"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson




Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Garden Update 2014 and on to the Winter Garden


 These photos are from our community garden plot.  The squash plants are the ones that I reseeded in July.  After harvesting a ton of squash from Patty Pan, Ronde de Nice and Crookneck, the plants were then attacked by aphids.  We finally gave up and pulled those out.  I am so happy to see that the new plants are looking healthy and so far no signs of another infestation.  I also had problems with the Japanese Cucumbers (soyu) that I planted back in March.  The new plants are looking good and are loaded with blossoms.  I think I forgot to get a picture of those so I will add one later on.

 Purple Bell Peppers are doing well, but they have been small.  Too much heat for them early on I suspect. The plants are looking better now and the fruit is growing larger before ripening. 

Yellow Bell Peppers

This is Max's Gold a Yellow Zucchini Squash from Botanical Interest Seeds, just coming in now.

Lacinato Kale looking sad in the heat, but still growing and we are picking once a week.  These two plants will continue to grow year-round for us and will get taller and taller; we pick from the bottom up.

 This is Kentucky Wonder pole beans, again I pulled out the plants from March and this batch was planted  in July.  We had the worst July temperatures that I can remember, plus high winds which really damaged so many of my plants.  Fortunately for us, the weather up until November and on into December will still be perfect for the newly planted seedlings to continue to produce for us.

 First of the Patty Pan I harvested from the seeds planted in July.

 The six Italian Basil plants had no problems at all for me and I have picked so much basil this year.  I cut half and leave the other half to flower for the bees.  Then when the other half grows back, I let that one bloom and so-on and so-on.  These plants are constantly serving up pollen for the bees. Someone somewhere will be getting basil flavored honey!

 More Kentucky Wonder pole beans.

 This is Cocozelle, the only squash plant that did not get infested with aphids or at least not enough that I had to reseed.  It is now beginning to vine and taking over the pathway.  As long as it produces I will let it go where it wants.

 Here is the second seeding of Crookneck.  I plant way to many seeds so some are being choked out by the larger plants, but I will let them decide who gets to take over.

 Here is the second planting of Ronde de Nice.  I should be picking in a couple of days.  See below.

 
I think this is another Cocozelle that I planted just in case the other one got infested.

 This photo shows an overview of the plot.  We took out all but one tomato plant and that is Cherokee Purple (not in photo here)  I have not seen many new blossoms forming so I may take it out.  We ended up buying 3 more San Marzano plants in early July, so far they look good and I have picked about 6 from those plants.  Still plenty of time for them to give us a nice crop.

Another view of the basil in bloom.

 I have started 3 flats of seeds for my winter garden.  This is just two of them. 

 
Garlic waiting to be separated and planted in a flat.

Winter Garden Plan 2014

Here is what I have sowed so far:

Lacinato Kale
Winter Red Kale
Broccoli Raab Rapini
Michihili Chinese Cabbage
Rocket Arugula
Mesclun Blend Lettuce
Butterhead Marvel of Four Season Lettuce
Freckles Romaine Lettuce
Butterhead Speckles Lettuce
Oak Leaf Blend Lettuce
Valentine Mesclun Blend Lettuce
Butterhead Buttercrunch Lettuce
Ruby Red Swiss Chard
Five Color Silverbeet Swiss Chard 

Still need to plant seeds in flats for:

Spinach
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Cabbage
Tatsoi
Bokchoy
Mustard Greens
Peas
Snow Peas
Brussels Sprouts

When we get to planting I will direct sow:

Early Wonder Beet
Turnip Purple Top White Globe
Rutabaga American Purple Top
French Breakfast Radish
Easter Egg Blend Radish
Garlic (from bulbs started in flat)
Spring Onions Sets

Have a beautiful day!


10 comments:

  1. You sure are busy in the garden. Lucky for you your squash are doing great! Mine was a failure this year and I planted a lot, they all got damaged by squash bugs. I couldn't keep up and I was too busy. I love cocozelle but I only harvested like 1 squash. If only I planted more basil from seeds, I wanted to make pesto. Not enough basil here! Well, next year I'll plan my garden better. Happy seeds planting! :)

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    1. Priscilla, I hear you. I had a lot of failures myself this year. I almost gave up when the aphids moved in but then I figured we had enough time left in this year to try more seeds. I never know what kind of weather we will have anymore. Crazy.

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  2. A lovely garden! I'm growing a zucchni plant - it's only producing flowers but no fruit yet. Any suggestions?
    http://LivingItUpAlternatively.blogspot.com

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    1. Maybe the bees and bugs just haven't pollinated them yet.

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  3. Thank you. I will take another look at zucchini plant. Zucchini is the only one that gives me problems. I had let my friend plant it in my backyard since she doesn't have a backyard so she can reap in the benefits of growing her own fresh produce.

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  4. I cannot imagine two gardens a year. My brother in Texas plants two. Here the weeds got out of hand. And we had a rough start with a cold, wet spring. I have never seen purple green pepper--bell pepper.

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    1. Hi Ann, the pepper come in four colors, at least that is what I planted. I have to have a winter garden if I want the plants on my list, it is so hot in our summer that all of those would bolt to seed. I tried growing lettuces but most came in very bitter and then ended up bolting. It is nice in the winter though and we have less bugs to deal with.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Wow you do get quite the harvest with the two gardens and such nice warm weather. I have two gardens this year but find them a lot of work, perhaps when I retire next year it will be easier.

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    1. Hi Doc, the great thing about two gardens is that my husband can manage one and I can manage the other. I give him the larger garden!

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  6. Thank you, Carla, for leaving wonderful comments. I do so enjoy reading about your California garden. You put many of us to shame with the volume and variety that you grow, preserve, and fix up into great recipes.

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Thank you for taking time to visit my blog, I love hearing from you, stay as long as you like, Carla