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How's your garden?

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Kato

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I bet there are a lot of gardeners lurking around here. How's the garden this year?

We had such a cold spring that ours is all over the place. I've got tomatoes in the greenhouse that are wonderful. Should be turning red soon. On the other hand, my cucumbers don't look like they've grown in two weeks. I'm starting to worry about them. They just don't like the cool, and it's put the brakes on them.

I'm winning the war on potato bugs thanks to constant patrols with an ice cream pail of diatomaceous earth. Around here the stores have quit selling potato powder, and if you've got a bad infestation you're in trouble. :shock:

The number one success of the year so far is the cabbages. Today I put 22 pounds of cabbage in the crock to make sauerkraut. I haven't made it in years because I just could not grow the stuff due to worms. I put them out in the beginning of May, which was scary early. I put a milk jug full of water beside each one, and covered the row with a floating row cover. I lost count of how many frosts they survived, and they made it through a five inch deep snowfall. A couple of frosts were minus 5 ( Canadian degrees) which should have killed them. The water kept the temperature above freezing. And the best part is the row covers kept the bugs out. Wooo Hooo!!!!! I could not be more impressed.

Has anyone else tried these row covers? I bet there are lots of uses for them.
 
I haven't used row covers. Honestly I don't think I know what they are.

I haven't been having very good luck with our garden. Our potatoes are very slow in coming up, and the ones that are up haven't flowered once. Do you know any secrets?

And our tomatoe plants are beautiful, big and green, but no tomatoes. The same thing happened last year. Any tricks here?

I LOVE sauerkraut, but Leanin H has threatend divorce if I even bring some in the house! :roll:

We have never gotten carrots to grow and our green beans grow about 6" high and die. We seem to have no problem with zuccini!

I love to garden, but might just give up and by canned goods!
 
My wife raises a small garden. It did really well for about a month. We had world of snap beans, tomatoes, squash, zuchinni and collard greens. Everything has pretty much stopped doing anything except the collards and the peppers are now making good but the tomatoes burned up in the heat and we pulled up the beans and gave them to the cows a couple of weeks ago. Wife put up about 30 pints of snapped beans and about 20 pints and quarts of tomatoes.
 
The row covers are made of a very lightweight white cloth that is light enough to just float on top of the plants without weighing them down. You hold down the edges with a bit of dirt, and just leave them there. They protect from frost and bugs as well. Not weeds though, you've got to go in there and get them.

Ah.. zucchini! Nothing stops a zucchini! :D :D :D I used to have to restrict Hubby to planting about 3 plants, but now that I'm going to the Farmer's Market, I let him go crazy. He put in about 30. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: Ever notice that weeds don't grow under them? You gotta like that.

My potatoes were slow this year too. I think they were in the ground for almost five weeks before we saw anything poke out of the ground. It was so cold I thought they were rotten, but I guess it was dry enough that the just sat there. We just had our first ones yesterday. mmmm goood. They are just flowering now too, but already have potatoes under them. Don't give up on them yet.

As for the green tomato plants, I don't know. Are they blooming? Maybe they're getting too much nitrogen? Maybe you're being too nice to them. :wink:
 
Good one kato..... I've been thinking about denny and his maters... Denny what's the story? Are you ready to can?
My garden is doing really well this year.. I stabled my colt all winter long putting the shavings and poop on my garden.... Someplaces it was a little heavy, but is mulching nicely.... I ate two tiny cucumbers this morning as I was cutting lettuce for lunch and I have a zuccini that is ready to pick... Onions are baseball size and I have pulled all the radishes.... I finally have a row of beans after two plantings.... I havn't been able to grow beans for two years....... I have green maters the size of a plums and my potatos are blooming like crazy.. I did accidentally pull a small potato up when I pulled a weed out of the potato row.. I promply washed it at the hydrant and ate it..... Dang it was good....... I planted ornamental corn this year for my fun thingy..... I try and do one fun thing every year... Pumpkins are not blooming yet, neither is my cantelopes.... All in all a very good garden... I'm fighting potato bugs too and have some grasshopper damage on my cabbage..... I need to get to town to get some stuff from a lady that you spread around your garden for grasshoppers. They eat it and die... Some sort of spore I think... Anyway it's the gift that keeps on giving cause any grasshopper that eats the dead one dies too.. :twisted: I trellised my pickleing cucumbers this year.. I really like that. Should be easy picking for this ole girl.. I just got done picking chokecherrys... So I'll be making chokecherry jelly one of these firts days. (mike) :p (How's the figs little buddy?) Anyway I hope everyone has a bumper garden. We need a contest or two for who can grow the biggest what-ever...... Is that exceptable for ranchers net??? LOL
Gotta go..... another project I'm doing needs my attention...... One of those not so fun learning thingys....... ick!!!!
 
Finally the garden looks good. Boy is it ever slow.
July_14_09_035.jpg
 
We have a cotton tail that's puttin the stops on our zuccinni. Bout the time it puts on the itty bitty squash..he comes along and bites it off.

Peas are still producin as long as I keep pourin the water on it. Tomatoe plants look wonderful, but they aren't puttin on any maters. Blooms are fallin off because of the heat. But I keep waterin em in hopes that when it cools off, they'll make into the fall.

Per, your garden is so clean and pretty. I've not hoed hardly any, for the simple fact that 100* days do not make me wanna get out there n hoe. LOL So there's alot of grass mixed in but that's ok, I think it helps hold some of the moisture in the ground when it's this hot.
 
Lost 90% of my garden on the 4th due to the hail storm.
replanted most of it and the green beans are coming up, along with the spinach. I'm watching for my zuchini to come up.
 
