Gardening: 2013–2015

[suzilightning]

 

Matilda is still eating and growing.  She added to her web.  It's HUGE now.  I named the second spider Madison. We had a third one....small, wee spider, she was.  She had a cool web going.  I couldn't find her a couple days ago.  I figured she was out hunting.  Then, I made it over to Madison's web....she was eating the third spider.

 

Yes.  Madison is a cannibal. 

 

Uh.....sure spider #3 wasn't a HE????

 

Many females spiders consume the male after mating ... some even before.

[Shelby]

Shelby - I found a relative of Matilda's in my garden this morning. Obviously, the Northern branch of the family. She's built her web in a most inconvenient (for me) spot - stretched between the garden fence and one of the tomato cages. The web is nearly invisible and I'm afraid I damaged it before I saw it - and ended up with some web and a dead fly in my hair. She is out there repairing it as i type. I'll be more careful.

 

Ah, yes.  Matilda speaks fondly of her cousins up north   .  

Uh.....sure spider #3 wasn't a HE????

 

Many females spiders consume the male after mating ... some even before.

  That must be it.  I'll posthumously name him Martin.  I hope the death occurred  after the mating at least.........

 

 

They really do eat a lot of bugs.  I hope they stay thru the remainder of gardening season.

[Okanagancook]

Brandy Wine tomatoes.  These are all from ONE plant and there are still three more on there!  Weighed them:  8 1/2 lbs.

Oddly, I have no spiders guarding my tomatoes this year.  Maybe it's too hot for them.

[IowaDee]

Well I learned something today.  I knew that female praying mantises ate their mates but not that garden spiders did as well.  More of a bug eat bug world than a dog eat dog world isn't it?  

 

I scored some Hatch chiles Wednesday but it must have been a rough trip back to Iowa..  Glad I only bought a dozen.  My home grown mini  peppers have skin so thick is could  pass for dinosaur hide.  Not a good garden year for me.  but I sure enjoy seeing the others..

[ElainaA]

Today I pulled and shelled the coco noir beans:

 

 

And, finally (actually normal timing for this area, but looking at all your gorgeous pictures has made me impatient) the tomatoes are coming in:

 

 

 

I picked the first mahogany garnets, one of this year's experiments

 

:

 

They are beautiful and delicious. True to the seed catalog description, the skin is very thin and they bruise easily. Not a tomato you are likely to see in a store.

[Shelby]

Oooooooh, pretty Elaina!!!!  I could stare at those tomatoes all day and those beans are awesome.

[ElainaA]

Oooooooh, pretty Elaina!!!!  I could stare at those tomatoes all day and those beans are awesome.

Thanks Shelby - I like lots of different colors. Not quite as important as taste when choosing varieties but close.

[Smithy]

I thought Duluth was lagging behind the rest of the country, ElainaA. Now I see we aren't alone; our tomatoes are just coming in, too. Yours are beauties!

[cyalexa]

Our tomatoes are winding down here. There will be a smaller crop of fall tomatoes but not for at least several weeks.

[Shelby]

Slowing down here, too.  I'm only picking maybe 5 'maters a day.  Okra still going good, though.  I finally had enough to freeze a bag for gumbo later.  Lots of green tomatoes on so if it stays hot we'll have some in a few weeks.  

 

Took pictures of the spiders today.  They said to tell ya'll hello.

 

I lost Matilda for a couple of days.  Found her this morning.  She made a new web by the Brandywine tomatoes.  

 

 

Maddy still going strong.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

Shelby, are those green tomatoes a second batch on the same prolific vines you've been harvesting, or do you have a variety that sets fruit later than the rest? And are you a bit relieved that the pace has slowed somewhat?

[Shelby]

Shelby, are those green tomatoes a second batch on the same prolific vines you've been harvesting, or do you have a variety that sets fruit later than the rest? And are you a bit relieved that the pace has slowed somewhat?

It seems like the Brandywines are a bit slower so I still have green ones that need to ripen on those.  Mostly it's a second set on the same plants.  They aren't near as big as the first batch (and they won't taste as good...but way better than grocery store).

 

Every time I think about being relieved I remind myself that in a few short weeks we won't have any more fresh ones.  You'll never see me complain about having too many tomatoes. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

When I was gardening in Memphis, we always had green tomatoes that the frost would take if I didn't get them inside. They eventually ripen. Like Shelby says, they're not as good as the sun-ripened in the garden ones, but still beat commercial ones. Bonus: fried green tomatoes whenever you want way into fall and early winter.

 

BTW, organic pest control is a nascent industry, and a significant piece of successful gardening. There are businesses that sell lady bugs and other beneficial insects you can release to control aphids or other pests. Not so much spiders, because they're hard to sell commercially, but they are a definite benefit to any garden. They are carnivores, only eating other insects, many of which happily prey on your carefully nurtured plants.

 

http://gardeningzone.com/pages/release-instructions-tips

[HungryChris]

I had a pretty good crop of tomatoes which are winding down now, but the cooler nights are bringing the shishito peppers to life.

 

HC

Edited September 5, 2015 by HungryChris (log)

[cyalexa]

re. green tomatoes - I recently did a quickle with some that blew off my plant in a storm. Very good even though I forgot garlic.

[Smithy]

re. green tomatoes - I recently did a quickle with some that blew off my plant in a storm. Very good even though I forgot garlic.

