"SQWIBS Urban Garden Adventure 2019"

[Rajun Gardener]

I'm glad they're growing good for you.

It'll be close but they should ripen depending on how big they are now. Next year should be better since it's grown so much and developed a good root system. All of the trees I've grown from cuttings take a few years to figure out the right time to start putting out figs but once they start they usually produce good. It's like the tree is trying to figure out the correct timing to go dormant and when to wake up. Does that make sense?

[SQWIBB]

Yes, that does make sense.
This is how big the figs are as of about two weeks ago.

I don't think Cilantro cuttings will root--you have to take rooted sprouts- but seeds will germinate really fast--

[SQWIBB]

Originally Posted by JoParrott

I don't think Cilantro cuttings will root--you have to take rooted sprouts- but seeds will germinate really fast--

Yes, I had no success with cilantro cuttings.

[SQWIBB]

August 15th, 2019

I have been eating a lot of grapes, lol. Tomatoes are coming off here and there, the 5 Okra plants are giving me 6-8 pods a day, I have been picking them small then slicing, freezing and vacuum sealing.

Pickled (Lacto-Fermentd)some more cucumbers, I tried one after 4 days and it was definitely not ready, tried the pickles again on the 8th day and they were really good.
It has Been a bit rainy lately, everything is growing nicely, actually it is getting a little out of hand, I have been doing some minor trimming.

Nothing in the Bat houses yet.

Started tying up my Vertical Cantaloupe. I believe there's about 10 that may make it in time to fully ripen.

My Rocky top lettuce sprouted but nothing from the Romaine or Red Beets yet.

I'm going to have to come up with a trellis for the Goji Berry plant.

One eggplant plant has some Flea Beetles, not sure if I'm going to do anything or terminate the plant, I may spray with some water, Rubbing alcohol and dish soap. That same plant has a few eggplants with some spots, I'm pretty sure this is the start of some type of fruit rot or Anthracnose?

This is the only plant with Flea Beetles...fingers crossed.

The plant in the Hugelkultur bed looks unaffected so far.

I turned off the water to my raised beds in the back yard, well all but one, I cant reach the shutoff on the 3rd&4th section of the Hugelkultur bed, I'll try to get to it this weekend.

[taboule]

Looks like you might be getting a bit of rain

[SQWIBB]

August 20th, 2019

I have been a lazy gardener lately, I feel like I'm burnt out from gardening this year.

I have a tomato plant that needs to be cut back due to some disease but it's been too dam hot. A lot of the tomatoes in the hugelkultur beds are splitting, but everything is still producing.

All three eggplant plants in the raised bed are garbage, I may cut them back.

I'm debating on tearing out a lot of plants and putting in a cover crop, I'm just so disgusted looking at some of these plants!

Ants and Aphids have taken over the back hill so I made some Terro Baits and put them out.

Beets, lettuces and Broccoli are in a state of limbo, but then again I could never grow a fall crop.

Okra is still pumping out pods, the peppers are still not doing too well. I get a pepper here and there but not like I should.

Tried a few new recipes, Cheesy Okra Fritters and Eggplant Lasagna.I'll post them here and in the recipe section

Turned off the water lines to the other Hugelkultur beds.

Replenished my Coriander spice jar.

Still freezing Okra.

We have been snacking on grapes every day.

[taboule]

You're not alone, I'm barely spending time in the garden here too. Temps started easing up, but it's been too hot until recently. Still, my tomatoes are producing faster than I can process them and give them away. I'll post some pics in my "journal" thread.

[SQWIBB]

Originally Posted by taboule

You're not alone, I'm barely spending time in the garden here too. Temps started easing up, but it's been too hot until recently. Still, my tomatoes are producing faster than I can process them and give them away. I'll post some pics in my "journal" thread.

I couldn't find your journal, can you post a link?

[SQWIBB]

August 26th, 2019

My Kohlrabi sprouted and hopefully they will be taller than the cover crop and I will get them in the ground in a few weeks

My Beets in the "Root Bed" are growing very slowly.

The lettuces in the side Hugelkultur bed are coming along nicely, I reseeded the bed again Saturday with some Mustard greens and other lettuces, I am hoping to have a salad garden this year.

The potted Eggplants are all doing well.

All the fruit trees are growing nicely, my only problem tree so far is the Espalier Pear tree, it doesn't look good. The pomegranate finally started growing.

The Okra plants out front in the Hugelkultur bed by the pond are looking like trees!

A lot of the pepper plants are starting to take off.

Tossed out my Lacto-Pepperoncini, they were nasty, I think I put too many bay leaves in. I picked some more and just tossed in some old pickle brine.








My Egyptian walking onions came in so I planted them in two places.

The herb garden is doing better than I would have expected, I am really pleased with the Bunching onions, Laura uses a lot of Green onions/Scallions in recipes and has been using these instead.

