Patience...

An heirloom tomato gone crazy

Cherokee Purples



Cherry Tomatoes



I know, I sound like a broken record but....I'm still blaming the cool weather we had in June for this year's substandard garden performance. The cool weather crops such as broccoli, lettuce, spinach and onions were a huge success. But, for the most part, the warm weather crops like the tomatoes, melons, and eggplant are just now starting to show signs of ripening. This is a good month behind what we normally experience. Granted, we have plucked many cherry tomatoes thus far, but it's really the large Beefsteaks and the Cherokee Purples we want the most and they are taking their sweet time. Optimist and patient person that I am, (ha, ha) I am keeping the faith that even the big guys will ripen before the first frost.

The Rossa Bianca eggplant is slowly but surely growing. This is my first year growing eggplant so it will be a miracle if they actually make it. lol...Regardless, they are quite pretty.

The Tango celery is a success again this year. In fact, this is the second year we won a blue ribbon at the fair with it.  It's amazing how much more flavorful it is compared to store bought celery. I froze some yesterday so that we will have plenty for making soup this winter.

Although, the purple bells are smaller than normal this year at least they are ripening. And...

the purple tomatillos aren't quite purple yet.

The good news is that the temperatures should stay in the 70's range for a few days and that should help things along....Who said patience is a virtue? I say hurry up and ripen tomatoes...I want to preserve some tomato sauce.

Fall is in the air.

We still have a fair amount of summer left but you know Fall is approaching in North Idaho when the pumpkins are maturing and the corn crop is ready to harvest.

This is a pic of one of our Atlantic Giant pumpkins. According to giant pumpkin grower, Howard Dill, the trick to getting a big pumpkin is to only allow 1 or 2 blossoms to mature into fruit and to make sure the fruit is "set" by early July. This means you have to decide early on which pumpkins look the healthiest and most promising as far as size and shape goes. Then, you will have to continually cut any new blossoms off. Another thing to consider when growing the giant pumpkins is fertilizer. Early in the season, it's best to provide the plants with a water soluble fertilizer that stresses phosphorus such as a 15-30-15 mix. Once the fruit sets you should switch to a balanced blend such as 20-20-20. Then in late July switch to a fertilizer that is heavy in potassium like a 15-11-29. Some competitive growers fertilize at a rate of 1 to 2 lbs per week from the time the fruit sets to the end of the growing season. We didn't go that crazy with the fertilizer this year but perhaps next year we will be a little more aggressive with it. Trimming vines is also a crucial to growing these giants. You should start pruning early in the season. Essentially, what you want to prune are the main vines once they reach 10 to 12 feet beyond the set fruit. The side shoots off the main vines should not be longer that 8 feet and apparently burying the cut ends of the vines helps to prevent water loss.

Last year we had a couple decent size pumpkins but we hope to surpass that this year....we still have a month to go, so it looks promising.

On another pumpkin note, we grew about 10 sugar pie pumpkin plants this year. They are just starting to turn orange and I can't wait to try cooking with them. Last year we adapted our own pumpkin pie recipe from this site's recipe and it was fabulous:

http://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkinpie.php

I want to try new pumpkin recipes so I would love to hear from anyone that has a great recipe to share.

The market: what's hot and what's not.

Here's a few pictures of some of our veggies we sold last week at the market. This year has been a learning experience. I have learned that some items just don't sell as well as others. For instance, it seems that the market is saturated with carrots and zucchini...go figure on the zucchini : )

However, other items seem to be in great demand right now...If I had enough ripe tomatoes to sell I'm sure I would sell out each weekend. The tomatoes are a slow go this year as June's weather took its toll on the heat loving plants.

Another hot item at the market are the Walla Walla Sweet Onions. We have sold out of them nearly every weekend. As such, next year I will definitely have to increase our onion crop.

It seems that many market shoppers like a wide variety of produce that you just can't find in the grocery store. Take baby corn, for instance. I wasn't sure how it would sell but it did quite well. I often use it in stir fry dishes and suggested that to my customers. I know they will be pleasantly surprised by the flavor.

The purple tomatillos are starting to fill out their husks. They should be ready for market by next week or the week after. I can't wait to try them in salsa.

