Harvest This is what I got from my garden today...

[Wildwood]

The garden is winding down. This is what it gave me today and after the battle I've fought this year, I feel blessed to have this much at the end of August. This about the last of the tomatoes I've got right now but there are some blooms and a few of the plants are looking ok so maybe I'll have more later. The okra has hit it's stride and I pick it morning and evening to avoid huge pods so I got about that much more this evening. There's 3 or 4 cucumbers under there and most of the peas. That little Kajari melon is beat up but the colors are so pretty I had to leave it in the pic.

This is my first ever pic to post...hope it doesn't blow up the garden forum lol

 

[skwentnaflyer]

I have a tiny green melon, sure hoping it survives to maturity. That’s a nice haul, and a good study for a still life.

 

[Wildwood]

I have a tiny green melon, sure hoping it survives to maturity. That’s a nice haul, and a good study for a still life.

Thank you! I love that old beat up wash pan but I got to thinking everyone might not appreciate it's beauty.
I hope you melon makes it.

 

[AlaskaSue]

Lovely! I would love to grow okra. My garden was almost a complete loss this year, as I had no choice but to leave for the season. Still, I do have a gorgeous crop of garlic I planted last fall and an incredible amount of taters that I tossed in just before I flew south. Gorgeous pic, thanks for sharing!

 

[onmyown30]

So jealous!!! I only have a TON of hot peppers I made a lot of mistakes this year in my garden, didn’t help I took a 2 week vacation in July and then had covid for weeks after….. Your gonna have to tell me some must grow varieties for this area!! No okra I do not like that lol .

Getting the last of the stuff I wanted planted for fall before going off on another vacation!! See!! That’s my problem I leave the garden to just do it’s thing!!!

 

[Wildwood]

Thank you! It's a testimony to my stubborn nature and determination not to starve lol. Well I can't grow taters to save my life or garlic and onions but I'll try again next year...as usual. This has been a good year for the okra, all things considered but I did lose half my plants early on so I'm blessed to have it.

 

[Wildwood]

So jealous!!! I only have a TON of hot peppers I made a lot of mistakes this year in my garden, didn’t help I took a 2 week vacation in July and then had covid for weeks after….. Your gonna have to tell me some must grow varieties for this area!! No okra I do not like that lol .

Getting the last of the stuff I wanted planted for fall before going off on another vacation!! See!! That’s my problem I leave the garden to just do it’s thing!!!

I'd take the vacation...you can garden when you are my age! I'll happily give you all my tips!

 

[Raggedyman]

we have a summer squash here called "candy roaster". when cooked it tastes like a cross between sweet potatoes and pumpkin and they grow HUGE - 55-70lbs if you let them. we store those in the fruit cellar on pallets and if you leave a good long stem on them and care for them properly, they will keep well into April. great on the table with some butter and brown sugar or baked in pies.

typically I will pull these late september to early october, but these two looked to be sitting in a small low spot and I didn't want to run the chance they'd start to rot on the bottom. there are 8 -10 more down there so I'll have plenty to freeze and plenty to share with neighbors too

​

still a few Cherokee tomatoes and cucumbers left, lots of sweet bell peppers and eggplant, but we're starting to put it all to bed at this point.

 

[Wildwood]

I'd love to be able to grow those. I just started summer squash a few weeks ago. My first bed was trashed in the flood and it was the last bed we redid.

 

[packyderms_wife]

Thank you! I love that old beat up wash pan but I got to thinking everyone might not appreciate it's beauty.
I hope you melon makes it.

I have a similar one, love it’s history!

 

[Codeno]

This is my first ever pic to post...hope it doesn't blow up the garden forum lol

Great picture, I'm jealous.

 

[dioptase]

Nice hauls, Wildwood and Raggedy!

We've gotten maybe 6 or so tomatoes so far, since I planted very late. (Between the drought and my mobility issues, I wasn't planning on planting at all, just to keep the bunching onions, chives, rosemary, and mints going.) I gimped out to the garden today and there are a few more that are ripe (or nearly so - DH considers himself the arbiter of ripe tomatoes so I leave him to harvest), and a fair number of small green ones on the vine. Our weather will remain warm enough so my only considerations are pests and the amount of shade that my kitchen garden gets.

