Northwest Vegetable Gardening

[tejon]

I've got garlic sprouting (from a head of red hard necked garlic I bought at the farmer's market), carrots coming up, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, leeks, daikon radishes, pac choi, spinach (looks like I'll be adding more now), and a bunch of lettuce mix that will go in a cold frame. All are growing in a very protected area, by the house, where it stays a lot warmer and wind-free to start with.

I have a bunch of tomatoes that I doubt will get a chance to redden at all at this late date. Thinking they'll go into some kind of pickle.

[Saara]

Don't give up on the tomatoes yet! All mine were green until last week and now they've suddenly been ripening. This is the first year at the new place (been here 3) that I've actually had tomatoes ripen. It's exciting.

Last year I made an Indian green tomato chutney which turned out quite nice. It was a great alternative to fried green tomatoes.

Sounds like you've put in quite a bit. I hope it all grows well for you! This is my first year that I'm really attempting anything so I'll just have to see. I think I'll plant more spinach too while it's still warm enough to germinate. Seems like there might be a bit of a shortage of that for a bit.

[kiliki]

Anyone gardening through the Fall and Winter?

I hoped to but I grossly miscalcuted how big my tomatoes would get (first time in this location-I am amazed at how big they get when not crammed into containers in less than ideal locations) and I have almost no room in my raised beds. So I have to decide whether to pull a couple tomato plants and get starts in asap or forego it and buy from the farmer's market.

I have a bunch of tomatoes that I doubt will get a chance to redden at all at this late date.

I've always heard to leave them alone-some will ripen, anyway-until our nighttime temps threaten to fall below 40 degrees-then bring in the green ones and let them ripen in paper bags indoors. I did pinch off the flowers on most of my plants so that they don't put energy into producing new fruit-instead hopefully it will force the existing fruits to ripen.

The blossom end rot I had earlier never came back. I had pulled the affected fruit, and the rest of the crop was fine.

Edited September 19, 2006 by kiliki (log)

[pupcart]

So I have to decide whether to pull a couple tomato plants and get starts in asap or forego it and buy from the farmer's market.

[kiliki]

That's a good idea, and I think you talked me into it. Thanks.

[Saara]

If you have the room you can also cut the tomatoes at the base and hang them upside down in the windows. I had "tomato drapes" one fall when we had an early frost. Most of the tomatoes ripened quite nicely.

The method may not be a good idea if you entertain a lot.

[tejon]

I'll watch the tomatoes and see if they get a chance to ripen, then. I'd be a shame if they don't, since I have quite a few decent sized ones that look like they have potential.

[stevea]

I've still got tomatoes hanging in there, hoping to get ripe. Also, the runner beans are still blooming, but the actual beans have tapered off. The chard is still going great too.

My planting for the fall includes some snap peas that are now up and blooming, bok choy, spinach (lots of spinach since it'll be hard to find or risky to use from stores), arugula, other salad greens, kale, collards, and some turnips (for greens only). I usually plant the garlic in early October.

pupcart -- you say you have potatoes in the ground. Are they this season's crop, or have you recently planted them for a winter or early spring crop? If the latter, do you need some sort of cover for them?

[Saara]

Good news! Cliff Mass just promised a warmish, dryish month to come so the tomatoes still have some hope. I hope the same holds true for here in the foothills, but I'm not putting my raingear away.

I'll be sowing favas next month in an attempt to get a spring crop and condition the soil a bit. I still have half my spuds in the ground as well. I'll be digging them as soon as it's not so muddy. If sowing now, you don't need to do anything for them although heavy mulching would be a good idea. They won't come up until spring.

[kiliki]

spinach (lots of spinach since it'll be hard to find or risky to use from stores),

I think everyone's planting spinach for this reason-I got lettuce, chard and arugula starts today, but I couldn't find spinach.

[crouching tyler]

Good news! Cliff Mass just promised a warmish, dryish month to come so the tomatoes still have some hope. I hope the same holds true for here in the foothills, but I'm not putting my raingear away.