Our purple podded pole beans aren't doing as well as hoped... I'm going to give them some organic fertilizer and hope they start producing more beans soon. The bush beans are producing a ton so I don't know why the pole beans are being so slow this year.
The Hill County Red Okra have the most beautiful flowers on them. I only know a handful of people who even like okra so hopefully it will sell. If not, then I will get busy pickling it. (Goes well with a Bloody Mary.)

The mammoth dill plants are at least 5 ft tall now and covered in ladybugs....a good sign. : ) I won't sell much of it at the market since we usually make lots of pickles for ourselves.

The celery is not doing as well as last year's crop. This year we grew it in rows rather than raised beds which made it more susceptible to the cool weather and bugs. Oh well, you live and learn. : )

Cucumbers have been a good seller ....I grow mostly Straight Eights but also grew a few pickling cukes, Izniks, Cucinos and Lemon Cukes.
People around here love the Lemon Cukes so next year we will grow lots more.


I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate in the market this year. It's been loads of fun and I can't wait to do it next year too....I have learned a ton on what sells and what doesn't. I have learned that presentation (thank you Daisy Girl for your artful displays) and great customer service will draw people in and bring them back. I have learned that gardening is definitely my passion and my calling in life. I want nothing more than to provide the community with healthful, tasty food that contains no chemicals. And doing it for a living would be a pretty sweet gig. Peace : )

Gardens and barbecues

I can't believe it's August already. It has been a whirlwind of activities at our house this summer; the farmer's market, barbecue competitions, a new grand baby, and of course all the normal summertime activities. It appears that things won't be slowing down anytime soon either. I'm not complaining but I do wish there were more hours in a day. Lol!

The garden is really starting to produce some veggies just in time for round two of the farmer's market.The first batch of bush beans have been harvested twice now and the second crop of beans are about ready to pick.

We have harvested lots of zucchini and several peppers and tomatoes. I am hoping the Red Okra and the Rosa Bianca eggplant start producing soon. The flowers on the Red Okra are sure pretty.

I'm pleased with the growth of the Walla Walla Sweet Onions. I harvested some to sell at the market and they were a huge hit. The cukes are the next vegetables to explode in production...they are already taking over the garden.


In other news...Bent and team attended the 2010 Idaho Barbecue Championship at the Boise Music Festival in July. They placed 5th on ribs and 13th over all. Bent let famous pitmaster Harry Soo, borrow some of his equipment for this competition. In return, Harry gave the team grilling tips and he engraved the two Weber Bullets they lent him. Needless to say, the team was thrilled to be cooking side by side such a famous competitor. I'm told that lending your barbecue to Harry is like letting Eddy Van Halen borrow your guitar to play at a concert. Lol!

Hopefully the last picture doesn't offend anyone....this was a whole pig roast that Bent and host cooked for practice. (Of course the boys had to put green olives in the place of the poor piggies eyes).....The practice cook was a huge hit and everyone ate a ton....It was soooo good!

The weedy and the wonderful

Weeds don't need planting in well-drained soil; they don't ask for
fertilizer or bits of rag to scare away the birds. They come without
invitation; and they don't take the hint when you want them to go.
Weeds are nobody's guests: More like squatters.
- Norman Nicholson.

Anyone who has a garden knows all too well that plucking weeds from it are a never ending chore....Thus, the saying "growing like a weed" : ) Many people think I'm crazy, but for the most part I really don't mind weeding. I use this time to meditate, de-stress and even exercise. No, I'm not out in the corn patch doing sit ups or jumping jacks. Rather, I am hacking down weeds with my trusty hoe or digging them out with my pitchfork...Now to most non gardeners, gardening may not seem like much of a workout but you really use a lot of muscles you never knew you had... Just think of all the crouching down and constant bending you have to do....I call them garden crunches Lol! I think a certain someone ( Our Engineered Garden ) should create a hoe that calculates calories burned while working in the garden. : )

The corn rows desperately needed weeding so I took a couple hours on Sunday and worked on it. It's always a good feeling when the garden is nice and weed-free. It's like the feeling you get right after you cut the lawn ....or maybe that's just me...... : )

I hadn't looked at the garden up close for several days so I was surprised when I discovered baby zucchini and cukes finally coming on.

We have harvested several Totem Patio tomatoes this season but I'm rather disappointed in the flavor. They are far less sweet than other varieties we grow. We only have two plants so it's not a big deal.

The final surprise has nothing to do with the garden : ) Grandson Silas was born on July 17th at 10:53 pm....we think he is absolutely wonderful! And personally, I think he will make a great gardening buddy some day. : )

Harvest time!