 

[AlaskaSue]

we have a summer squash here called "candy roaster". when cooked it tastes like a cross between sweet potatoes and pumpkin and they grow HUGE - 55-70lbs if you let them. we store those in the fruit cellar on pallets and if you leave a good long stem on them and care for them properly, they will keep well into April. great on the table with some butter and brown sugar or baked in pies.

typically I will pull these late september to early october, but these two looked to be sitting in a small low spot and I didn't want to run the chance they'd start to rot on the bottom. there are 8 -10 more down there so I'll have plenty to freeze and plenty to share with neighbors too

View attachment 360298
View attachment 360299
​

still a few Cherokee tomatoes and cucumbers left, lots of sweet bell peppers and eggplant, but we're starting to put it all to bed at this point.

Those guys are monsters! Well done, my friend

 

[Satanta]

Noice.

Ive gotten decent stuff spread out this summeer. Losing some plant because of move but my okra has no issues going into pots, small summwr squash just now putting fruit goung to try and take, everything else is winding down noq to.

 

[Wildwood]

Noice.

Ive gotten decent stuff spread out this summeer. Losing some plant because of move but my okra has no issues going into pots, small summwr squash just now putting fruit goung to try and take, everything else is winding down noq to.

When you dig that summer squash, get as much of the dirt and root as you can. Get it back in the ground asap and water it very good and often for a few days. It will wilt right away but give it a day or two and it'll bounce back. If possible, move it on a cloudy day and if needed, shade it with something for a day or two. Old cheap umbrellas work great for temporary shade.

 

[energy_wave]

I've been meaning to update on my roof top garden haul. Don't have time to go into the detail I wanted. My 18 green pepper plants have so far given me 4 one gallon bags of pepper pieces which I froze. My green beans, close to another 4 bags. Had a good haul of small size water and musk melon too. Red potatoes, didn't do as well as I hoped. Still waiting for the bulk of tomatoes to ripen, which should be any day. Carrots are doing well but I need another week or two before I pull them. They are bulking up nicely. I'll get some pictures soon. Might post them on another thread where I already have some pictures. It's been great to have my own red potatoes, green beans, carrots, squash and beat greens for supper several nights a week. Highly recommended you grow what you eat. Way better then corporate farms, imo. If you do it right.

Picture from a few weeks ago. Tomato's, peppers, green beans and a water melon.

The above photo is about ten days old. I cut the potato tops, just before I harvested them.
They are the plant less buckets. I grew 60 potato plants in 30 pails. Next year 120 plants in wide grow bags with less soil and straw.

 

[Wildwood]

I've been meaning to update on my roof top garden haul. Don't have time to go into the detail I wanted. My 18 green pepper plants have so far given me 4 one gallon bags of pepper pieces which I froze. My green beans, close to another 4 bags. Had a good haul of small size water and musk melon too. Red potatoes, didn't do as well as I hoped. Still waiting for the bulk of tomatoes to ripen, which should be any day. Carrots are doing well but I need another week or two before I pull them. They are bulking up nicely. I'll get some pictures soon. Might post them on another thread where I already have some pictures. It's been great to have my own red potatoes, green beans, carrots, squash and beat greens for supper several nights a week. Highly recommended you grow what you eat. Way better then corporate farms, imo. If you do it right.

Picture from a few weeks ago. Tomato's, peppers, green beans and a water melon.

The above photo is about ten days old. I cut the potato tops, just before I harvested them.
They are the plant less buckets. I grew 60 potato plants in 30 pails. Next year 120 plants in wide grow bags with less soil and straw.

I'm pretty jealous of those bell peppers and I'm liking that roof top garden. I always have a hard time with them but this year was the worst.

We have hardly touched any of the stuff in our pantry since the garden started producing and we sure have enjoyed eating fresh veggies. I'd say ours is 95% organic. I do use Osmacote Plus when I plant some of it and it is not organic. So far we haven't used chemical pesticides at all but if TSHTF and it was the bugs or us, I'd pull out the chemicals.

 

[Babs]

First came the rains, then came the hail, then came the heart attack, then came the deer, then came the huge hail, then came the fear. Then, I remembered who the Lord of the harvest is, and I was comforted. What an incredible harvest it's been. He who puts his trust in the Lord will never be disappointed.

