SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Re: "SQWIBS Urban Garden Adventure 2019"


User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

No way to reply to your web page.

How do you get Red color Marconi peppers so early in the growing season? My Marconi plants are 5 ft tall & peppers are 9" long but I don't expect green peppers to turn Red for several months or Oct. My experience in the past all green peppers have to stay on the plants for 1 or 2 months to finally turn red usually in cooler weather like Oct. I wonder if peppers need lots of potassium?
Attachments
100_4305.JPG
Last edited by Gary350 on Tue Jul 16, 2019 3:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Gary Posting here is fine.
Maybe the Marconi's turned red quicker because I'm growing them in the pond?

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I’m from a generation when desktop personal computers were new and my first computer experience was punch cards. So it is NOT ‘Unheard of” to me to need to save my work every so often. In my earliest years of training secretaries to use their word processing and spreadsheet software, I would get a panicked call and my first three questions were usually — did you “save”?, did you try turning it off and on?, is it plugged in? :lol:

I’m currently having problems with my iPad due to too many photos taking up all but 0.3 - 0.2 gigs (GIGS!) of storage space. This makes the iOS (or the browser) log me out of everything almost as soon as I leave the website/switch apps.— apparently there is not enough memory otherwise for multi-tasking or for normal operations. If I have an open reply I’m typing and go off to fetch a link ... and get logged out, then the started post is lost.

So I have been heavily relying on the “Save Draft” feature on this forum. As long as you are only tagging with links to off site stored photo files and not uploading directly as attachment, everything is saved and you can easily return to the saved draft by simply using (post reply) to the thread, then (load draft). — if you are starting a new thread, then you have to go to your profile and use manage drafts from the side-bar.

As I said, this is not too onerous for me because auto-saved everything was a welcome feature and I remember when we didn’t have them — they became available in slow upgrades for different applications — way back when. :wink: I can picture the expression on some of your faces because I have seen them on my own teenagers’ faces when I’ve advised them to save when they were having system issues — what for? Why would we have to do that, they would ask. :lol:

If you are having any kind of internet or WiFi connection issues, or explained or unexplained, unexpected log outs like me, you might want to start making use of the save draft feature.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

That's fine if you remember to hit
save draft. I'll have 20 photos up and start tagging like a madman and formatting the post them bam!

Many times, especially in my website, I'll be in the zone typing away, then boom, it's gone, I do try to save often during edits but on the website it brings me to the beginning page after 10 seconds or so then I have to click back on edit, then scroll back to where I was, very time consuming.
I don't mind doing the work on my website, but won't spend the extra time on the forum.
When I post on Tomatoville I just do a copy/paste from my website.

I take all my photos with my phone, edit them on the phone, upload on my computer through Dropbox, tag the photos with a date, upload to an album on Flickr, then I will link to the photos from my website.

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

SQWIB wrote:That's fine if you remember to hit
save draft. I'll have 20 photos up and start tagging like a madman and formatting the post them bam!

Many times, especially in my website, I'll be in the zone typing away, then boom, it's gone,
Next time that happens STOP do not tough another button on the keyboard. Push & hold Ctrl then press Z computer will return to where it was before everything was lost.

Sometimes I am typing fast and make a typing error that deletes everything or goes to another page by the time I gets stopped typing I have already pushed 2 or 3 more keys. If I press Crtl Z it only goes back 1 key stroke so I have to push Crtl Z 2 or 3 times more to go back where my typing page was. Be sure to push Crtl Z only 1 time then look see what happens before pushing it again.

A week ago typo made the garden forum page close there was no going back I had to open the garden forum page first. It is good to COPY every 5 minutes just in case you loose everything then all you need to do is PASTE and there it is again.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Garden Update

Scroll to

July 19th - 28th, 2019


https://sites.google.com/site/sqwibsurb ... nture-2019

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

WHERE did you get Pepperoncini seeds I have looked for years never found any?

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Gary350 wrote:WHERE did you get Pepperoncini seeds I have looked for years never found any?

https://www.rareseeds.com/search/?keyword=pepperoncini

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Garden Update

https://sites.google.com/site/sqwibsurb ... nture-2019

Scroll to

July 31st, 2019

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Garden Update

https://sites.google.com/site/sqwibsurb ... nture-2019

Scroll to

August 5th, 2019

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Ok, I'm gonna give this one more shot...

August 26th, 2019


My Kohlrabi sprouted and hopefully they will be taller than the cover crop and I will get them in the ground in a few weeks

My Beets in the "Root Bed" are growing very slowly.

The lettuces in the side Hugelkultur bed are coming along nicely, I reseeded the bed again Saturday with some Mustard greens and other lettuces, I am hoping to have a salad garden this year.

The potted Eggplants are all doing well.

All the fruit trees are growing nicely, my only problem tree so far is the Espalier Pear tree, it doesn't look good. The pomegranate finally started growing.

The Okra plants out front in the Hugelkultur bed by the pond are looking like trees!

A lot of the pepper plants are starting to take off.

Tossed out my Lacto-Pepperoncini, they were nasty, I think I put too many bay leaves in. I picked some more and just tossed in some old pickle brine.




My Egyptian walking onions came in so I planted them in two places.

