We have figs! Well, almost. As much as I love the start of the spring berries, I sometimes forget how awesome the later summer is for fruit. The berries are at an end, with the peaches soon to follow, but the plums are still divine and the figs are just starting to show up. Both at the farmers market and in our yard.
The tree took a hit in the late spring with a frost, but it has bounced back nicely over the summer and is pushing out plenty of fruit. Now the race to enjoy them before the critters is on as we wait for them to start to ripen. Hopefully we'll be able to propagate a few more in the years to come so that we have plenty regardless of the birds, squirrels and bugs!
As for the rest of the garden this past month, it has been hit or miss, as usual. We finally pulled off our first watermelon. There was a lot of rain over the last few weeks and we had a number of them start to rot. I went ahead and pulled this one off so it wouldn't have the same fate.
Not too bad. Definitely not the sweetest watermelon I've ever had, but still always nice to have something make it to maturity to harvest! There are a few more little guys on the vine that don't seem to be growing much more, so they might get the axe soon, too.
On the continued success side of things, our Zucchino Rampicante is still pushing out the big boys! This one was closer to the bed, so it actually looped around a bit instead of hanging straight like most of the others. I've been giving some away in addition to continuing to cook some in every which way I can think of.
Another three got pulled off the vine today. It still amazes me how resilient some squashes can be! Speaking of squash, we had a volunteer pop up in one of the beds.
I though it might be a Candy Roaster, but upon closer look at the emerging baby fruit I think it might actually be butternut. Which we have had great success with before. Last year's volunteer plant gave us about a dozen squash! I'm glad we have plenty of space to just let some of these grow as they wish.
Another success ahead...
Eggplant! Specifically Satsuma Long. Another fun new variety from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. It has been a few years since we grew eggplant, so it is nice to have some growing again. Should be just a few more days or so until we can harvest the first few.
I'll finish out with the beans we have growing from one of my Rancho Gordo orders: Christmas Lima Beans. They've taken a while to really get going, but they've been taking off lately. Plenty of pods growing, so we'll see how much we can actually harvest. Even if we don't get a ton, it should be enough to save for another round of planting next spring.
We did get a decent amount of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, but the larger heirloom tomatoes were once again set upon by the squirrels and the hornworms still keep popping up on occasion to eat their fill. The cukes that we put on the porch in pots did well for a bit, but then the summer heat was too much to handle. Definitely a learning experience with that! The other melons also never really took off, nor did the first planting of pumpkins. We think they needed to be put in a spot with better soil.
@dksart has his marching orders for planting some more items in the next few weeks for some autumn harvesting. I'm trying to do a better job of planning for the season ahead since we still have lots of warm weather left before the first frost. We don't always capitalize on the long season as well as we could. Hopefully this year is different!
Thanks to @riverflows for keeping the fun going for another round of the monthly Garden Journal Challenge. I always enjoy seeing what the other gardeners on Hive are up to--like @erikah, @enjar, @farm-mom/ @thebigsweed, and @zekepickleman. Among all the many others who share what they have growing!
Happy gardening friends!
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I can't stop laughing, those squash are hilarious. I have never grown any thing like that!
Looks like you did pretty well with the garden, even with all the rain, it's been a rainy summer for us also. The slugs have had their way with some of my eggplant even though we hunt them down just about every morning. We are trying watermelon this year for the first time, looking nice and healthy so far. Fingers crossed.
Have a wonderful week!
They're the squash that keep on giving: in more ways than one! 😂
Ughh, slugs. They are the worst in our strawberries. So hard to keep up with them, especially when it's constantly raining!
At least with the rain the temperatures here were actually bearable this summer. No multiple 100-degree days in a row this year! So I'll consider it a win.
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There I go again, cracking up!
"They're the squash that keep on giving: in more ways than one! 😂" Too funny. I mean anyone that looks at that squash has got to laugh, it's quite a specimen that evokes all kinds of hilarity.
Love it!!
I call them dickfruits...
Easy Ed, we all know "dickfruits" don't get harvested until the fall. 😁😂🤣
Is that why Christmas it's everyone's favourite holiday? 😁
Um, yeah, probably. Unless of course the birth of Christ was a female. Just think of that possibility???????????
