Veggie Garden Wrap-Up

It is the 20th of the month, which means it's time for another veggie garden update, sponsored each month by Tina at In the Garden. I've been pretty good this year, participating for five months, but this will be my final vegetable post of the year. With frosty nights for the past week, it's time to put this garden to bed for the winter.





Everything that could be has been harvested, and only a few anemic leaves of swiss chard and this parsley are still growing in the garden.

The fennel is going to seed, and instead of the swallowtail caterpillars which once covered these tall plants, they are covered with Asian Lady Beetles, which are everywhere.

It's a good time to evaluate the successes and failures of this year's veggie crop and to think about some changes for next year:

1. Without a doubt, the award for best performing vegetable this year has to go to the green beans. I planted perhaps 3/4 of a package of seeds, intending to sow a small second planting a few weeks later. But I ran out of room for the second planting, and it wasn't necessary anyway. We had a consistent harvest of green beans up until two weeks ago, and several packages were frozen for the winter.

Recommendation for next year: Remember to check the beans every few days. With this year's abundant rain, I underestimated how quickly they would grow, resulting in some harvests of gigantic beans, not so tasty or tender.

2. The spinach and lettuce did not perform as well for some reason; perhaps they were planted too late.

Recommendation: Plant spinach as early as possible and plan to freeze some. Plant the mesclun mix again only if room allows. Pull both as soon as hot weather arrives and use the space for something else.

3. The tomatoes produced a bumper crop in spite of the blight.

The best performer of the four varieties planted was Better Boy, which seemed to be more disease-resistant than the others. I managed to keep one heirloom alive--sort of--from the seeds started indoors. I waited all summer for this Cherokee Purple to produce a ripe tomato so I could finally taste what everyone has raved about. As you can see to the right, it never happened. This poor plant was hit first with the blight, dropping all its leaves and producing two tiny fruit, which turned red only as the temperature dropped below freezing.

Recommendation for next year: Depending on how my supply of frozen tomato juice and sauce holds out through the winter, I may plant fewer tomatoes. I planted 20 plants, which produced more than enough for us this year and kept me busy for awhile preserving all the extras. "Better Boys" and Romas will be the main varieties planted; as for heirlooms, we'll see if I feel adventurous enough to try again.

4. A gardening segment on the news today featured a local Extension agent explaining how important it was to clean up the garden. He emphasized the need for pulling out tomato plants especially, because of their proclivity toward diseases. Other plant material can be left in the garden, according to him. I took advantage of the sunny weather today to do just that, pulling up the tomato cages to store for the winter and pulling all the dead tomato plants out and depositing them in the burn pile--not the compost pile. And, of course, I will rotate their location next year to help avoid a chance of leaf blight again.

Recommendation for next year: Check tomato plants carefully and often as the summer progresses. At the first sign of spotted and brown leaves, spray with a fungicide. The fungicide may not have worked this year, but since the blight hit while I was away, I never got the chance to try it.

4. Mulching the garden this year really helped control the weeds. I used wood mulch this year, only because I had some extra, but whatever I use next year, the key, I think, is to put down the newspapers first.

Recommendation for next year: Mulch again, but sooner!

5. An unexpected bumper crop came from the carrots. I never bothered to thin them out and didn't get around to digging them up until two weeks ago, thinking they needed more time to fill out. To give you some perspective on this photo, the small carrot in the center is a normal-sized carrot you would get in a bag purchased in the supermarket. The rest of these are monsters! Even Tarzan in the corner of the picture was afraid to touch these scary giants.

Recommendation: Pull up onions and carrots much earlier!

6. Other results from this year: the few beets planted did very well; I had forgotten how much I liked these vegetables. The gourds, on the other hand, were planted much too late and didn't do much of anything.

Recommendations: Plant more beets. Plant gourds earlier in the season. Other veggies I'd like to add: sugar snap peas, summer squash, and some winter squash. I've wanted to plant asparagus for years--if spring comes early enough to work the garden in March or early April, I might finally get around to planting that asparagus and the peas. Of course, that will mean digging up more space as well!

