Been so busy the last 10 days, I pretty much ignored my peppers and only plucked the ripest toms and one egg. But soaking the garden a couple of times, combined with temps in the low-mid 90s, then a very nice drizzle for the last 16 hours has really helped lots of fruits to ripen.
I'm hoping for at least a half-bushel of toms, though it could be 3/4 of a bushel. Nothing close to that from the peppers but may well have a gallon bucket full by Sunday. No one is sure when the drizzle will end and I'll leave the peppers be until it has quit completely. Can't do that with the toms or eggs (should have 4-6 of the latter but each one is about a foot long)- getting overripe is bad for them.
My second sowing of lettuce is large enough to start harvesting and I'm getting at least two ounces of sweet basil leaves at a time.
Last week I plucked about a pint of green beans - the earliest ones, and should have a few quarts to bring in.
All the potatoes have finally died, but I'll leave them in the ground as long as I can. If I could find a way to keep them from freezing, I would leave a row un-dug until 2009.
And lastly, my second group of cukes are blooming and starting to set fruit. I only got about 12 quarts of pickles from the first group and am hoping for double that this time.
This is not my favorite time of the year - I love the dead of summer a lot more, but this is the most rewarding, just as spring is the most promising!
Mike
I'm hoping for at least a half-bushel of toms, though it could be 3/4 of a bushel. Nothing close to that from the peppers but may well have a gallon bucket full by Sunday. No one is sure when the drizzle will end and I'll leave the peppers be until it has quit completely. Can't do that with the toms or eggs (should have 4-6 of the latter but each one is about a foot long)- getting overripe is bad for them.
My second sowing of lettuce is large enough to start harvesting and I'm getting at least two ounces of sweet basil leaves at a time.
Last week I plucked about a pint of green beans - the earliest ones, and should have a few quarts to bring in.
All the potatoes have finally died, but I'll leave them in the ground as long as I can. If I could find a way to keep them from freezing, I would leave a row un-dug until 2009.
And lastly, my second group of cukes are blooming and starting to set fruit. I only got about 12 quarts of pickles from the first group and am hoping for double that this time.
This is not my favorite time of the year - I love the dead of summer a lot more, but this is the most rewarding, just as spring is the most promising!
Mike