Maybe there would be peace on earth, just sayin
For sure, women are very peaceful creatures 😁
🤐🤣
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Wow, you have so many good things in your garden. I'm sorry to hear that you also had too much rain that is damaging the melons. It happens sometimes.
Loved your gardening report. Good luck with the rest of the season!
Thanks @erikah! Always dependent on the weather, but in the grand scheme of things it could definitely be worse so I can't complain! We really are pretty lucky how much we can grow here. Though I can't help but be "green" with envy sometimes when I check out the other garden posts. 😜
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Wow, you have so many good things in your garden. I'm sorry to hear that you also had too much rain that is damaging the melons. It happens sometimes.
Loved your gardening report. Good luck with the rest of the season!
Wow, you have so many good things in your garden. I'm sorry to hear that you also had too much rain that is damaging the melons. It happens sometimes.
Loved your gardening report. Good luck with the rest of the season!
Wow, you have so many good things in your garden. I'm sorry to hear that you also had too much rain that is damaging the melons. It happens sometimes.
Loved your gardening report. Good luck with the rest of the season!
Wow, you have so many good things in your garden. I'm sorry to hear that you also had too much rain that is damaging the melons. It happens sometimes.
Loved your gardening report. Good luck with the rest of the season!
Gardening is such a twisty journey. Last year we had great pea and broad (fava) bean crops. Not looking so good this year. Thanks in part, like you, to rain, and also huge temperature ranges.
Makes one grateful one isn't entirely dependent on the garden!
Gardening really is a metaphor for life. 😂
In some ways it's kind of fun to get different things different years, but then it's a bummer when something you really enjoy doesn't hit. I would love to carve out some more space for beans/peas.
Very, very, very grateful for my farmers to fill the gaps!
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That melon looks amazeballs! And I think your Zucchino Rampicante is Q's spirit animal... 😄
While I am envious of your fruit & veggie bounty, I'm less so when it comes to all the hard work you and @dksart put into it, so thank you for letting me
be lazygarden vicariously through your yummy looking posts. 😊Haha, how could I forget the resemblance to our dearly departed Q?
It is a lot of work, but luckily he puts in more. 😂😂 Though my work is usually in the kitchen...so it balances out!
Love that selfie!!!
I've never managed to get figs to ripen, even though I've moved heaven and earth to give them the right conditions, year round. Good luck! There is NOTHING as delicious as a ripe fig still warm from the tree.
It's always a pleasure to visit your garden.
Gotta love a good garden selfie!
Oh I do hope we can get some ripe figs! My sister already has some turning, but our tree is a little behind. Then if they do ripen, it really will be a fight to get to them before the critters!
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Oh, honestly girl, how much fun have you got out of those crazy zuccs? I can't wait to zucc season, and I'm going to have to plant some in your honour for sure! Love it. A shame some didn't do as well as you hoped. I've never had luck growing watermelon ever, but I'll try again this year of course. Definitely get your other half on the Autumn plantings - I was late this season in getting them in and regretted it when everyone in town were harvesting broccoli and I wasn't! Love it - thanks for jumping in so quickly with another awesome update!!
You have to promise some selfies with yours, haha! I am sure you'll have a great harvest, too.
Yes, timing is everything with this second planting. It's pretty toasty out now so we have to be careful not to let the cooler weather plants get scorched, but if we wait to long then that's a problem, too. That's at least one good thing about having a few "failures"--we still have some room in the beds for the next round!
I just happened to have taken a few pictures already, so just got lucky with the timing to get it in so soon!
The watermelon is delicious and we eat it for body and health.
Absolutely! A wonderful fruit!
These zucchinis look suspicious 😄 hahahha (edit:I noticed that everyone is talking about it, so, I ain't being original...)
Amazing garden, amazing work as usual ^^, you put a lot of love on these veggies. I don't think I have Watermelons yet, is it normal?
