Gardening: 2016 (midyear)

ElainaA · June 15, 2016

Host's note: this topic is continued from Gardening: 2015-2016.

To borrow Shelby's word - today's pickage. Several varieties of lettuce, red and green mizuna, arugula, bianca riccia chicory, Persian cress, a little spinach. All going into tonight's salad.

Edited October 22, 2016 by Smithy
Adjusted title (log)

huiray · June 15, 2016

Took the flowering tops off some of the Holy Basil plants on my deck. I might do some sort of dish with them...

**Smithy** · June 15, 2016

25 minutes ago, huiray said:

Took the flowering tops off some of the Holy Basil plants on my deck. I might do some sort of dish with them...

I hope you do, huiray, and that you post about it. The flowers look like potential seasonings - maybe not large enough to fry (like chive or onion flowers) but to be picked off their stems and scattered over a finished dish. OTOH there may be many other things to be done with them; I'd like to learn more.

Wayne · June 15, 2016

14 hours ago, huiray said:

Took the flowering tops off some of the Holy Basil plants on my deck. I might do some sort of dish with them...

I too would be very interested. I usually just toss them but if they're usable.....

Wayne · June 15, 2016

First nascent tomatoes emerging!

Mix of bokchoy, tatsoi, baby kale and beet greens to braise:

And for something inedible (as far as I know) but sure looks better than the chain link fence the vines hide:

ElainaA · June 16, 2016

Things are coming along...

Baby cucumbers

Martin Fisher · June 16, 2016

3 minutes ago, ElainaA said:

Things are coming along...

Baby cucumbers

That looks great Elaina!

The gardening situation here is very sad and depressing this year.

My knees are in such bad shape — from years of milking cows and other farming craziness — I can barely hobble around!

I've planted a few things, but just enough to have some fresh greens, tomatoes, zucchini and the like.

We're working on a care plan which will, hopefully, lead to better gardening next year.

ElainaA · June 16, 2016

8 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

That looks great Elaina!

The gardening situation here is very sad and depressing this year.

My knees are in such bad shape — from years of milking cows and other farming craziness — I can barely hobble around!

I've planted a few things, but just enough to have some fresh greens, tomatoes, zucchini and the like.

We're working on a care plan which will, hopefully, lead to better gardening next year.

Oh I am sorry! My gardening guru, who also has knee problems, has created a standing-up-garden using containers meant for watering or feeding cattle. Could something like that help you?

Martin Fisher · June 16, 2016

1 minute ago, ElainaA said:

Oh I am sorry! My gardening guru, who also has knee problems, has created a standing-up-garden using containers meant for watering or feeding cattle. Could something like that help you?

That's a possible option, but, hopefully, 'they' can help get me back in better shape....I'm 'only' 50 years old (51, August 26th.)

I can't garden, I can't ride my bikes, I can't hike or even walk much, I can't stand for long, I can't do much of anything......all very depressing!

Okanagancook · June 16, 2016

That's a whole lotta lettuce! Looks like garlic in the back ground. The poly is a great idea.

ElainaA · June 16, 2016

16 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

That's a whole lotta lettuce! Looks like garlic in the back ground. The poly is a great idea.

It is really a ridiculous amount of lettuce - I'm a total sucker for variety - I have 12 varieties this year plus all the other greens (arugula, both green and red mizuna, Persian cress, 2 kinds of chicory...). We do eat salad every night which puts a dent in it. And I take bags of extra stuff to our local Loaves and Fishes organization.

There is garlic bed in the background, behind the raspberries. I'm still using garlic that I grew last year although the quality is deteriorating. This year i plan of pickling some of the crop.

Besides the lettuce there are several varieties of beans, some to eat fresh and some to shell and dry, fennel, basil, cabbage, peppers, peas, leeks, onions, shallots, spinach, lots of radishes interplanted with carrots. I'm probably forgetting something. You can't really see the other end of the garden which has tomatoes, squash and cucumbers.

In my experience, June is sort of a honeymoon month with the garden . The pests and diseases don't usually set in until later in the summer. Then it is war.

ElainaA · June 16, 2016

16 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

That's a possible option, but, hopefully, 'they' can help get me back in better shape....I'm 'only' 50 years old (51, August 26th.)

I can't garden, I can't ride my bikes, I can't hike or even walk much, I can't stand for long, I can't do much of anything......all very depressing!

