Garden Thread 2023!

[begreen]

So, after weeks of work and watering, and hundreds of dollars worth of gardening supplies, how many 25-cent vegetables have you enjoyed from these gardens?

Someone has not been shopping in the organic produce section for a long time. Corn can go for a buck an ear. Head of cabbage around $10, strawberries $4/lb, etc. We have collected about 2 gallons of blueberries this year. They go for $4 for 18 oz. locally. All that and we get good exercise in the process, so delete the cost of gym membership.

There is a degree of irony if one notes that some people spend hundreds or more on their lawns and nothing is eating that grass unless they have sheep or goats. I'll take a lush garden any day to that.

That said, I constructed a peach house last year to shelter the tree from fall/winter rains. This is to prevent peach leaf curl. Every year this fungus took its toll on the tree. It was in bad shape. The good news is that it worked! For the first time in 4 years, the tree bore 8 fantastic peaches. And virtually no leaf curl. The bad news is that makes them come in this year at about $25 a peach this year. But, it's well built and the crops should increase now that the tree is thriving. So if next year I get 20 peaches the cost drops down to a bit over $7 a peach. Hopefully, by year 4 we'll start to approach market value. But they are damn good peaches.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Someone has not been shopping in the organic produce section for a long time. Corn can go for a buck an ear. Head of cabbage around $10, strawberries $4/lb, etc. We have collected about 2 gallons of blueberries this year. They go for $4 for 18 oz. locally. All that and we get good exercise in the process, so delete the cost of gym membership.

There is a degree of irony if one notes that some people spend hundreds or more on their lawns and nothing is eating that grass unless they have sheep or goats. I'll take a lush garden any day to that.

That said, I constructed a peach house last year to shelter the tree from fall/winter rains. This is to prevent peach leaf curl. Every year this fungus took its toll on the tree. It was in bad shape. The good news is that it worked! For the first time in 4 years, the tree bore 8 fantastic peaches. And virtually no leaf curl. The bad news is that makes them come in this year at about $25 a peach this year. But, it's well built and the crops should increase now that the tree is thriving. So if next year I get 20 peaches the cost drops down to a bit over $7 a peach. Hopefully, by year 4 we'll start to approach market value. But they are damn good peaches.

Couldn't agree more! My brother (who was a systems analyst his entire career) is the type who tends to focus on ROI when I tell him about one of my projects (new greenhouse, food forest, chickens, etc.). His head just works like that. I usually tell him that the enjoyment I get from my projects (hobbies) is far greater than any monetary ROI I could ever count.

Congrats on the peaches!

 

[NickW]

I spent $12-15 on seeds, used leftover seed starter pods for the peppers, and a few dollars on gas for the rototiller.

We have made stuffed zucchini and zucchini bread once each so far. There are 2 meals worth of zoodles, about 2 dozen baggies of shredded zucchini for zucchini bread or zucchini grilled cheese, and about a dozen meals worth of zucchini halves for stuffed zucchini in the freezer. Neighbors have gotten a few zucchini and I am still getting about 4 per day.

In a few weeks the melons will start ripening... hundreds of them it's looking like. Because melons ripen at the same time we give a lot away but still eat dozens ourselves. Then in September or October the jalapenos will be ready to harvest to stock the freezer for making jalapeno poppers.

My ROI is great...

 

[Dan Freeman]

Haven't been posting much lately because I have been trying to get through splitting the last load of wood I need to split for the season. I have maybe 3 more afternoons left, and I will have more than enough.

I feel like I have been neglecting the FF, but there is always so much to be done, but I do make sure I get a little done down there each day. We harvested the garlic and onions over the weekend and have them drying in the lower level of our 2-story shed. It stays cool under there since it has a dirt floor. I forgot to take a picture. I'll get one tomorrow.

I was going to use all the redwood frame pieces from the old greenhouse to build berry cages, but I have decided to build them out of metal conduit, so I am going to cut down all those redwood pieces and use them for kindling. They are not great btu wood, but they are very easy to light and great for kindling. I'll have enough for the whole season plus!

Here are a few pics from our sparse new greenhouse.

Shishito Peppers...I picked over 100 so far in the past 10 days from 7 plants. The empty pots in between were planted with Jimmy Nardello peppers last week. A few are starting to break through the soil.


9 Tiny Tim Tomatoes loaded with tomatoes. I'll have plenty when they start turning.


Basil and Parsley coming back nicely after the first harvest about 10 days ago.


Today's veggie selection:


And we got the old chicken coop/now a garden shed 1/2 painted "barn red". It's been 10 years. It needed it.




This is the side where I took the old egg box out because it was developing some rot.

