Happy Fruits

BY SKEETER

 Hello from my GEORGIA GARDENS! I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful summer as much as I have been thus far! Lower temperatures and weekly rain are keeping this gardener happy.

I had given up on planting a vegetable garden some time ago as they just do not do well for me. I am more of a Flower Gardener then anything.

But this year, we wanted homegrown tomatoes so I planted a few slips along with Red, Yellow and Green Sweet Pepper, Squash, Zucchini, Cantaloupe and Watermelon. Tomatoes are doing well.

My first attempt at Watermelon are doing well also! 

 The Saint and I ate our first picked Cantaloupes! Not as sweet as we prefer but to be expected with so much rain lately.

 We picked a third Cantaloupe and many tomatoes to include some from volunteer plants from using composted soil. Ha, what a surprise to gaze upon my blooming flowers and spot tomatoes ready for picking!

Sad but not surprising to say, we lost the Squash and Zucchini as always. The Pepper have yet to do anything but bloom. Reckon the Bees are not doing their job of pollinating the Pepper plants.... 

 Here is a mystery to us. This watermelon has begun to rot at the end. What causes this? I removed it from the plant and have placed it in an area for the wildlife to enjoy. I must say that I am ever so pleased to have grown my own HAPPY FRUITS, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Giveaway Winner!

  Giving away a gift to a commenter was so much fun for me as I kept wondering who would it be? Well, the answer was decided last night by a random number generator found here. 

But first let me show you how I numbered the comments (it's not fancy at all). Since the giveaway was limited to commenters with a mailing address in the United States only, some commenters were eliminated. This meant that just because you were the 15th commenter does not mean your number is 15. Here are the numbers in chronological order of qualifying commenters. 

1. Dave

2. Judie

3. LNL

4. Tamera

5. Linda (Meadowview Thymes)

6. Gardener on Sherlock Street

7. Jean

8. Carolyn

9. Darla

10. Donna @GWGT

11. Skeeter

12. Michaela

13. Terrie

14. Lola

15. W2W

16. Pearl

17. Kathleen

18. Rose

19. DarleneS

20. Janet

21. Rebecca 

I wish I could include overseas commenters but logistically it just wouldn't be fair to the small company and its marketer that kindly offered the give away to a commenter/reader of this blog. 

So, without further ado....


 

The number drawn was 6! That means Gardener on Sherlock Street won the giveaway. Congrats GonSS! Please send me your address so I can forward it to the company and your owls will be in the mail post haste....


in the garden....


I thought you all might like to see we are eating fresh tomatoes here in Tiger Gardens. These are not just any tomatoes though. They are the variety 'Silver Fir Tree' which is an heirloom variety. I received these seeds along with many other older open pollinated varieties in a packet last summer from Seeds of Change. Silver fir tree is a determinate type tomato plant. I surmise this is why they are so early as I think eating fresh tomatoes on June 19th is early. 

Do you know the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes? And if so, traditionally what type of tomatoes do American grow....

in the garden....?

 Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Storing Green Tomatoes Before a Hard Freeze So You Can Enjoy the Garden in the Winter

The summer garden is finally finished. Upper Middle Tennessee experienced a hard freeze this past week and any hopes of keeping warm season flowers and vegetables around for a bit longer were mostly dashed. Of course we all knew it was coming way before it hit. Geez, it's November already so I think the hard freeze was overdue. Prior to the hard freeze I had removed the very tall tomato plants from the garden. Below is a picture of the before removal and then after removal. 








I removed my 'Better Boy' tomato plants so that I could pick all of the green tomatoes prior to the freeze. Removing the tomato plants is a big job that requires pruners and brute strength. It is a job I dread each fall because it is a difficult job. The difficulty comes into play because the plants are over eight feet tall and are interwoven into the concrete reinforcing wire cages. I first have to remove all of the green tomatoes that I can easily reach and find, then the overhanging plant stems, then the cage itself-which is usually wrapped with the remaining stems. Once the cage is on the ground I am able to unwind the tomato vines and toss them all into the compost. This job took me a few hours this fall and I am not sure why because I actually had less tomato plants than in years past. 