Haha, well they are quite eye-catching. Can't help put have fun with them. I don't trust anyone that doesn't laugh. ;)
Those watermelons seem to be quite fickle. Not sure what is "normal" with them really. Though here I think they're just about done.
I am just getting flowers now, so we'll see what comes out.
Cheers and thanks for the laugh 😄
Ooh, well then hopefully you'll actually get fruit! It will probably just depend on if you have long enough before the first frost.
Just wait until these long green eggplant mature...🍆🍆🍆
Again, very suspicious way of talking about zucchinis hahaha.
😁
I got a small greenhouse so I will experiment :)
Take care 🥒
Nice! :)
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Looking good! That's one long curly Zucchino!
Thanks @goldenoakfarm! These Zucchinos are a trip! I had no idea what to expect growing them, but they far exceeded any expectation we had for their prolific nature and fun shapes.
OK, those are some odd looking yellow squash! LOL
I like those blue containers that you have your eggplants in, did you make them from something, or get them that way?
They really are crazy! Delicious, though, haha!
The containers my boyfriend found on Craigslist and cut in half to use for planting. We think they were probably industrial laundry detergent containers or something like that. He really wants to find some more because they have worked well for certain items as a raised bed. The eggplant is especially happy in there.
Hmmmmm....here I am in anticipation waiting for a comment from @riverflows about this month's selfie, @plantstoplanks. On a gardening note: yours looks so healthy. I love eating or cooking straight from the garden. Markets are fun but nothing beats your own home grown meals
Haha, I'm glad we can all appreciate a humorous veggie selfie! Some of them are just too silly not to snap a pic with.
It really is the best being able to go right out and bring dinner in from the backyard. I just made lunch with tomatoes, cucumber and squash from the garden!
Okay, I'll pass on any squash jokes. We have yellow squash also growing in our garden and in the past, they produced a veggie that was completely straight. This year they all have a hooked neck. I'm not sure why they are growing this way, possible we've planted a different variety than we have in the past.
It's great having plenty of dirt to allow volunteer plants to do their thing without having to pull them out.
It feels like summer has just started, but you are already mentioning frost. I would like to think that those frosty mornings are light-years away, but with this morning's temperature being 46 degrees, I'm afraid that Mr. frosty is right around the corner.
The number of berries on the bushes this year in Upstate NY has been overwhelming. Gathering them always requires all hands on deck. The blueberry bushes are just loaded with those little purple marbles.
Have a fruitful day.
Ooh, I'm envious of all those berries! Berry season is just about done here I think. I got a pint of blueberries from the farmers market this past Saturday, but they may have been the last ones. I shouldn't complain, though, since figs are coming in hot and persimmons should be coming along soon, too. Ooh, and apples. And pears...
I often forget what we have growing, so I'm always surprised in the garden! I had completely forgotten that I had picked the crazy zucchino rampicante until they started growing and I looked back at my order. 🤣
I'm glad we have space for the volunteers, as well. Often they are our best producers! My boyfriend is gunning for a few big butternuts--we didn't get one over 6 pounds last year and my sister's first from her garden was 6.4 pounds. He doesn't like the taste of defeat...haha!
I'm sure that frost will hit you a wee bit sooner than us, but it's always good to plan ahead in the gardening world, right? Though we had later frosts this year in the spring than usual, so there's no telling what the fall/winter will bring.
Good morning @plantstoplanks, sorry for the late reply. We've had a run of some dry weather and I've been helping @farm-mom's cousin who lives up the road, get the hay in the barn, finally. Today is a big day as there has to be enough hay cut and fluffed and ready to go to produce between 700 - 800 bales. I think it's going to be a long day.
It's funny how the stuff that just pops up in the garden does the best without all of the fuss, volunteers.
We've never had much luck with butternut squash, never mind growing one that weighs 6 pounds. If your boyfriend is going to grow one larger than 6.4 pounds, let me know what the heck he's feeding them with, steroids possible?
Frost, what's that, not in our area, we go from warm temps right to freezing.
That is a long day! Nothing like farm labor to keep you hale and hearty! If everyone did that I'd be out of a job. ;)
Most of the butternuts last year were between 3-4 pounds, but we had a few monsters. It's always fun to see how big they'll get. I think so much is just Mother Nature deciding how happy the plants will be, but he's got a good composting routine to keep that black gold mixed in the soil.
