I keep rotating them into different beds but not seeing much improvement. New seeds this year, too. Finally got the first couple of blossoms a day or so ago, but the vines are drying out and look as though they're gonna give up the ghost. Darn.
The Morning Glories have been so, so slow this year. They're hardly halfway up their teepee trellis and I've seen only one blossom. Sigh.
There is one decent sized green pepper already on this widdle-biddie pepper plant, no less. When I first started my pepper seeds early this spring, I thought I was getting very poor germination on them so a couple/few weeks later I started a whole new batch. Turns out the first were just slow germinating so that batch went outside much earlier than the later batch.
This is the bed of the earliest set out. Do they have any peppers on them yet? Noooo. But one of the later transplanted very small plants (above) does.
Our kohlrabis are coming in. This is just the nice size we like for cutting into sticks and eating raw with dip. Yum, so fresh, crisp and yet tender.
I can hardly wait for fresh slicing cucumbers to put in salads, on sandwiches and munch out of hand. This biggest one I've found so far is a whole 4" long!
Gilligan gave me some gladioli bulbs (corms) for my birthday back in April and these are the first ones to bloom. I think they're gorgeous and I'm enjoying seeing them in their unique color combination. My friend in Wisconsin sent me a nice sampling last fall of the glads she grows. (Karen, the green spears of those are up high and healthy and I'm eagerly awaiting their showy blooms soon.)
I haven't grown any turnips for several years and I think I know why now. They're good sized already and we've sampled them both cooked and raw with dip. We're just not crazy about them. Actually, Papa Pea asked me to grow a small sampling of turnips and mangels this year to try as a supplemental feed for the poultry this winter. Both are doing well in the garden . . . and I hope the poultry like the turnips better than we do.
I just made another big batch of strawberry fruit leather. I peel it off the parchment paper sheets . . .
. . . and cut it into strips, fold the strips in half, wrap in wax paper and store all in glass jars tucked away in the pantry.
The peppermint has grown enough to cut again. These eight trays of it went into the dehydrator this morning and are now dried and put away as part of the supply I'm trying to stock up on for the coming year. I'll do another eight trays tomorrow.
AND my shell peas will finally be ready for the picking to start on them tomorrow. Whoopee!
That's the same thing I found with turnips last year; never again!
ReplyDeleteMichelle - I think I'd like them in soups or stews, but not by themselves. :o(
DeleteI like turnips sliced and eaten raw better than cooked. The kohlrabi look so good. One of my favorite veggies. Best eaten raw also though we do eat them cooked or in veggie soup.
ReplyDeleteMyrna - Yes, we like them better raw, too, but not enough to use them on a regular basis! I've never cooked a kohlrabi . . . should try that sometime. And I know they'd be good in veggie soup.
DeleteHmmm, maybe I need to try kohlrabi. I look at it in the grocery store, but never know what to do Your garden is doing great!! I have no experience with sweet peas. Is it a mildew? -Jenn
ReplyDeleteJenn - I'm wondering if ones in the grocery store would taste "old?" (As they might very well be old!) I'm able to keep ones at the end of the season in the refridge for quite a while . . . but the taste isn't as good as fresh out of the garden. (But then, what is??)
DeleteI can't detect any disease or fungus or mildew on the sweet pea vines, just that they lose their green color and dry up. I keep them adequately watered and have even mulched the base so they stay cool. It's perplexing!
Hi Mama Pea! :) Actually my shell peas look awful right now, like they've completely shriveled up. I took a walk around the garden today...no green or yellow beans yet, no cukes yet...the chives haven't grown at all, nor the ground cherries or strawberries. Sigh. But my lettuce, herbs and tomatoes are doing well. As is the pumpkin patch! I think I saw a pumpkin forming, but that could be wishful thinking!
ReplyDeleteAt least I'll know what can grow well here and what can't, mind you it has been a cold rainy summer up until now. I actually have my books out, planning my winter garden lol...turnips will be one of the crops I try! Your strawberry leather looks great! Oh, and my Morning Glories haven't blossomed yet! Just lots of climbing leaves!