Last weekend we finished harvesting the rest of the broccoli. I'm happy to say we had a very successful crop this year...I didn't find one worm in the entire crop and very few aphids which is unusual (I don't use pesticides) and the size of the heads were larger than usual. Needless to say, it was in huge demand at the farmer's market. We happily sold out each day after just a couple of hours. After the harvest was done, we got busy planting our fall crop. We didn't do this last year but I really want to start to experiment more with growing all year round. These particular raised beds are equipped with hoop covers just in case we get an early fall freeze. I decided to wait on harvesting the Romanesco....it doesn't appear to be ready and some of it sort of bolted. This is my first time growing it so I could be wrong...anyone out there know about this?


The tomatoes are also starting to ripen. Our cold and wet June weather kind of slowed things down for many crops but we have harvested 4 tomatoes so far and several are turning orange.


So far, the only peppers showing real progress are the Karma variety....I guess they bring good Karma to the garden lol! I have some bell peppers that may catch up to them if the weather stays nice and warm.


The mammoth dill is growing like crazy. I lost a bunch of dill plants last year due to an insect problem but so far so good this year. In fact, I have so many volunteer dill plants I am struggling to find space for all of them. We make a lot of pickles so it's a good problem to have I guess : )

The strawberries are also enjoying the sunny weather....we have both Everbearing and June bearing varieties growing in the raised bed. We have recently had some problems with sugar ants getting in to them and I would welcome any natural solutions to getting rid of them.

All in all, I can't complain....we have had a pretty good July harvest and we still have a couple months of summer to go : ) I can't wait for the corn harvest!

Anticipation!

The anticipation of waiting for the garden to get growing is killing me....I admit that I have not been a patient gardener this season...the cool temps and the constant rain has surely slowed down production....but a few plants are making a marked improvement since last week....especially the cauliflower.

We planted two different varieties of cauliflower this year. One is called Amazing and I have had great luck with it in the past. The other is called Buttercream. Although a slow start, they now both appear to be doing quite well and starting to form heads. Last year we blanched and froze a bunch of it and it was soooo nice to have in stir fry, soups and stews during the cold winter months.

The broccoli heads were all harvested from the family garden last week (luckily before they set flowers)....now we have some flowerets shooting up and after those are done then we will start planting a fall crop of broccoli. I have had wonderful results with a variety called Pac Man although this year we added the DeCicco variety as well. The Pac Man definitely won out on the nice compact heads but both are great in flavor.
The zucchini are now beginning to flower and the cabbage should be ready soon. We planted both green and red cabbage called Salad Delight...I'm looking forward to making coleslaw!

The Walla Walla Sweet Onions are tempting me to pluck one....they look so good : ) In my home garden I also have Texas Candy Sweet reds and yellows growing. Last year they grew the size of saucers....and they were most excellent in flavor.

In other gardening news, many of my flowers are in full bloom...one of my favorites is Clematis....I have several varieties....but probably couldn't tell you what they are Lol! I am much more of a vegetable grower than a flower gardener....nevertheless, I love the bright colors. I'm just so excited that summer is finally here in North Idaho....today we reached 95F...The plants are loving it....and I am too! YAY for summer!

Knee highs and other garden news

Many gardeners that live in our region know this old saying all too well: "knee high by the 4th of July." For those that don't know however, this is the height that your corn plants should be at in order to mature by the end of our short growing season... I think we made it thanks to sis-in-law, Melanie who doused our plants with fish fertilizer a couple weeks ago. I have said it before but I blame June's cool temps for slowing down our plant growth in the garden....The weather forecast says it's supposed to be like summer now... yay!

The strawberries are slowly starting to ripen....the trick is keeping the sugar ants and the crows away from them....If anyone has some tips on keeping the sugar ants away (no pesticides), I would love to hear from you. Last year they got into some of our potatoes too... : (

The Hill Country Red Okra and the Tango celery are looking to be a success...






Potatoes are going wild and the tomatoes are starting to take off now too....we are installing 7 foot posts with heavy gauge electric fence wire to hold them up this year....last year it was quite a jungle in the tomato patch....which makes harvesting a bit difficult.

The zucchini are coming right along as well...the cold didn't seem to slow them down too much.....

Happy gardening and happy 4th of July everyone!!!