The herb garden is doing better than I would have expected, I am really pleased with the Bunching onions, Laura uses a lot of Green onions/Scallions in recipes and has been using these instead.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image



I had a little surprise cantaloupe hanging from the deck and after closer inspection found a couple more problem bugs. The borax/sugar mix I put around the Okra, Peppers and Tomatoes really knocked down the ants quite a bit, it took a week to really notice. I'll try to be more proactive next year. I also found a lot of Aphids and a few Mealy bugs on the Apple trees.

Image

Image

Image


Finally got some serious time in the garden since the weather was cool.
I removed a few tomato plants, and a lot of the lower and diseased leaves. The Kosova was completely dead. I really trimmed the tomato plants savagely and lost a lot of green tomatoes. The tomato plants are still setting fruit and growing like crazy at the tops. The Big Beef and Beefmaster tomato plants on the hill are now over 10' tall.

Thinned out the beds for the cover crop, I am under-cropping in some areas because I still have some things that look good.

I decided to leave the three eggplant plants on the hill as a test, the Black Beauty has really started growing with a lot of blooms.

A lot of the tomatoes cracked at the top earlier in the month, most of them had been picked, but now the fruit looks good.

Since I turned off the water to the beds in the back yard and only slightly water the cover crop with a watering can, the plants are on their own. The lines to all of the potted plants, the okra, the sweet potatoes and the line on the back hill by the fence are still on.

Image

Image

Image

Image



The cantaloupe are getting bigger but the plant is getting a powdery mildew much like the butternut squash.

Image

Image




It was time for us to say goodbye to Gus the duck, he went to his new home Saturday.

Image


The crayfish seem to be holding their own with the Red Eared Sliders. I'm surprised they lasted this long, the sliders can be pretty vicious.

Image

Image


We had some friends stop over Saturday night, They stopped over at 8pm, just around the time I go to bed.
We had a few of these and some Apple Pie Moonshine, so Sunday gardening was a wash, lol. However it was nice to hang out on the deck in the nice weather

Image

Image

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Egyptian walking onions grow them self there is nothing to do they reproduce very fast. I don't remember how many I bought about 30 maybe they made about 600 sets then I had 600 onions with about 18,000. sets the next year. I put them all in a box sold them all for $300 in about 15 minutes on ebay just to get rid of them. My grandmother had a 6'x6' Egyptian walking onion patch under a shade tree that she cooked with, it came back every year from 1955 until they both died 1980.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Gary350 wrote:Egyptian walking onions grow them self there is nothing to do they reproduce very fast. I don't remember how many I bought about 30 maybe they made about 600 sets then I had 600 onions with about 18,000. sets the next year. I put them all in a box sold them all for $300 in about 15 minutes on ebay just to get rid of them. My grandmother had a 6'x6' Egyptian walking onion patch under a shade tree that she cooked with, it came back every year from 1955 until they both died 1980.
Wow that's just crazy.
Are they good enough to replace regular onions for cooking or chopped raw for stuff like hot dogs?

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

September 3rd, 2019


The Okra is still chugging along.
Image




Pomegranate tree is showing some decent growth.
Image




Salad Garden is coming along very slowly, I cut back the Passion Flower, Cucumber and tomato plants to get a bit more sun here.
Image




The front gardens are doing well. Leeks
Image

Image

Image




No figs on my Celeste fig.
Image

Image




The herb garden is growing nicely.
Image




Although the Okra did extremely well in the herb garden, I'm not sure if I'll grow the Okra here next year, this will be a dedicated herb garden.
Image



The pond plants are doing well. I let some of the plants get away from me.
Image

Image



The Rosa Bianca has seen better days.
Image

Image



The cover crops are coming in nicely.
Image



I'll be tearing out the Okra this week and putting in the Kohlrabi.
Image



Still freezing Okra and Tomatoes.
Image



Picked up 12 bags of mulch, I usually get wood-chips from the recycle center but last time I was there they had didn't have any and I didn't feel like driving through the city hoping there would be some this time.
$2.00 a bag, not a bad price.
Image



My sprayers came in so I mixed a batch of spray to combat my Downy Mildew, I also sprayed the Aphids as well. One sprayer was bad so I am sending it back. (should have been baking soda not baking powder)
Image



While I was spraying the cantaloupe I notice one had popped off that was in the stocking.
Image

Image



Not sure why it was watery, maybe over ripe? Anyhow, we had it for Breakfast and I was not impressed, the texture was awesome but it wasn't sweet. I did save the seeds.
Image

Image



Ooops!
Image




I was back up in the garden and knocked loose another cantaloupe, this one doesn't look ripe from the outside but did have a nice hollow sound when tapping.
Image




This one was actually a little better than the other one but still not sweet enough. So I'm still confused on the perfect time to pick. I'm not sure if they weren't sweet due to too much water in their last few days on the vine or the fact that the Downy mildew really did a number on the leaves?
Image

Image

Image



Kohlrabi Seedlings to be transplanted this week.
Image




If these beets grew any slower they would be growing backwards!
Image



I tore out all the eggplants in the raised bed on the retaining wall garden and planted a cover crop.
I tore out most of the pepper plants and a beefsteak from the other raised bed.
In the back garden, the water is turned off in all the beds, the only things still on are the potted plants and the line in front of the playhouse (only because I cant reach the shutoff valve). The water lines are still on in the front gardens.
I have a ton of figs on my Celeste Fig on the deck but they get about the size of a marble and the fruit necks are starting to wilt and the fruits are starting to hang down, telling me they are ripening, but they are way too small to eat, oh well maybe in their 2nd year.
Most of the fruit trees are doing well, the only exception is the Pear tree, it is struggling.




