Gardening: (2016– )

[ChocoMom]

@BeeZee...  They don't taste much like raspberries.  These are rather tart, and very juicy.  I really have not found anything that tastes very similar.  (There are other varieties that grow in California and a few other places- which may taste a little more like raspberries.)   The seeds are teeny tiny, also.  Folks up here turn it into jam mostly.  But, pie, scones, tarts....all of those can be made with them. And, they can be dried. 

 

The other unique thing that distinguishes it from raspberries is that the plants don't have any thorns or pickers- which make them really pleasant to go pick.   (The leaves are kind of cool too---really big and fuzzy.) 

[chromedome]

On 7/30/2018 at 6:17 PM, suzilightning said:

Hey, dude...

where are your moose enclosures like we saw up north of you?  loved those small tended plots all along the highways.....

me?  I have a black thumb.....

They're not enclosures as such...what they enclose is the highway. The fence makes it difficult/near-impossible for a moose to get onto the road, where vehicles might impact one at 120km/h to the detriment of both moose and driver.

[suzilightning]

2 minutes ago, chromedome said:

They're not enclosures as such...what they enclose is the highway. The fence makes it difficult/near-impossible for a moose to get onto the road, where vehicles might impact one at 120km/h to the detriment of both moose and driver.

Yeah...we saw those all over Newfoundland too.  Fascinating

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chromedome]

It's an outright necessity, we lose drivers every year across the region in moose collisions. For people in areas where the highway isn't fenced yet, it's a significant issue in election years (like this one).

[Shelby]

Lots of veggies coming in.  Weather has been pretty perfect.  Not too awful hot.  

 

 

[KennethT]

Finally letting my strawberry plants fruit!

[dcarch]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

Finally letting my strawberry plants fruit!

 

A few more hours ----------------------> strawberry cream pie!!!!

 

dcarch 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

'Tis the season when I can have as many tomatoes as I dream.  Today I picked my first Atlas...

 

 

 

Probably the largest tomatoes I have grown.  On a small bush in a small pot.

 

 

 

For comparison here is Ramapo.  Which I think of as a large tomato.

 

 

 

And of course my old standby Mountain Magic!

 

 

 

[Shelby]

[heidih]

@Shelby I want your bounty AND the lovely basket!

[blue_dolphin]

On 8/12/2018 at 11:04 AM, KennethT said:

Finally letting my strawberry plants fruit!

 

I thought of you when I read this article in the WSJ: Strawberry Jam: Urban-Farming Startups Tackle a Problem Crop

Not sure if that article is behind a paywall or not but the gist is a concern over potential costs for pollinating strawberry plants by hand or other systems when grown in urban farms - shipping containers and the like.

I would think that sales of perfect, ripe mid-winter berries to restaurants, etc. could command a premium price but I guess it's all about the numbers!

[KennethT]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I thought of you when I read this article in the WSJ: Strawberry Jam: Urban-Farming Startups Tackle a Problem Crop

Not sure if that article is behind a paywall or not but the gist is a concern over potential costs for pollinating strawberry plants by hand or other systems when grown in urban farms - shipping containers and the like.

I would think that sales of perfect, ripe mid-winter berries to restaurants, etc. could command a premium price but I guess it's all about the numbers!

I haven't read that article, but I've read similar ones to it recently.

 

That's actually what I'm researching now.  I've got a bit of warehouse space I'm not using, so I figure why not make some money from it.  Plus, my proximity to NYC gives me a market for high price high quality fruit.  I'm actually experimenting with some uncommon varieties prized for their flavor, but not typically grown around here, and dont' take kindly to shipping, which should give me a nice niche, so long as the costs of production (A/C, lights, etc) are not prohibitive... but not paying rent should certainly help profitability.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Today I was able to give away two of the Atlas tomatoes!  Picked again when I got home.  One Atlas tonight was 806 g (1.8 pounds).  Mountain Magic is still my choice for taste and texture.  Had six of those for lunch.  Picked Ramapo as well.

 

Right now snacking on what are probably the final blueberries of the season.  I saw a strawberry but I didn't feel like reaching for it.  Couldn't leave the door open too long because the moonflowers are trying to get in the house.

