First year on the farm: 2016 Kansas City Missouri Garden Pics

[MajorTom]

Frost warnings in July? That's just unfair. Although I suppose there isn't a climate on earth that doesn't give some sort of challenge.

[wildcat62]

Great pics

[MajorTom]

Our forth day in the last two weeks with 60+ MPH winds at the farm today. The plants are getting better and better at taking the abuse, but man is it hard on my stakes and cages. Up to now only the orange zingers and peacevines were turning but the Juliets, brandywines, yellow pears, celebrity's, Purple Cherokees, and romas joined them in the last 24 hours. I have 43 healthy plants and hundreds of green toms on the verge of turning. Can't wait!

[MajorTom]

Melons, zuks, butternut squash and peppers are on their way too. PLUS: my youngest running through the grass. This place has been great for the kids.

[MajorTom]

Added in one more box for herbs and three spaces for fall pumpkins, melons, and squash.

[MajorTom]

First batch of cherry tomatoes this morning. A small one, but it's about to ramp up considerably.

[barefootgardener]

Beautiful pictures MajorTom! What a lovely place to live and garden! Great job!

Ginny

[heirloomtomaguy]

Very nice pictures. The one with the little lady and the one with the horse are awesome. Keep the pics coming.

[MajorTom]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

We’ve hit a stretch of heat that looks like it’s going to last for some time. The low high in the last week was 90. The peak will be 101 by the end of the week. But that’s not the half of it. The humidity is also off the charts. It’s 75-80% this week, which pushes the heat index to 105-115 depending on the day. I know toms like heat but that’s going to be a little rough on them.

I’m also in the middle of an explosion of stink bugs. I learned my lesson on broad leaf veggies and the importance of diligently checking the leaves. I’ve probably killed 700 of them and their eggs. I was going to try to make it through the season without spraying one thing, but that ended this week. I’ve started with neem oil and mild soaps and water mixes.

That said, we’re finishing up some carrots, in the middle of cherry tomatoes, and the bigger toms are starting to turn all over the garden. I have a Brandywine that will be 1.5-2.0 lbs. once I pluck him tomorrow. Looking forward to that. :-D As much as I love the taste of the tomatoes I might love the look of them all together with the herbs and the rest of the garden even more. :-) Pic of my oldest kiddo is in there too.

[MajorTom]

A few more:

[MissS]

Amazing pictures. They are just great. What kind of camera are you using?

[jmsieglaff]

Just stumbled onto this thread, one word, wow! Great pictures, keep them coming! Looks like you've got 2 little ones very similar aged to mine (6 and 3).

[MajorTom]

MissS -
It's an old DSLR Nikon D-90. It's almost six years old now, and has seen a ton of use. I think they released this model in 2008. It's not high end and it's not super cheap either. The biggest difference is that I shoot everything manually. Automatic pictures will (hopefully) never replace a photographer with a knowledge of ISO, F-stop, color temp, shutter speed, depth of field, composition, light, etc. I cheat a lot and shoot things like kids running at dusk while the sun sets, which is like shooting fish in a barrel. :-)

[MajorTom]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

Just stumbled onto this thread, one word, wow! Great pictures, keep them coming! Looks like you've got 2 little ones very similar aged to mine (6 and 3).

You are spot on. I have a 3 year old daughter, and a 5 year old son. :-)

[pixlpush]

lovely photo's, your horse is beautiful!