What's Growing in the Garden

[trc65]

Pulled onions yesterday. Not as large as in the past, but when cooking, rarely used all of one large onion, so these are just fine. Now sitting in the shed to dry, and will stay there until we get freezing weather. These should last through next March/April.

 

[sprucegum]

Pulled onions yesterday. Not as large as in the past, but when cooking, rarely used all of one large onion, so these are just fine. Now sitting in the shed to dry, and will stay there until we get freezing weather. These should last through next March/April.

View attachment 291522

Nice looking haul. I went out early this morning and pulled my shallots, this is my first attempt at growing them. They made a good mess of bulbs from the few that I planted. I bought the bulbs on impulse at the farm supply this spring. I'm going to plant some of them back this fall when I plant the garlic. look

 

[djg]

Pulled onions yesterday. Not as large as in the past, but when cooking, rarely used all of one large onion, so these are just fine. Now sitting in the shed to dry, and will stay there until we get freezing weather. These should last through next March/April.

View attachment 291522

Wow! Can't believe they last that long. I can't get store bought onions to last more than a couple weeks.

How warm does your shed get? I hung my garlic out in the garage because I was afraid the basement wouldn't be warm enough to dry them. I keep the door opened a little so they should get air flow. But according to AI, I'll move to the basement if temps hit 90.

Speaking of garlic, I took a small bit out if a clove, Spanish Roja I think, and wow it was pungent. I've only use store bought garlic and they were never as strong.

 

[sprucegum]

Wow! Can't believe they last that long. I can't get store bought onions to last more than a couple weeks.

How warm does your shed get? I hung my garlic out in the garage because I was afraid the basement wouldn't be warm enough to dry them. I keep the door opened a little so they should get air flow. But according to AI, I'll move to the basement if temps hit 90.

Speaking of garlic, I took a small bit out if a clove, Spanish Roja I think, and wow it was pungent. I've only use store bought garlic and they were never as strong.

Our onions usually keep pretty good, I don't have a basement so I built a insulated closet in the garage. We keep the garage just above freezing in the winter, usually the ambient heat from the furnace utility room is enough. Not all varieties are good for storage. The farm supply store in town sells yellow, white, and red. The yellow keep the best I'm not sure of the variety but probably yellow Ebenezer or something similar. Garlic usually keeps until the next crop is ready.

 

[trc65]

Wow! Can't believe they last that long. I can't get store bought onions to last more than a couple weeks.

How warm does your shed get? I hung my garlic out in the garage because I was afraid the basement wouldn't be warm enough to dry them. I keep the door opened a little so they should get air flow. But according to AI, I'll move to the basement if temps hit 90.

Speaking of garlic, I took a small bit out if a clove, Spanish Roja I think, and wow it was pungent. I've only use store bought garlic and they were never as strong.

Shed gets well over 100°, but I've never bothered checking. I do keep a large door open on one side and the walk in door open when it's not raining.

After using your own garlic, you'll never go back to stor bought except in an emergency.

Spanish Roja is one of the more "hot" or pungent varieties eaten raw. Cooked though it loses the heat but has a great flavor.

 

[trc65]

"Patterson" is the onion variety I've been using. I chose it specifically for its long storage life. Of course, I also grow it from seed in 128 flats.

Used to always just use sets from the farm store, but I had two problems with those. First, those were always some variety of a flat, round shaped onion which are always more of a pain to chop than a spherical onion. second, they just wouldn't store long.

If you are already growing transplants from seed, adding a flat or two of onions isn't that much more work, it just looks daunting when you first see a 128 hole flat.

 

[djg]

Anyone ever grow Italian Pole beans? A guy on another forum gave me some seeds two years ago and I got a decent stand this year. Cooks some like Blue Lake beans and they were stringy and a little tough. Tried to pick early like you would Sugar Pod peas. Got to them a little latter. Bean seeds were forming, but not big. If I let them mature further, they turn brown. Any thoughts? Cook longer? Pick even sooner? The guy said to pick them once they fill out but they turn brown before that. Of course I'll experiment with cooking longer; I've got a gallon already picked.



Edit: Disregard; looks like I picked them too late.

 

[Firewood Potter]

Tigger melon. Taste is between cantaloupe and honey dew.

Baby corn . Pocket knife for perspective.

 

[trc65]

Only the beginning!

Probably a gallon of over ripe berries that were left out there, just didn't have time to pick until tonight.

Will have to decide how many I want to keep. Still have some left vac sealed in the freezer from 2 years ago when I froze 40 quarts. The way they are looking, I'll have lots more than that this year if I decide to pick that many.....

Making some raspberry crumble bars for a late dessert tonight.

 

[sprucegum]

Only the beginning!