It's been quite gorgeous here this week with every so slightly cooler temps. I wish it would just stay like this, but then I probably wouldn't appreciate it near as much.
It was a very long day, but a weekend spent with our son and his family relaxing and playing with the grandkids proved to be just what the doctor ordered.
Composting routine, the key to growing veggies for sure. Black gold is a great way to put it. We compost everything and include it with the fallen leaves from the year before. The worms love the stuff and a compost pile can never have too many worm castings scattered throughout.
I find farm hobbitizing to be the best way to keep fit and the bonus is twofold, you are outside and you get paid for your efforts with a sense of self-sufficiency.
Appreciation for most things comes from not always having what it is that one wants. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I don't think you will ever have to worry about being out of a job as many people don't consider the benefits of staying fit until they're not.
Great job @plantstoplanks , what are you using for scaffolding with those large squash? It looks like you've made a fence of dead limbs or something, which would be better than metal I think, but then you'd have to rebuild it every year?
I envy you that you have help.
Hey Jerry. Yep, the boyfriend uses whatever scraps from the yard he can find for trellises. Often sticks like these. The funny thing is one of the sticks is sprouting new growth now, haha! We try to rotate what we plant in each bed year to year, anyway, so he'd have to erect different structures a lot of the time anyway. Though the big thing deteriorating right now is the bed where the squash is. He just used old wood with no barrier, so the bugs have had a field day breaking it down. Another project for him for the fall...
I should get busy then, 'cause I got a patch of woods back there full of dead fall.
HOWEVER, digging in this rock hard dirt to be able to put sticks and/or limbs down would be nigh impossible.
I've used a few metal fence stakes, but for the most part my tomato cages etc are just standing in place.
I haven't grown anything in the squash family for a while until this year. I forgot how exciting it can be! I like that you have many different kinds growing simultaneously. Your watermelon is beautiful and so are the rampicantes! I think I will grow gourd next year.
Squash is one of the things that always does well in our climate, so we tend to have at least one or two varieties growing every year! They are fun to watch grow, though. Amazing how quickly they take off. I just pulled two more off the vine this morning after pulling three the other day!
I hope you have just as good of luck the next time you grow some!
Grow what works! Ayocote beans weren't working for me but squash family does well here too! Thanks, now I'm excited to grow other varieties!
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Looking good, can't wait to see what meals all these things become in the near future.
Thanks @justinparke! Just loaded up at the farmers market for the week this morning, too. Hoping I can get creative and find the time to get up another post this week. :)
Wow, Katie! You are a real Mrs. Green Jeans there! Love those zucchini that you had to make in 21 different ways. I love them, but, I think I have had enough, just for today! I am impressed with the fig tree! I have four and they are two different varieties, one is large and plump, the other smaller and not so plump, but, sweeter. Well, they are all sweet!
Great job and I love reading your garden journals!
Haha, thanks Denise! Though I really should give @dksart even more credit. He does the bulk of the heavy lifting. ;)
Yes, these squash are just crazy prolific. I'm about to go bring another to my mom now. And maybe freeze some more. And make some more soup...
Zucchini Apple Pie! They will never know the difference!
What a beautifull garden :D
Thank you! I'm always so happy to spend time out in it and be able to share on here!
:) Thank you for sharing it!
Love the zucchini! Not one of my plants germinated this year and I really miss not having any. I do get one or two in the weekly veg box delivery, but not the same as picking your own as you want to use them. What's your favourite recipe?
It's very interesting seeing what will grow each year - so far there has been non consistency, one year it was tomaties and corn (very hot summer), another courgettes and potatoes, this year spinach and rhubarb have thrived.
I've been thinking about extending the growing season, and having some overwintering greens and salads. I'm very envious of your fig tree - how much space do they need?
You bought a smile to my face with your curved squash! Quite a lovely selection of fruit you have there even thought the squirrels and such take a lot of your garden you still have a very productive looking garden - thanks for sharing!