Gardening 2013: Quickie Update

Zucchini #1

After a full week of near 100 degree temperatures we finally got a break last night with some pretty decent thunderstorms. Not up to Chicago standards, but at least things have cooled down. And...

Most of the vegetables are finally starting to come around. That's our first zucchini up there. 8 ounces of sweet green goodness. And it looks like we'll have a few more by the weekend:

A More Shapely Fruit

In fact we harvested a couple of small eggplant last week that I didn't document, but more are on the way:

The San Marzano tomatoes are finally starting to ripen. There's still no hint of wilt or blossom end rot, so I'm hoping for a good crop for making sun dried tomatoes (OK, yeah, I'll probably dry 'em in the oven - it's too humid here to sun dry successfully).

The cippolini onions are almost ready to harvest. The greens have all fallen over and in a few days they'll start to brown a little. Then I'll pull 'em and spread them out to dry on the front porch like I did last year.

Gardening 2013 - Mid July Update

This has been a tough spring and early summer for the garden. We've had weeks of steady rain interspersed with merely cloudy weather. Last week was the first time in  a while when we've had even a few consecutive sunny days. Nevertheless, things are staring to happen...

San Marzano Tomatoes

The San Marzano tomatoes are finally coming along. They've made it to the top of the support frames at last and are beginning to set fruit. Obviously there has been no water stress this year. With plenty of eggshell mixed into the soil around each plant I'm hoping we're free from blossom end rot. So far there's no sign of wilt either.

Eggplant in cages

The eggplant has been slow to develop (and we won't mention the state of the peppers). I've been cutting off fruit as it sets to try to encourage more growth. I'm hopeful that a few sunny weeks will put them on track. We did harvest a couple that got away from me but for now there's nothing happening but (I hope) solid growth.

Cippolini Onions

As expected, the onions have pretty much all tipped over. I'll go out this evening after it cools off to weed and tip the ones that haven't. There are some beets and carrots in the foreground that need thinning as well.

Zucchini

The Zucchini was direct seeded in late May. This is the same variety we grew last year and it's doing rather well. I'll harvest that little guy in a couple more days.

Lettuce Gutter

This has been successful beyond my hopes. We've been making little salads a couple night each week and the lettuce just keeps coming. There's a drip line in there so in the event we ever go more than a few days without rain the lettuce will stay happy.

Gardening 2013: May Update

Nearly to the roof this year!

This spring has been a little hard on the garden. It was very hot early, then got wet, and now we're on a period with more seasonal daytime temperatures but night time lows in the low 40's.

That hasn't bothered the cippolini onions or the cima di rapa in the front bed. They're watered using 1/4" drip line every 2nd row.

Just about ready

We'll probably harvest the cima di rapa in another couple days and make pizza with it. Valley Shepard Creamery in Reading Terminal Market makes mozarella daily on-site so I'll probably pick up half a pound on the way home from work Tuesday. (Which in turn means making a batch of dough Monday evening.)

San Marzano Tomatoes

As you can see, we're using red plastic "mulch" again this year and each plant has it's own drip line with a 1 gallon per hour emitter. There are a couple rows of peas on the right - they get plenty of eater from the gutter garden just visible at the top right.

Unfortunately, the eggplant and peppers I started are way behind. I may visit some garden stores next week and buy larger plants. It's annoying, but these things happen now and then. And I still have to pop some zucchini seeds under the black plastic in the front "bamboo bed".

Gardening 2012: July Update

It's time once more for a gardening update!

Coming Along

San Marzano Tomatoes: They're exceding every possible expectation. The plants in the upper bed have reached the tops of the double height ladders and although the three in the lower bed are not as tall, they easily match the others for quantity of fruit. We got our first ripe tomato from the lower bed on July 3rd. and now there are quite a few beginning to color. I'm a little concerned about the wilting leaves, but the plants seem otherwise healthy.

I didn't think I'd start needing to buy quart jars until August...

Gardening 2012 - Thunderstorm Update

Rolled Zucchini

Friday evening we had the first real thunderstorm of the season. I managed to get the lawn mowed before it started and although there were a few flickers, the power stayed on. This morning I went out to see how the garden had fared, particularly the tomatoes, as they have gotten rather tall.

As you can see, the zucchini got sort of rolled over in the wind. Although a few of the male blossoms broke off, they're none the worse for the experience.

You can't hide anymore

And it was easier to trim off a couple unfertilized zucchini that were hiding underneath (they'll gradually decay if you don't).

Eggplant!

The eggplants don't seem to have noticed the storm at all. As you can see we'll be getting plenty of these purple beauties this year. The big one on the lower right is now in the kitchen awaiting it's fate.

Some of the pepper plants got knocked over. Since they're all a little on the spindly side, I took the PVC pipes we used early in the spring to support a frost cover and converted them to stakes.

Almost 6 feet tall

And then there are the tomatoes. These San Marzano plants are huge and are going to need some careful pruning. A couple branches were partially broken in the storm so they'll have to come off and a few other branches are intruding on the onions and Swiss Chard.

Gardening 2012 - Mid June Update

Baby Zucchini

It's been a rainy couple of days in Philly and the garden has responded with a veritable orgy of vegetative sexuality. The zucchini I set out way too early have had a gigantic growth spurt and we've already eaten more than a pound of delicious squash with another pound or so in the 'fridge.

Little Peppers

The  peppers are starting to set fruit. It's beginning to look like we'll have plenty to pickle. I have plans to stuff them with fresh mozzarella and tonno sott'olio and can them for future use.

The San Marzano tomatoes have apparently decided that our little garden is a pretty good place to raise their children. All six plants have grown past the 42 inch ladders and the ones in the upper bed (they get a bit more sun) are over 5 feet. All of them have set fruit.

San Marzano Tomatoes

The eggplants are looking sturdy and have lots of flowers. There are a few hints of fruit, but it's still way early, and the plants all look healthy so no worries there.

We got a few heads of cima di rapa from the second planting, but the warm weather resulted in most of the plants bolting. I still have a lot of seed, so I'll wait until mid-September to try another planting.