Update ---- Picture Heavy

[jal_ut]

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_1.jpg[/img]
The Elephant garlic blooms

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_2.jpg[/img]
The onions are bulbing

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_3.jpg[/img]
Potatoes

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_4.jpg[/img]

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_5.jpg[/img]
Broccoli

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_6.jpg[/img]
Closeup of the Elephant Garlic Bloom

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_7.jpg[/img]
Asparagus Ferns

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_8.jpg[/img]
Squash vines are getting some size finally.

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garden_7_24_2011_9.jpg[/img]
With a little luck, I might get a tomato.

[gumbo2176]

I envy you for the broccoli this time of year and for not having to deal with SVB's.

I didn't see stakes or any support for your tomato vines. Do you just let them go free? I know you have tons more room than I do, so space shouldn't be an issue.

Oh, and love that backdrop, no matter how many times I've seen it in your pics.

[hendi_alex]

Always lovely to see your photos. Very nice garden, even better landscape!

[jal_ut]

Thanks.

I do not stake the tomatoes. I mulch with newspaper and grass clippings and let them do their thing.

This has been a goofy year. Things are two weeks behind and not doing as well as usual. In spite of the goofy weather starting out, it looks like I will get a harvest of something. The lettuce, spinach and peas did well. I still have a handful of late spinach that I will pick tomorrow along with several heads of broccoli.The squash and cukes are just starting to bloom. The peppers and tomatoes are blooming and a few tomatoes have set on. The corn is tasseling. It is not as tall as most years. It didn't seem to like that goofy weather this spring. I will have loads of onions, both of the green and dry types. The garlic is looking good too. I harvested a bit of softneck a week ago.

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/wellsvilles_7_2_2011.jpg[/img]
This is the range of mountains on the other side of our valley.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Very nice James! Whats the temps? Looking at that clear blue sky, looks cold.


Eric

[gixxerific]

Very awesome James. But broccoli come on you have to pulling our legs there.

Everything looks good glad to see you are getting tomatoes, which you have said are hard to get some years.

Impressive as always.

[jal_ut]

Very awesome James. But broccoli come on you have to pulling our legs there.

Scouts honor, all the pics were taken today Sunday July 24, except the one of the mountain range which was taken July 3, 2011. We even had fresh broccoli for dinner this eve.

Very nice James! Whats the temps? Looking at that clear blue sky, looks cold.

Our temps have been in the upper 80s all week. It goes down to around 56 -60 lately. Yes, we get lots of clear blue sky days here. Even if its hot. With the elevation and the clear atmosphere, it doesn't take long to get a sunburn.

[BP]

Great pics as always. 2 questions......... My garlic that I planted last fall grew greens about 2' tall and fell over. I never got blooms like you have. Is my garlic done growing and why didn't I get blooms like yours?
The other is your onions. What kind are they. I plan on trying onions for the first time next year. I hear a lot about candy onions on another forum from Southerners. Thought I couldn't grow them in my area, but saw in a local farmers market candy onions "Amish Michigan grown". Onions confuse me with the longday and shortday.

[DoubleDogFarm]

This is from a quick google search. Onion long day - short day map

https://www.windcrestorganics.com/oniontransplants.html

Did you grow a softneck garlic?


Eric

[jal_ut]

BP, my onions are of three kinds. Egyptian onion which is a perennial non bulbing onion, Big Daddy onion (pictured) and Yellow Spanish Onion. I grew the Big Daddys from plants, and the Yellow from sets. I also grew some yellow onions from seed. You will want a long day variety for your location.
About the garlic flowers in my pictures, they are of Elephant Garlic. Elephant (Allium ampeloprasum) is not of the same species as real garlic (Allium sativum). Most growers cut the scapes off garlic. I usually let it bloom because it is pretty. I still get some nice big bulbs. Elephant garlic keeps very well. It will keep until next harvest if kept dry and in a spot of uniform temperature. It has a little different garlic-like flavor.

Did you grow a softneck garlic?

Yes, I grew some softneck.

[applestar]

Looking great! I love your pictures.

I grew Elephant garlic based on Jame's past postings and they did very well for me. I also picked some of those giant pompom flower heads while the little caps are still hanging on. The little flower buds have light garlic flavor and are yummy sprinkled over almost anything.

I dried what I didn't use and am going to try grinding them into herb blends. Hmmm... Now that I think about it I should've tried freezing some as well....

[Gary350]

Wow you always have an amazing garden. That must be a great place to live in the summer.

[garden5]

Jal, your garden is coming along great!

My onions are starting to bulb too, but I grew them in a sandy part of the garden, so I'm not sure how big all of the bulbs will be. Some look good, but others are still kind of small.

Every year I say I'm going to grow broccoli, but I don't . I'm glad to see that yours are doing great.

[cherishedtiger]

Jal every time I see your pictures I want to go crazy in my back yard and turn the whole thing into a garden. (not sure the dogs would agree to that though)!
Oh, that and I want to take your scenic pictures blow them WAY up and plaster my fence with them so I can at least pretend I have a nice view!!!

[BP]

So should I pull my garlic since it's layed over?

[jal_ut]

Posted: 07 25 11 Post subject:
So should I pull my garlic since it's layed over?

If it is laid over and turning yellow or brown, it is done. I would pull one and see what it looks like. If you leave them in too long the paper shell falls apart, then they don't look as good. I don't know if that affects their keeping ability. I like to use a digging fork and lift them.

[jal_ut]

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/garlic_2011.jpg[/img]

Two varieties of hardneck garlic. Sorry I don't know the names of these varieties. The one got a lot larger than the other.

On the front row, those on the left I let the scapes stay on. Those on the right I cut the scapes off. (both the same variety) Those on the right were also dug a week earlier. I can't see that it made any difference in size to cut the scapes off. This is a fairly small sample to really do a test. I only had two bulbs to plant. Most of this will go for planting this fall.

I have not harvested the Elephant Garlic yet.

[jal_ut]

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/corn_2011.jpg[/img]

The corn is starting to look like it might make it.

[jal_ut]

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/crookneck_vine.jpg[/img]

Crookneck plants get huge.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Crookneck plants get huge

and expensive when they go to college.


Eric