 

[Smithy]

Mountain Magic is one of my favorite tomatoes, also. I haven't been able to find them around here in the last few years. Maybe I can talk someone into growing them again next year. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

52 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Mountain Magic is one of my favorite tomatoes, also. I haven't been able to find them around here in the last few years. Maybe I can talk someone into growing them again next year. 

 

Why can't you grow them?  They are very unfussy.

 

[Smithy]

7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Why can't you grow them?  They are very unfussy.

 

 

My work schedule is such that I've been relying on the local farmers instead of trying to grow anything more elaborate than basil this year. I'll file away the info, however, that Mountain Magic tomatoes will grow in pots. I had assumed, for no particular reason, that they'd need more space.

[joiei]

This morning in the garden, to get ready for fall, I planted radishes, lots of beets, onions to overwinter, sugar snaps, and nasturtiums to add to salads.  Tomatoes are still producing, so are the jalapenos.  I am leaving the sage till later to create smudge sticks.  Fresh sage just smells like thanksgiving.  

[Okanagancook]

I planted some Sea Island Peas that I got from Anson Mills as an experiment.  Well, not so well and I am not sure why.  Some of the plants got quite big while others were dwarfs.  Maybe planted too close together.  Maybe they like rows better.

Here's a picture of the plants and the beans on the plants as well as my tiny harvest so far😪

[Okanagancook]

The rest of the garden is pretty well done.  It's getting cooler at nights and stuff is just sitting on the plants doing nothing.  There's a picture of the tiny cherry tomatoes I grew this year....very sweet but one ends up chasing them around the plate they are so small.  The New Zealand spinach likes the cooler weather and I have some new greens planted for some late summer harvest...on the right of the spinach.

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

The rest of the garden is pretty well done.  It's getting cooler at nights and stuff is just sitting on the plants doing nothing.

Mine's just hitting its stride, now that the summer is over (it was a difficult spring, with several late frosts, so most of my transplants didn't make it). On the upside, September can sometimes be a pretty good growing month here so there's lots of harvesting to come.

 

No recent pictures, because my garden plot is out in the boonies, so cell coverage there defaults to analog and drains my battery in a trice. My greens are going great guns, though, my second batch of peas is leaping from the soil with enthusiasm, and my tomatoes, squashes, pumpkins and cabbages all look like giving a good, hard push before the growing season is over. It'll be nice if some of my tomatoes can ripen on the vine, given my late start.

I'm heading to Nova Scotia for a few days, but expect to harvest my first okra when I return. I'm pretty excited about that, because (as noted upthread) I'd only just discovered this past winter that it can be grown here.

[kayb]

I'm about to decide that when we move, my gardening is going to be cut back to a few raised beds -- herbs, tomatoes, an asparagus bed, and one for maybe a few hills of cucumbers and a few hills of squash. Between my work/travel schedule and screwy weather (late frosts, early heat wave that really hurt the tomatoes), mine's been less than successful this year. I'm about to decide it's about as easy, and as cheap, to buy produce to put up at the local market or produce stand.

 

That said, I do plan to plant a fig tree or two as soon as we get relocated. And depending on how big a property we settle on, maybe a couple of other fruit trees as well.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I pitched over the balcony tonight a couple pounds of past tomatoes.  They are rotting faster than I can consume them.  And my gag reflex isn't helping.

 

[HungryChris]

We are leaving for Italy in a few days and I have made all the sauce I have time for. Deb will be bringing a big bag of tomatoes into work for a giveaway on Friday. In a way, I am fortunate, as it was an early year for us, tomato wise. I was hard pressed to find any green tomatoes for dinner last night.

HC

[Paul Bacino]

The Guard Cat

 

for my Sungold's

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 8/30/2018 at 12:57 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I pitched over the balcony tonight a couple pounds of past tomatoes.  They are rotting faster than I can consume them.  And my gag reflex isn't helping.

 

 

Dear Jo,

 

You work at a library. Could you not bring your excess tomatoes in there for your co-workers or the patrons? They would most probably very much love them. 

 

Just sayin.