Virginia Gardeners
 

What's happening in your garden right now?

Here, I have passed my peak with the beefsteak type tomatoes. I have been canning, making and freezing sauce and drying them and still have several mixing bowls and lasagna pans full of huge tomatoes on the counter. We've had a cooler than normal week and I see a lot of new fruit starting to set so I'll get those toward the end of the summer. I still have some cherries going out there. Very little disease so far, a little early blight.

I have a lot of eggplant on the bushes and I've picked several so far. I expect this to continue into fall.

Peppers, hot and sweet, are doing great. I am letting all the pimentos turn red or gold. Same with the frying peppers.

I got my okra in late and it is just beginning to flower.

All the beans are doing well--snap beans, butter beans and White Acre peas. I hope to stash some of these in the freezer before it's all done.

I had a dozen pickling cucumbers this summer and despite the downy mildew, they are still producing a few. I'll be pulling them out shortly to make room for collards and lettuce. The plants look awful but if I'm still picking even a few, I hate to pull them just yet. I have made many batches of bread and butter pickles and dill pickles this summer. I'm a little relieved to be past the peak with these.

This is the latest I think I've ever and squash in the garden. Between the squash vine borer and the mildew, I usually have to pull them around the Fourth of July. And I did indeed pull the zucchini out the week after the 4th, but the crooknecks are still producing. These will have to come out soon, too, to make room for carrots and beets.

I ran out of room and did not grow sweet potatoes this summer. I ordered slips from Sand Hill but gave them to my sister-in-law because I just didn't have the space at that time.

What is everyone else picking/cooking/preserving at this point?

Hey, Shelley.
I'm about 300 due west of you right on the Crooked Road, US58.

Maters are just coming in.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/jxD5P1Ll.jpg[/IMG]

I'm keeping them picked early. We had a lot of rain last weekend, and though it has dried some, more is on the way.

For me, finally a successful year with eggplant.
So I'm something like 1 for 20.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/UYfk9GGl.jpg[/IMG]

So what do you do with 4.5 lbs of eggplant?
You make 7 lbs of Caponata

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/remOdzLl.jpg[/IMG]

and freeze for January.


Carrots have come up.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/2CFX5Wtl.jpg[/IMG]
I always wait to grow fall carrots.

This is my mater and pepper row.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ALnmfmol.jpg[/IMG]

In the raised beds, I've pulled all my garlic, all my onions (at least 80lbs), pulled the snow pea vines I let go for seed, and re-sowed buckwheat. Also last week transplanted some hot weather lettuce types which are looking surprisingly well. Raspberries are all but gone, blacks did squat, but the reds came in later and we got 10+ gallons.

Just grated and froze 14 cups zucchini.

I'm up for fall brassicas and celery this year. I'm trying to grow transplants under lights

I grow several super hot peppers.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/vCLjOtll.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/NHJ7ZjRl.jpg[/IMG]
most of which have not started to color.

Melons and gourds are about to set fruit.

I'm trying to avoid cukes.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/uCyCZbpl.jpg[/IMG]

They seem especially aggressive this year ;-)

jj

JJ, looks great! A very good season for you, too!

Most years I have very good luck with eggplant but not so much last year. We had a very cool spring and cooler than normal summer and it just never got off to a good start. Better this year.

For fall veggies, many years I can overwinter greens and stuff here but not the last two winters. This past winter was particularly brutal, though some of you would laugh at what I call brutal, I think. I am planning to get my fall stuff in a bit earlier and hopefully get a decent amount of each thing before Christmas. I will start all over again the beginning of March.

I think I am about mid way between y'all here in Mecklenburg County where it is always hot and humid. It has been a good year for tomatoes, peppers, egg plant, squash, green beans or snaps as we call them, and many other vegetables. Seems I am giving away tomatoes every day and am always greeted with smiling faces. That is one of the reasons I grow so many. It is better to give than receive!

It's been an OK year so far, but the mild weather lately has me a bit nervous -- after last year's cold summer I was really hoping for a nice hot summer this year, and while it's been more pleasant and comfortable to work outside, the mild weather's slowing down our nightshades, okra, squash, etc.