Still picking Okra and tomatoes.
I already have too much Okra but its so hard to terminate a prolific plant, I need to bite the bullet this week and cut them down.
The freezer in the workshop is nearly completely full with tomatoes, I'll be canning some sauce when the tomato production drops and the weather cools.
Image




I will most likely get another cantaloupe, not sure about the others, the plant looks like death.
Image

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I’m having same problem with fragrant and fully colored “ripened” melons that are not sweet.

I found a reference that support the powdery mildew damage/defoliation as likely cause —

Powdery Mildew of Cucurbits in Florida1
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c17a/e ... 9a9452.pdf
In muskmelon and honeydew (Cucumis melo L.) plants, advanced foliage infection frequently results in decreased fruit sugar content, therefore reducing final fruit quality and marketability.

[...]

Biorational compounds can be used to reduce incidence of infection by powdery mildew in cucurbit crops. Among these biorational materials: natural and mineral oils, peroxigens, cow's milk, silicon, and salts of monovalent cations such as sodium, potassium and ammonium may be used. When considering using these biorationals it is important to contact UF/IFAS Extension for additional information.
In the same report, three natural oils were mentioned, one of which is jojoba oil — now, I have been use jojoba oil for the Winter Indoor Garden but if I had known it’s efficacy as fungicide, I must have forgotten, so this was a good reminder. The warning about neem oil underscores my hesitancy to use it due to the insecticidal properties.

This summer, I learned that cinnamon leaf essential oil which I put on my gardening clothes on a whim just because I couldn’t find the cedar or eucalyptus oil as bug repellant ... actually seemed to ATTRACT mosquitoes. So I probably won’t use cinnamon oil in the garden.
Neem oil (...) is a botanical fungicide derived from the seeds of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica). This plant oil is a multipurpose insecticide, miticide and fungicide labeled for control of powdery mildew. However, because it has activity towards insects and mites, it might harm bees and beneficial predators as well. Therefore, neem oils should not be used without clear need and plenty of caution. E-RASETM is another natural product made from jojoba oil (Buxus chinensis). It is a contact fungicide that can be applied to control powdery mildew in cucurbits. Cinnamon oil (Cinnamite®, Valero®, etc) has also proved to be effective to control powdery mildew in cucurbits.
As for the unfortunate sugarless melons — I’ve pickled them before using watermelon rind pickle recipe as inspiration, but, I found a couple more recipes to try —

This “Asian style” pickle recipe’s key seems to be the ginger slices —
Pickled Melons, Asian-Style
VEGETARIAN TIMES EDITORSUPDATED:MAY 1, 2017ORIGINAL:JUN 3, 2004
https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes ... sian-style

And I make curry with immature squash and overgrown cucumber all the time, so it was interesting to find this melon-based recipe

Cantaloupe Curry Recipe, Made With Cooked Unripe Cantaloupe
https://www.pennilessparenting.com/2014/ ... -with.html

It also reminded me that the reject melons would probably be good for making chutney.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Thanks Apple.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

September 4th, 2019


I finally got enough courage to tear out the Okra. Planted my Kohlrabi seedlings and used some Okra stakes for markers.
Image

Image

Image

Image



I also started a few Bok Choy seeds in seed trays.

I noticed this cantaloupe was separating from the stem so I pulled it, I haven't cut into it yet, I'm still eating the other 2 cantaloupes.

It was just starting to split in a couple places, on the stem part and the side.
Image

Image



You can see the side starting to split at 3:00
Image



Not sure if that's some kind of bug but I didn't notice it when I pulled it from the stocking.
Image



Tore out the rest of the Okra and composted, I'm amazed at the growth of these plants, they started putting out branches at the bottom and were loaded with new buds, there was no way I could keep up wit the plants and there would be no room in the freezer. These two plants were actually in the herb garden. I needed my Hori Hori to tackle these guys.
Image

Image



Cleaned up the Herb Garden and thinned out some of the herbs, I have a Kale plant in there that just wont quit, I cut it down to a stump in the spring, it has overwintered in here twice so far.
Image



Smashed and composted this guy that was having a blast on the kale plant. Such a pretty bug.
Image



Harvested my first ever apple from the columnar apple tree. The trees are on their first year so I just let one apple grow to see what would happen, it was loaded with Fly Spec that was easily buffed out. Aphids are after the new tender growth but the ants seem to have discipated, so I have just been rubbing the leaves with my fingers to get rid of the buggers!


Apple with Fly Spec last month
Image
Fly Spec Appear as groups of few to several small (0.5 mm), shiny black fungal bodies, or thyriothecia on the fruit surface. Although these fungal bodies appear to exist individually, they are connected by mycelium to form colonies, typically in round or irregular groups 1-3 cm in diameter. Fly speck often appears together with sooty blotch and does not damage the flesh.

Image

Image


Some of the pepper plants have picked up on production, tomatoes are still producing, the Maypops started dropping so I'll be grabbing them and freezing to make some jam. The poblano peppers in the aquaponics are putting out some nice peppers.
Found a few hidden batches of grapes, these things taste like little balls of sweet wine.
Image

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA


September 8th, 2019


Image


I am running out of freezer space for my tomatoes and Okra.
Image

Image



Cut up my last cantaloupe from the plant on the hill. I tore out the plant this weekend and composted the remaining fruit. I think this one was a bit over ripe.
Image



Butternut Squash waiting for first frost.
Image

Image



Removed another tomato plant.