The green tomatoes I harvested filled up four brown paper bags. I check the bags pretty much daily since this year the tomatoes are ripening quite fast. Or so it seems. It may just be that since I have so many of them I am getting overwhelmed with ripe tomatoes all at once. Some people store green tomatoes in a cardboard box covered with newspapers. It works just fine too. I just usually use the bags. I store them in my unheated garage. One year I had fresh tomatoes from the bags in January! Of course I must warn you that tomatoes from paper bags stored in your garage do not compare to sun warmed tomatoes picked from the vine....


in the garden....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Frozen Tomatoes

By SKEETER
I did not plant any vegetables other then Tomatoes in my Georgia Garden this year. The only tomatoes I seem to have luck with are Roma. That is fine by me as I love to use Roma's in sauces, soups and chili.
I planted 4 slips last spring and one did nothing more then just die on me. I have no idea what happened as it was beside the others in a nice row. As you can see, I harvested lots of red beauties from the 3 thriving plants. I had so many that I blanched, peeled and froze many tomatoes in containers in my freezer.
Here is a tomato plant that came up totally Voluntary for me! I did nothing to this plant but water it when the sprinkler was in the area and water just happen to hit it. I am amazed it survived the hot, dry summer we had.
I was able to harvest many maters from this Volunteer as well. Maybe Mother Nature was being nice to give me a plant since one of my bought ones died. I had a nice stock of tomatoes in my freezer waiting for winter and me to cook some yummy treats.

Over the weekend our freezer went out! Yep, it just up and died on us. The freezer was running but not keeping a freezing temperature. So it was out a bit before we realized it had died! Sunday, we grilled all the meat that had thawed. We got the new refrigerator in place on Monday morning but everything else in the freezer had now thawed. I went on a cooking frenzy! I made Soup, Chili, Spaghetti Sauce, Green Bean Casserole, etc. I have cooked enough food to feed an Army! So much for FROZEN TOMATOES, In the Garden...

Note: We lost our Washing machine a few months ago. That makes two major appliances purchased in 2001 now dead. They sure don't make things like they used to....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Veggie Garden Update-August 2010-Cantaloupes Anyone?

From In the Garden

What a difference a month makes in the vegetable garden! We have to pick every day or else we wind up with a basketful of lots of vegetables-including some that have grown too big. Do you see the cucumbers? Yuck! I love the cucumbers to eat and to grow but hate the fact they tend to hide out amongst the foliage and are very difficult to find. The two huge ones that have begun turning yellow are destined for the compost bin-back to the earth to feed next year's vegetable garden; and the cycle continues. I think one of the best things about gardening is the ability to recycle wastes from our homes and everyday lives back into a usable product-compost-that can then grow healthy vegetables to feed us.

From In the Garden

July Veggie Garden Update Picture

From In the Garden

August Veggie Garden Update

The two photos above might best show just how much the vegetable garden has changed. Wow! I love the changes in gardens and it never fails to amaze me just how much plants grow in a single season. Where we could see the A-frame and some of the brick pathways last month both are covered by vines this month. It makes for tricky walking trying to avoid stepping on the cantaloupe vines but I have to work with what I have-a small vegetable patch in part shade.

From In the Garden

The primary vining crops that are taking over the garden are the bushel gourds and cantaloupe. Gourds really love the garden as they are taking over part of the lawn and nearby beds as well! The cantaloupes are not as bad about taking over but since they are growing in the old banana spot and were an afterthought, they are taking over the pathways since they are not growing up a trellis. On the gourds I am actually relieved to see them take off and grow so I don't begrudge them their real estate. I was afraid I wouldn't get any gourds due to their slow start but just look at the three in the picture! It seemed like the gourds grew overnight.

From In the Garden

Another big surprise is all the cantaloupes we have in the garden. I think at last count there are six of these huge fruits growing. They are pretty close to a foot in diameter. We were SO ready to pick one and determine its ripeness and taste that I think we prematurely picked a cantaloupe.

From In the Garden

This cantaloupe was the victim of us rushing in so to speak. While it tasted good and disappeared in two days, it was a bit more firm and not as tasty as we'd like our cantaloupes to be. Mr. Fix-it and I decided it probably needed another few days in order for it to fully soften up and develop a deep flavor. We'll wait a bit longer than we think on the other cantaloupes-but can you blame us for jumping the gun and picking it? Please forgive Mr. Fix-it's appearance-he was working outside on this very hot day and got his white shirt smudged.

Update on cantaloupe ripeness: the outside of the cantaloupes are quickly changing color to a very distinct orange and not the tan and green you see on the above pictured cantaloupe in the garden. My friend Vonna says THAT is when to pick them but to still leave them a day or two longer. That day will be tomorrow since I am having a bunch of garden club members over to do a leaf casting workshop. You can bet cantaloupes-probably this one-will be on the menu for snacks! I will let you all know how it goes and maybe post a picture Friday or next week.