We've had some heavy bean beetle damage to snap beans, but hoping that the parasitic wasps are starting to get those under control... we're getting some downy mildew on the early cucumbers and muskmelons... but otherwise everything's pretty healthy. Just want some more heat!!

We've had heat but we've had some nice cooler weather, too, Especially this week. I have a lot of new tomatoes setting so after this little break, I should finish out the season well. I planted three rows of carrots yesterday. Still a bit too early to plant any of my other fall veggies.

We got that little cool spell too.
Don't know about the veggies, but I needed a break. :-)

Hot peppers on the way

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/RM1dA02l.jpg[/IMG]

My first good pull of the official Jamacian Ministry of Agriculture Scotch Bonnets


A truly lovely, sweet, citrus-y, flavor with just bearable heat -just under a habanero
I made a nice, simple marinade sauce of them.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/5330hmCl.jpg[/IMG]

Tomatoes are at about 1/4 bushel per day or slightly more on average.

This dry week, I've let the maters hang just a tad longer.
Yesterday's pull.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/0Gcw5iAl.jpg[/IMG]

Taking me wife to Montecello for her birthday this weekend.
I'm anxious to see their [B]roses[/B]. I'm re-kindling that interest that has had trouble taking root all my life.
This time, I'm determined .
Last weekend, I rustled some cuttings from a fragrant wild...

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Y8K06aml.jpg[/IMG]

...up on the mountain were I go to pick blueberries in August, apples in October.


I've set a[U] Free Produce[/U] stand out beside my drive for the neighborhood walkers to "shop".
By evidence they seem to enjoy it.

Rain just came in a day early.
I can dig it.

Oh, I would love to go to Monticello, especially for the festival thing in September. BUT, my birthday was Monday and my husband's birthday is always the weekend of the thing at Monticello, the weekend after Labor Day, and he doesn't want to go. Sort of wish it fell on MY birthday weekend.;) We will go, festival or not, though, at some point. My son studied Va. history in 4th grade and American History to 1865 in 5th grade. He starts 6th grade three weeks from tomorrow. I would love to see the gardens at Monticello in the summer but it may have to wait until fall. So much going on before we begin the school year.

Thanks for posting your pics.

For any folks who're interested -- looks like we'll be having a tomato tasting/garden tour event here at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange on Saturday, August 9th -- we're halfway between Charlottesville and Richmond -- more details soon!

Ken....Please update us on the tasting at SESE. Sounds like an interesting day. My mother was from Mineral and we always visited each summer years ago.

OK, it'll be 2-4 PM on Saturday, we should have something up on our website about it soon, I'll post a link when we do!

Here's the newsletter link -- [url]http://www.southernexposure.com/newsletter/2014-august-local/local-tour-newsletter.html[/url] -- which lists our farm's address.[URL="http://www.southernexposure.com/newsletter/2014-august-local/local-tour-newsletter.html"]
[/URL]

Recipe for the habenero sauce?

Hey,Tracy.
I usually use carrots in my habanero sauce; after I've smoked them a little.
For these Scotch Bonnets I'm using Dijon Mustard.

25 MoAs

de-seeded, ran through a processor
put in a sauce pan

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/f61TVKll.jpg[/IMG]

with the juice of 3 limes
~1/4 cup dijon mustard(wife's recipe)
~1/4 cane vinegar distilled might be a little strong. Go easy if you sub.

Salt to taste
Allspice ~ 1/4 teas.
fresh ground Coriander 1 teas.
Cumin 1/2 teas.
Onion powder 1 tbl
and little honey ~ 2 teas.

slowly bring to a soft boil and reduce to simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
Processed with an immersion blender. Requires refrigeration

Begs to be smeared on a big roast beef sub with lettuce, tomato, onions, green pepper and cuke slices.
Or maybe painted on a split chicken, sprinkled with some more herbs, and grilled.