←

Rats! I just pulled out all my tomato plants.

[Eden]

Tis the season to flip through catalogs & reimagine our gardens

So we're definitely ordering a fig tree for the one sunny spot in the yard, plus a bunch of huckleberries, but I have a couple full-shade spots that I'd like to put something edible in - any suggestions? (No trees, but anything from about 6 feet tall on down is fine)

edited for typo

Edited January 16, 2007 by Eden (log)

[kiliki]

You'll have to keep me posted regarding the huckleberries. I have two big, happy evergreen huckleberries, but they've never fruited, and it was only after I planted them that I realized-hey, this doesn't look like the kind of huckleberries I pick when hiking. Alas it was not. So I don't even know what a huckleberry from an evergreen plant tastes like, or how to make it fruit (I get flowers, but that's all). So then I did find the "right" kind of huckleberries at Swanson's, but in an uncharacteristic show of neglect I let one plant die in the summer heat, then when the other died back for the winter I forgot where I planted it, and I think I accidentally dug it up the following spring before it came back. But it didn't fruit, either. The foks at Swanson's warned me they don't do so well at sea level.

Edited January 16, 2007 by kiliki (log)

[tsquare]

Tis the season to flip through catalogs & reimagine our gardens 

So we're definitely ordering a fig tree for the one sunny spot in the yard,

edited for typo

←

Yikes, my fig tree (about 80-90 fruits each of the past two years) started as a 12" stick someone handed me. 3 fruit the first year, about 40 the second then 100+ (some for the birds.) In 4 or 5 years it grew too big to harvest, despite strong pruning. I left it behind recently, thinking of sneaking off a cutting - do they grow from a branch cut? Unknown variety - green when ripe, but soft and droopy, reddish inside.

[Eden]

I'm not too worried re generous supplies of figs. IF we cant consume it all ourselves the extras will get hauled away happily by friends/fellow cooks. (and I'm pretty sure I could eat 80 - 90 figs over the course of a few weeks )

I hope the huckleberries will do well here in Ballard, they're one of my favorite fruits.

Raspberies are also in the plan, possibly including Wineberries, an unusual shade loving berry from Japan

[pupcart]

Tis the season to flip through catalogs & reimagine our gardens 

So we're definitely ordering a fig tree for the one sunny spot in the yard,

edited for typo

←

Unknown variety - green when ripe, but soft and droopy, reddish inside.

←

Your fig tree is most likely a Desert King. By the way, RaintreeNursery.com in Morton, Washington is a great source for figs. I wish we had room in our yard for more fig trees - I'd plant several more varieties.

http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/pro...roducttype=FIGS

[kiliki]

How is everyone's garden doing?

I have snap peas and english peas producing very well, and more lettuce (8 kinds-I always go overboard) than I can eat. The carrots, haricot verts and radishes are getting pretty big but have a ways to go, and the radishes are probably screwed since it has been hotter than they like-I planted them too late. The spinach and arugula are done and have been replaced with tomatoes, basil, pickling cukes and tomatillos.

[tsquare]

New yard with a big cherry tree and an old Italian plum - can't wait!

But gave up a lot of herbs and berries (and the fig) and are waiting to see what we have before digging up an area for a garden.

So far, abundant plant matter, not all identifiable, and little edible.

We got some tomato plants from the Orca Children's Garden Sale and some orphans from the Bradner Garden (if you haven't been - it is a great place to visit!) Also a few kitchen herbs - in a big pot.

Thank goodness for the farmer's market!

[hummingbirdkiss]

OH my garden is stunning right now ..the flowers are bursting! The herbs are all blooming as well so there are tons of hummingbirds, butterflies and bee's everywhere!

my strawberries are loaded with nice sized green berries

fig tree full of figs

Asian pears have plum sized fruits now

plums are doing pretty good as well

rhubarb ..the whole hill on the side of my house is covered

my young cherry tree became an appetizer to a huge buck and I am hoping it will survive

currents, gooseberries, grapes ..all doing wonderfully

this is a good year for everything in my yard so far...

so good I got brave and put in tomatoes and peppers..something I Have never had luck with where I live ....

