Northwest Vegetable Gardening

[lalala]

I used to have a fig. I wanted to keep it reasonably shaped and sized, so each year I trimmed it so the branches were only about 3' long, and I thinned it too. It went from 3 figs the second year to 50 to 100 to I lost count. Pruned it in the fall.

First year I have an Italian plum. It has been dropping green fruit this past week. Should I be alarmed? There is still a lot of fruit on the tree.

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Probably due to the hot weather from last week.

Don't worry, you'll have plenty before too long.

[hummingbirdkiss]

LaLaLa thanks for the offer you live close enough I may have to take you up on it!!!

I HAVE TOMATOES YOU GUYS!!!! WHOOOOO HOOOO!!!!! I never thought it would happen but all the plants in the containers have some on and I actually ate one yesterday it was very yummy that $!32 tomato was!!!!

thanks for the fig tips after I thought about it I realized I should not try to weep it with those huge leaves it would look stupid ..the tree looks silly enough as it is with the branches all splayed out now!!!

I will just cut it back this fall and hope it turns out ok! I am afraid this recent rain we have had will make the figs burst!

I am beside myself I finally have tomatoes ..now if they do not fall off and get all the way to ripe I will be beyond happy!!!

I have so many flowers all over !!!

and the baby hummingbirds are bouncing off the walls and my red hair!!! they are hysterical!

the baby bunnies are on my nerves now that they are not babies anymore and all over the place ... time for them to go now before I consider currying them!!!!

this is such a wonderful year in the garden ..I am going to walk the neighborhood later today and see what seeds and cuttings I can snip ...

I am notorious for plant snipping everywhere I go ..if it hangs over the side walk it is fair game for me to take a pinch !!!

Edited July 19, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

Tsquare maybe the heat then the sudden rain made them drop because they got so heavy from the water? i dont know I am guessing

[beauxbrie]

Beauxbrie I am so sorry you have no figs!!!  I have tons if you lived next door I would share!!! ... they are also  getting close and the tree is tipping over!

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You are so kind, I wish I lived close! The thought of a fresh fig grilled and then served with a dollop of goat cheese and drizzled with some thyme infused honey....yummm. Oh well, maybe next year!

I did pick my first sun gold tomato on the 1st of July, and have been getting a few every few days. So sweet!

Fava Beans. We have grown these for the past 5 years. We are in a seasonal p-patch, so can't start them in fall, and can't typically get them in until mid-April. We have had mostly luck with them, they have been susceptible to black aphids and don't like it to be too hot, but we just picked our first batch of them early this week and there are still a fair amount of beans of various sizes on them. Our p-patch is near the Herbfarm's farm, and they grow these every year, and when I've looked at them, they definitely seem to have less pest problems--I am assuming because they appear to plant them in the fall, and so they are ready before the weather gets as warm (when the aphids seem to show up)

The fennel is moving along nicely--hopefully it will plump up before the sun comes back in full force and causes it to bolt.

The blueberries (which are fairly new plants) have a fair amount of blueberries ripening--just trying to gauge when they are at their sweetest. Hopefully they will do well, the ground they are in is a little soggy at times.

[Eden]

The blueberries (which are fairly new plants) have a fair amount of blueberries ripening--just trying to gauge when they are at their sweetest.  Hopefully they will do well, the ground they are in is a little soggy at times.

We have 3 types of blueberry planted now & nooe of them are doing well

two of them are new this year so I wasn't expecting berries yet, but the plants themselves are not thriving. the variety we planted last year (Brunswick?) are looking really sad and not a hint of fruit, even though they had a few berries last year.

Meanwhile the huckleberries look quite happy - they're still tiny so no fruit this year, but green & bushy so I have high hopes for next year.

And our well established thornless blackberry is going gangbusters as usual, so we are foraging like bears every time we walk by

I think I saw fruit forming on the japanese wineberry also which was not only put in this year, but a little bit late in the season!

I just don't get why the blueberries aren't thriving when everyone else is so happy...

[hummingbirdkiss]

I know Himalayan blackberries are a noxious weed here

but I love them so much and they grow sweet juicy berries the size of small plums ..well at least the tiny area I have hidden in the back of my garden and prune well to contain ..does...please do not tell my neighbors they would have me evicted if they knew I was actually letting them grow in my yard!

also I have the Evergreen blackberries wild but not noxious as far as I know

my gooseberries were just enough to make a fantastic sauce with coconut milk and dijon mustart (I know it sounds off the wall but it was fantastic! ) maybe next year they will do better I am moving them to another spot the plant is just not thriving where they are ..

on the other hand my current bush was loaded and is huge and healthy .. I would love to plant another one I love the way the leaves smell

I have not done well with blueberries sadly ..maybe next year I will try again

[kitchenmage]

I am becoming a bit of a blueberry fiend so let me share what I have learned.

