Been harvesting loads of Gretel eggplants. Made parmesan and vacuum sealed squares.
Today's harvest will become Spicy Asian Eggplant with Shrimp.
The Tabasco Peppers are coming in slowly, but, surely. Putting them on the dehydrator to crush. I grew them for the first time last season, and I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the red peppers on just about EVERYTHING!!!
this is my favorite thing to do with them, although i have eaten a few whole as well, to me the flavor is kind of like pineapple, with just a slight hint of tomato flavor in the skin, but you dont notice that until after you have chewed it up thoroughly
http://www.tastes-good-to-me.com/ground-cherry-jam/
Those Gretel eggplants are gorgeous.
Don't you have Flee Beetles problem in Houston?
Blanch the eggplants cubes for 2-3 minutes, then freeze them ... or they will turn mushy after you will defrost them.
flea beetles on eggplants are a sure thing here in VA every time, i guess you could say "if you plant it, they will come", lol.
finally my first ripe tomato! and a couple more that rotted at the bottom, lol. one friend was suggesting green tomato relish for the ones that are doing this, i may just look into that.
Starting to have some problems with my green zebra tomato, i think this ridiculously excessive rain is starting to get the better of it all together as the entire plant is starting to go limp even when the sun is not on it, i already had to toss out the kentucky beefsteak plant because it got sick too.
forgot to post the photo lol
This is my first pick of Bush Beans and Zucchini.
Our little harvest today. More pickling cukes and slicing cucumbers. Found a few tomatoes, too!
Those look like zukes!
I muded through, with my knee boots on, and picked the blackberries, cucumbers and some tomatoes today. We have had 6 1/2" rain in 5 days now and it is still raining. No shortage of water here.
Thanks, drthor!
I sliced the Gretels into 1/2" coins, and ran them through a super hot cast iron skillet coated with a capful of EVOO. I sauteed them quickly, just to put a little color on them, but not cook them through all the way.
Then, I vacuum sealed them with my Snorkel Vac, and into the freezer they went.
I tasted a couple of the "coins" and they were tender and sweet!
Haven't had a problem with flea beetles. I have been battling the squirrels who never used to bother my eggplants. Now, I see little juvenile rodents trying to actually climb up the stems of the plants!
This message was edited Jul 6, 2016 10:21 PM
todays harvest, i sadly had to pluck all of the fruits off of my green zebra tomato plant because im going to have to pull it out, looks like the excessive rain has claimed that ones life as well.
on the brighter side the green beans are coming in now
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007P5321C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Get you some snakes der, sha!
Sorry, I'm from S. Louisiana, although I'm not a certified Cajun! I saw a hilarious dub over by a Cajun guy on YouTube, talking about one of those choppy chop kitchen gadgets. Soo funny!
Anyway, still getting lots of cucs, tomatoes and have several cantaloupe looking ready to drop off the vine any day. The eggplant plants are growing fast and making flowers now. As usual, the caterpillars are getting on the tomato bushes, something is causing yellow spots and killing the cuc leaves and there's always some amount of bugs on pretty much everything. I haven't sprayed yet but need to hit everything with some soapy spray, at the very least.
I don't even go outside till evening. It's soooo hot here in W. Houston!
todays harvest: and i got my first black beauty eggplant (which i had to pick early due to rain causing it to get a big split going up the side, which i hid in this shot, lol)
It's been almost to teh century mark during the day here in north Texas and it's been sooooo humid. I go out very early in the morning (before 8AM) and very late at night and hope I don't become dinner for the mosquitoes.
Today's harvest included lots of cucumbers (pickles anyone??) and 2 jalapenos, one very ripe! I also sprayed aphids on my cucumber and yard long bean plants.
The yard long beans have shown up! Anyone know when to harvest them? Do I prepare them like pole beans?
I'm saving this cucumber for seeds. :)
The yard long beans have shown up! Anyone know when to harvest them? Do I prepare them like pole beans?
I planted a lot of cucumbers this year. I don't know what I was thinking!! LOL The garden gets shade in the morning, but gets lots of hot afternoon sun. Since my house faces north/south, I try to plant taller things on the west side of the garden to help shade the shorter growing veggies on the east side of the garden.
