Any 2018 harvest yet?

[Dani]

That's a good harvest @Dani and we also had hit and miss with a few of our crops here too. Silver beet we had to plant a number of times but finally got success, broccoli seems to not want to co-operate either but cauliflowers are doing well, our corn was a flop too as we got lots of rain after we planted them and they got a fungus thing happening on them. Not to worry we have a carry over in the freezer from last season which will carry us through and we will have broad beans producing beans in a few months and the sweet potatoes outdid themselves this year.

This is the first year we have had a good crop of the corn. Years past always seemed like something would happen and we would lose it. . . . Bugs, drought, too wet, hail, wind, you name it i think we've had it. I'm getting to the point where it is just too hot and humid for much to grow except for dry beans and okra.

 

[Dani]

When I pulled carrots this morning, the top parts were good but when you get down towards the tips, they had turned soft and some even mush, but I will go ahead and get what I can off them. It's just been too wet. My sweet potato vines look really good but I am worried about my tubulars down underneath. I can never seen to get large onions either @Dutchs, but like you it was a good crop with nice fkavors. I braid them and just hang up on the stockroom shelves once they get hardened off. I can never seen to grow enough of those to last a while year. . . Or garlic.

 

[Meerkat]

View attachment 7790 View attachment 7791 It's been a hit and miss year for me. Tomatoes and peppers are not doing great. And neither has my yellow squash or zucchini. They are just trickling in. The patty squash butternut cucumbers cantaloupe okra and honeydew all are doing great. So did my corn which I harvested all now and put up in both the freezer and canned. I need to get out to till and replant but with work, trying to get everything preserved and work on the grandbaby quilt who will be here before I know it, I just haven't gotten out there yet.

I wish I could ' hit ' on some of this, but I ' missed ' on most of it. Looks good to me Dani.

 

[Peanut]

1st tomatoes and 1st ear of sweet corn!

 

[Dutchs]

Watermelon and sugar cube melons.....

 

[Dani]

@Dutchs I kept wondering what a sugar cube melon was. I'm glad you posted a picturr. So it's like a cantaloupe? My honey sees and cantaloupe have been doing great! My watermelon vines a hugh but I haven't gotten one melon set in them yet.

 

[WVDragonlady]

I've gotten 1 pint of raspberries so far from my new plant. still a few more to come. And I've gotten 1 young zucchini. With all the rain we've gotten nothing has had a chance to really grow and ripen. Plants need sun to grow also and with the clouds and rain my tomato plants are spindly and not producing hardly at all. This coming week or so we're having a heat wave with all sunshine so things should start improving....I'm hoping

 

[NannyPatty]

Rain for you all, but blistering heat and dry for us. My garden is burning up even though I planted very early. I got a few tomatoes, zucchini, and green beans. Even my okra which typically likes hot and dry are not doing well. I’m about ready to shut her down. We found an area farmers co-op and very reasonably priced that we are going to check out tonight. Blueberries and strawberries $12 a flat. We’ll see what else they have once we get there. My poor chickens have just about quit laying.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@NannyPatty in the same boat as you in regard to lack of rain here in Australia but are in opposite seasons where we are getting frosts here but we still have a wonderful vegetable garden growing through using a lot of saved shower water, cleaner dish rinsing water and using our rain water tank water to supplement water when needed. The grass is now non existent here and is all burnt off and brown even though we are watering with saved grey water from our showers and washing machine.

We did have a measly .2mm the other day after they forecast 15 - 25mm that didn't eventuate .

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Today we harvested 1.215 kg of cherry tomatoes from the gardens saving a whopping $14.58 over purchasing them in our local supermarkets.

 

[NannyPatty]

Today we harvested 1.215 kg of cherry tomatoes from the gardens saving a whopping $14.58 over purchasing them in our local supermarkets.

They are pricey in the stores for sure! I usually get them off season at Sam’s Club at 2lb for around $5.00. Do you have Sam’s club or Costco there?

 

[Meerkat]

One little squash took off vine yesterday, battered and threw in fry pan with my onion rings. Very good little tid bit for two. Onion rings were too.

 

[NannyPatty]

I found a local fresh food co op that I got 2 cases of blueberries and one case of strawberries for my freezer. I love summer fruits and veggies. The blueberries were 2 dollars a pint and the strawberries were $4 for a 2lb container. Now if I can find peaches. Some of our orchards got frosted so they don’t have many.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@NannyPatty thank you but we live in Australia and don't have a Sam's Club here but do in some capital cities have Costco. Sadly we are in a small country town so don't have either but do have an Aldi store that is a little cheaper. We grow our vegetables all year round so rarely if ever buy any and we freeze our tomatoes when they are in season which is all year round here as we have saved seeds from previous crops of cherry tomatoes over the years which are frost resistant.

We love living in the country though rather than the city and the internet is a great tool for sourcing and buying items cheaply that are highly priced here in our country town though so it is a win win. Our local postie and delivery drivers know us on a first name basis .

 

[NannyPatty]

@NannyPatty thank you but we live in Australia and don't have a Sam's Club here but do in some capital cities have Costco. Sadly we are in a small country town so don't have either but do have an Aldi store that is a little cheaper. We grow our vegetables all year round so rarely if ever buy any and we freeze our tomatoes when they are in season which is all year round here as we have saved seeds from previous crops of cherry tomatoes over the years which are frost resistant.