Prune hard in spring

Take off water shoots (on cloudy days) so the berries get light (you can still do this, shove cuttings in a damp, shaded spot and at least some will root)

Remove dead twiggy branches that aren't doing anything.

Damp roots are a good thing

Acid soil is needed - sprinkle coffee grounds on the dirt for a quick fix. I use a dozen cups worth of grounds a day and they all go on my blueberries or rhodies.

A friend of mine started caring for hers this spring and you can already see the difference.

[hummingbirdkiss]

Kitchenmage valuable info thank you so much! I use the bags of grounds my son brought me from his breif stint in a coffee shop! great idea ..I had been dumping them by the azalias

my plums are all bursting from the sudden rain ..very depressing!!!

the figs look fine so does everything else! but the few plums I nurtured all split

bummer!!!

Edited July 22, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[beauxbrie]

Thanks Kitchenmage, for the blueberry advice. I am adopting and wait and see attitude on the damp roots, as I believe my plants may get a little more sogginess than dampness... I was at the nursery the other day and saw a variety that claims to deal with areas that don't drain so well, so keeping that in the back pocket.

I'll try the coffee grounds, too, I just picked up a bag at the coffee shop--was going to add it to my onions, but I'll just have to pick up some more.

With all the rain this week, my cherry tomatoes are splitting before turning completely. Still lots of tomatoes, glad that it is going to dry up a bit though.

Ate the first harvest of fava beans last night, mixed with garlic, some salami from salumi, pasta, and parmesan. YUM!

Noticed 2 or 3 baby figs on my tree (at last!), but if these are the second crop ones, I really don't have a lot of hope...

[hummingbirdkiss]

Ok the rain needs to stop...I put all my house plants outside and they love it ..but I don't ..this is supposed to happen in May and June not at the end of July!

I have a mold garden growing in my house...I put the ac on just to get the stickiness out ...makes me think of back East summers not western Washington summers!!

we are not used to humidity here! and it is so freaking muggy!!!

there is supposed to be a break this weekend

I will stay positive ..and my garden does need attention deadheading ect ..badly!

Edited July 23, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

the sun is out today YAY!!!!

I just walked out to my garden the figs look stunned from the rain but did not split thank goodness

my tomatoes are loaded you guys I am so happy!!! non burst and I just ate three ripe ones ..I feel so happy ..now a few days of sun and I will be looking for the sourdough to make tomato sandwiches with mayo and onions!!! my favorite summer thing!

hope you are all doing well in your gardens?

[lalala]

I am notorious for plant snipping everywhere I go ..if it hangs over the side walk it is fair game for me to take a pinch !!!

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As a gardener, I would be much happier, if you knocked on my door and asked me for a pinch or a cutting rather than doing it yourself. That is bad garden juju.

I am laden with tomatoes, but no ripe ones yet.

We have five different kinds of summer squash this year as well.

I'm now trying to figure out what to do about winter planting. Usually we go fallow, but maybe this year I'll be adventurous.

lalala

[tejon]

I got things planted really late last year and ended up with a lot of things overwintering. I used a cold frame over the delicate plants and was far more successful than I would have imagined. Lettuce did really well, as did carrots and radishes (makes sense, root vegetables being below ground), and my parsley stayed happy all winter long. I'm going to plant daikon, turnips, cabbage, lots more lettuce (especially corn salad, which is more cold hardy), and do a cover crop of tyfon in our larger garden area to break things up and provide salad trimmings.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I am notorious for plant snipping everywhere I go ..if it hangs over the side walk it is fair game for me to take a pinch !!!

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As a gardener, I would be much happier, if you knocked on my door and asked me for a pinch or a cutting rather than doing it yourself. That is bad garden juju.

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should have made it clear ...I never touch anything in anyones yard it is fair game if it is growing onto the side walk or the street however yes I take a pinch

if I touched plants in peoples yards yes that would be intrusive and rude I would never do that ... but the sidewalk and streets where I live have lots of volunteers growning and they do not belong to anyone..usually are hit buy Roundup when the city cleans them ...

[hummingbirdkiss]

all this rain made all my tomato plants that finally had bunches on them ..drop fruit this is the last year for me to try this I am giving up on tomato growing for sure ...

Edited August 24, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

Presidents day weekend time to plant peas in the Pacific Northwest!

I just did and took note my garlic are about two inches high now ..there is hope that spring is coming

[kiliki]

I know that President's Day=peas but it's always too cold to want to be in the garden--it's hard to think about gardening on a day I usually spend skiing (this year might be the exception, since its supposed to be so warm Sunday). So do you usually plant them this weekend?

