Stickman's other 2012 garden

[stickman]

The eggplant and principe borghese tomatoes were getting a little too bushy... I had to get in there and cut out the side branching near the base of the plants and pinch off the suckers on the tomatoes. They look a lot better now, and I see the tomatoes had blossoms that were hidden until I opened up the plants. Now with light and air inside they should be healthier and set fruit better.

The primary amish paste tomato greatly benefited from a similar earlier trim. I think it's grown almost a foot since I cut out the side branching.

most of the onions have necks over an inch across so I have great expectations of some decent-sized bulbs this year.

pole beans are sending their tendrils up the tepee poles...

cucumbers are climbing the trellis and blossoming

collards after their first haircut... I collected a shopping bag full of greens

asian greens are really kicking in now.

And of course, the carrots, beets, bush beans and zucchini are all coming along.

 

[stickman]

More tomato pics...

Amish Paste

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Korean Perilla... Kkaennip. Indispensable for ssam and Kkaennip Kimchi.

 

[stickman]

Things are looking well in the garden today... the Eggplant have set fruit and they have more blossoms than I've ever seen on them at one time before.

Eggplant soon to be fruit...

The French Filet Beans are starting to blossom...

Boston Pickling Cukes are halfway up the trellis and really kicking out the flowers...

A better shot of the Kkaennip that shows the purple underside of the leaves. This Asian herb in the mint family grows about 4 feet tall and has fuzzy, heart-shaped leaves about 3 and a half to 4 inches wide. The taste is sort of a blend of basil and cinnamon.

 

[stickman]

Summertime, and the livin' is easy... The heat of midsummer has finally arrived. The last 4 days have all been in the upper 90's, and except for the lettuce they all seem to enjoy it. I'm beginning to harvest pickling cukes, collards and beet thinnings. The beans are flowering, and I should be picking filet beans by the end of the week.

Sungold cherry tomatoes have grown about 5 feet tall and tomatoes are beginning to get ripe on it.

Amish paste tomatoes are doing well too.

Zucchini and Ho Bak squash were just sitting there doing nothing except losing leaves, so I peeled back the paper mulch and they greened up immediately and started growing. Note to self... next year mulch with the black plastic thermal mulch...

Beets

Carrots

Filet beans

 

[roper2008]

Have you tried Kamo eggplant? I've heard it taste really good. It's a Japanese variety.
I may grow a few next year, but I also need to use up my Thai Green Epplant & Machaiw
eggplant seed for next year.
It's so humid here that I don't want to go into the back yard for more than 15 minuntes.
This is a time that my garden gets a little (a lot) neglected. Yours is looking good.

 

[stickman]

Have you tried Kamo eggplant? I've heard it taste really good. It's a Japanese variety.
I may grow a few next year, but I also need to use up my Thai Green Epplant & Machaiw
eggplant seed for next year.
It's so humid here that I don't want to go into the back yard for more than 15 minuntes.
This is a time that my garden gets a little (a lot) neglected. Yours is looking good.

Hi Linda, thanks for the kind words.
No, the only eggplant I've ever grown are the large purple Italian varieties like "Black Globe". I like the size that I get out of it... nothing against the skinny Asian eggplant. I may try to grow the small, round Thai varieties sometime for a change. They don't fall apart in curries. Boy, you folks down south have been getting whacked with extreme weather this summer. Thank god for air conditioning, eh?

 

[stickman]

I've never had a better year for Eggplants before this! My plants are waist high and loaded with flowers. Each plant has between 3 and 6 fruit on it. My prior experience says they should start dropping flowers about now until I pick some of the fruit, but then I'm into unfamiliar territory here.

 

[stickman]

Started some more lettuce, filet beans, bok choy and cilantro but there won't be anything to show for a bit... Getting a few cucumbers every day and filet beans from the first planting. Summer savory is beginning to kick in and I'm pinching the tips to encourage them to get bushy. Have to pinch the tips of the basil because they'd flower otherwise.

I've gotten a couple of ripe tomatillos off the plant, but no real size to them... they're golfball sized. The potatoes have flowered and are beginning to die back. When the leaves have completely died off I'll dig up the potatoes.

Epizote in the annual herb garden. I have summer savory and sweet marjoram behind it. On the other side I have Italian flat-leaf parsley and some more cilantro I planted this weekend.

 

[stickman]

Peeling back the white paper mulch on the squash was the right idea. I mulched with screened compost from my pile and this is the result...

Tomatoes looking good. The main stems on the Sungolds are over five feet high, and I'm training some of the side shoots to grow up the trellis too. Tomatoes on the Amish Paste bush are starting to lighten up prior to ripening.

Sungold

Amish Paste

The Kkaennip and Bok Choy are doing nicely too.

Kkaennip

Bok Choy

Onions have 3 to 4 inch bulbs

These are the biggest Eggplant... they're about a pound apiece right now, but when they get to a pound and a half to two pounds each, I'll pick them.
Cheers!

 

[stickman]

Been too busy dealing with the summer harvest to post much about non-chiles, but now that it's winding down I can get a bit caught-up...

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes have been huge producers this year... I'll definitely plant them next year. Especially after finding that they dry extremely well and taste great when they do!

A volunteer Green Tomatillo planted by the birds last year. Fruit is a bit on the small side but very prolific. I'll be starting one of my own next year to get a bigger jump on the season.

Mexican Bean Beetles found my pole beans. I won't pull them up though until the pods finish ripening and drying out. I'm putting those away for Hoppin' John on New Year's Day. Next year I guess I'm going to have to be a lot more pro-active and spray with tobacco tea. The same for the Squash and Cucumbers that the Squash Bugs wiped out. I just have to make sure I plant them as far away as possible from the tomatoes, chiles and eggplant to avoid possibly infecting them with tobacco mosaic virus that the tobacco may be carrying. Everything is a tradeoff...

Basil, Collards, Korean Radishes and Kkaennip all looking great! I've pulled up the weeds and stuff that didn't make it or went by for the season from 5 of my blocks to plant Shungiku, Napa Cabbage, winter storage Carrots and Korean Fall Radishes.

Scallions, Garlic Chives, Carrots and Beets all doing well too. Eggplant and the Pepper hedge behind.

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Good stuff