As predicted, other than a handful of cherry tomatoes my only thing worth harvesting was basil and parsley. I have enough “fresh” basil to last me all winter.
Well, my cucumbers are all dried up and toast, but the tomatoes are firing on all cylinders right now. Still have some Swiss Chard and lots of lettuce left, despite it almost dying off in this heat wave we've been experiencing. This is pretty much the daily harvest lately.
I found one of the limbs busted on our peach trees. At first I thought it was from the weight of the fruit, which are almost ripe. On closer inspection it looks like an animal got up in there and busted it. Could have been a bear but more likely a coon. Honestly the weight of a sparrow would be enough to break a limb right now. Sucks, but the tree needed pruning anyway.
The garden's been pretty steady. I am so over these goddamn cucumbers. I give up, I can't keep up. I am writing a note to myself on my plantings document. ONLY ONE CUCUMBER SLICER PLANT NEEDED. Highlighted. In big font. Tomatoes are definitely the most rewarding thing for me to grow. They are so pretty and it's a personal challenge to get them as big as possible. I just topped and suckered the plants so hopefully everything can ripen in time. It's already cooling off with morning temps of about 49F. Spelling is hard.
Oh, I also had a few zucchini get mutant sized. They are great for shredding for bread, and I will probably shred this last one to stash in the freezer so I can bake zucchini bread over the holidays. It was real good, y'all.
I’ve never had a bumper crop of peaches before: I had to pick them still just shy of ripe to save the trees from further damage. That’s a bushels worth, and probably close to another still on the trees. I’d put out the call for folks to come pick their own except I don’t want people pulling in the limbs breaking them even more. That’s a lot of peaches from two trees. I’m also pretty happy with how the new perennial garden turned out. It definitely dresses up that corner of the house:
Yeah the wife is already talking about peach cobbler, maybe try making a peach-jalepeno jam similar to a jar we bought in Bethel NY a couple years ago. I told myself we'd freeze a bunch, but honestly we'll probably give a lot of them away. There's plenty more on the tress, so maybe the next batch will get frozen. We've never had a year like this.
I'm jealous as hell, fresh tree ripened peaches are my favorite fruit. I've had some really good peach butter before. I don't have a good recipe for it though.
I've never been a huge fan of them, but I bought these trees because they're a frost hardy Finger Lakes variety ( we're about 1/2 hour south of Seneca, where they were developed ) that was highly recommended by someone. I have to tell ya, I LOVE these things. It's great to be out walking the dog and grab one off the tree to munch on. They just over produced, causing branches to break and now we'll have to do some creative pruning. Not the worst problem to have!
Anybody know what these little bugs are? I walked out and found them all over my tomato plants this morning. Should I spray them with something to get rid of them or are they harmless?
Same, my wife's been battling aphids the past two summers, a mild soap solution seems to work the best.
I'm over here shopping seeds for tomatoes and peppers and probably some other things if I have time. It's like, that was fun, but what if I did that, but MORE. It's an addiction, y'all.
This has been the best year ever for apples. I thought they were going to turn out too small and dry, but while small, they're actually quite good on 5 out of the 6 trees. I picked about a bushel this afternoon and there's still a shit ton more. I think I'm going to put whats left in the back of my pick up and take them up to my parents' to press them for cider. Dad bought an old school press a couple years ago and there's nothing like fresh cider.
Damn, @walt, those peaches look unbelievable. My absolute favorite fruit. Like home-grown tomatoes, just something that cannot be replicated with grocery-store bought fruit. Here, the cowpeas are all fading, the okra is getting woody, and most of all the flowers are wilting. I'm pulling all of the summer things out, tilling, and thinking about doing a full fall garden. I've never done a fall garden. But, a friend dumped all these seeds on me; turnips, beets, arugula, lettuce, carrots, spinach, kohlrabi, radishes, etc. Idiots, help me out, please!
We picked the remainder of apples off the trees yesterday, getting several more bushels. They're at my parents' house now, and will be cider by day's end ( I hope ). Dad said just what we took up there's a few gallons worth, plus he has some needing to be picked as well.
Red Torch Mexican Sunflower. Incredibly productive and has gone on late through the season. VERY delicate, though. Only lasts a few days after being cut, even in fresh water. Incredibly beautiful, though. I learned something this year with the garden. I think I discovered an answer. Hold on to your hats, idiots, because I am certain this will surprise all of you. Do you want to know the answer to everything? Okay, ready? Here it goes... Women LOVE getting flowers. Stunning, I know. Who knew? And I don't mean just your mother or your partner. I mean your buddy's wife, your buddy's girlfriend, your cousin, the woman that cuts your hair, your sweet neighbor, your coworker, your boss, your mail-woman, your kickball teammate from five years ago, your 63 year-old therapist, etc. etc. Just examples...
Because flowers are beautiful, they are a reminder of the giver, they are whimsical because they don't last, and they required forethought to obtain. And if you grew them yourself, hoo boy. Your woman better watch out, you giving your flowers away all willy nilly to all these women.