"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Monday, July 9, 2012

"A" For Effort

Gotta hand it to the garden...It hung in there through the worst of this heat.   I picked our first Blue Lake GB's today.  The majority I picked were looking pretty good considering.  There was a handful that I tossed in the compost as you could tell they were dry inside.  Not a whole LOT of production considering the size of the patch but I'm grateful for what we did get. 




Perhaps with the cooler weather things will pick up a bit.  I do see more blooms coming on.

The yellow wax beans are NOT worth picking right now.  I think I'm just going to let them dry on the vine and "BINGO"...my first seed save of this year.

Tons of cuc's to give away to the neighbors and I'll be carting a box load of the cured sweet onions (that have been out in the garage) to work to let anyone who wants some take some. 

While the onions were a fun experiment, I'm not sure I'll grow them again unless I can find someone to split the order with.  Maybe I can talk Debbie or Mrs R into splitting some next year.  (We just don't eat that many onions.)




I've picked a few tomatoes.  Birds are big problem around here, pecking at the fruit, so it's a rare day indeed that anything ripens on the vine.  This year is a sucky year for tomatoes.  (My own fault and a good lesson learned.)  Some had BER and a few were sun scorched or had bug damage.  Those were tossed into the compost pile too.  I think we'll have enough good ones to keep SM happy.

That's about it around here...July and August are just not good around here for much production other than tomatoes, peppers and corn.

But peaches are in..:)  Maybe I'll get SM to pick up a peck this week.
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10 comments:

  1. SueJuly 9, 2012 at 7:02 AM

    I think it's amazing that you get as much as you do with the heat that you get.
    I'm waiting patiently for beans-looks to be about 2 more weeks.

    Peaches---oh yum!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mama PeaJuly 9, 2012 at 7:21 AM

    The green beans in the basket look good. Can't figure out what's wrong with mine this year. You'd think the hot weather and adequate moisture would be to their liking . . . but the plants are still very small. Sigh. Green and yellow beans look about the same.

    Peaches? Peaches? I'll come help can if I can eat as many as I want! Heck, I'll make a pie for you, too. We just don't get good ones up here.

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  3. John D. WheelerJuly 9, 2012 at 9:44 AM

    It's funny, I love growing onions even though I don't eat that many. They are just such a satisfactory companion plant.

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  4. KrisJuly 9, 2012 at 10:25 AM

    I used to have birds and chipmunks take bites out of my tomatoes until I realized they are just thirsty. Ever since then I keep a pan of water for them on the ground in the veg bed and no bites in the tomatoes.

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  5. AnonymousJuly 9, 2012 at 5:05 PM

    Have you been canning any of your cucumbers? I have been getting so many that I can just about every day. I found an awesome relish recipe and have been canning relish like crazy. My husband likes it so much he has been eating hot dogs around the clock. :) You can use the relish for homemade 1000 dressing, tartar sauce and it tastes good on crab cakes and other meats.

    Your beans look great. I just planted mine a few weeks ago so I won't see any till fall. Daniel made a bed during the 4th holiday week and I will be planting more there. Can't wait till they come in and I can get busy canning for our winter supply.

    I wished we lived a little closer, i would go in on the onions. We eat tons of onion and I cook with them constantly. You could use some of them for the relish. (just a thought) :)

    Thanks for all the visits to our blog. Your comments keep me going. I love having gardening friends!

    http://www.growitathome.wordpress.com
    Joelle

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJuly 9, 2012 at 5:07 PM

    Oh yea, I also was going to mention that you can put rubber snakes around your tomatoes to help keep the birds away. We did that this year and have had good success. We find the snakes at the Dollar Store and hang them on the cages and trellis'. We have them all over our garden.

    http://www.growitathome.wordpress.com
    Joelle

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  7. 50 X 100July 9, 2012 at 9:17 PM

    Your beans look great. We have finally been getting some heat here, (a very rainy cold June). Just started picking peas, but everything else is just starting to flower, Cukes, beans, tomatoes. A little bird comes every day to eat my beet tops, he's such a cute thing that I don't chase him away. Hopefully I will still get beets with raggedy tops!

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  8. daisy gJuly 10, 2012 at 2:14 PM

    I planted Blue Lakes too, but didn't get one bean. How much did you water them?

    Enjoy your tomatoes!

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  9. TamiJuly 11, 2012 at 6:03 AM

    Welcome 50x100 Thanks for stopping by! You must be Pacific NW to have had a cold June ;)

    Daisy...I watered everyday during the hot spell. Sprinkler on for 20 min. I don't think much went into the ground. Likely just kept the plants cooler.

    I did plant the beans VERY close together. Makes picking hard but helped shade the roots, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  10. TamiJuly 11, 2012 at 6:05 AM

    growitathome...I'm not a big cuc fan so I'm not canning them. All my co-workers LOVE the free give aways though!

    Haven't tried the rubber snake thing. ICK! It would likely keep ME away!

    ReplyDelete

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