I decided to clean the pathway in the upper raised bed gardens and pulled this guy out of the pathway. At least my pathway makes a good garden, lol.
Image



I removed these 4 cap stones from the steps to make room for the "Root" bed so I dug them in as stepping stones. I always try to put something like this in the walkways, it reduces the amount of mulch needed when the time comes to mulch the pathway.
Image



Last week I was able to remove one of the stumps in the pathway and today I was more than ecstatic when I got this stump out. I can't tell you how many times I tripped over these two stumps.
Image

Image



Mulched the pathway. So much better not worrying about tripping over the stumps.
Image

Image



Some Garden annoyances.
Image



Say Goodbye to my Kohlrabi Plant.
Image



Still getting an eggplant here and there from my Air Pots.
Image

Image



I made a few tweaks to organize a bit. Added a hook to hang the irrigation line. Added a few screws to the Texas Tomato Cage hanger to hold the extra cages ordered, hopefully it will be strong enough to hold seven 20" cages and four 24" cages with extensions.
Image

Image



Started my Sun-Dried (dehydrated) Tomatoes.
Image

Image

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Wow, sounds like you have had a bountiful summer harvest with plenty to put in the freezer and pantry.

Melon troubles is mutual. I’m going to continue to focus on short season, northern/cool region adapted varieties. Melons are one crop everybody here likes, so I just have to keep working on perfecting my melon gardening techniques. Maybe we can compare our stock of seeds and see what we will want to grow next year. And also discuss *preventive* measures that we can live with.

I think your courtyard-like set up and raised beds and back hill-side beds must be conducive to growing the heat-loving summer crops. But at the same time, air movement might be stifled and create conditions that invite disease outbreak.

All the stuff you are doing to improve living soil activities including hugelkultur, in-situ composting and biochar should help to create a more resistant, bio-diverse environment, too. Maybe add bokashi next?

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Yeah growing squash up against the fence can definitely contribute to fungal issues.
The melon I am growing on the trellis by the rain barrel is opened up pretty good and fungal issues are minor.

Instead of filling my tomato cages with tomatoes, I'm going to try 2 of the cages to grow melons..
No bokashi here, gonna stick to composting in the bin and in- situ composting.
I have slowly but surely been adding more perennial stuff.
Gave up on blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
They're not worth it for the little space I can give them, not they're fault, my fault.
I'll be trying some, Huckleberry, chokeberry and Wintergreen.
I just need to find things that are conducive to my zone and yard.

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

SQWIB wrote: Gave up on blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
SQWIB, Blackberry & Raspberry are in the same family find 1 that grows best for you, you don't need to grow both unless you want a Red Raspberry. Try growing Cumberland Raspberries some Ebay sellers sell them as Cumberland Blackberries they probably don't know there is a difference but Raspberry & Blackberry taste the same. Cumberland Raspberries are wild plants native to, TN, KY, AL, GA, SC, NC, and maybe other places. Plants like full sun but not new plants the first year stand a small table or chair over the plant so it gets shade after 12 noon. Plant it in real soil, not raised beds or pots. Plants like hard soil, compose & fertilizer does more bad than good. New plant can use water & shade the first year until roots take hold. Rhizome roots will spread they are easy to contain. I started out with 1 plant, it turned into 10 plants, then it became about 70 plants, next year it will be about 150 plants in a 10 ft circle. I moved 1 plant to another location next year it should be about 10 plants. Transplants do best planted right after the first hard frost. At the other house 8 years ago my Cumberland Black Raspberry patch was 6 ft by 20 ft I could pick 1 gallon every day for 3 weeks before plants started slowing down. Plants love HOT dry weather & full sun all day. Don't give up yet.
Attachments
100_3868.JPG
100_3872.JPG
100_4117.JPG
100_4117.JPG (57.41 KiB) Viewed 9121 times
100_3964.JPG
100_0269.JPG

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Gary Thank you, I have had luck with Raspberries but the problem is I can not dedicate the space to them that they need. I need small berry producing plants that can be underplanted.
I tried cutting them to make them bush like but they just want to keep growing leggy with minimal berries.

I want something to grow under things like my grape vine and peach tree, here are my Blackberry and Raspberry under the peach tree.
Image

Cleared out and planted a chokeberry.
Image

In the fall I'll trim the peach tree.
I just need to find what will work for my limited space.

I have another area that gets less sun in the late summer and there's a peach tree there also, I will be planting wintergreen under the peach tree.
Image


I am not looking for a bountiful berry harvest for canning or preserving but would like a few berries here and there to snack on.

here is the raspberry under the grapes
Image

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

For UNDERplanting, I think nothing beats strawberries.

...for eat fresh/raw berries on tree-like or overhead structure ... I was thinking you might be able to train LONG cane thornless blackberries like mine (which is Triple Crown, but there are others) It would take dedicated training, but even half-hearted shaping creates arches that you could walk under — I have three of them so far. Decide on a shape you want, then tie onto armature.support or to each other if perfection is not a priority, let the opposite ends arch down to the ground WHERE you want it, and it will set down roots and establish another crown (so easy for creating an arch). The canes dies after fruiting, so you need to constantly set up the succession cane after the currently fruiting one dies and you will have to cut those down no later than after allowing to stand dead through next season when they become brittle and useless.