 

[hd5574]

I told DH I am done canning green beans..I have put up 62 jars...he will have to string the rest for leather britches... lol .he picked another mess of them today..
Have canned tomatoes...about 40 jars... canned potatoes...frozen peppers....chives...canned celery..gonna can peppers tomorrow ....more potatoes to can...

 

[Babs]

I told DH I am done canning green beans..I have put up 62 jars...he will have to string the rest for leather britches... lol .he picked another mess of them today..
Have canned tomatoes...about 40 jars... canned potatoes...frozen peppers....chives...canned celery..gonna can peppers tomorrow ....more potatoes to can...

I also have put up about 65 jars, and I'm done also! I've got enough beans and too many other things still to put up. It's Oct. 5th and we still have not had a frost in my part of N. Idaho, and likely won't get one for another week. It's been a tremendous blessing!

 

[summerthyme]

I told DH I am done canning green beans..I have put up 62 jars...he will have to string the rest for leather britches... lol .he picked another mess of them today..
Have canned tomatoes...about 40 jars... canned potatoes...frozen peppers....chives...canned celery..gonna can peppers tomorrow ....more potatoes to can...

Leave them to dry on the plants for seed... in a pinch, you can use green or yellow bean seeds in place of any dry bean, too...

Summerthyme

 

[hd5574]

Leave them to dry on the plants for seed... in a pinch, you can use green or yellow bean seeds in place of any dry bean, too...

Summerthyme

We planted one 22 foot row of green beans ..they are pole beans.. climbing on tall fence wire...we can't save this seed because we planted two types.of.open pollinating...blue lake and Kentucky wonder...to find out which would do best in this new location and which we liked best....since they have crossed..we will make leather britches from the remaining beans...
We liked both of the beans so we already have seed for both types..for the future...one type per year..which we will save seed from....
We have eaten green beans until they have come out of our ears in addition to canning... next year we plan to plant 2 rows so we will be able to have extra to share with people here who will need the help...some of the people DH works with are young kids with small children...and they will need the extra food

We also grow sevia butter beans which date back to at least the mid 1700s.... Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello...which is not far from where we live..we are saving that seed..this year.. they also make a wonderful dried bean...we eat those fresh with ham and dried for soup and replanting..they are around 85 days so work better than some of the longer longer butter bean varieties....they are also pole beans..we also have planned an extra row of them..

We also have a rare butter bean will plant next year..it is most likely a cross with sevia..it is the willow leaf butter bean again a short bean also about 85 days..

We are well stocked on dried beans of many varieties and rice which we may need to share with some to get them through the winter...we have extra just to share..
Many people don't know that most grocery store beans will grow

 

[hd5574]

I also have put up about 65 jars, and I'm done also! I've got enough beans and too many other things still to put up. It's Oct. 5th and we still have not had a frost in my part of N. Idaho, and likely won't get one for another week. It's been a tremendous blessing!

LOL.. today I will can about 12 jars of green peppers.... then on to other things.... potatoes., yes more potatoes..then onions and then peppers and onions together...
We may not get a frost for a while.. and have fall garden doing great ..may dehydrate some of that stuff.
You are so correct it has been a tremendous blessing here.

 

[energy_wave]

I've been meaning to update on my roof top garden haul. Don't have time to go into the detail I wanted. My 18 green pepper plants have so far given me 4 one gallon bags of pepper pieces which I froze. My green beans, close to another 4 bags. Had a good haul of small size water and musk melon too. Red potatoes, didn't do as well as I hoped. Still waiting for the bulk of tomatoes to ripen, which should be any day. Carrots are doing well but I need another week or two before I pull them. They are bulking up nicely. I'll get some pictures soon. Might post them on another thread where I already have some pictures. It's been great to have my own red potatoes, green beans, carrots, squash and beat greens for supper several nights a week. Highly recommended you grow what you eat. Way better then corporate farms, imo. If you do it right.

Picture from a few weeks ago. Tomato's, peppers, green beans and a water melon.

The above photo is about ten days old. I cut the potato tops, just before I harvested them.
They are the plant less buckets. I grew 60 potato plants in 30 pails. Next year 120 plants in wide grow bags with less soil and straw.