Edited June 4, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[girl chow]

I have a shady back yard, so this year I planted my tomatoes in my sunny front yard with espalier trellises. I live in suburbia, so vegetable gardening in the front yard, despite the national edible estates trend, may be a bit controversial for my neighbors. I'm guessing the espalier will look pretty for a bit, until the end of the season when the vines grow like nuts. In theory, I'll cut all the suckers back and have a pretty tomato vine display, but I know by late August I'll get bored with that and let it become a hot tomato mess.

My herb plants in my raised garden bed all made it through the winter and are going nuts. Love it!

I am also thinking of planting a fig tree in my back yard, but the raccoons have been going nuts on my cherry tree, so I'm not sure if it's worth the effort. I have almost zero cherries this year thanks to the freakin' pests, which I'm really pissed about. By the way, raccoons hiss and squeal when you nail them in the ass with a pellet gun or a rock. Squirting them with a high-powered pressure washer does nothing. They seem to enjoy it, actually.

[kiliki]

I think it's illegal to plant anything besides rhodies in your front yard in the 'burbs. Expect a knock on the door soon.

I've considered planting a cherry tree in the past but everyone I know who has one says they lose all of their crop to birds, etc. Does anyone have a different experience?

[crouching tyler]

There are some folks in our neighborhood who seem to get quite a few cherries. Some of them string flashy shiny streamers in their trees, and others use nets during the critical harvest time.

There used to be a massive Bing Cherry tree in our backyard that the previous owner of the house said they would pick bushels of cherries from. Unfortunately, it was dying by the time we got the house. Now, there is a 4-foot tall leafy stick that hopefully will turn into a Lapins cherry tree in its place. We also have a very tall Van cherry tree that produces cherries which all split before they ripen - so we just let the birds/squirrels have those.

[tejon]

I should get a knock on the door soon, too, then. I have lots of "regular" stuff growing there (bayberry, a fuschia that seems to live through absolutely anything, hostas, bleeding hearts, lavender, and sweet alyssum), but there's also several varieties of sage, strawberry plants, and some bush beans. The latter blend quite nicely with the bleeding hearts, oddly enough.

We're currently picking peas, radishes, lettuce, arugula, and herbs. The tomatoes are growing like gangbusters and there are several good sized green ones starting to ripen. Just put in some bell peppers, so we'll see what happens to those. Squash and broccoli and pole beans are doing well, and the I just planted a bunch of cucumber seedlings. I put in asparagus crowns this year and most of them sent up stalks that are now modest ferns. I'm also trying to start some papalo and culantro from seed, but haven't gotten any to sprout yet.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I am so happy to say I live in a town where huge wild looking and unusual ..unique gardens are par not a concern! I can not imagine anyone knocking at my door to complain about my yard!!! I would just ask them to grab a shovel and help me then!!!!

I love the idea of tomatoes!!! I think it would be too late for mine now but next year I want to try this ...

I used bamboo I had dried and made cages out of them and they look like they are not going to hold up already ...

my cherries are ripening nicely now and do get picked at by the birds and I suppose I could put a net over them ..but there are always plenty so I dont mind sharing

strawberries are bursting and also getting pecked at ..

my plums all fell off!!! I have no idea why??? they seemed to start fine then just dropped it is a five way plum

figs are going crazy the tree is huge suddenly!

making stuffed vine leaves this week

I long for my work week to end (my Friday is tomorrow!) so I can get out there and see what is happening ..

there hummingbirds everywhere I had Anna's winter over in my bamboo and then they migratied off and now the rufus are pinging all over the place tanking up for babies I guess...

and I have two tiny baby rabbits in my herb garden ..they love the weeds and leave my herbs alone!!! so far anyway!!!!

Edited June 18, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[stevea]

My tomato plants are growing very well, but very little fruit has set. The only variety that has more than a tiny bulb is something called "Bloody Butcher," which I bought only because of its name when everything else I wanted wasn't available.