OUCH! :cry: :cry: :cry:

That's gotta hurt. At least it was in time to replant! I left 30 tomato plants and a couple of tubs of cucumbers in the greenhouse just in case of hail here. It's my hail insurance. It's a jungle in there, but I did find two red tomatoes yesterday. :D
 
Our garden is going okay...lots of maters little bigger than plum size, none ripe obviously. Weather has been cool this summer, so garden is really slow in maturing for every one around here.

Beans are doing okay, potatoes are blooming, zuccini is PLENTIFUL...acorn squash and cucumbers are blooming with nothing to show for it yet...cilantro and basil have been harvested a couple times already and are ready again.

Onions are about tangerine size and green pepper plants are very slow -- a couple blooms, but no peppers starting yet.

If anyone knows what the heck to do with all those zuccini -- besides relish and dryin, let me know. This is the first garden we've planted in many years and I am not sure what to do with all the zuccini we're getting!! Can only have so much relish and eat so many...will give some away too, but I think I have 10 plants or better.

Pumpkins aren't blooming yet either....
 
Build a cradle for your skeet launcher. Can't have too much fun blowing up zucchini. Find a recipe for zucchini cake, they keep the cake nice and moist.
 
mtn_90 said:
Our garden is going okay...lots of maters little bigger than plum size, none ripe obviously. Weather has been cool this summer, so garden is really slow in maturing for every one around here.

Beans are doing okay, potatoes are blooming, zuccini is PLENTIFUL...acorn squash and cucumbers are blooming with nothing to show for it yet...cilantro and basil have been harvested a couple times already and are ready again.

Onions are about tangerine size and green pepper plants are very slow -- a couple blooms, but no peppers starting yet.

If anyone knows what the heck to do with all those zuccini -- besides relish and dryin, let me know. This is the first garden we've planted in many years and I am not sure what to do with all the zuccini we're getting!! Can only have so much relish and eat so many...will give some away too, but I think I have 10 plants or better.

Pumpkins aren't blooming yet either....
Click to expand...

I feel your pain with the zuccihni!! Last year I shredded a bunch and froze it to make zucchini bread during the winter. I found two recipes that make it a little more endurable........

Stuffed Zucchini

4 Zucchini
1 green pepper, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 T butter
1/2 lb ground beef
2 c corn
1 tomato, chopped
1 pimiento, diced
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 c bread crumbs
1 T worcestershire sauce
1/4 t pepper
1 t salt

Split zucchini in halves lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Brown ground beef, saute veggies, and add all ingredients to beef. Place zucchini halves on greased baking pan and fill each with some beef mixture. Put some water in the pan for moisture and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees until zucchini is tender. Take of foil and bake another 1/2 hour.


Garden Vegetable Medley

1/2 sliced onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 c margarine or butter
2 lbs zucchini or crookneck, sliced lenthwise
3 tomatos, wedged
1 c corn

Saute onion, marg. or butter, and spices. Add squash and corn. Cook to desired firmness. Add tomato last.

Good luck!!
 
We have been eating Red Tomatoes for 4 weeks now...

I made my own Over N Under Planters out of 5 Gal Buckets
They use a lot of water and Dry-out fast - the over plants are loaded with fruit but none on the bottom plants _ Time will tell
 
I make a stuffed zucchini a lot like yours, but without the corn. When I have leftovers of this, I take the whole works, chop it up, put it in a pot with a bunch of tomatoes, and it makes the best spaghetti sauce you've ever had! the zucchini is all sweet and browned, and adds something to the sauce that makes it so good. Toss in some fresh oregano parsley and basil and it's spectacular. :p

Here's one of my favourites.

In a frying pan put a small chopped onion, a half a dozen chopped garlic cloves, and butter and saute it until it softens. Then add small zucchini sliced crosswise, and gently fry them until they get a golden brown and start to carmelize. Now add some fresh herbs, like parsley basil and oregano , or dried Italian herb mix works too. Chop up a couple of tomatoes and put them on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and put a lid on it. Take it off the heat and let it sit until the tomatoes are hot.

mmmm goood... And don't be afraid to use LOTS of garlic!
 
Mrs Gcreek's frozen vegetable patch is doing pretty well considering it had a morning of -12 celcius just after it came up. Most everyone in the area had to plant carrots twice, who knows why. I'll try to remember a photo of it in the near future.
 
Thanks for the tips Mrs. H! I've made the hamburger thing with acorn squash before, never thought about trying it with zucchini squash...the only difference is that I don't fry the burger first...I form the burger to the squash "bowl", put all the stuff in the raw burger, put it in the oven, cover it with a little water, then let it bake...flavors infuse into the squash...don't want to do this with real fatty or watery burger I wouldn't think.

I'm making some relish tomorrow night, then I'll shred what ever I don't use and freeze it for breads and the like...thinking I'll just cut some up and freeze it for use later in soups and casseroles too!

Hoping the rest of our garden starts coming along nicely -- I'm looking forward to getting some homemade salsa canned!!!
 
Haul all that extra zucchini to town and any car that the doors are unlocked throw a zucchini in the car..... LOL
In Valentine all the cars are locked during zucchini season.... :D :D
 
katrina said:
Haul all that extra zucchini to town and any car that the doors are unlocked throw a zucchini in the car..... LOL
In Valentine all the cars are locked during zucchini season.... :D :D
Click to expand...


She's telling the truth! lol
 
Jassy said:
katrina said:
Haul all that extra zucchini to town and any car that the doors are unlocked throw a zucchini in the car..... LOL
In Valentine all the cars are locked during zucchini season.... :D :D
Click to expand...


She's telling the truth! lol
Click to expand...

hmmmm, you might be on to something there...lol!! :lol:
 

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