You can do the same with brambles that have thorns, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Trust me it’s much easier.

You will still need to protect from birds in some way — but mostly harvest the ripest at crack of dawn before the birds warm up enough to come looking for breakfast. Birdscares help, too.


...do your Cumberland Blackberries have thorns @Gary350? — yeah I see them in one of your photos.

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

applestar wrote:For UNDERplanting, I think nothing beats strawberries.

...for eat fresh/raw berries on tree-like or overhead structure ... I was thinking you might be able to train LONG cane thornless blackberries like mine (which is Triple Crown, but there are others) .

...do your Cumberland Blackberries have thorns @Gary350? — yeah I see them in one of your photos.
YES Cumberland Blackberries have Evil 1/2" long sharp thorns I am use to them. Nice thing about wild plants they are extremely hardy. These are the only wild plants I have ever seen that have very few seeds and quarter size berries, maybe that is because they are really Raspberries not Blackberries. Triple Crown is a good blackberry I know someone that grows them they taste identical to my Cumberland berries. My friend said some of his Triple Crown died last summer not enough rain. This summer is dryer than last summer but not as hot until today it was 99 degrees and no rain for a month and no rain before that for 6 weeks.

Applestar, When growing strawberries where do you get plants? Do you grow your own? Can you plant in March and harvest in May? How many plants does a person need to have?

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Wow, nice to know Triple Crown tastes as good Cumberland, though fewer seeds would be a plus.

I haven’t bought any in a while, but I have had good results with pre-ordering and receiving bare-root plants/crowns by mail — usually they choose the date, but typically first or 2nd week of March is when they ship to me, so I would think maybe earlier for Tennessee. They are usually sold in lots of 25 crowns and they need to be planted 12 inches apart.

I’ve tried buying from several reputable sources — better ones arrive with 6-8 inch long fleshy plump roots in great condition. Ones I see at big box stores are sad dried up junk. Live plants that start selling around April or May are sold in 3 or 4 inch pots — no way they would have the same kind of roots on them, even if they have reassuring green leaves on them as opposed to dormant bare roots.

You probably couldn’t expect many or any first year fruits from those live plants even if they have leaves and blossoms on them, but the really big healthy crowns planted as soon as the ground thaws start producing right away in the first year.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

September 9th, 2019



Yeah, the Aquaponics plants got away from me!
Image



I am going to grow cantaloupe here next year again, I will probably save seeds from this one fruit and put in a better trellis.
Image



Not sure what it is but it can only be one of three varieties, "Hales Best Jumbo", "Sierra Gold" or "Hearts of Gold".
Image



September 16th, 2019

Gardening is slowing down a bit, I'm still doing a tweak here and there, the water has been shut off to all the beds, the irrigation lines that feed the pots are still on. I have been lightly watering the cover crops in the morning and evening with the rain barrel. I'll be stopping that soon as well once the crimson clover in the raised beds put on some more growth.

My Kohlrabi doesn't look like it is doing much and my Red beets suck!
My bok choy seedlings are looking good.
The salad garden is finally showing some real growth.

My Butternut squash has put on quite a bit of new growth, not sure why but I'm curious to see what happens.

When working on the herb garden I found these guys on my Kale. This has to be the neatest looking bug, even the eggs look neat.
Image

Image

Image



Planted the Roman Chamomile, French Tarragon and Winter savory, in the herb garden. I made some markers also. Not sure what to do with the Kale, it's a few years old and I hate to remove it.
Planted the Arp Rosemary on the front garden by the mints and will try to overwinter, planted the Wintergreen under the peach tree in the hugelkultur bed.
Image

Image



A few of the tomato plants that I decided to keep seemed to have beat the early blight, or whatever it was that was killing them. Still producing tomatoes.
Image

Image



I really should clean up this plant a bit more at the bottom, but to be honest I really don't care at this point if the plant makes it or not, I'm still pulling more tomatoes than I can use and my freezer is full with tomatoes for a sauce.
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image



Peppers are coming in, I always seem to get my peppers later in the season. I think next year I'm going to stick with just "Bells" for my sweets, to be honest I always end up going for the bell peppers when cooking or making something with peppers. I'm still undecided.
Image

Image

Image

Image



Cover crops are growing nicely but I think the oats are choking out the Crimson Clover and other legumes, I do this every year and every year I say, I'll plant the Crimson Clover then after sprouts are an inch high, I'll plant the oats. Oh well.
Image

Image



Finally got a chance to burn my yard waste.
Image



Started working on my firepit, I need to replace some of the stones, I would love to build one lined with firebrick, maybe someday.
I'm trying to come up with a way to better insulate the Landscaping blocks from the heat, my fires always get a bit extreme!
Image

Image



My brother dropped off some bar stuff so I upgraded my bar on the deck.
Image

Image



Still getting eggplants, I really need to remember to cage these guys early in the season.
What blows my mind is, none of the eggplants in the beds did well, only the potted eggplants really produced. I may stick to pots for the eggplants next year, I'm still undecided on this.
Image



The french marigolds are all growing like weeds.
Image



The soldier fly larva are making quick work of the compost bin materials, I love these guys. The bin was over 18" full, in a few days it was down about 20" or so. I have to laugh, every video or website I see says a compost pile has to be at least 36" wide x 36" wide by 36" high to properly work, this is bull$hit.
This compost bin was hot when I stuck my hand in it.
Image

Image




I'm really having trouble with my espalier Pear tree.
Image

Image


On the weekends I try to make some type of Garden Breakfast for me and the better half.
Image

Image

Image

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Harlequins are nothing but a bunch of clowns! Just look at those evil smirks, even on the eggs. :evil:

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

October 3rd, 2019


Finally got everything needed to finish the fire pit.
Image

Image

Image


Testing out the rotisserie.