[hummingbirdkiss]

Yes I always plant them on Presidents day weekend it gives me a boost from all this rain and crappy weather..they give my garlic nitrogen and I can pick them starting late spring early summer...and plant again.... heppily I went out cleaned my yard from all the windstorms we have had ...did some prunning and planted them yesterday

I have collard greens that are ready to pick now I just saw then on the side of the house where I stuck them last year when I ran out of room

.but the perfect ski conditions we have for a change are also worth putting peas off ..

[lalala]

Yes I always plant them on Presidents day weekend it gives me a boost from all this rain and crappy weather..they give my garlic nitrogen and I can pick them starting late spring early summer...and plant again.... heppily I went out cleaned my yard from all the windstorms we have had ...did some prunning and planted them yesterday

I have collard greens that are ready to pick now I just saw then on the side of the house where I stuck them last year when I ran out of room

.but the perfect ski conditions we have for a change  are also worth putting peas off ..

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Ditto, peas and sweet peas are in today.

whoo hoo.

[Eden]

thanks for the reminder!

We are in mad seed buying & garden planning mode

in the pile are two types of arugula, mache, some lettuce, marble sized 'Romeo' & 'Parisian Market' carrots, romanesco zucchini, fava beans, creeping thyme & a ton of edible flowers

I've also been having fun the bare root department this month: We just transplanted a raspberry cane from a friends garden and put two blueberries in a big pot, there's a black currant waiting to be planted once we figure out where best to place it, and I still need to find a huckleberry to replace the one that died last summer

Oh and we just started two additional strawberry beds

This summer is going to rock!

[hummingbirdkiss]

congrats on the strawberry beds Eden how exciting!!!

I did not even think of sweet peas I am going to go get some and plant them all over my tiers!!! thanks!

I see regular old blackberry vines for sale and can not believe that is legal in WA LOLOL

[lalala]

fava beans are up!

[Eden]

our favas are barely peeking little tips of green above the soil so far but I have faith.

There's also what looks like a cardoon coming back - which surprised me because they did NOT do well last year, I think I'm doing something wrong...

the mache and arugula are both coming in, and all the chives we scattered under the roses are popping up.

I just bought some purslane seeds to try as welj, and am impatiently waiting for tomoto starts because I already know what I want to grow If you come across "Isis Candy" starts I highly recommend it!

I love this time of year - every time I walk outside there's something new coming up.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I spent a lot of time in the garden this weekend and just put four more 4X4 raised beds on one of the sunny tiers...now I just need to find a cost effective way to fill them with good soil

Cedar Grove charges $300 for delivery!!! it is just $21 per square yard for the veg mix ..I need a truck! (our soil is in the fall out zone of the Asarco plant so we have to amend soil and use raised beds for anything edible) ..I have had all my fruits and vegetables tested and they are fine thank goodness ...it is just a matter of keeping the pH correct is all ..sad but true ..I have tons of beautiful soil ...flowers grow like crazy but I have to really be careful where and how I plant food ...Cedar Grove has good soil but it is crazy to pay that for delivery ...cheaper for me to just rent a truck for the day!

anyone else know of a place that sells good clean soil and does not charge that much to deliver ..in the South Sound maybe...

one year we purchased from a local supplier ... what was supposed to be good soil ..a friend of ours who owns an analytical lab tested it and called me in the middle of the day to tell me how contaminated it was ...the company would not take it back...

GET YOUR SOIL TESTED IF YOU LIVE IN THE PUGET SOUND AREA!

I was stunned and sadened at the results (have I talked about this in this thread before if so I am sorry to repeat myself but this is so important especially if you have kids are pregnant or breastfeeding )

my garlic is growing ..rosemary is blooming .. ...strawberries are forming new leaves...I have seeds started in the house ..all the fruit trees have buds and the Asian pear, plum, persimon and cherry are ready to burst into flowers...

.I have an Anna's hummingbird who keeps dive bombing my head everytime I walk out the door ..he winters in my bamboo grove ..takes baths in the fountain ..burrrrrr....and then moves on with his chickie in the spring when the rufus move in ...

my cardoon is coming up all over the place!!!! who knew that first plant I nurtured so carefully would turn into such a monster ..good thing I like the whole sci fi look of it!

bulbs are popping up and color is showing ..

I am so glad spring seems to be here

[hummingbirdkiss]

oh I have question ..I was sent some onion seeds from a friend ..I have always planted starts ...should I put the seeds in now? how long does it take to grow onions from seeds?

thanks

Edited March 10, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)