Overall, I was very satisfied with the veggie garden this year, and if that weren't enough, I found a couple extra vegetables elsewhere--when I pulled out the wilted sweet potato vines from my planter, I found these at the roots. So, tell me, are they edible??

Mish Mash Monday and a Veggie Update

I'm a little late for this month's Vegetable Garden Update, sponsored by Tina at In the Garden, but that seems to be the story of my life lately--always a day behind. Looking on the brighter side, though, it does give me a chance to add a few other odds and ends for a mini-Mishmash Monday, the brainchild of Monica the Garden Faerie.




The big news in my vegetable garden these days is not good news. Those tomato plants that once were so green and prolific have fallen victim to tomato blight. I had a similar tragedy last summer and vowed to keep a watchful eye over them this summer and spray them at the first hint of wilt. However, they were fine in mid-August when I left for Oregon, but by the time I got back many of the leaves were turning brown with others showing the tell-tale spots of more wilt to come. I purchased some fungicide, but after consulting with tomato expert Hortense Hoelove and her alter ego Carol, I decided it was too late to do anything about it.







Fortunately, there are still many ripening tomatoes on the plants that can still be picked. Shown above is the spoils from one such picking a week ago. (In case you're wondering, I was hanging out clothes on the line beforehand and didn't have another container with me; I wasn't expecting such a bounty.) Hubby and I have eaten enough fresh tomatoes to boost our antioxidant levels, there is enough juice in the freezer for the winter, and now I'm making tomato sauce. The only thing I'm really sad about is that I didn't get to try any tomatoes from the one Cherokee Purple plant I had. It, too, has been hit by the blight and looks especially pathetic; I would have included a picture of it, but I couldn't crop out the weeds:)

Elsewhere in the veggie garden, things are winding down, but there is still harvesting to be done. For once, the zucchini did not get infested with squash beetles, and my one lone plant is still blossoming, promising a few more fruits before the frost hits.

The green peppers have done very well, and I was surprised to find this nice red one yesterday. Bell peppers will turn red if they're left on the vine long enough, but usually mine spoil or get eaten by bugs before they make it this far. I don't grow many peppers even though they're chock full of vitamins, simply because my sensitive stomach doesn't tolerate them well. But this red pepper is so tempting I think we may have fajitas tonight . . . with a Pepcid for dessert:)

Overall, I would have to say this year's vegetable garden has been a success, largely due, I'm sure, to the regular rainfall we had up until the last few weeks. Besides tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini, we've had carrots, onions, and my first ever crop of beets. But the best producer, by far, has been the green beans. This morning I went out to the garden, debating whether to pull the plants, their leaves either brown and withered or peppered with holes made by hungry grasshoppers. But then I noticed more beans on the plants--I eventually picked a large saucepot full of fresh green beans!

You will also notice in the photo above one green tomato. No, I don't usually pick green tomatoes, but I have an occasional helper in the garden . . .

. . . Husband thought it would be cute to show littlest Grandson how to pick tomatoes. Grandson thought it was indeed fun, but even more fun was to use the tomatoes like baseballs. Sophie quickly picked up on this game, chasing down the fly "balls" and now often picks a few to entertain herself when her little buddy is not around. Here she's chewing on an apple that fell to the ground, but she's just as likely to have a tomato in her mouth. Needless to say, the tomatoes she picks never make it into juice for the freezer.

And now for a few Mish-Mash odds and ends . . . On my last post I showed a photo of a small black caterpillar. Several of you identified it as the first instar of the black swallowtail caterpillar. Once again, you bloggers have come through with great information!

Here's a closer look at the little fellow. I've been checking the fennel and parsley nearly every day and have found they're full of caterpillars in various stages.

This guy must be in one of the next stages, because he's about half the size of the full-grown caterpillars. And if you compare him to the large one in the next photo, you'll see less black and more green as they mature.

Ah, the things we learn from blogging!

And speaking of bugs, the last two nights we have had swarms of some tiny little flying insects.