We love living in the country though rather than the city and the internet is a great tool for sourcing and buying items cheaply that are highly priced here in our country town though so it is a win win. Our local postie and delivery drivers know us on a first name basis .

We live in the country,to SC. I only get to a Sam’s club when we are going to the big city for drs appt. our town also has an Aldi which I use some, but, mostly WM because I can get more than groceries.

 

[Bacpacker]

We've had a lot of rain the past week or 2. Had been really dry for the month until then.

We have just gotten started picking okra, peppers, cukes, and patty pan squash. Got 1st tomato today. We put up a dozen jars of pickles Thursday night and have enough to do another 2 dozen, with more cukes coming.
I've also been picking blueberries 2-3 times a week. I picked well over a gallon from 1 plant Tuesday night.
I'm very happy with what we are getting right now. 1st tomato will come off this coming week. And my early onions are starting to fall over so about time to harvest them.

 

[Dutchs]

We've had a lot of rain the past week or 2. Had been really dry for the month until then.

We have just gotten started picking okra, peppers, cukes, and patty pan squash. Got 1st tomato today. We put up a dozen jars of pickles Thursday night and have enough to do another 2 dozen, with more cukes coming.
I've also been picking blueberries 2-3 times a week. I picked well over a gallon from 1 plant Tuesday night.
I'm very happy with what we are getting right now. 1st tomato will come off this coming week. And my early onions are starting to fall over so about time to harvest them.

Thats awesome bacpacker. My blueberries are new this year and really need some TLC. I'll get them right. Sounds like you got it going on. Great!!!

 

[Dutchs]

My Okra is about 4 foot now and looking real good. It was just planted 4 or so weeks ago. My sweet peppers have a dozen peppers on them now too. Weird how some love the rain some hate it!

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Rain glorious rain , it has been coming down for a few hours now and quite heavy too . DH was checking the taps were turned on between the tanks and had to bale some from the top of the receiving tank into the spare as it was coming down so quickly it wasn't equalising between the two. With a bit of luck both our 1100 lt water tanks will be full after tonight and the vegetable gardens will be well watered.

So fantastic as our area has been drought declared and our local dam is down to 10.82% capacity so I think they are pumping water from the other 2 local dams to keep us all in water.

 

[NannyPatty]

Awesome, SC!

 

[joel]

Got 2 pounds of Blueberries in first picking.
Every two day we will pick again.

 

[WVDragonlady]

3 yellow cherry tomatoes and another zucchini along with a handful of raspberries

 

[Meerkat]

Nothing more yet.

 

[Bacpacker]

Thats awesome bacpacker. My blueberries are new this year and really need some TLC. I'll get them right. Sounds like you got it going on. Great!!!

I have several plants and have lost 3 the past few years. But 5 of the 9 I have left are large plants and produce well most years now. I've had them all out for 5-8 years now and they have been producing the last 3-4 years pretty well. Every Feb I use a soil acidifier at about 1/2 cup per plant and about the same 6-12-12 fertilizer. The plants are doing well and have gotten big enough I've had to start doing some pruning to maintain the size and shape. I need to start mulching with some pine straw. That would help with the Ph as well.
On a side note I bout several Honeyberries, boysenberries, and loganberries this spring. Only 2 of the honey berries were large enough to put in the ground. they are doing well. The others I transplanted into 1 gallon pots and have been babying them along so far. They are growing like weeds and will be ready to go in the ground this fall. So I should be set in berries for years to come.

 

[Dutchs]

My harvest this weekend. And I finished drying a bunch of Onions I am putting away.....Taters look kinda weird. We've had so much rain a bunch of them were just Mush....So I pulled the whole bunch. I think I'll plant in a different area next time...

 

[MoBookworm1957]

No, everything is burning up.
Trees, herb garden, grass,
Today was cooler, but not much rain lately.

 

[Dutchs]

No, everything is burning up.
Trees, herb garden, grass,
Today was cooler, but not much rain lately.

Geez...Always seems to be feast or famine. We were in heavy drought last year now the rain is rotting everything on the vine...Crazy

 

[joel]

First picking of blue berries, got 2 gallons.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@Dutchs you are doing so well with your harvests and so happy for you. We also get used to weird shaped vegetables here too such as really forked carrots, sweet potatoes the size of baseballs that look like alien brains with veins and more but it doesn't effect the lovely taste of them all. Yep potatoes and onions don't like getting wet feet and unfortunately we can't control the weather and some years you get so much harvested you are flat out knowing what to do with them all and other years very little. That is where preserving in the good years helps as you have a carry over of food when the bad seasons hit.

 

[Dutchs]

@Dutchs you are doing so well with your harvests and so happy for you. We also get used to weird shaped vegetables here too such as really forked carrots, sweet potatoes the size of baseballs that look like alien brains with veins and more but it doesn't effect the lovely taste of them all. Yep potatoes and onions don't like getting wet feet and unfortunately we can't control the weather and some years you get so much harvested you are flat out knowing what to do with them all and other years very little. That is where preserving in the good years helps as you have a carry over of food when the bad seasons hit.

That's good to hear Sewingcreations......This is all relatively new to me and i am learning along the way I figure within the next few years with the right experimentation and patience I'll get better at it. I have already learned and am probably repeating myself but I will always do less of each item and more different items! Easier to maintain and nothing going to waste. I don't have many hangups but Waste is something I don't tolerate well.....Just seems so unnecessary.... And I believe actually can be reduced to little or none with the proper knowledge and using the right stuff at the right time and place!