. That’s it. Just mud.
@Kidsandliz Boo! That sucks. Hopefully you’ll get a new garden soon. I’m glad my landlord planted fruit trees and plenty of other plants. I’d hate to be without any.
@Weboh We had some beautiful mature trees in the back yard. All gone. We had lovely rose bushes that stayed in bloom much of the year. Gone. We had a small tree in the front that yearly had birds’ nests in them. Gone (and fortunately it was cut down after the baby birds left the nest - we’d get dive bombed by the parents as we’d walk by which was entertaining to watch the unsuspecting .). New owners are fucking asshats.
@Kidsandliz @Weboh The house where I lived in my teens had a huge carambola tree that produced the largest fruit the local agriculture extension agent had ever seen. The people who bought it when we moved promptly chopped down that, and the red maple that I’d planted, and the avocado, and the other two trees.
@Kidsandliz @Weboh @werehatrack
yeah, it’s always so disappointing to see old mature trees get whacked and replaced with ‘lawn’.
@chienfou @Kidsandliz @Weboh @werehatrack It’s infuriating!
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @Weboh @werehatrack
yeah, that IS a better term!