It's difficult to see here, unless you enlarge the photo, but the little white dots are swarms of tiny creatures with nearly transparent white wings.

They also liked my petunias, covering the leaves and forming a rather sticky, web-like substance. Again, you can see these much better if you enlarge the photos.

I checked out a few websites, but still have not been able to identify them. Any ideas?

Although it may seem I have been very busy in the garden, I have a confession to make--other than watering containers and picking tomatoes or looking for photogenic insects, I have really neglected the garden the last two weeks. Oh, I have excuses--we had a new roof put on the house, and flying shingles and pounding nails don't make for tranquil gardening time. Or I could blame it on the fact that I have been substitute teaching once again, too tired in the evening to do anything too strenuous. No seeds have been collected, no weeds have been pulled, and no (I can hear the gasps now!) bulbs have been ordered. But this week, no excuses! Time's a-wasting--tomorrow is the first day of fall!

August Veggie Garden Update

Unlike last year's weed-ridden and pest-stricken garden, the vegetable garden this summer has been a success.

The main headliner for the past month has been the green beans . . . and more green beans. This colander picked one morning hardly shows the amount of beans I have picked--all from less than one package of seed. I had intended to plant a smaller, later planting with the rest of the seeds but never got around to it. Besides, we have had enough for fresh green beans nearly every night of the week plus some for sharing and some for freezing. The green bell pepper plants, "California Wonder," I think, didn't get very big, but they have been producing enough peppers for our needs in spite of their size.

The one zucchini plant I have is still looking healthy--keep your fingers crossed that no squash beetles appear. So far I have managed to pick several zucchini while still small, so we have eaten them sauteed or chopped in a salad. I don't expect the "zucchini explosion" of 2006 from one plant, but if we do, we'll soon be having zucchini bread, zucchini cake, etc., etc.

Some of the vegetables were not intended for harvest, but for other purposes, like the dill weed from seeds given to me by Tina. If I had planted cucumbers, I might have used some dill in making pickles or I might add a little dill to dips or dressings. But I just like the looks and the fragrance of dill, which actually is planted in a corner of the Butterfly & Friends Garden.

The fennel and parsley could be used as well in recipes, but I planted them primarily as food for the butterflies. My efforts were rewarded one day when I spied this caterpillar on a fennel plant. The next day when I wanted to show my granddaughter the caterpillar, we discovered it had moved to my carrots instead; not only that, but there were now three of them that we could see! Littlest grandson not only looked, but poked at the caterpillars:) If they prefer the carrots, that's fine; I neglected to thin them out earlier this summer, so I may have pencil-thin carrots anyway.

August here at the Prairie also means it's finally time for tomatoes! I've been drooling over all the ripe tomatoes pictured on your blogs for the past few weeks, and finally I can join in the excitement. For our family, this is the main reason for a vegetable garden--fresh tomatoes. The first ripe one, other than a few small red Romas, was picked on Friday, August 14. I couldn't prepare the elaborate presentation that Carol always does for the ritual of the first ripe tomato: as I predicted, my husband sliced it and ate the whole thing before I could even whip out my camera.

By the time you read this post, I will be--hopefully--somewhere in Oregon, helping Youngest Daughter move across the country to attend graduate school. I wrote this post before I left, so I'm hoping that by the time I get back the garden hasn't wilted from lack of water. Husband may forget to water the flowers and may overlook the zucchini growing to monstrous size, but I won't have to worry about the tomatoes--he will pick every single red one he sees! I just hope there are a few ripe ones left by the time I get home:) See you next week!

Check out Tina at In the Garden for other veggie garden updates the 20th of each month.

I almost forgot . . . a very Happy Birthday to my Dad, who turns 84 today! I had hoped to showcase his vegetable garden this month, but ran out of time for taking pictures. Maybe next month--his huge vegetable garden makes mine look like that of an amateur:)

July Veggie Update

On the 20th of each month Tina of In The Garden posts her monthly vegetable garden update and invites others to join her. I'm glad to be able to participate once again, as the vegetables here are starting to mature. But first, since I missed this month's Garden Muse Day on the 1st of July, here's a little poem to inspire you:

Seedlings

Weedling seedlings
sprout at night,

at dawn, at noon

in broad daylight.

