It is pickling season here. I grow several types of cucumbers here. I grow Russian cucs for making dill spears( recipe here http://low-cholesterol.food.com/recipe/blue-ribbon-dill-pickles-241139 ) and whole sweet pickles. They are very prolific producers. The one draw back I have found is that the Russian variety tends to be a prime target for Anthracnose, which kills the plants. I typically get plenty of pickles to make what I need before the plant succombs to the disease, but if you are looking for something to grow and produce all summer long, it's not the variety for you. I am going to try some Carolina cucumbers for this fall's crop, just to see how resistant they are to the disease and if I want to switch over to them next spring.
I also crow Soyo Japanese cucumbers which are great for slicing, relish ( recipe here http://www.food.com/recipe/grandmas-old-fashioned-sweet-relish-100301 ) and for making bread and butter pickles. B&Bs ( recipe here http://www.food.com/recipe/bread-and-butter-pickles-71203 )are my favorite.
And I grow a burpless variety for salads and the like.
The tomatoes are ripening up and I get a few each day for the table. The main crop looks to be a couple of weeks out yet. I seem to be having about 10% of my maters with blossom end rot. This surprises me because I not only limed the garden this spring, but I have egg shells in with the vermicompost I put in each planting hole. I think I'll take a soil sample this fall and send it off to the Ag center to see exactly what my soil's make up is and what it needs. While my dogs enjoy eating the tomatoes with blossom end rot, I prefer my tomatoes without it!
I picked my first horned worm last night. This evening I'll spray down the plants liberally with BT. Hornworms can do a good job of stripping your plants in no time flat, and I'll be going to the beach for a few days, so I'd like to return to find healthy plants.
Bambi has outwitted me on the beans. I tried putting hoops with deer netting stretched over them to protect the beans, but the deer seem to eat the plants right through the netting. I believe I'll be investing in an electric fence soon. The odd thing is, I have a patch of Cowpeas planted out in the open with no protection at all, and the deers haven't touched them. The beans inside the fencing, and under deer netting have been picked clean. I've had it up to here with Bambi!
I added a super to each of the bee hives last week and the bees are doing a slow but steady build out of the comb. I hope to get a gallon from each hive this year and leave the rest of the honey for the bees to get through winter. Next year should be the first year of full production and I'll look for 5 gallons or so from each hive.
And I grow a burpless variety for salads and the like.
The tomatoes are ripening up and I get a few each day for the table. The main crop looks to be a couple of weeks out yet. I seem to be having about 10% of my maters with blossom end rot. This surprises me because I not only limed the garden this spring, but I have egg shells in with the vermicompost I put in each planting hole. I think I'll take a soil sample this fall and send it off to the Ag center to see exactly what my soil's make up is and what it needs. While my dogs enjoy eating the tomatoes with blossom end rot, I prefer my tomatoes without it!
I picked my first horned worm last night. This evening I'll spray down the plants liberally with BT. Hornworms can do a good job of stripping your plants in no time flat, and I'll be going to the beach for a few days, so I'd like to return to find healthy plants.
Bambi has outwitted me on the beans. I tried putting hoops with deer netting stretched over them to protect the beans, but the deer seem to eat the plants right through the netting. I believe I'll be investing in an electric fence soon. The odd thing is, I have a patch of Cowpeas planted out in the open with no protection at all, and the deers haven't touched them. The beans inside the fencing, and under deer netting have been picked clean. I've had it up to here with Bambi!
I added a super to each of the bee hives last week and the bees are doing a slow but steady build out of the comb. I hope to get a gallon from each hive this year and leave the rest of the honey for the bees to get through winter. Next year should be the first year of full production and I'll look for 5 gallons or so from each hive.
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