It is the age of medical miracles so I hope you will be back to the things you love soon.

kayb · June 16, 2016

The second planting of green beans is up; the tomatoes are starting to turn; I have yellow squash. And have to depend on someone else to pick/tend to it, as I can't yet navigate that well on the broken ankle.

My timing sucks.

huiray · June 16, 2016

On 6/14/2016 at 11:10 PM, huiray said:

Took the flowering tops off some of the Holy Basil plants on my deck. I might do some sort of dish with them...

https://forums.egullet.org/uploads/monthly_2016_06/DSCN9772a_600.jpg.63a1427460485df4e6f1c9aa859c81c7.jpg

On 6/14/2016 at 11:39 PM, Smithy said:

I hope you do, huiray, and that you post about it. The flowers look like potential seasonings - maybe not large enough to fry (like chive or onion flowers) but to be picked off their stems and scattered over a finished dish. OTOH there may be many other things to be done with them; I'd like to learn more.

On 6/15/2016 at 1:39 PM, Wayne said:

I too would be very interested. I usually just toss them but if they're usable.....

Have a look here.

I snipped off more leaves and branches from the plants and added them in. I used the flower stalks "whole", minus the harder parts at the bottom of the spikes. I took the leaves off the stems by-and-large.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 17, 2016

This evening I saw the first tomato of the season. Still it will be quite some while till picking time.

Deryn · June 17, 2016

Neighbour says we will have frost tonight! I don't see that on the weather report I read but she could be right - it is just above 40 degrees right now and it isn't even midnight. Glad I didn't quite get anything planted yet (it has rained pretty well every day since I bought the plants but we have been 'promised' a sunnier weekend so I was waiting). The plants will be ok - they are all bunched up together for warmth. Needless to say though I am a mite jealous this year of even northern NY gardens with so much produce already ready to collect.

Wayne · June 17, 2016

12 hours ago, huiray said:

Have a look here.

I snipped off more leaves and branches from the plants and added them in. I used the flower stalks "whole", minus the harder parts at the bottom of the spikes. I took the leaves off the stems by-and-large.

I added the flower head and some leaves to a batch of chicken filling for Nuo Mi Ji (based on 'Asian Dumplings' by Andrea Nguyen).

The flavour was there although they didn't add any textural component.

Thanks for the tip.

Wayne · June 17, 2016

On ‎15‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 9:10 PM, DiggingDogFarm said:

That's a possible option, but, hopefully, 'they' can help get me back in better shape....I'm 'only' 50 years old (51, August 26th.)

I can't garden, I can't ride my bikes, I can't hike or even walk much, I can't stand for long, I can't do much of anything......all very depressing!

Sorry to hear that. I 'lost' the 2015 season and most of my other activities due to bad ankles so I know it's tough not being able to get out there. This year is much better.

Deryn · June 17, 2016

A bit of a tour around my yard - showing off the huge hostas (edible), daylily patch (edible), poppies (not edible as far as I know but I didn't plant them - the last owner liked 'flowers' - I like flowers IF they are edible as well as pretty), chives the last owner planted not realizing they are also VERY edible, rhubarb patch, two things that survived this past winter in my (as yet unweeded) 'herb' patch - the one located directly in the ground - sorrel and oregano, and my blooming wild apple tree (in the weeds). The latter is a bit hard to photograph since it is 'airy' and the surrounds are a bit busy with trees, water, weeds, tall grasses, etc.

Herbs I like to have in the house or on the deck in pots or otherwise close by. Don't want to have to walk around the house to harvest them when I remember at the last minute that I wanted to add some to whatever I am already cooking.

Considering where to place the bushes, etc. that I bought - and where to locate a real bed, primarily for seed-based edible growing. I think it would work well along the edge of where the grass has been mowed. I don't think I really want a big square/rectangle in the middle of the yard so I was thinking a meandering strip about 2 feet deep along the edge to the left of the apple tree would work well. Opinions?