Enjoy

I spent the afternoon freezing okra. I'm trying Cajun Jewel this time. I blanched them as whole pods and then sliced them. Even the biggest pods were still tender. So far, my plants are only about three feet tall so far. I chose this variety because it's supposed to remain fairly short. I've grown other "dwarf" varieties before and they been pretty darn tall. If this one really does stay at around 5 feet, I think it'll be a keeper.

[QUOTE=shelleybean;426589]I spent the afternoon freezing okra. I'm trying Cajun Jewel this time. I blanched them as whole pods and then sliced them. Even the biggest pods were still tender. So far, my plants are only about three feet tall so far. I chose this variety because it's supposed to remain fairly short. I've grown other "dwarf" varieties before and they been pretty darn tall. If this one really does stay at around 5 feet, I think it'll be a keeper.[/QUOTE]

All you have to do is top the plant and it will become a bush.;)

Worth

Thanks for the recipe! Just got a smoker. No peppers, since we just moved. I haven't seen any sort of peppers besides sweets at the produce stands.
Thankfully, we brought about a gallon or more of our fermented jalapeño sauce. That might last until I can get some growing next spring. I have a little greenhouse so I'll probably do my peppers, especially the very hot ones, in pots and they can have the greenhouse in the fall.

Tracy, I do more peppers than tomatoes, but I seem to be more focused on tomatoes this year, but that will change as the peppers start to get ripe. I must have 20-30 varieties from Carolina Reapers down to sweet bells. About 110 plants total.

I've got some kind of blight starting on the maters. I pruned a lot of it out, but I need to prune more heavily than I have been. Seems to have struck several of the plants just in the last day or so about the same time.

Thanks, Worth, but I don't think it'll be necessary. My little okra forest is still well under control. I really like this variety.

In my garden, all the beans are on the way! I will be able to begin picking Romano within a few days. This is a great bush bean for July-October here. It gets a little rust but isn't too bothered by it. I have another planting that's just popping up now and that should finish up the fall for my green beans.

Pods are just beginning to form on my Henderson's Dwarf butter beans. The black bean aphids love these things. I sprayed insecticidal soap this evening. Buds are forming on my White Acre peas. This is one I look forward to every summer. I cannot find these here frozen or canned or dried, not anywhere. Once in a while my farm stand will have them shelled fresh, but it's pretty much a case of just having to grow them myself if I want them. They are an excellent variety.

Picked all my big tomatoes for the meantime (all indeterminate varieties). I have a lot of new green fruit setting but all I can pick right now are my Sugar Lump cherries and the Gleckler's Yellow Cherry. I have to say, that GYC is a machine, taking over my entire tomato bed. I've cut it back hard twice and still it is smothering everything else in that bed. It tastes good and I like the size of the fruit but I won't grow it again. Out of control, like a crazy teenager!

Though it's early, I did plant a row of lettuce (All Year Round), a row of curly endive (Salad King) and a row of collards (Morris Heading). They are all sprouting. We'll see how they handle this heat. Not much room for anything else new now.

I am drowning in eggplant and pimentos and Anaheim chilies. Finally just started giving those away by the bagful.

Hope things are going well for the rest of you. Please keep us updated as we transition from summer to fall veggies.

I'm a Virginia Gardener. I live in the mountains of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My tomatoes are giving out- but it was a good season. My pumpkins are very early. We already picked half. Peppers are really doing good now, and we have been eating a lot of melon.

I am planning my first fall/winter garden. Have any of you planted anything yet for that? I am trying to get the timing right. I am plannning on planting peas/kale now.

If we're energetic about it, we might do one last sowing of bush snap beans in our high tunnel yet, but we'll need to do that soon!

We've been planting out brassica transplants the last few weeks (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.) and making seedbeds of collards, lettuce, and other greens to transplant out later.

Our tractor's been down for repairs, that's been slowing down our fall garden prep, the area we want to plant needs one more discing yet to finish killing off the weeds before we dig raised beds. It's probably going to be too late to get a carrot crop in -- especially with how this is looking to be another mild August this year -- maybe we'll plant a little bit "in case," but mostly we'll focus on rutabagas, beets, turnips, radishes, etc. for root crops and get a lot of greens planted.