Stephanietx Lovely Yard beans , you are getting nice results. Where did you get the seeds to buy? Or do you have seeds to share ?,I like those beans a lot. I have been planting bush beans and pole beans .
I agree your YLB are ready to harvest now! I eat most of them raw. I can't tell a difference in the taste...they all taste the same to me. lol
They are available at www.rareseeds.com they have a huge selection. They are from Asia and thrive in extreme heat and humidity.
cytf, I received these beans from a fellow gardener last year. I don't even know what variety they are, but I'd heard that they do well in our hot summers, so when she offered some for free, I asked for some. As Lisa mentioned, though, I have seen them on Baker Creek's site.
Harvested my first yard long beans today and more cucumbers, slicing and pickling, a couple of cherry tomatoes, and a ripe jalapeno.
Steph,
Your harvests look great! On the cukes, which are the slicers and which are the picklers? I see smooth ones, and bumpy ones.
On another note, if you need to send me some 'a those pickling cukes, I might have a courier willing to pick some up and bring them to me, LOL! How far from Six Flags are you?
LMK!
went ahead and pulled off one of the corn ears today because i had thought that somehow the outer husk got pulled back on it a bit, and it left the kernals exposed, and surely it would end up riddled with bug holes if i left it out there. It turns out that mom pulled back the husk on it to check on it and i just didnt know about it, lol!. well i would say not bad looking for growing corn for the first time in my life, now if the others will just keep on going until they are properly grown. Just cooked it and had it to go with my lunch, and boy is it ever so tender and tasty!
and i finally see a squash coming on one of my plants!
Thought I would share a picture of my hoophouse tomatoes. Plants were set in there the 25th of May. Many ripe ones to pick tomorrow.
Sorry forgot picture.
Linda, the pickling cukes are the bumpy ones and the slicers are the smooth ones. I din't know what variety the pickling cukes are because I only planted slicers. LOL LOL LOL Someone I got one or two rogue pickling cuke seeds in the mix. These are from seeds I saved, too!
CountryGardens amazing tomato's hoop house !
These are my latest harvests. My tomatoes are at the end of their production. They don't taste as well either, but perfect for sauce.
Does anyone have success in the Zone 8-9a area with a second crop of cukes started mid- to late-August?
My 9-yr-old niece and her dad are fighting over the store-bought pickles. I found a refrigerator pickle recipe online (Grandma Cheap Cheap) that was EZ enough for her to do with supervision. We put up 2 beautiful quart jars that will be "ready" this weekend. We sampled a couple yesterday, and, for the most part, they are great! (except, we will be adjusting the salt level down by almost 1/2...)
I want to start another crop of pickling cukes for her to can to her heart's content!
LMK which ones ya'll have success with.
Thanks!
I was NEVER successful on a 2nd crop of cucumbers. I did waste a lot of seeds.
Me! Me! In years past, I've had better success in the fall than in the spring.
My fall crop is usually the best I have. There are less pests but if the plants start to dry up look for Spider Mites. They are a huge problem for young plants especially when the weather is hot and dry.
Thanks for the comebacks, guys!
I'll go ahead and prepare to drop a few seeds in mid-August, to see if my microclimate is hospitable.
1lisac,
Thanks for the head's up about the spider mites! I used my patented Earthboxes for my experimental crop (first time), and the moisture levels stayed constant throughout the season. Also, we had more than enough rain and humidity to thwart them, this time.
Hugs!
This message was edited Jul 12, 2016 10:55 AM
I've found SMs on plants grown in my EBs that get hit with rain and/or sprinklers. They are always a possible threat often missed bc they make the plants look like they are just drying up. Please, let us know how it goes.
I will be happy to post a progress report on cukes grown in the Zone 9a Fall/Winter garden!
todays harvest. looks like the corn will be coming in just an ear or two at a time (for some reason i was expecting one big harvest of them all at once, lol!), so i will just freeze them as i get them. Finally glad the jimmy nardello peppers are coming in, these things are so darned tasty!
first scallop squash of the year has come in. there were several other female blooms that were originally on the plant, but all of them except for this one mysteriously vanished
wow ...
Do you think Jimmy Nardello is a little spicy?
I am growing it too ... I think it is spicy.
ive never tasted any spice in mine, perhaps yours cross pollinated with a hot pepper somewhere or another? i do remember you saying that you keep your plants closely grouped together.
