Highalt's Other Growlist '12 (cont. from '11)

[highalt]

Finally got around to planting all the non-pepper stuff.

Here's what was sown the past couple of days:

Beans - Kentucky Wonder, Red Seeded Asparagus, Marvel of Venice, White Half Runner, California Black Eye, and Blue Coco

Cucumber - Armenian Yardlong, Marketmore 76, Satsuki Midori, Sumter, West Indian Gherkin

Melons - Amish, Banana, and Collective Farm Woman

Popcorn - Carousel, Strawberry

Pumpkins - Baby Pam, Casper, New England Pie, Winter Luxury, and Tonda Padana

Watermelons - Blacktail Mountain, Early Moonbean, Moon and Stars (orange). Have a couple of Sugar Baby seedlings still to plant that my daughter brought home from kindergarten.

Winter Squash - Australian Butter, Cushaw Green Striped, Delicata, Kikuza, and Tennessee Sweet Potato

Zucchini - Black Beauty, Cocozelle, and Costata Romanesco

The carrots and radishes are finally coming up, after sowing them a second time. We had so much wind that I couldn't keep the soil wet enough the first time around. Still need to pick up a few tomatillo and ground cherry plants, since I never got around to sowing any.

 

[stickman]

Hi Bonnie, Interesting grow list... At least three varieties of most things. That's one way of hedging your bets... SOMETHING'S got to do well! Good luck with your growing season!

 

[highalt]

Thanks, Rick! Tthere's so many varieties out there, and only so much space, so I usually will pick one that we've tried before, and liked, and a couple of new to us varieties. Maybe in another 20 years, I'll have tried them all, LOL!

 

[highalt]

Planted the following tomatoes at the community garden today:

Carbon
Striped German
Earl of Edgecomb
Black Cherry
Neves Azorean Red
Earl's Faux
Stump of the World
Amish Paste
Dana's Dusky Rose
Romeo Paste
Tasmanian Chocolate

They were all wintersown, so they are pretty small still, but they'll take off after they get settled in.

 

[highalt]

Took advantage of the overcast conditions to get a few pictures of non pepper stuff today.

Carrots finally decided to sprout. Guess I sowed them a little too thick, huh?

Lettuce is really taking off now.

First Ozark Beauty strawberry of the season

My son's Golden Delicious apple tree is loaded down this year. Hoping the worms don't get them all this time!

When I was at the community garden today, I noticed the beans and cucumbers are starting to sprout. Still waiting on the zucchini, melons, and pumpkins to pop. All that's left to plant are a couple of tomatillo plants, and this year's garden will be in!

 

[highalt]

Not sure anyone pays attention to the non pepper grow logs, but I'm going to keep posting anyway. I'm kind of slow like that!

These pictures were all taken down at the community garden today.

First hill of zucchini that the kids planted finally popped today, nothing yesterday, today every seed was up!

Several of the beans also poked there little heads up today.

Black Cherry tomato, planted Saturday.

Tasmanian Chocolate tomato

The cucumbers were also just starting to break ground, so the garden is finally underway!

 

[stickman]

Hi Bonnie, It's a great feeling knowing you can feed your family this way isn't it? Some of my tomatoes got a late start and they're no bigger than yours. It'll be interesting to see if the intensity of the sun at your altitude will make yours grow faster. Cheers

 

[highalt]

Yeah, Rick, when I first started gardening, I was all about the flowers, but once I put in a small vegetable garden, and actually got something to eat out of it, the flowers just became an after thought. The mentality was the same though, I wanted to grow at least one of everything!

I really do believe that the intensity of the sun at this altitude makes a difference. I mean, when you look at how short our growing season is, and how cool our nights can be even in the summer, it seems like I shouldn't even be able to get a harvest on the warm season veggies. About the only thing that really suffers are melons. I don't start them ahead, which I probably should, but direct sowing them, they are usually very small, and often not ripe by the first frost. I'll bet if I used some of that black plastic that you use, it would help though.

 

[stickman]

Yeah, Rick, when I first started gardening, I was all about the flowers, but once I put in a small vegetable garden, and actually got something to eat out of it, the flowers just became an after thought. The mentality was the same though, I wanted to grow at least one of everything!

I really do believe that the intensity of the sun at this altitude makes a difference. I mean, when you look at how short our growing season is, and how cool our nights can be even in the summer, it seems like I shouldn't even be able to get a harvest on the warm season veggies. About the only thing that really suffers are melons. I don't start them ahead, which I probably should, but direct sowing them, they are usually very small, and often not ripe by the first frost. I'll bet if I used some of that black plastic that you use, it would help though.