For anyone who gets to Monticello's Heritage Harvest Festival in September -- I give a talk there every year on fall/winter gardening -- here's a link to the handout I give out -- [URL]http://www.southernexposure.com/southern-exposures-fallwinter-gardening-guide-ezp-38.html[/URL] -- goes into a lot of details about timing based on what does well for us here in Louisa County -- you can look at our frost dates and adjust the planting dates to sync up with your own frost dates!

The heat is back but my tomatoes have caught their second wind and I am back to picking daily. I snuck in one more round of bush green beans this week. I hope to get a lot before it gets too cold. Pulled all my squash and the squash bugs have moved over to the next bed to eat my peppers. :x Started a few cool weather veggies indoors. They're growing quickly.

Linzelu, do you have good luck with fall grown peas? I have not. Just too hot here at this time of year, I guess. And I'd say the opposite is true with carrots for me. They only do well in the fall.

[QUOTE=shelleybean;429839]Linzelu, do you have good luck with fall grown peas? I have not. Just too hot here at this time of year, I guess. And I'd say the opposite is true with carrots for me. They only do well in the fall.[/QUOTE]

No I try each year though. The only one that does good is Golden Sweet (a yellow pea with purple flowers). Keep in mind, it is not sweet, it's stingy to begin with and only good for stirfry or raw in salads. Its not like eating a real pea.

[QUOTE=JJJessee;426370]Hey,Tracy.
I usually use carrots in my habanero sauce; after I've smoked them a little.
For these Scotch Bonnets I'm using Dijon Mustard.

25 MoAs

de-seeded, ran through a processor
put in a sauce pan

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/f61TVKll.jpg[/IMG]

with the juice of 3 limes
~1/4 cup dijon mustard(wife's recipe)
~1/4 cane vinegar distilled might be a little strong. Go easy if you sub.

Salt to taste
Allspice ~ 1/4 teas.
fresh ground Coriander 1 teas.
Cumin 1/2 teas.
Onion powder 1 tbl
and little honey ~ 2 teas.

slowly bring to a soft boil and reduce to simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
Processed with an immersion blender. Requires refrigeration

Begs to be smeared on a big roast beef sub with lettuce, tomato, onions, green pepper and cuke slices.
Or maybe painted on a split chicken, sprinkled with some more herbs, and grilled.

Enjoy[/QUOTE]

Sounds delicious! I've been meaning to try making Dijon.

This year I gardened for a local groundhog here in Northern VA. Garden was a total fail -- he got through the fence and ate everything. We were also away for three weeks in August, which would have been most of the tomato harvest anyway. I'm close to giving up. How do people have farms in open fields??

I hear ya Dalhia. If I'm away more than 3 days, that's when my groundhog mischief seems to begin. Just using row covers here and there seems to have kept him at bay for this year fortunately.

[QUOTE=OneDahlia;430172]This year I gardened for a local groundhog here in Northern VA. Garden was a total fail -- he got through the fence and ate everything. We were also away for three weeks in August, which would have been most of the tomato harvest anyway. I'm close to giving up. How do people have farms in open fields??[/QUOTE]

1. Shotgun
2. Electrified fence
3. Both

TomNJ/VA :)

He does this right under my nose -- doesn't wait till I go away. I have a trap that I've used successfully before, but this year, something light (squirrel?) steals the bait out of it when I set it.

[QUOTE=TomNJ;430272]1. Shotgun
2. Electrified fence
3. Both

TomNJ/VA :)[/QUOTE]

Husband wants a gun for this -- he's mad. Got kids, though ... and a memory of a childhood friend whose little brother had a gun accident ... Will have to look into an electrified fence.

With groundhogs, I've had good luck using cantaloupes for bait, maybe that'd be too heavy for your squirrels to steal?

(Usually have best luck with using traps baited with supermarket cantaloupes early in the season before our own melons are ready -- once our own crops are ready and free for the taking, critters are much less likely to be lured inside a trap.)