Probably a gallon of over ripe berries that were left out there, just didn't have time to pick until tonight.

Will have to decide how many I want to keep. Still have some left vac sealed in the freezer from 2 years ago when I froze 40 quarts. The way they are looking, I'll have lots more than that this year if I decide to pick that many.....

Making some raspberry crumble bars for a late dessert tonight.

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Raspberry wine?

 

[trc65]

Raspberry wine?

Will probably give a bunch to my BIL for that, think he made a few bottles two years ago. May have made some mead with the raspberries too. Will also make some jam and syrup. If nothing else, will gift that to family for Christmas.

 

[trc65]

High bush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum). A native bush that is also edible, although I've yet to try them. Planted this pair just for screening, and because they are mostly deer resistant. Birds love the berries through the winter, but they are self infertile so you need at least two if you want berries for yourself or the birds. These are about eight foot tall.

 

[sprucegum]

High bush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum). A native bush that is also edible, although I've yet to try them. Planted this pair just for screening, and because they are mostly deer resistant. Birds love the berries through the winter, but they are self infertile so you need at least two if you want berries for yourself or the birds. These are about eight foot tall.

OView attachment 291646

They used to grow along the river bank on my grandparents farm. My grandmother sometimes made cranberry jelly with them. The berries straight from the bush were not very good.

 

[trc65]

Welcome to the jungle!

Bean trellis, snap in the front and lima on the back side. That's some of my tomatoes to the left of the trellis, potatoes in the foreground.






Different angle, lima to the right and snap to the left

 

[Firewood Potter]

Different angle, lima to the right and snap to the left

Variety?

 

[trc65]

Variety?

The snap (green) beans are 'Blue Lake' and the lima are 'King of the Garden'.

The snaps are the standard stringless climbing bean. The lima produce very large vines and beans. By the end of the season, the limas will probably overtake the snaps. By that time though we will have canned and eaten all we want of the snaps.

Many list the lima as an heirloom variety, but it's the only one the major seed companies stock. The only other climbing lima I've found is "Willow Leaf" lima and it is a small bean lima that is not as vigorous. Also hard to find seed other than a few people that seem to be more "seed savers" than seed companies. That's not all bad, but many of those have no idea about field scouting or screening for seed borne diseases. The only way I've gotten good stands of Willow Leaf is to germinate in flats and transplant.

 

[sprucegum]

My spaghetti squash is going a little crazy this year, I only planted 8 seeds in four hills. I looks like 20 + if they all ripen and they are huge. I'm not sure this one is ready, if it isn't my grand son's chickens will enjoy it. I need to look up the variety that I planted so I don't plant them again. I prefer smaller squash, I remember ordering these because they are a bush type plant, the one's that I planted last year were smaller but the vines ran out 20-30 feet.

 

[Firewood Potter]

The snap (green) beans are 'Blue Lake' and the lima are 'King of the Garden'.

I’ve never raised Blue Lake. My mom and dad did in the 70's, it was her favorite. Although when I was a kid the grew Kentucky Wonder. The only Lima’s I have grown are "Christmas". I was blown away when they produced two harvests of dried beans. I might add mom loved Ford Hook limas.

 

[trc65]

I’ve never raised Blue Lake. My mom and dad did in the 70's, it was her favorite. Although when I was a kid the grew Kentucky Wonder. The only Lima’s I have grown are "Christmas". I was blown away when they produced two harvests of dried beans. I might add mom loved Ford Hook limas.

At least in northern areas, Blue Lake is a standard for "stringless" beans. Nearly all the commercially grown beans are a Bush Blue Lake (BBL) type. Used to always grow bush, but as I get older it's so much easier to harvest climbers. Not to mention the beans stay cleaner and have fewer disease problems.

Fordhook are what I used to grow as a bush lima, wish there were more choices for climbing lima beans. The King of the Garden is a much larger bean than I prefer, but can't beat it's production. We harvest them all green, don't do any dry beans of any variety.

 

[sprucegum]

At least in northern areas, Blue Lake is a standard for "stringless" beans. Nearly all the commercially grown beans are a Bush Blue Lake (BBL) type. Used to always grow bush, but as I get older it's so much easier to harvest climbers. Not to mention the beans stay cleaner and have fewer disease problems.

Fordhook are what I used to grow as a bush lima, wish there were more choices for climbing lima beans. The King of the Garden is a much larger bean than I prefer, but can't beat it's production. We harvest them all green, don't do any dry beans of any variety.

I took the other route this year, so I wouldn't have to build a trellis. Now I'm bending over to pick. I did plant a few pole beans around a tpee trellis. I couldn't find blue lake pole beans so I planted a hybrid Kentucky wonder blue lake cross. They are just getting a few little beans on them, I'm hoping they are not too much like Kentucky wonder.