Cleaned up some of the concord grape vine and butternut squash vine, I have one plant that completely came back that has flowers, I'm letting it go to see what happens. These will sit outside for a week then be moved into the basement.
Image


Beets still suck and Lettuces are growing very slowly but growing.
My Kohlrabi is not doing well.
My wintergreen died and not sure if my French Tarragon is going to make it.

It's that time of year so I started winterizing the ponds and set out the Fall Mums.
Image


This planter was for Laura's Hydrangea, she loves Hydrangeas. I gave up this planter (was leeks) because she wanted a little focal point with color on the Koi Pond Patio. Well the Hydrangea died and I asked her if she wanted to try another one, which I thought was a bad idea, or let me toss together something from some Home Depot plants.
She's happy with the results.
Image

Image


Removed the pepper plants from the pond and roasted some over the pit, these will be vacuum sealed and frozen.


Maypops are dropping here and there. Still getting tomatoes and peppers and the occasional eggplant.


Red Marconi
Image


Pulled my last cantaloupe, this guy finally released from the vine, the plant is still motoring along.
Image

Image


I was contemplating putting in a cattle panel here for next season, this would give me and extra 8" width and I can go another foot or so up on the deck.
This is one plant.
Image

The plant is still setting fruit, I don't expect this to ripen in time.
Image



For Dinner today I cut open the cantaloupe for a taste test and was holding my breath!
Let me start by saying, "WOW"! This thing was sweet, it blew away any store-bought cantaloupe.
Why was this so sweet and the others hardly sweet at all? Could it be the Cultivar, were they over ripe, under ripe?
I think it was because of the powdery mildew that decimated the leaves, and/or too much water as the fruits were ripening.
September was fairly dry and I only watered this plant a few times a week.
Image
Yes! I absolutely saved the seeds!


While cleaning up the butternut squash vines and grape vines, I decided to clean up my neighbors yard a bit. I promised her I would do it once I pulled the butternut squash and trimmed the grape vine, I was in a panic when I saw that she had someone do the yard work, these guys want to spray poison on everything.
I'm unsure how far I will trim back the Rose of Sharon, its a great divide plant between the properties, a great pollinator and also looks nice.
Image


SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

October 7th, 2019


This weekend was finally cool enough to make my sauce, I started with 62 pounds of tomatoes, I separated the water from thee pulp before processing and tried boiling down the liquid for 6 hours or so. My intention was to add this to the pulpy sauce once it had simmered to about 25% in volume.
I placed the tomatoes in a pot and cooked until the water was just starting to steam, separated the liquid from the rest and roasted the pulpy tomatoes at 425° for 2 hours. Veggies and other ingredients were layered in the tray underneath the tomatoes.

I decided to trash the watery sauce after tasting it as it was very bitter and was afraid to add it to the pulpy sauce.
The processed sauce was phenomenal. I added the pulp from the strainer, added a bit of oregano and parsley and about a 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I was very happy with the flavor as was the wife unit.

What did I learn from this? For me, it's not worth the time, effort or energy to make sauce and next year I wont be making sauce and will be growing a minimal amount of tomatoes to make more room for other crops.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image



My daughter was given a batch of jalapenos and wanted to make some Jalapeno Pepper Jelly. Since the kids love the cowboy candy, I thought this would be a great idea.
I helped her out by prepping the peppers and changed the recipe around a bit due to not having enough Jalapenos, plus I wanted something with a bite but wasn't overwhelming.
So to knock the heat down a bit I removed the seeds and veins, added 2 green peppers and three roasted poblanos.

I know the poblanos would darken the jelly and wouldn't be as pretty.

Original Recipe as follows

Ingredients
  • 12 oz. jalapeño peppers (about 12 med) (I used 15 seeded various sizes)
  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 6 cups sugar
  • 2 3-oz pouches of Ball® RealFruit™ Liquid Pectin
  • Green food coloring, optional

Directions FOR liquid Pectin
  • Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. (I ran through the dishwasher and left them in there to stay warm)Do not boil. Wash lids and bands in warm soapy water, set bands aside and place lids in hot water.
  • Remove seeds and veins from peppers, PURÉE peppers in food processor or blender with 1 cup cider vinegar until smooth. Do not strain purée.
  • Combine purée with remaining 1 cup cider vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • ADD Ball® RealFruit™ Liquid Pectin, immediately squeezing entire contents from pouches. Continue to boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.
  • Ladle hot jalapeno jelly into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim with vinegar. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
  • Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed
.





Here is what we did because we can never find liquid pectin!