Please excuse the lack of 'neatness' in my yard. Not going to ever look like a dutch garden. It's 'rustic' and 'lived in'.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Deryn (log)

ElainaA · June 17, 2016

@Deryn It looks like you have a nice amount of space to play with for a garden. A long, slender bed would be attractive, especially if not straight. My concern would be weeds - in my experience the edges of the garden that are contiguous with a grass area have the worst weed invasion. You might consider some form of weed barrier. Trenching is effective - digging a v-shaped trench about 6" deep and 4" wide at the top around the garden. You can leave it empty or fill with gravel or mulch. My so-called soil is mostly rock so the only garden I have trenched is a perennial bed that I dug up and redid last summer. The trench is really effective in cutting down on grass invasion. I really wish I had known enough to trench the vegetable garden when we first put it in.

I'm looking forward to pictures of your progress.

Deryn · June 17, 2016

Yes, I have over an acre of land, though a fair bit of it leads down to that lake you see behind the apple tree and is still 'wild' - only evergreens and rocks grow there - and is quite steep. I agree about the weed invasion problem along that border ... perhaps I could inset the bed a couple of feet (wide enough for the mower to pass by between it and the 'weed farm') but still follow the same line. Not sure I am really up to trenching that much this summer but that too is a good idea. Thanks, ElainaA.

Tere · June 17, 2016

Snagged the first two full size Honeye strawberries today. Delicious. Read hubby the riot act about if I tell him that there are ripe alpine strawberries available and he ignores this strong hint, they are fair game

Three small lines of salad is apparently too much salad! I need to get into the side salad with every meal vibe. I see getting some bottles and vinaigrette in my future

I'll grab the camera and do a progress report this weekend. I am genuinely shocked as to how quickly things have come on. I think it's 5 weeks since sowing...

KennethT · June 18, 2016

Indoor strawberry experiment, Phase 1:

Otherwise known as "how to turn your living room/dining room into uninhabitable living space"....

Edited June 19, 2016 by KennethT (log)

**Shelby** · June 18, 2016

I've missed you guys! We have been internet-less since Wednesday late afternoon. The heat index was 110 F that day and a whopper of a storm built on top of us. It rained 5-7 inches in ONE hour here. 60 mph winds steady with super high gusts. A funnel was spotted just west of my house but we weren't able to see it. It hailed for a good HOUR or more. Pea to quarter size hail. Irrigation was blown over (not mine thank GOD). The storm blew so hard that it caused water to get into the eaves of the house and flood the front room which is where all of my internet equipment is kept. Yeah. Fried it.

I got up at daylight the next morning to survey the damage. I took pictures of the "garden" but it's just too depressing to post. All of the tomato plants were stripped. Cukes ripped out of the ground. My beautiful Silver Queen corn flattened. On and on and on. So, I went out yesterday and spent hours gently lifting plants out of the mud, removing all damaged leaves etc. The internet says that if plants have even just one leaf left that they can sometimes recover. I've never ever had such terrible damage. The weeds, however, remained unscathed.

As I peer out the window this morning the corn actually looks better. It's beginning to stand up again.....we will see.

I still have 22 acres of wheat yet to cut. Remains to be seen whether the hail knocked the kernels out out or not. My field corn was stripped but not laying down like a lot of folks' are around.

I usually get at least one tomato around the 4th of July. Not this year.

Anna N · June 18, 2016

27 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I've missed you guys! We have been internet-less since Wednesday late afternoon. The heat index was 110 F that day and a whopper of a storm built on top of us. It rained 5-7 inches in ONE hour here. 60 mph winds steady with super high gusts. A funnel was spotted just west of my house but we weren't able to see it. It hailed for a good HOUR or more. Pea to quarter size hail. Irrigation was blown over (not mine thank GOD). The storm blew so hard that it caused water to get into the eaves of the house and flood the front room which is where all of my internet equipment is kept. Yeah. Fried it.

I got up at daylight the next morning to survey the damage. I took pictures of the "garden" but it's just too depressing to post. All of the tomato plants were stripped. Cukes ripped out of the ground. My beautiful Silver Queen corn flattened. On and on and on. So, I went out yesterday and spent hours gently lifting plants out of the mud, removing all damaged leaves etc. The internet says that if plants have even just one leaf left that they can sometimes recover. I've never ever had such terrible damage. The weeds, however, remained unscathed.

As I peer out the window this morning the corn actually looks better. It's beginning to stand up again.....we will see.

I still have 22 acres of wheat yet to cut. Remains to be seen whether the hail knocked the kernels out out or not. My field corn was stripped but not laying down like a lot of folks' are around.

I usually get at least one tomato around the 4th of July. Not this year.

Oh, Shelby, I just don't have words.

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