I have never tried Kohlrabi, but it looks like a turnip kind of, what's the taste like?
Rain - It's hard to describe the flavor of kohlrabi. It's a very dense texture, mild when young and tender. Crispy and fresh. Kind of a mild cabbage taste. Gets kind of an earthy, almost bitter taste if it's too old. Anybody else out there with a better description? Help!
DeleteI might try that strawberry leather - I have some 'old' ones frozen (more surprises from the freezer purge) and that might work. I wish I had come to you for guidance on the kohlrabi front. Mine are the size of melons. :(
ReplyDeleteSusan - Our good neighbor who grew up on a farm says his mom used to grow kohlrabi that got really huge. And they still tasted great. So . . . ?? That hasn't been my experience when they get too big, but maybe it depends on how fast they grow and the particular soil they're in. I don't know.
DeleteI am odd man out here. I love turnips cooked like Mom did them. peeled, sliced and cooked down with a little water, a bit of sugar and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Season with bacon grease (of course,we are southerners). Then a drop of two of vinegar at serving.
ReplyDeleteGlenda - Oh, I like the idea of the red pepper flakes and bacon grease for the turnips! The vinegar, too. You're almost tempting me to try cooking one that way. Thanks for the idea!
DeleteI love turnips! :) Or as we call them at home, neeps. I like mine mashed and cut them with a bit of vinegar if they are too bitter. A nice plate of neeps and tatties and I am happy! :)
ReplyDeleteMy garden is dying with this heat and humidity. I cannot keep up with watering. My pumpkins that were once lush and giant are now yellowing and dying under this heat. My zucchini start off great - tiny little things and then they turn yellow and die. Too much water? Too little? I have no idea. My potatoes are going to be harvested this week - they are starting to wilt so that's my cue.
We need rain desperately. The weather people make promises then it just diverts around the city. So disheartening. We are supposed to get cooler weather...we shall see.
MrsDM - Hey, we have a turnip lover here! :o]
ReplyDeleteOh, I feel so bad about the weather conditions for your garden. Our weather is supposed to cool down a bit (we're ready) and there's a slight chance of rain in the next couple of day. Our soil is like cement and my shell pea vines are shriveling.
Where will you keep your harvested potatoes in this too hot weather?
My peppers did lousy this year too. First time that's ever happened. My peas started out great nor it looks like their giving up the ghost. Every thing else looks pretty good. Your fruit leather really looks good. Yum!
ReplyDeleteTheresa Young - I still have hopes for my peppers. The first transplants are big and looking healthy with blossom buds. Hoping to get another picking of shell peas tomorrow, but I fear the total harvest is going to be a lot less than last year.
DeleteSo far, the fruit leather is keeping well. I always worry with dried fruit products that I've gotten it dried enough so it doesn't mold!
Hi Mama Pea...Blogger won't let me reply below your post so here I go in here! We harvested only 2 bags of potatoes so got a good 2 bowls full. The rest will sit in the bags until I am ready to harvest again. I will keep them in the basement in the canning cupboard we have and they should be cosy there. We had some last night with supper - very lovely!
ReplyDeleteMrsDM - I'm impressed you have potatoes to eat already. They say once the vines blossom you can steal some new potatoes but hubby doesn't like me to do that. He says be patient and wait until the tubers grow into regular sized potatoes!
DeleteOur basement, although unheated, wouldn't be cold enough for potato storage. That's why we keep ours in the ground until the root cellar is down to a good temp for them.
I've got Tokyo turnips in at the moment, supposed to be nice raw like a mild radish. I'll let you know what they're like.
ReplyDeleteI hate sweet peas, nothing worse for my hayfever!
Kev - I've not heard of the Tokyo turnips, but then I'm not a turnip lover! Hope yours live up to your expectations.
DeleteI can't imagine not wanting to put my nose into sweet pea blossoms and enjoy their wonderful smell. Sorry you can't do that!
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