Ingredients
  • 12 oz. jalapeño peppers (about 12 med) (I used 15 seeded various sizes)
  • 3 roasted poblano peppers, medium
  • 2 green bell peppers, small
  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 6 cups sugar
  • 2 1.75-oz packs of Sure Gel Powder Pectin

Directions FOR Powder Pectin
  • Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. (I ran through the dishwasher and left them in there to stay warm) Wash lids and bands in warm soapy water, set bands aside and place lids in hot water.
  • Remove seeds and veins from peppers, PURÉE peppers in food processor or blender with 1 cup cider vinegar until smooth. Do not strain purée.
  • Combine purée with two packages of 1.75 oz. powder pectin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for a few minutes, (we boiled 10 minutes) stirring frequently.
  • Add sugar. Continue to boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.
  • Ladle hot jalapeno jelly into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim with vinegar. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
  • Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.
  • Remove bands and store on shelf, do not stack.

Apparently when using Powder Pectin, it needs to be added before the sugar and when using liquid pectin you add after the sugar.

Image

Image

Image




Amanda was not very happy with the color and were going to try tweaking that next run, but well have to leave out he poblanos and try using less peppers.
Image


To me what was important was the taste and I was very happy with the taste... very happy!

Image

Image


I installed the new LED lights on the fence last week.

Gardening has slowed down significantly. I still have tomatoes coming off and the Poblano peppers are growing like crazy.
The sweet potatoes look great. I'm just having a hell of a time with my Kohlrabi and Beets, for some dam reason I can not grow a Fall garden!
I trimmed the neighbors ivy and rogue maple trees on her back hill and chopped everything up and laid down as a mulch to keep the maple tree from seeding on her hill, all the heavy pieces I tossed in my yard to burn.

I guess she didn't like the trimmings on the hill and I saw her Grand kids and son cleaning up the cuttings.

What a nightmare, the maple trees were growing in between her fence and the neighbors fence and was near impossible getting a saw in there.
Image


The right side is my yard where I have the grape vines growing and there's also a rose of sharon.
Image



I planted my Huckleberry plant and noticed that I really need to clean this area up a bit, I plan on running a better electrical line and redoing the rocks, still undecided if I want to go with wood or rocks, most likely rocks, I think it adds a micro-climate by using rocks.

You can also see the beets to the right that are struggling. This Friday will be 8 weeks for the beets. I may use this bed for Egyptian walking onions, still undecided.
I also bypassed the Koi pond rain barrel.
Image



Trimmed the Kale back a bit to get more light to the struggling French Tarragon in the bed.
Image

Fish Food
Image


Every morning I have been plucking caterpillars off of the Kale and Kohlrabi.

I'm pretty sure I lost my wintergreen plant, the French Tarragon is barely holding on.

Prepping my Lemon and Lime tree to be moved indoors. The lemon tree looks like junk and the Lime Tree is kicking butt.
Image


Ordered a "Li" Jujube tree.

Took out another tomato plant chopped and tossed in the fire pit also chopped my neighbors maple ad tossed on the burn pile.
Image



I was going to make a Green Tomato Jam but to be honest, the Jalapeno pepper jam we made will last us till next season so I thought it was a waste.
Image

Planted some Bok Choy seedlings.
Ripped out the rest of my Butternut Squash plants. The plant really came back but there was no fruit set plus not enough time to ripen even if there was fruit.


Took out another tomato plant, it was loaded with tomatoes but I got tired of looking at it. This leaves me with two plants and one of those isn't doing too well.
The poblano plant is doing great, the bell pepper is doing OK, just picked a few Bell peppers this past weekend.
Image


All my Texas Tomato cages are put away.
Image



While putting a tomato cage around my Goji Berry plant I found a Goji berry and tasted it. OMG, I thought I was poisoned, it was nasty. I'm praying it wasn't ripe. If this is what they are supposed to taste like, I'll be tearing it out next year. I know these can be a bit invasive but was surprised to already have a runner that is about 10" away from the main stem.
Image

Image

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

SQWIB wrote:Amanda was not very happy with the color and were going to try tweaking that next run, but well have to leave out he poblanos and try using less peppers.
Image
If you add some diced or rings of ripe colored peppers — red, yellow, white, orange — they would brighten up the overall visual effect. If you want to stick with jalapeño-types, there are different colored varieties, but using sweet peppers would work too, for folks who want milder heat.

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

SQWIB wrote: You can also see the beets to the right that are struggling. This Friday will be 8 weeks for the beets.
I have trouble growing beets too. Every time I try to grow beets I usually get none and if a few try to grow they die. 42 years ago a women told me, throw your beet seeds out into the snow Jan or Feb you will have a good crop of beets come spring. She was right it works. Only problem I have with tossing out seeds is I don't have a dedicated place to grow beets they are always in my way for planting other things in April & May. Beets don't seem to do well in nice garden soil or beds they do better in hard soil that has not been prepared for a garden. Maybe beets should be in the same category as, okra, blackberries, sweet potatoes, the worse the soil is the better they like it.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Gary350 wrote:
SQWIB wrote: You can also see the beets to the right that are struggling. This Friday will be 8 weeks for the beets.
I have trouble growing beets too. Every time I try to grow beets I usually get none and if a few try to grow they die. 42 years ago a women told me, throw your beet seeds out into the snow Jan or Feb you will have a good crop of beets come spring. She was right it works. Only problem I have with tossing out seeds is I don't have a dedicated place to grow beets they are always in my way for planting other things in April & May. Beets don't seem to do well in nice garden soil or beds they do better in hard soil that has not been prepared for a garden. Maybe beets should be in the same category as, okra, blackberries, sweet potatoes, the worse the soil is the better they like it.

