OA 2015 garden thread

[ness]

Sometimes data and technology don't really tell the tale. It's been raining a lot here. Shoulda brought in the wheel barrow:

[jdmidwest]

Which weather station is that?

[ness]

Acurite 5 in 1 with internet bridge.

[ness]

Welp, there's one!

[BilletHead]

That there raspberry is black gold. My favorite jam right behind gooseberry. Speaking of gooseberry might need to start picking soon,

All four varieties of peppers are setting on well,

Tomatoes getting bigger by the day. This sun is going to help them,

Found this colorful leaf hopper on the cilantro,

Started marigolds inside early and now they are going crazy, butterflies like them,

Finally my flower child or blooming idiot with the tallest pale purple coneflowers we have ever seen from our perennial patch. We started these from several wild ones pirated from private prairie. These have been reseeding and coming up from roots from a planting over fifteen years ago.

BilletHead

[ness]

Looking great. Way, way ahead of me, as you have been all year. No tomatoes anywhere near that size. What pepper is that? I don't even have any peppers setting fruit. I think the rabbit got tired of hot sauce on his meals, so they're finally taking off. I pulled out lettuce and other stuff yesterday, which will give my peppers more room to breath. Planted more bush beans where the lettuce was. Our coneflower never gets any higher than about 3 feet, and it never blooms this early.

[jdmidwest]

Main garden finally dried out enough to retill and replant. Replanted okra, cowpeas, and zucchini that failed to come up last time. The monsoon and cool weather causes a fail to germinate.

Moved over to the sharecropper garden and tilled it up good. 2 and a half rows of corn failed to come up, probably due to the rain and it being the wet side of that garden. Replanted the corn and filled in the spots on the other rows that did not come up.

We are several weeks behind here on most things due to the rain. Raised beds are doing good with the exception of the tomatoes, they are puny. Peppers, beans, cucs, lettuce, sugar peas, onions, spinach are all doing well in the raised beds. I am going to expand on them for next year and plant almost all of my veggies in them.

[BilletHead]

The Peppers:

John Ness,

You asked about that pepper photo. Well I got me seed packets out and did some recon on the peppers planted this season. The one is a big daddy sweet. And I quote "Huge, 8" to10", sweet Marconi peppers are glossy yellow, thick walled and crispy sweet." This one is now 10" long and no sign of getting yellow yet. Wanna pick it and try but think I will wait for color described?

Next is long tall Sally sweet. and I quote, " Succulent, flavor-loaded fruits dazzle with sweetness. Italian frying pepper works culinary magic. Hybrid yields an abundance of glossy, thin walled, light-green 8" Cubanelle fruits. " We will see if we are dazzled with them This one is now 5" long,

Big Boss Man Hybrid, "Ancho-poblano hybrid flourishes outsized yields of extra large 7" X 3" fruits. Peppers Scoville rating is 1500-4000." This is now 3.50" long.,

Last is Big Guy Hybrid. "At 5" long and 1" wide this spicy jalapeno is ideal for pickling, slicing and stuffing." This is now approx. 2" long,

Why did we do these varieties? Heck if I know? We like trying different things pepper wise.

BilletHead

[ness]

Went out and looked at the garden this AM -- first time in a few days. Most of my peppers have some kind of leaf disease now, so the rabbit doesn't like eating them anymore. This is really a pisser because I started them back inside in February. They're some of my favorite things to come out of the garden. Always do banana, poblano and Anaheim. I may have to go pick up some of the dregs at the garden center or nursery.

Those Cubanelles always look sooo good. I like the look of the Big Daddy one too.

[BilletHead]

It was a berry , berry good weekend here,

It was into the gooseberry patch for picking yesterday morning. Picked maybe three gallons. Been stemming off and on. I know Chief does his with stems but if is good enough for my Great Grandma, Grandma and Mom I think I will continue to stem them.

Gooseberries Are Green

They Really Make You Pucker

Makes Great Berry Jam

So this morning early Mrs. BilletHead says she is going to hit the wild black raspberry patch to pick. So I am thinking it is wet and buggy in the weeds. What are you thinking? Well she says I am going to put on my spare waders and wade in. Ok I will watch and document I tell her. So she suits up, I spray her shoulders and neck and off she goes. Next to our yard in the dirt road ditch is a wonderful patch.

What a gal! So for all her work I thought I would help in the kitchen. Half of this berry harvest turned into a double batch of jam,

BilletHead