Definitely! Northern Maine is probably a lot like where you are... I seem to remember in my Environmental Science classes that there's a correlation between degrees of north latitude and elevation... and they recommend using it under the nightshades (Except potatoes), squash and melons for the first month to give them a boost. My experience this spring confirms it for me. I've never had blossoms this early before, let alone set pods!

 

[highalt]

Things are finally coming along with the non-pepper veggies.

Here's a picture of some of the pumpkins the kids planted. They are starting to vine. The squash bugs have been horrible this year. It amazes me how they can show up the day after the seeds sprout!

Popcorn

Amish Melons, starting to bloom.

I'll have to get some updated pictures of the zucchini, tomatoes, and tomatillos at the comm. garden, but here's the beans and cukes. Poor things! First they were hit by a late frost, and then earwigs or some other insect mowed them down. They are making a comeback though. The beans are finally sending out runners.

The plot next to mine on that side is unoccupied this year, so I put those plastic bags down, in an attempt to try to keep the weeds from creeping into my plot. It seems to be helping some.

 

[stickman]

Looking good Bonnie. It's a hassle not having enough space to practice good crop rotation so you can throw off the critters like the squash bugs. I've been getting good pickling cukes out of the garden this week, so I've been making half-sour dills. Cheers!

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

tasmanian chocolate tomato??? deng i thought i had it all. guess not...keep it up bonnie... hey hows that lemon grass working for you.. heard its going for TEA>....i dont have a glog for others YET>...ahahha looks like every week you add more stuff....


denniz

 

[highalt]

tasmanian chocolate tomato??? deng i thought i had it all. guess not...keep it up bonnie... hey hows that lemon grass working for you.. heard its going for TEA>....i dont have a glog for others YET>...ahahha looks like every week you add more stuff....


denniz

Tomatoes were my obsession before I got into peppers. I probably have over 100 different types of tomato seeds, and only enough room for 16 - 18 plants each year, so I try a few new ones every year.

I am sad to say that I killed the Lemon Grass. I sowed it outdoors in a recycled milk jug, but I think I put it out too early, and the cold killed some of the sprouts, then the fungus gnats finished them off. Maybe I'll start it indoors next time ...

 

[stickman]

I am sad to say that I killed the Lemon Grass. I sowed it outdoors in a recycled milk jug, but I think I put it out too early, and the cold killed some of the sprouts, then the fungus gnats finished them off. Maybe I'll start it indoors next time ...

Hi Bonnie
I grew Lemon Grass from seed last year and overwintered it at my Mom's. She planted it out this spring and it's doing well now. If I had it to do over again though, I'd start it from a stalk of lemon grass from the Asian markets. The kind you grow from seed doesn't have that little "bulb" on the end, and it isn't the kind you use for Indian/Indonesian food, though it's useful for teas. I understand all you have to do is put the bulb in water on a windowsill and let it put out roots, then plant it... Much easier to grow from established plants. Cheers

 

[highalt]

Rick, I hate to admit this to you, since you make so many wonderful Asian dishes, but I'm not a big fan of that type of food. I was growing it strictly for tea, smoothies, and maybe jelly.

Denniz, I took a pic of that Tasmanian Chocolate plant today, just for you! It's grown just a bit since the last pic, LOL! It's my largest plant so far, which is ironic since it's described as being compact, and suitable for containers! Lots of blooms but nothing setting on it yet.

Finally have my first tomato. It's a Romeo Paste.

One of the tomatillo plants.

Close up.

Zucchini, Cocozelle. It's blooming, but just male flowers so far.

Guess that's all for now.

 

[stickman]

Rick, I hate to admit this to you, since you make so many wonderful Asian dishes, but I'm not a big fan of that type of food. I was growing it strictly for tea, smoothies, and maybe jelly.

Hi Bonnie
No problem here... just take what you need and leave the rest. Everything's looking great for you. I'm looking forward to seeing what you make of your harvest. Cheers

 

[highalt]

The onions are getting close to being ready to harvest.

The tomatillo plants are turning into monsters.

Harvested the first zucchini the other day.

... and seeing a few tomatoes now, both at the community garden, and here at the house.

Also here at the house, I found the first pumpkin,

... and the first melon.

The peas have done horribly this year, but finally starting to see a few pods. They are usually done by now.

Hope I'll be able to post harvest pics soon!

 

[highalt]

Just a couple more to add today,

West Indian Gherkin cucumber

... and Sumter cucumber

I think I see pickles in my future!

 

[stickman]

I think I see pickles in my future!

Hi Bonnie
Cool! I always look forward to pickle time in the summer! Looking forward to seeing what kind you make.