Thanks, I will definitely try this next year.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

applestar wrote:
SQWIB wrote:Amanda was not very happy with the color and were going to try tweaking that next run, but well have to leave out he poblanos and try using less peppers.
Image
If you add some diced or rings of ripe colored peppers — red, yellow, white, orange — they would brighten up the overall visual effect. If you want to stick with jalapeño-types, there are different colored varieties, but using sweet peppers would work too, for folks who want milder heat.

Were going to try another Batch and pick up some jalapenos that are more of a "limish" green and maybe add a yellow pepper or two.
Like these
Image

I just hate buying peppers for something like this when I can grow them and make the jam during the growing season.

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I hear ya. But then, you just turn around and plan your next year’s grow list :wink:

Nunez Lemon Spice —
Subject: Applestar’s 2018 Garden
applestar wrote:PEPPERS
Numex Lemon Spice — yellow jalapeño
Doux Long d’Antibes and the DLA cross
Sun Thai — which looked like it barely made it through the winter but is now chugging along....
Unstriped Bill’s Striped - shorter and smaller fruited so unremarkable unless the flavor is superior
Image

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

applestar wrote:I hear ya. But then, you just turn around and plan your next year’s grow list :wink:

Nunez Lemon Spice —
Subject: Applestar’s 2018 Garden
applestar wrote:PEPPERS
Numex Lemon Spice — yellow jalapeño
Doux Long d’Antibes and the DLA cross
Sun Thai — which looked like it barely made it through the winter but is now chugging along....
Unstriped Bill’s Striped - shorter and smaller fruited so unremarkable unless the flavor is superior
Image
That Numex Lemon Spice looks good, any feedback on it?

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

October 13th, 2019


Ordered a Hardired nectarine - Dwarf from Raintree nursery.

A good portion of Friday morning was spent working on this stump. I want to get it out as ASAP and put in pavers. The hell strip looks like junk. I tried growing grass here but can't, you know why? Because my neighbor thinks dirt is better than grass and I believe she has been poisoning the grass. I keep planting seed and it starts to come up, a few days later it's dead, a few days after that, its dirt!
She put a driveway where her lawn is and drives over the curb and hell strip to park. She actually put down busted ceramic tiles to drive over.
This driveway is the reason my 25 year old red maple died in a few months after the driveway was poured.
Image

Image

Image


Friday afternoon my brother and I picked up a cattle panel at TSC. We strapped two 10' 2X4'S to the roof rack then strapped the cattle panel to the wood. When we got back and unloaded the panel we hung out in the yard a few hours talking and having a few beers. It was my first glimpse into what retired life would feel like, yeah he just retired this year.
Image

Image



I completely cut back the Kale and placed the trimmings in a bucket of Rain Water, it was loaded with some critters.
Image

Image



The Nasturtiums are finally growing. I decided to spray the Kohlrabi with BT, I couldn't keep up with manually picking them bastages.
Image



All the fig trees are growing nicely but this one is growing like wild fire, however the figs are still green and tiny.
Image



Split my Black Eyed Susan's in half and transplanted.
Image



Digging out the turtle area and loosening with mulch and peat for the turtles to hibernate.
Image

Image



Cut all my fruit trees down at least 2/3rds.
Peach Before and after cut.
Image

Image



Apricot before cut.
Image



The grape vine was getting out of control so I trimmed it back a bit and I am still finding grapes.
Image



Took some cuttings from the Sweet potato vines and Basil, I'm going to try and grow these indoors in the powder room this winter.
Image



Cover crops are doing great.
Image



Pepperoni pizza with Garden Sauce, dam, this sauce is fantastic.
Image



Leftover Pizza topped with eggs for breakfast.
Image



Sealed some fruit for smoothies, Kiwi Berries,Pineapple, Bananas, Blueberries, Cantaloupe.
The only fruit from the garden is the cantaloupe
Image



Burnt up the neighbors maple tree trimmings and my tomato plants (all green wood)
Image



I'm slowly getting the front of the house and backyard cleaned up, I do have some mulching to do in the front gardens but I'm waiting for a frost to knock back some of the plants.

Sunday I just did a bit of cooking, I recycled some Beef Stroganoff into beef vegetable stew. I used my two last teeny eggplants and I also finally got a chance to use some of my frozen Okra. I'll usually make a stew or something from a bunch of leftovers for work lunches.

The only yard work I done Sunday was vacuum out the fire pit from Saturday nights fire.

I putzed around in the yard all day Friday and most of Saturday morning, so that's about it.

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Ok now *I’m* tired :lol:

You know those white and yellow pupae on kale were braconid wasps right?

Probably good that you treated the kohlrabi anyway since those caterpillars go after nasturtium leaves, too.

Everything looks good. :-()

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

applestar wrote:Ok now *I’m* tired :lol:

You know those white and yellow pupae on kale were braconid wasps right?

Probably good that you treated the kohlrabi anyway since those caterpillars go after nasturtium leaves, too.

Everything looks good. :-()
Dammit, NO, I did not know that. I cant win!!
I thought the larva was only on caterpillars?

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Compared to the size of hornworms, cabbage worms are so small that by the time all the wasp larvae Chew their way out and emerge to spin their pupa, there’s nothing left of the cabbage worm. :twisted:



Return to “Vegetable Garden Progress + Photos & Videos”