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[clancey]

All your gardens have a return on investment and they all look just great. There is much more involved than just looking at investment because of the joy of it all because you are all hooked on your endeavors and it really shows the love of it coming through ;plus it is a educational experience that acknowledges each one of your different experiences and zest for learning about all of this. There is a lot to this but most people just look at it and say yea it looks good which in my opinion is just not good enough because they never thought below the surface of it all and all the skill level that it requires just "keeping it going and organizing it all to your different tastes. They have their own particular "love of doing" their thing and they take pride in that and that"s how the world runs. Maybe we expect too much from our fellow friends just to appreciate the beautiful work that you all do. Even with my little house here there is a tremendous amount of work and organizing the different rooms to make them "run just right" in the scheme of things. I get a lot of enjoyment in figuring all of this out and there is no amount of money that would replace the thinking moments and the thrill of accomplishment that it brings to your everyday lives. I look at my work and have a cup of coffee and admire my very own work and what I was able to do. Bless everyone of you for this is what your lives are about--the growing of food products for you and your families and there is no negatives in this "at all"... The price of buying food products is high right now---too too high and we all have our very own projects that "really really keep us busy busy"--I get it and really enjoy hearing about your different struggles with the gardening world, I not going to have any plants this year--just too much to do at this time...But thank you for sharing your gardening projects and results this I appreciate and learn from it all.. clancey

 

[begreen]

It looks great Dan. I hope you are getting some relaxation time in the new greenhouse too. Will the Jimmy Nardellos get supplemental light (and heat) in the fall?

I was going to use all the redwood frame pieces from the old greenhouse to build berry cages, but I have decided to build them out of metal conduit,

Following, keep us posted. I am planning on building a new blueberry cage next spring. The strawberries will also get new protection to replace the current hoop netting.

 

[Dan Freeman]

It looks great Dan. I hope you are getting some relaxation time in the new greenhouse too. Will the Jimmy Nardellos get supplemental light (and heat) in the fall?

Following, keep us posted. I am planning on building a new blueberry cage next spring. The strawberries will also get new protection to replace the current hoop netting.

Unfortunately, relaxation time does not come during the Summer/Fall since that is the busiest time for our home business.

I am running a second electrical line into the greenhouse that will be devoted to heat only. This way, I have another line for the pond equipment and LED Grow Lights when/if needed.

Take a look at this website and their "fixtures" and tell me what you think. I am thinking of making my fruit cages from 3/4-inch metal conduit and their fittings. The cages would stay up all year, but the netting would only be attached when the fruit in question is ripening. Do it once; never have to worry about it again. https://makerpipe.com/

 

[begreen]

Take a look at this website and their "fixtures" and tell me what you think. I am thinking of making my fruit cages from 3/4-inch metal conduit and their fittings. The cages would stay up all year, but the netting would only be attached when the fruit in question is ripening. Do it once; never have to worry about it again. https://makerpipe.com/

Very cool. That's a rabbit hole I could easily get lost in.

 

[begreen]

Garden update. We are now harvesting a basketful of cherry tomatoes (sungold and sweet million) a day. We got our first early girl yesterday and have harvested 8 pomidoro squisitos. On deck and ripening soon are a lot more tomatoes.

We've picked some bell peppers but are eagerly awaiting the Melrose which should be ready in a day or two. One of the Jimmy Nardello pepper plants has some huge peppers on it. The other plant's peppers are half this size.


Corn is fattening up nicely and the YuHo beans are going gangbusters. I have done four, 4-pound pickings so far, and lots more to come. This is from 14 bean seeds.



I harvested most of the Patterson onions today, leaving a dozen smaller ones to grow a bit more. This is the first time I've grown this variety. They are 2.5 to 3" across and are supposed to be good keepers. The taste is quite good.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Excellent, bgreen. Sounds like you are having a good year!

 

[clancey]

I bought a frame for a double bed that had 5g protection with a sheer curtain and the frame for it was just like what you showed BUT they made it out of a flimsy wood and I returned it and got my money back writing that they should make this with a strong metal instead of flimsy pieces of wood and I also gave them the idea that this could have many more uses besides a bed curtain holder --they did return my money with no comments...lol...So now I see it in action and what a joy it was to see my idea in pictures--lol...Neat...Thanks.. bg---Your garden looks wonderful...clancey

 

[Dan Freeman]

The old chicken coop is finished, and I used the same paint for the fence that "camouflages" the electric post and pond filter down in the FF.

 

[EbS-P]

Well we went from hot to wet. Many of the vines are air rooting it’s been so wet and humid. Yield is almost zero. I neglected to trim suckers and I’m paying the price.

