Tuesday, August 21, 2012

A Short Garden Walk

Short because the skeeters were bitin' like crazy!

Have you ever seen so many green tomatoes? I really hope these don't all ripen at once. Heck, what am I saying? I just hope they ripen!

We be growin' some BIG pumpkins. So far, we be growin' some big, GREEN pumpkins. Not much orange showing on this one yet, huh?

This is my fall broccoli. Just barely reaches 5" tall. Not nearly as hale and hardy looking as Sue's fall broccoli. (Waaah!) Oh well. If we have a long fall, it just might make it yet. I only have sixteen servings (for two) of broccoli in the freezer from our main crop so I'd like to bump that number up a bit, if possible.

Not harvesting anything from the garden in the last couple of days except stealing a few onions for cooking. I'm giving beans away to anyone who will take them. I planted one fifteen foot row of green beans and one fifteen foot row of yellow wax beans and I cannot believe how prolific they have been this year. If nothing else, we can for sure chalk this up to a good bean year.

24 comments:

Leigh said...

I am so impressed with your pumpkin! And your broccoli. I don't even have mine planted yet. I do hope you get most of those tomatoes ripened. Otherwise you can can them green!

Patty said...

I wish I was having a good bean year! Boohoo! They're my children's favorite vegetable, too. They just wouldn't germinate this year, and what are growing aren't showing any sign of producing beans. Of course that could be because they're being taken over by volunteer tomato plants. :)
Your tomatoes and pumpkins look beautiful!

Tombstone Livestock said...

I bought a pumpkin last Halloween just because it was green, it did turn orange by Thanksgiving. My cousin brings in green tomatoes and places them on cardboard trays in sunny room to ripen at end of summer.

Sue said...

Every year seems to have those things that do excellent. It was my first year of cauliflower FAIL. I don't have a single head for the freezer. But beans , cukes, and taters are heavey this year. I'm glad about the taters--I was ready to give up on them last year when they turned out only as big as marbles. But the cukes can quit now. I really am starting to hate them.................
I'm sitting with loaded tomatoe plants too--and only one--ONE--that is even THINKING of turning. We've now had 3 nights in the upper 30's. I could cry. Good luck on yours. If they turn, expect a visitor-LOL!

Lisa said...

How clever to include your ruler with your photos. You've got waaaay more tomatoes than mine even thought of trying to make this year. They sure look great. Hope you get to eat'em one way or another. Hey, you could always do some fried green tomatoes? You've got PLENTY for that. :)

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

I think I see just the tiniest bit of yellow in the middle of that tomato picture. So it could be coming soon. When does your season end?

judy said...

Oh ,all right ,your wish is granted ,"Mother Nature,I'm calling to you to ripen momma peas tomatoes and while your at it add some orange to her pumpkin ,than begone with summer ,at least the heat,if your going through menopause or something ,we will understand all the heat this year" there ya go-note sent ,reply on its way,LA TI DA TIDA.....

Anonymous said...

Oh my, you are going to be one busy lady if those tomatoes all ripen at the same time lol.

Unknown said...

Some serious tomatoes there!

Susan said...

Wow - that pumpkin is gorgeous, green or not! I am on tenderhooks here, with the creeping powdery mildew. I hope I live through this gardening session. Sorry for your skeeters - how long do they last?

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - You may not have some of your stuff planted yet but you have a nice, mild fall/into winter growing season ahead of you. Our gardens will be dead, dried brown toast(!)in a month!

Mama Pea said...

Patty - Thanks for the kind words. I think it's great that the kids like beans so much. I had to convince my hubby (many long years ago) that beans could be yummy. Seems his mom cooked them until they were gray mush. (Ooops.)

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - Yep, I've had good luck with pumpkins turning orange after the vines have been zapped by a hard frost. I have such nice big ones this year that I hope they do turn out okay.

I've brought lots of green tomatoes inside in the past and let them ripen, but ya know, they just never taste as good as vine ripened ones. But up here near the tundra, maybe we need to learn to not be so picky!

Mama Pea said...

Sue - What happened to your cauliflower? Did they not form heads or what? Good to hear you have a good crop of taters. We're yet to find out about ours.

Whoa, your temps have been much cooler than ours. Drat and dang, Jack Frost is coming. I'm going to put a cold frame over my tomatoes in hopes of keeping them warm long enough for them to ripen on the vine.

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - I thought to take the ruler out last night 'cause I figure people get tired of seeing my hand in pictures to show proportions!

Keep in mind my tomatoes are just cherry tomatoes (although they have produced LARGE fruits this year) so even if they all ripen, I'll never have enough to make a batch of stewed tomatoes which is what I'd love. But I'll not let them go to waste. I can cook up some sauce and freeze it IF I get that many.

Mama Pea said...

Jane - Yep, there are a couple starting to ripen I noticed out there this morning.

When does our season end? Good question. It used to be any time after the middle of August (the earliest I remember a killing frost was August 7th), but the past several years we've squeaked by until almost the end of September. There's got to be something to this global warming or whatever you want to call it because our climate is becoming much more tempered. As I said, I'm going to put a cold frame over the tomatoes which will help a bit.

Mama Pea said...

judy - Good to know you have some say with Mother Nature! Why didn't you tell all of us this before? Your suggestion that perhaps Mother Nature is going through menopause would explain a lot of the crazy weather this summer. Love that explanation!

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - That doesn't usually happen . . . but if the craziness of this summer continues it could so I'd better be prepared!

Mama Pea said...

Simply Scaife Family - If ONLY they were all full-sized, huh?

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Our bug season this year has been so un-normal. Basically, here in our little micro climate, we have had very few to contend with. (Can you believe it?) I think the no-seeums have been the worst and they are only out sporadically. Usually by the end of August we can count on being bug-free . . . but this year? Who the heck knows! It used to be that our Real Bug Season was from May 15 to end of June then they weren't so bad except for mosquitoes at dawn or dusk.

I really hope you live through this gardening season. It's been the pits, hasn't it?

Erin said...

Yay for pumpkins! I love signs of fall :)

Spanbilt said...

Wow!That is indeed a cool garden! Nice post.

Mama Pea said...

Erin - I just plain love FALL!

Mama Pea said...

Spanbilt - Thank you!