From In the Garden

Here is a long shot showing both the gourds and the cantaloupes-do you see how much less room the vines take when grown vertically versus along the ground? Oh how I wish I could let all my vining crops run but that is not to be so. Just to the right of the vines is one of two beds with tomatoes. They are doing quite well now but are beginning to decline due to the heat. Watering has not been an issue for the vegetable garden believe it or not. One of the advantages of the French intensive method of gardening I employ is to have the ground all covered either with plants or mulch and to ensure the soil is double dug and enriched with good compost-this alleviates water loss and helps to protect the soil. It has worked like a charm for me for nearly many years. I've watered this garden only twice all summer. That is super great!

Aside: I believe the French Intensive Method of gardening is a precursor to square foot gardening. In my little research on the matter I have found the French intensive method to have become popularized in the mid 1970s and the square foot gardening technique became popular in the early 1980s. Correct me if I'm wrong. Both methods employ good soil practices and are favored by organic gardeners. I find I like the French Intensive method better because all work is done up front and there is no need for exact and precise measurements. While the SFG method seems to work for many people I just find it ludicrous you must be meticulous with measuring. This may be good for new gardeners but for me gardening is to go and do. Spacing can become second nature and rotation simply common sense. I know my opinion may be controversial but it is my opinion. You hardly ever hear of the French Intensive method of gardening anymore and I think it is a shame. All blogs ever talk about is SFG so I had to get in a plug on the French method. I will, no doubt, post on it and my views at some point.

From In the Garden

Lastly let's look at the cucumbers growing vertically. I have an overabundance of cucumbers-as I know most of you do that grow cukes. I tried to compensate for not having any cukes last summer by over planting this summer. These vines are growing up on a nylon trellis that you can find at just about any store for a few dollars. I cannot recommend these trellises enough. Many think the nylon rots quickly but in my experience the trellis will last many years. I just retired one last year after six years. It was not retired due to rot but due to tears when I'd move it around or I would pull vine residue off from it-basically I mistreated it a bit. In came two new trellises and I'm leaving these put for now.

We are also harvesting straight neck squash just about daily. I have found this type of squash to be very squash vine borer resistant. I did not plant any Waltham winter squash this year but I can attest to its durability as well. One vine I will not plant again though is the Kuri squash. It has been a dismal failure, along with the hay bale experiment. We got one banana pepper and one shriveled eggplant from the two hay bales I planted. I will do more research and try that experiment again next year but with a few changes.

A note on fall planting: until the rains return and it cools down it is not wise to plant anything right now-even with consistent watering the plants will pretty much languish. But! Before we know it will be time to get in those transplants of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. Plant bulbs of garlic and lettuce seeds too! My lettuce is still growing but I am need of a new planting soon. I actually met my goal of picking lettuce with tomatoes but the lettuce was bitter and very tiny-not exactly what I had in mind....

in the garden...

Look for a post to come on the gourds. If you do not grow these vines then it might just be time if you want a great looking groundcover vine that stands up to the heat and drought and part shade and even produces cool fruit!


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

A Gift from Dan

By Skeeter

It is always fun to read other Garden Blogs although I have not had the time lately to visit many. The spring planting season keeps me busy in my Georgia Garden and not on the computer so much. The Blogging world is full of fun and interesting people with wonderful new ideas. I learn something new every day while blogging! One of those new things I learned was there is such a thing as purple tomatoes! When Dan from the Urban Veggie Garden talked about them, I was intrigued. Dan offered to send me some seeds and just as promised, they arrived in the mail.

I put some of the seeds into small containers and moisten them well with warm water.

Then to the tray they went.

Plastic lid on top and in front of a sunny window in the sun room to sprout.

This is one of two reasons why I don't like to fool with seeds, seedlings and all plants in this house. Sheba (one of the two) was table-side as soon as I placed the tray in that spot. Those cats don't miss much!

I have never really had much luck with starting anything from seeds inside but was keeping my fingers crossed for Good Luck just the same. Oh happy day when two of the seeds sprouted for me!

I tried my luck with more seeds but to no avail. I am saving the last few to place directly into the soil once we get the Veggie Garden tilled.

The Veggie Garden soil remains too soggy to til so for now the tomatoes were transplanted into larger containers.

They did not handle the transaction well and I was worried that I was going to loose them.

But as you can see, one is taking off and doing really great now. The other one is still chugging along and hopefully it will survive the transplant and a second transplant into the ground once it is ready for planting.

I am hoping to sink my teeth into my first purple tomato this summer. And if I do, it is all thanks to blogging and A GIFT FROM DAN, In the Garden...

Again, thanks for this gift Dan. Even if I fail, it has been fun trying my hand at raising a purple tomato from such a tiny seed!