I harvested all my carrots today while it was warm and sunny. I saved the tops to boil down and make vegetable broth for soup. I'll reduce it down and freeze it in gallon storage bags. Carrots are going into my newly dug root cellar. All these carrots from 17 buckets spaced around 25 seeds per container. Next year I'm switching to grow bags. I picked all my cayenne peppers. 99% were green. I put them in my oven on two cookie sheets and with the old fashion pilot light, which keeps it warm, quite a few ripened into red as they dehydrate. I'm going to grind my own spice powder. Next year, I'm growing a shitload of hot varieties so I can make my own hot sauce. I didn't know how easy it was.

 

[packyderms_wife]

Wow, that’s a nice haul of carrots!

 

[Babs]

I harvested all my carrots today while it was warm and sunny. I saved the tops to boil down and make vegetable broth for soup. I'll reduce it down and freeze it in gallon storage bags. Carrots are going into my newly dug root cellar. All these carrots from 17 buckets spaced around 25 seeds per container. Next year I'm switching to grow bags. I picked all my cayenne peppers. 99% were green. I put them in my oven on two cookie sheets and with the old fashion pilot light, which keeps it warm, quite a few ripened into red as they dehydrate. I'm going to grind my own spice powder. Next year, I'm growing a shitload of hot varieties so I can make my own hot sauce. I didn't know how easy it was.

VERY NICE!!
What size drain holes and how many drain holes did you put in those buckets?

 

[Wildwood]

View attachment 368488


First came the rains, then came the hail, then came the heart attack, then came the deer, then came the huge hail, then came the fear. Then, I remembered who the Lord of the harvest is, and I was comforted. What an incredible harvest it's been. He who puts his trust in the Lord will never be disappointed.

That is exactly the way I feel. After everything we went through and against all odds, we did pretty well. I've never put up this much in one summer but I was so determined not to waste one single thing I was blessed with. Not everything did well but the things that did just kept going, a little at a time. I have to add, I don't think I've ever prayed so hard over a garden.

Your tomatoes and green beans are lovely!

 

[Babs]

I have to add, I don't think I've ever prayed so hard over a garden.

Me too!!!

 

[energy_wave]

VERY NICE!!
What size drain holes and how many drain holes did you put in those buckets?

Maybe 6 or 7 holes, anywhere from 1/4" to 1/2" with a piece of landscape fabric placed on the bottom before filling with dirt. It stops soil from washing out. It might not even be necessary. If you use grow bags you need no holes. Water drains through and oxygen breaths into the soil much easier for healthier plants. Around a third or more of the soil in my buckets was wasted space, which is why I'm switching to grow bags, so I use less soil.

My garage roof is very sunny and hot, so it's perfect for those vegetables that like that type of environment, which is why I grew an amazing crop of pickling cucumbers last year. Enough for three years worth of pickles. So in another year or two, I'll grow another crop. I grew them in the 18 bags I grew peppers this year, so I'm rotating them. Those 18 bags, each filled with 3 scoops of dirt, produced 34 quarts of pickles and around 8 one gallon bags of pepper pieces.

Next year I will double the number of tomato plants, potato's and maybe a third more carrots, some for juicing. Also more butternut squash. Tomato's are being moved to my growing tables in the back patio. They take up to much room on the roof and if I use tall plants, they blow over in high winds. I happened to snag a single Amish tomato today at a stand set up next to my local Dollar General. They wanted $4.00 for a quart. I just wanted one for the seeds. I think it's a better boy or big boy variety, which is an indeterminate variety that produces the most abundant crop, perfect for canning. Also, organic. I'm saving seeds from every plant I grew for next year as well as wintering over my pepper plants. I might be getting a go pro camera to make a few videos in the future.

I'm planing on building a series of brackets that lean upon my main roof, which is real steep. They will hold 3 horizontal shelves that can pop apart for the winter. I'll place 20 square 1 gallon grow bags per shelf and plant 5 onions per bag. That should get me around 300 onions next year. I've decided to leave the grow bags along the edges of the roof up over winter and will work the soil on the roof, rather then take it down and bring it back up year after year. This cuts my lifting in half. Just need to carry up amendments. Also I spike all my plants 3 to 4 times a summer with plain old Miracle Grow.

 

[Babs]

The grow bags dry out terribly. I tried them this year, and was looking for an alternative. The buckets sound like a good option.

 

[China Connection]

I've had good luck at a community second hand store. I have at least 100 hessian bags to grow stuff in Big coffee bags that bulk coffee comes in. Getting them for a dollar each.