That's a great idea, cyalexa. Thanks! Now I know what I'll be doing when our cherry tomatoes stop ripening. :-)

[huiray]

When I was gardening in Memphis, we always had green tomatoes that the frost would take if I didn't get them inside. They eventually ripen. Like Shelby says, they're not as good as the sun-ripened in the garden ones, but still beat commercial ones. Bonus: fried green tomatoes whenever you want way into fall and early winter.

 

 

Thanks for the Crepes, have you tried Cherub, Kumato or Campari tomatoes from your friendly neighborhood supermarket before? 

 

As for dealing with green tomatoes, you might find this interesting:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/19/supermarket-tomatoes-tastier-dunked-hot-water-study

It might be an idea to do that with one's own green tomatoes too...

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I love Campari especially and Kumato. My local Trader Joe's carries both spottily at affordable prices. Even mainstream groceries now offer brown tomatoes sometimes, which look a lot like Kumato, and taste better than the styromates, at discount prices. I haven't had the opportuntity to try Cherub. It's now on my radar, and thanks, huiray! Are Cherub varieties cherries, or another version of diminutive tomato? I've never heard of them. I really appreciate any info that brings me closer to the taste of the home grown tomatoes I used to take for granted. 

 

Also thanks for the link to hot water dunked tomatoes of dubious quality. Anyone who has grown one knows they are always tastiest warmed by the sun and eaten right off the vine.

 

We used to bring them inside and make tomato sandwiches on squishy white bread with mayo. Sounds weird, but it's a Southern US summer staple for a reason.

[huiray]

I love Campari especially and Kumato. My local Trader Joe's carries both spottily at affordable prices. Even mainstream groceries now offer brown tomatoes sometimes, which look a lot like Kumato, and taste better than the styromates, at discount prices. I haven't had the opportuntity to try Cherub. It's now on my radar, and thanks, huiray! Are Cherub varieties cherries, or another version of diminutive tomato? I've never heard of them. I really appreciate any info that brings me closer to the taste of the home grown tomatoes I used to take for granted. 

 

 

:-)

 

Cherubs

I'd call them more like a grape tomato.  It's a Dutch hybrid, available year-round - at least in some parts.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Thanks huiray,

 

You've given me another to look for, although they look a bunch like the Scarlet Pearl grape tomatoes with good flavor pretty much year round.

[hummingbirdkiss]

ok this is a test and my first photo of my garden 

this is my boy muskovy duck /he is alone because he is an asshole and no one wants to hang out with him right now 

 

it is a very delicious duck ..my favorite meat actually is Muskovy I keep reminding him of this fact 

 

they are all turned loose in the garden right now (8 ducks and 13 chickens I thought one chicken was dead and it came back after a month well fed and happy ) they will eat everything including the bugs and slugs and give me (all but the muskies they are seasonal layers and really are our meat ducks) the other ducks give sometimes two eggs a day the chickens lay all over the neighborhood I gave up they are feeding everyone now 

 

I have a flicker sight I started a couple of years ago and now feel even sillier I guess you can see some of the garden here if you like ? https://www.flickr.com/gp/77351416@N04/6hKD7j I put the photos I ran out and took today in an album of the summer ..I can not believe how difficult I made this all seem ..everything is so green now and there are no captions ..I kept things individually watered but we finally had rain this past week and everything behind my garden became green again …crazy weather 

Edited September 10, 2015 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[ElainaA]

 

 

Today's pickage (Shelby thank you for this word!). I didn't get a picture of the red and yellow peppers. A lot of this goes into tonight's dinner: gratin of eggplant with roasted peppers and roasted garlic and tomato sauce. It's getting to the race between ripeness and frost. I still have lots of green tomatoes, a few tiny eggplants and peppers working on turning red or yellow. I've got about 2-3 weeks until average date for frost. But yesterday it was over 90. Right now its 55. Strange. 

Edited September 10, 2015 by Smithy
Re-added photos at Member Request (log)

[Okanagancook]

Decided to dig up one of my monster basil plants for indoor use.  We'll see how long it lasts.

[Franci]

Oh Franci, I hope they grow and produce lots of wonderful courgettes and cucumbers! I can tell you that I have had extraordinary results from Renee's seeds. I have bought her seeds for several things - tomatoes, beets, chard, crookneck squash, radishes, eggplant, Scarlet Runner beans, hot peppers, various lettuces (I'm especially fond of the "Ruby and Emerald Duet" which really is lovely grown in containers). I've had very high germination rates and the plants have almost all done well and produced as described.

 

The courgette trompettes sound lovely, I think I will try growing them sometime! They sound much tastier than regular zucchini. 

 

I've realized I didn't post about the courgettes and the "pagnottelle" cucumbers.

These courgettes invaded the whole space, also the garden next door :-)))) Next year only two plants. The cucumbers are not ready yet, still too hairy and not enough sun in my garden unfortunately. Next year definitely more salads.

 

I've fried so many  courgettes' flowers and so many in the freezer that just for that was worth it

 

Trombetta

 

Pagnottella, maybe ready in a week

 

[cyalexa]

Decided to dig up one of my monster basil plants for indoor use.  We'll see how long it lasts.

 

Good luck. I've not been successful with basil inside. We have a new greenhouse and when it cools off I may try a pot in there. I have some cuttings with roots in a glass.