Weedling seedlings

of all kinds

crabgrass, vetch,

and tangling vines.

Weedling seedlings

choking out

pea-lings, bean-lings

as they sprout.

Weedling seedlings,

sneak attack.

Yank them out,

but they'll be back.

--Juanita Havel from I Heard It From Alice Zucchini

Despite the sentiment of the poem, my vegetable garden is looking much better this year than last, thanks to the newspapers and mulch put down early in the season. That being said, please ignore any weeds you might see in the following pictures.

The big news this month is that I picked my first green beans a week ago on July 12. All the rain we've had has been good for the beans, and they seemed to grow an inch or more overnight. I should be able to pick more by mid-week. Other than the radishes and some volunteer lettuce, the beans are the first vegetable harvest of the year.

Trying to get a photograph of all the bean blossoms, which didn't work, I found these two nasty creatures on one bean leaf. I've never seen Japanese beetles on green beans before; I'm hoping they had just strayed from nearby hollyhocks.

This is what happens if you forget to pull all the radishes as soon as they're ready. The radish seed was planted to mark the row of carrots, and few were actually eaten. Assuming this one was way too hot for consumption, I added it to the compost pile.

New to the garden this year are a few beets which appear to be doing well despite the fact that I didn't thin them properly.

Also new this year is one plant of chives. I keep forgetting to cut some for cooking, but I just like the way they look in the garden.

The fennel is growing by leaps and bounds. This is another plant not really intended for human consumption, but rather for the butterflies. No sign of caterpillars, however, so I may have to find some recipes using fennel after all.

The vegetables that will be sure to be eaten, though, are the tomatoes. All are looking very healthy and putting out lots of blooms. Even Mr. Procrastinor himself checks their progress regularly; he has been known to eat the first ripe tomato in the garden before I even have a chance to pick it.

As you can see, he won't have too much longer to wait.

Last year I wrote down all the varieties of tomatoes I planted and exactly where they were planted. This year I stuck the plant tags in the ground beside each grouping when I planted them, but I think they've all disappeared through the mulching and weeding. So much for comparison of varieties for planning next year's garden.I'm not sure what type of tomatoes these are--at first I thought they were a grape tomato, but now I'm thinking they're Romas. It should be obvious soon enough if they get much bigger.

Also growing in the garden are carrots, onions, parsley and green peppers. The spinach and lettuce were pulled out to make way for zucchini and summer squash. The summer squash never appeared--I think the seed was too old--but the lone zucchini plant is doing well and, barring any squash beetles, should produce more than enough for us. I'm looking forward to next month's report when there should be more vegetables ripe and ready to pick!

The last photo has nothing to do with the vegetable garden, but I had to add it after complaining on my last post that the butterflies have been conspicuously absent this year. The evening after I posted my Bloom Day post, I had a visitor . . .

. . . a Painted Lady came to enjoy the coneflowers! I welcomed her and told her I have been preparing a feast of blooms for her. I'm hoping she invites all her friends and relatives to join her!

In the Vegetable Garden

I am happy to finally be able to participate in Tina's Veggie Garden Update, which she holds on the 20th of each month.


I got a late start on planting vegetables, though I suppose it was no later than any other year for me. Last week I harvested my first vegetables--radishes. I'm not particularly fond of radishes--outside of eating them whole or sliced in salads, what can you do with a radish?--but I planted them, as my mother always did, along with carrots, primarily to mark the row until the carrots emerge.

The spinach and lettuce planted at the same time have not done as well. In fact, they look downright puny this year for some reason. But I do have some excellent volunteer lettuce--coming up right next to a couple tomato plants! I had planned to pull this lettuce yesterday, but we had a torrential rain storm last night, so the lettuce will have to wait until the garden dries out a little. I want to make sure, though, that this tomato has all the room it needs to grow.