 

[philkar]

We planted one 22 foot row of green beans ..they are pole beans.. climbing on tall fence wire...we can't save this seed because we planted two types.of.open pollinating...blue lake and Kentucky wonder...to find out which would do best in this new location and which we liked best....since they have crossed..we will make leather britches from the remaining beans...
We liked both of the beans so we already have seed for both types..for the future...one type per year..which we will save seed from....
We have eaten green beans until they have come out of our ears in addition to canning... next year we plan to plant 2 rows so we will be able to have extra to share with people here who will need the help...some of the people DH works with are young kids with small children...and they will need the extra food

We also grow sevia butter beans which date back to at least the mid 1700s.... Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello...which is not far from where we live..we are saving that seed..this year.. they also make a wonderful dried bean...we eat those fresh with ham and dried for soup and replanting..they are around 85 days so work better than some of the longer longer butter bean varieties....they are also pole beans..we also have planned an extra row of them..

We also have a rare butter bean will plant next year..it is most likely a cross with sevia..it is the willow leaf butter bean again a short bean also about 85 days..

We are well stocked on dried beans of many varieties and rice which we may need to share with some to get them through the winter...we have extra just to share..
Many people don't know that most grocery store beans will grow

we love the willow leaf lima or butterbean!

 

[packyderms_wife]

We picked six butternut squash this afternoon. I was surprised to get that many since that squash vine was looking really sad.

 

[hd5574]

we love the willow leaf lima or butterbean!

Never had this variety.. it looks like sevia except for the leaves...read some where they came from sevia in the late 1800s....eager to try them..
I always cook my fresh sevia with ham, onion and float with a little mazola corn oil on top or as a dried bean soup with ham, onions, green peppers and celery in the winter.

Mine are covered tonight as they are calling for a frost..then warm again for a few days

 

[Raggedyman]

​

more candy roaster squash - see post #8 above for specifics.

there were more down there than I originally though. we processed the other two and they are in the freezer. these will go into the root cellar on pallets. they are very good keepers and properly handled will last until early spring. when they're picked we leave as long a stem on them as possible. the big one on the left weighed 49lbs. we use these in pies (tastes like a combination of sweet potato and pumpkin) serve it on the table with butter or maple syrup and walnuts. we also use it in our homemade dog fud as a substitute for pumpkin.

we kept nine this year and gave away 5 to neighbors and church friends. I never saw them before we moved here. they are a big hit in these parts. note there are TWO different varieties these are NOT pumpkins - they are a variety of summer squash

 

[philkar]

I grow those too for the first time. Mine are a little longer but are huge! Appear to be holding up in root cellar without any difficulty. I planted 5 seed and got 40 or so squash!

 

[energy_wave]

Last fall I was researching squash and happened to find this one variety.

Hopi Pale Grey

Our very favorite squash that has just recently been saved from near-extinction! Not only is the orange meat tender and very sweet but this hardy squash will store under normal household conditions for over 2 years!!! Talk about your long-term storage foods. And after a year’s storage, the squash will still be juicy and hard…not wilted and half-rotten. Our favorite “pumpkin” pie is made from Hopi Pale Greys! These football shaped large squash have a distinctive “bellybutton” on the blossom end and mature to a pale blue-gray in color. Usually weigh 7-20 pounds. 100 days

Squash | Seed Treasures

 

[dioptase]

Sadly, I agree about the grow bags drying out, at least here in arid West.

Raggedyman, don't you mean "winter" squash (as opposed to "summer" squash)? So far as I know, summer squashes aren't long keepers.

I'm not really a huge squash fan, but I'd try some of the winter squash if only we could keep the critters at bay.

 

[Jeff Allen]

Very nice OP!

Our garden got the brush hog today…

J

 

[Wildwood]

I think it's a better boy or big boy variety, which is an indeterminate variety that produces the most abundant crop, perfect for canning. Also, organic. I'm saving seeds from every plant I grew for next year as well as wintering over my pepper plants. I might be getting a go pro camera to make a few videos in the future.

Better Boy and Big Boy are both hybrids. The seeds you save will give you tomatoes but not exactly like what you bought. You have to seed save from heirloom varieties to get the same exact tomato you saved the seeds from.

Edited to add: Maybe it was an heirloom variety instead of one of those and you will get the same tomato.