What's Going on in your Veggie Garden-Part 5

Poured neptunes liquid seaweed and fish fertilizer on my cucumber plants. I hope that might perk up the plants and keep them producing.

Well, I can see that the cucumber vines are really coming near to the end of production. I was able to get a nice harvest again today (and I have been picking steadily) and there are still more coming to pick. But after those I don't know if there will be any more as the vines are really ragged looking by now. Can't complain, it was a great year.

At least I got my cucumbers picked and then was picking some tomatoes when it started to rain. Had to hussle and get myself and my veggies inside.

Some of these tomato plants I have this year are really, really ratty looking. Can't believe last year I did not have to spray at all with the Daconil Fungicide. This year had to spray all season to try and keep ahead of the fungus deseases. Oh well. I should not be compaining as my tomato harvest has been fabulous. Has really slowed down just lately so I just fed them with the BLOOM BOSTER to try and get them flowering more again.

Picked some Vivia Italia tomatoes and some Cucumbers.

I have about 500 more miles to go and I will be home today and I am heading straight to the garden! I love vacations, but sure do miss my farm. The caretaker said in the 5 weeks I've been gone the purslane has taken over everything!

I think the purslane is bad every where this year ,i saw some in McAlester that had some very pretty blooms first time I had seen the blooms cuz i hoe mine down as quick as I see one ...

I water my Purslane! It's incredibly high in Omega 3 and the little leaves can be added to salads, and probably even cooked or made into a tea. They call it Ver de laga here. I also give some to the chickens. Amazing how much stuff we think of as weeds that we discover are good for us, like epazote and careless weeds.

Yumm, yumm. Beefmaster tomato sandwiches for dinner. Nice big slices cover a slice of bread. Also some cucumber and tomato salad I just made in the fridge for later. Love cucumber and tomato salad. Maybe I will add some bacon.

I had ordered 25 of those triangle type collapseable green coated wire tomato cages from Lowes and they just arrived today. I really am going to be organised for next year. My tomato garden areas have been expanded and I have ordered extra cages. Next spring I will only need to get compost on all the gardens and plant!

I have a few of those green cages from the same , they are kinda useful , I didn't use one of them this year ,I guess I just didn't get to that one.
CUKES, PEAS, FLOWER VINES whatever you can use them for, very versatile item. I still have to give the cage some more support when I use them for tomatoes though,some of the tomato plants get large enough to overwhelm the cage..
You can twisty tie the front as they tend to snap apart ,things like that .

Meet Ester she's 7 feet tall , a littlle large for that cage,lol

The tomatoes do often grow over the cages and then sorta flop down. No big deal. The cages work well enough for me. I have those green coated metal fence posts in case I need to prop up any of the cages.

And I have grown cucumbers, peas and beans on them so they are useful. I figgured I would get them now instead of having to deal with it next spring. Trying to get myself more organised as I did get my veggie garden areas expanded this year in advance of putting in a bigger veggie garden next year. This way I don't have to scramble so much next spring.

I have a new area for my beans and more room for tomatoes. I really still need to work on getting space ready for more trellis areas for cucumbers for next year. But then that is the way of a garden. Always a project that still needs doing!

This message was edited Aug 31, 2012 3:31 PM

Oh my. That is sure a big plant!

My self also with the cucumbers for next year, I'm using regular fence unrolled to a "lean to" trellis to another fence that I use to control my the Jerusalem Artichokes. Sunflower roots is more like it,I guess everyone has that odd root or leaf vegetable plant that they like.
I wish that plant had made more tomatoes, but in the heat and drought and watering being more difficult than I would like ,that plant did well. Back to the set where they grow being about everything (redundant only ever true). Some things done in the fall really do save some and maybe a lot of spring '"getting it all done" work I agree with you about that for sure.
It seems every spring there is a "thing to do" and every other thing possible seems to keep one from getting their thing to do,done. So any fall idea or spring chore that can be done in the fall is still a great way to go.

I put some of my cucumbers on this trellis netting I bought from Burpee. Big mistake. The netting broke and it all fell down about halfway thru the season. So I found some much stronger trellis netting at A. M. Leonard that is actually plastic. Am saving it for next year as it is too late for this years cucumbers. At least I do have other cucumbers on another section that I just used jute twine which is holding up well. I would like to put in some more trellis sections for next year so all my different cucumbers don't all have to be planted together in one mismash. But not sure if it will actually get done or not. Or should say not sure when it might actually get done.