I have had a vegetable garden off and on for many years, much longer than I have been into ornamental gardening. But I confess to being an indifferent gardener when it comes to vegetables. Oh, I do enjoy planning this garden and planting all the seeds, checking every few days to see if the green leaves of spinach or the first sprouts of green beans have emerged. But once the weather gets warmer, the bugs start coming out, and the weeds begin to grow faster than the veggies, I start to lose interest. When the green beans are ripe for picking, I willing spend time in this garden again. But it's not until August when I get really excited about growing vegetables, because August is the time when the star of the vegetable garden is ready--the tomatoes!

No other vegetable, in my opinion, tastes so different and so much better than anything purchased in a grocery store as a home-grown tomato. The rains and warm weather this past week have really been a boon to the tomatoes. Most of them are now sporting a few blooms like this shy one.

Even though I couldn't find any blooms here, the green beans are also looking very healthy.

One of the reasons I lose interest in the vegetable garden is that I get overwhelmed: I have a big problem with a weedy kind of grass that seems indestructible. I don't know if it's nutgrass, quack grass, or what, but it has long roots and seems to come back despite my best efforts to eradicate it. Last year by the end of the summer I wouldn't even show a photo of my whole garden out of sheer embarrassment. I am determined this year not to let that happen again, so I had planned to mulch the whole garden with straw. However, my son gave me lots of free wood mulch when he replaced the mulch in the grandkids' play structure with rubber mulch. I had so much left over that I decided why not use it in the vegetable garden? I put newspapers down first between all the rows and layered the mulch on top. So far it seems to be working, but I've never seen anyone use wood mulch in the vegetable garden before. Please, please tell me if this isn't a good idea. All the plants seem to be doing fine so far, but I'd hate to use something here that's not good for them.

Have you ever eaten fennel? I've seen it included in several recipes the past few years, but last year was the first time I'd ever eaten any. It was served as a side dish and has a slightly licorice flavor. This is the first time I've ever tried planting it, and I'm not sure my family will even like it. But I'm not concerned with eating it, actually; I planted just a few seeds primarily for the butterflies. The rest of the package was planted in the "wild" garden, so I'm hoping the butterflies find it.

Other vegetables growing besides the ones already mentioned: onions, chives, beets (a first for me), and green peppers. I have a small vegetable garden, and for the first time I actually ran out of room for everything I wanted to plant. I may tear out the spinach and lettuce soon if they don't start looking better and plant some zucchini and summer squash.

This is not in the vegetable garden, but I had to show you these blooms on my Monarda, "Petite Wonder," I think. True to my hypothesis, these blooms appeared on June 15, after I had finished my Bloom Day post.

And just a few days after Bloom Day, the hollyhocks all began to bloom. Notice all the little critters on these blossoms; I'm not sure what they are, but I do hope they aren't destructive. With the rain and the warmer weather, the insect population is really growing, but I do have a little help in that department . . .

. . . my friend, Mr. Toad. If last year was the year of the Praying Mantis here at "The Prairie," then this year has to be the year of the Toad. They are everywhere! Hopping out of a tray of plants, out from under the green beans, or even jumping out of a container as I put new plants into it, this is not just a family of toads, but a whole community! As long as they don't hop onto my lap and startle me, they are certainly welcome here and can invite all the cousins, nieces and nephews, and in-laws they want. I just wish besides eating insects, I could get them to eat some weeds as well:)

Check out Tina at In the Garden for other vegetable updates.

You might also be interested in participating in another ongoing post topic--public plantings. Veg Plotting has been showing different scenes around her home town and other parts of the UK, illustrating some lovely and not-so-lovely plantings. I had mentioned to her after Spring Fling that Chicago had some of the best downtown plantings I had seen in a city, but wouldn't you know it, when I checked all my photos I never took one of the city streets! So, Spring Flingers in particular, if you took some good photos of street or curbside plantings, please consider posting them. You can click here to find some suggestions.