I had a little surprise cantaloupe hanging from the deck and after closer inspection found a couple more problem bugs. The borax/sugar mix I put around the Okra, Peppers and Tomatoes really knocked down the ants quite a bit, it took a week to really notice. I'll try to be more proactive next year. I also found a lot of Aphids and a few Mealy bugs on the Apple trees.

Finally got some serious time in the garden since the weather was cool.
I removed a few tomato plants, and a lot of the lower and diseased leaves. The Kosova was completely dead. I really trimmed the tomato plants savagely and lost a lot of green tomatoes. The tomato plants are still setting fruit and growing like crazy at the tops. The Big Beef and Beefmaster tomato plants on the hill are now over 10' tall.

Thinned out the beds for the cover crop, I am under-cropping in some areas because I still have some things that look good.

I decided to leave the three eggplant plants on the hill as a test, the Black Beauty has really started growing with a lot of blooms.

A lot of the tomatoes cracked at the top earlier in the month, most of them had been picked, but now the fruit looks good.

Since I turned off the water to the beds in the back yard and only slightly water the cover crop with a watering can, the plants are on their own. The lines to all of the potted plants, the okra, the sweet potatoes and the line on the back hill by the fence are still on.

The cantaloupe are getting bigger but the plant is getting a powdery mildew much like the butternut squash.

It was time for us to say goodbye to Gus the duck, he went to his new home Saturday.

The crayfish seem to be holding their own with the Red Eared Sliders. I'm surprised they lasted this long, the sliders can be pretty vicious.

[GoDawgs]

Everything's looking pretty good considering the heat! I'm like you in that lately I've kind of hit the wall in the gardening enthusiasm department due to the danged heat. But rain two days ago brought in some cooler air and clouds so the urge to plant is stirring again.

You've got a LOT going on in that urban garden of yours! Great job!

[taboule]

>>>> I couldn't find your journal, can you post a link?

SQWIBB, you can see it here http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...t=48780&page=5

[SQWIBB]

Originally Posted by taboule

>>>> I couldn't find your journal, can you post a link?

SQWIBB, you can see it here http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...t=48780&page=5

Thanks now I remember reading some of that. I really like your irrigation setup.

[SQWIBB]

September 3rd, 2019

The Okra is still chugging along.

Pomegranate tree is showing some decent growth.

Salad Garden is coming along very slowly, I cut back the Passion Flower, Cucumber and tomato plants to get a bit more sun here.





The front gardens are doing well. Leeks

No figs on my Celeste fig.

The herb garden is growing nicely.

Although the Okra did extremely well in the herb garden, I'm not sure if I'll grow the Okra here next year, this will be a dedicated herb garden.

The pond plants are doing well. I let some of the plants get away from me.

The Rosa Bianca has seen better days.

The cover crops are coming in nicely.

I'll be tearing out the Okra this week and putting in the Kohlrabi.

Still freezing Okra and Tomatoes.

Picked up 12 bags of mulch, I usually get wood-chips from the recycle center but last time I was there they had didn't have any and I didn't feel like driving through the city hoping there would be some this time.
$2.00 a bag, not a bad price.

My sprayers came in so I mixed a batch of spray to combat my Downy Mildew, I also sprayed the Aphids as well. One sprayer was bad so I am sending it back.

While I was spraying the cantaloupe I notice one had popped off that was in the stocking.

Not sure why it was watery, maybe over ripe? Anyhow, we had it for Breakfast and I was not impressed, the texture was awesome but it wasn't sweet. I did save the seeds.

Ooops!

I was back up in the garden and knocked loose another cantaloupe, this one doesn't look ripe from the outside but did have a nice hollow sound when tapping.

This one was actually a little better than the other one but still not sweet enough. So I'm still confused on the perfect time to pick. I'm not sure if they weren't sweet due to too much water in their last few days on the vine or the fact that the Downy mildew really did a number on the leaves?

Kohlrabi Seedlings to be transplanted this week.

If these beets grew any slower they would be growing backwards!

I tore out all the eggplants in the raised bed on the retaining wall garden and planted a cover crop.

I tore out most of the pepper plants and a beefsteak from the other raised bed.

In the back garden, the water is turned off in all the beds, the only things still on are the potted plants and the line in front of the playhouse (only because I cant reach the shutoff valve). The water lines are still on in the front gardens.

I have a ton of figs on my Celeste Fig on the deck but they get about the size of a marble and the fruit necks are starting to wilt and the fruits are starting to hang down, telling me they are ripening, but they are way too small to eat, oh well maybe in their 2nd year.

Most of the fruit trees are doing well, the only exception is the Pear tree, it is struggling.

[SQWIBB]

Still picking Okra and tomatoes.
I already have too much Okra but its so hard to terminate a prolific plant, I need to bite the bullet this week and cut them down.
The freezer in the workshop is nearly completely full with tomatoes, I'll be canning some sauce when the tomato production drops and the weather cools.

I will most likely get another cantaloupe, not sure about the others, the plant looks like death.