I picked lots and lots of cherry tomatoes today and also lots of Vivia Italias.

I thought of just freezing the Vivia Italias and I think I will freeze some as I have never tried the freeze whole fresh tomatoes. But I decided they would make great stewed tomatoes. Found a crockpot receipe and going to be making these tonight.

I like those folding green trellis things, just not for tomatoes. I use them folded for peppers, 2 panels in a "tent" for small peas, or folded and leaning up against something for big peas.

I use the concrete remesh sheets flat for most trellis' or bent into a circle for big, sturdy tomato cages that hold up even the biggest indeterminates that'll grow up and then down over a 5' cage.

I hate those silver funnel-shaped tomato cages, tho. They bend and flop over when the plant gets the least bit heavy or a wind kicks up.

I agree those little round tomato cages are not good for much of anything. I did have some beans on them this spring. I do usually use them for peppers though because my pepper plants never get big and heavy. And I know lots of people say that the triangle cages are not good enough for tomatoes but they work well for me. The tomato plants do outgrow them (getting taller) but then they just sort of flop slightly.

I have those cages unpacked from their shipping box and sitting on my front porch now. I guess I will need to make room to store them over winter.

AH, HA!! another "Things to do" has appeared!lol

I usually set my green cages unfolded between a couple of poles ,same as the concrete wire (have few of those also)
" Big dog running through a green cage" is the only trouble I ever had with them. handy things to have. Not enough to store food here from the garden, looks like the grocery keeps me this time!

Yes, but it is much easier to set them aside in the garden than have to deal with buying them all in the spring and hauling them home.

Well, the tomatoes are in the crockpot cooking. Hope they turn out good. They should as these were such gorgeous Vivia Italia tomatoes. That is one thing that I really love about those Vivia Italias (besides the taste which is great) is that they make such lovely perfect looking tomatoes.

I use regular (round) tomato cages for my bell peppers! LOL

newyorkrita; it has been said before but I say we should form a tomato club and have our first weekly meeting at your house in your kitchen!lol. yummy fooood!!!!!

Thanks but I know lots of people can and preserve and put up many of the things they grow. Me I only freeze some. Lots of eating fresh veggies during the summer though here.

I use those aweful round tomato cages for peppers too. Not much good for much else LOL!

Stewed tomatoes turned out great!!! Yummy. First time I havew made my own stewed tomatoes but it is so easy.

Beefmaster tomatoes picked and one I sliced up.

Todays cucumbers. The vines have really had it. I see four more near ready to pick in a few days and after that I think I will pull them. It was a good year for my cucumbers.

A long time back those cages had clips to connect them together I wonder what ever happened to that idea .

That is great! it is the best of things when a recipe turns out to your liking.The growing and fresh ingredients from yourself makes it even more satisfying.

A nice batch of VIVA ITALIA tomatoes I just picked. Since that first batch of stewed tomatoes turned out so great I decided I will stew these also. Going to be doing that later this afternoon.

This message was edited Sep 1, 2012 3:33 PM

I guess I will have to try Viva Italia next year- is it a hybrid? If not does anyone have any seeds to share? My garden is so small I hate to buy packs and waste the seeds..

It is a hybrid. But oh so fabulous. I bought mine as seedlings at a local nursery.

I'm playing with my new garden beds on paper, roughly mapping out the new and old beds for the spring and summer to be sure I still rotate stuff out the way I need to. Spring is easy -- I never have enough peas or radishes. For summer, I have all this extra *space.* My squash will really get to ramble. I have room for succession planting. I have room for a whole row of sunflowers, and yet... I still have empty space.

I need some new seed catalogs stat so I know what to fill them up with!

Okay, not really. It's not like they are likely to introduce any new OP or heirloom varieties, let alone vegetables I haven't heard about yet. I'm still looking forward to the parade of yummy catalogs, even if much of the writing in them is fiction and the photos heavily Photoshopped and often "enhanced" with colors that don't exist in nature.

NicoleC;That's interesting as I was walking around mine between the rain this afternoon and evening thinking about what to put where next season. Jerusalem artichokes in the wrong place need moved and then with a bit of innovation there will be room for more tomato plants next season(I like that).
It always astounds me when planning for next season the room for plants I never seem to get to (lots of work "fun"involved in some of that) My two for next season are a lean to trellis for cucumbers and getting those sunchokes moved.
And about the catalogs,they might not always show or introduce anything you have't seen before,; Only they sure are fun to browse through!!!
IMAGINATION in INFINITE!!!LOL

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