 

[begreen]

LOL. That is a lot of foliage. At this time of year, I get pretty aggressive with trimming so that there are no suckers, and lots of air can circulate around the plant leaves. This is to reduce the chance of blight as the nights get cooler and days get shorter.

 

[EbS-P]

LOL. That is a lot of foliage. At this time of year, I get pretty aggressive with trimming so that there are no suckers, and lots of air can circulate around the plant leaves. This is to reduce the chance of blight as the nights get cooler and days get shorter.

It’s a monster now. Needs a name. I’ll ask my five year old for a help naming. He’ll have some good ones.

On a side note I’ve placed some suckers in the salad rack. I may just start over in new Dutch buckets instead of cutting way back in the fall.

 

[clancey]

That paint color is beautiful and I love that color...Hey you could call it a "house plant" that would take up the whole house--lol...nice everyone--thanks..clancey

 

[begreen]

Veggies are now coming in by the basketful. Love this time of the year.

 

[NickW]

Veggies are now coming in by the basketful. Love this time of the year.

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I hear you. I've harvested 28 zucchini in the last 3 days. Lots of halves for stuffing, zoodles and shredded zucchini in the freezer...

 

[DuaeGuttae]

That sure is a beautiful basket full of veggies, Begreen. We’re having similar harvests here, too, though we’re lacking the green beans. Tonight most of these veggies went into a large dish of ratatouille. I didn’t get a photo once it was cooked down, but it was good. I can’t say that it was one of my favorite dishes as a kid, but I really love it now, and I’m glad that when my own children hear what I am making that they say, “Oh, good,” and really mean it.
We have two quarts left over for another meal. I always think ratatouille is even better when it’s had time to meld more.

 

[begreen]

Looks great DG. We like ratatouille, especially when made with fresh garden goodies. I like it even better the next day after the flavors have a chance to deeply infuse into the eggplant and zucchini. It's great folded into an omelet too.

 

[Dan Freeman]

begreen and DG, beautiful pictures! We're having rain again today. The gardens are so wet for this time of year. We got 3 inches of rain Monday evening within a couple of hours when a massive storm moved through here. Power has been off since then; we have been told it will be back on sometime today. (Thank goodness for Generac!) Nights dipping into the 50's already with daytime highs dropping, too. Today's high is going to be 73. (Only 2 days all summer where we hit 90!) Picking tomatoes, zucchini, cukes, etc., but the yield is way down this year.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Looks great DG. We like ratatouille, especially when made with fresh garden goodies. I like it even better the next day after the flavors have a chance to deeply infuse into the eggplant and zucchini. It's great folded into an omelet too.

We definitely have similar tastes then, Begreen. The other night we had a “ratatouille frittata.” It wasn’t made from this bunch of ratatouille but from an earlier picking of eggplant and peppers and tomatoes that we oven roasted, then cooked up in the frittata.

Yesterday we had a chance to visit with my sister and brother-in-law and their children. A highlight of the day for my eleven year old was her getting to hunt eggs in their chicken coop. We got to bring a dozen home, and she has plans simply to soft boil some of them so that we can enjoy them that way. I was thinking that we’d eat them with ratatouille and bread to accompany them.

 

[begreen]

My wife has cried uncle. Basta! Enough! to the YuHo beans. We have harvested about 25 lbs of beans so far from 14 seeds and there are another 5-10 lbs left. These plants are overachievers. Fortunately, they are really good beans. We have another crop of BlueLakes coming soon and I think most of them are going to be given away. I'm letting the remaining YuHos go to seed so that we have lots to give away.

 

[clancey]

Yea you can say that again--TG for the Generac and my wb stove and I do not expect the weather to improve--just saying...DG and bg just wonderful yields and you people are gardeners--yes..Just been busy keeping up with everything and need to bring my computer in once again to be fixed better and what do they say --three times is a charm...here we go again--lol..So just everyday things but the man next store brought me over a plant and this is the third one for the yard and do not know exactly what it is just a plant of some kind because my grass cutter (the man--Juan does not know any English so we work by sign symbols. Someday I will take a picture of it--more for me to water and the other two plants he brought are "thriving"--bushes kind of???...but they are pretty. This week I am attacking my garage and truncating the bird loft and getting concrete laid in the future to enable a car port...Chickens are a lot of work and how are they doing and my birdies are doing fine but getting very very old--lots of work to keep me busy.. clancey

 

[EbS-P]

24 Dutch buckets arrived today. More projects.. next I will be sourcing some cold weather tomatoe varieties and see how they do here during the winter The plan is for rolling tables with the reservoir under the plants (so I can bring when it freezes). 6-8 buckets per table. Two stems per bucket for smaller or indeterminate varieties. A 3-4 bucket patio table might be in the works too.