Homesprout

Garden Haul

So, it seems that I planted bunches of orange and yellow tomatoes this year.  I don't know how it happened, but probably 2/3rds of my tomatoes are orange or yellow.  They're delicious, it's just a funny growing pattern.  I've been pulling baskets like this every day.  Bunches of sauce will be made with the tomatoes my last free day before school.  (Really, the sauce will simmer while I grade summer asssignments, but I'll try to make it work).  

I also dug up my potatoes this week.  I probably should have dug them sooner, as a few were mushy.  I have a bit of a storage issue.  Nothing around here is cold quite yet.  In fact, the weather is still really, really warm.  I'm going to put them in my basement, but even there it's at least 65 degrees.  I guess will be eating bunches of tomatoes for the next few weeks!

From your gardens this week...

I love this photo from jaz on tour. The combination of the marigolds with her tomatoes and eggplants is so pretty.

The colors of Meighan's harvest are so beautiful! 

Natalie returned home from vacation, and she had bunches of goodies in her garden. _______________________________________________________________________________

Remember, if you'd like to to join in the fun, add your picture to my flickr pool. I'll be posting everyone's haul every week here on the blog. Please add a description to the picture that includes what's in the picture. If you're growing any neat heirloom varieties, please include that information also. Finally, if you have a blog, make sure to share your address. I look forward to sharing your photos, and learning about what you're growing! (please see my original post on this topic if you'd like more details.)

A New/Old Garden Swing

We had a party this past Saturday, and the anticipation of that party led us to actually finish some projects we've been stalling on for the past few months.  One of those projects included repainting a swing from our yard.  The swing had been neglected for years.  It was taken down in early April with the intention of painting it within the week.  Instead, it sat around for months in our yard, a random relic of our busyness.  

It looks so much better now. Eventually it will be adorned by some flowers; we ripped out many of the flowers/weeds surrounding the bench because they were too cumbersome to keep up.  I'm thinking hydrangeas? 

Garden Haul

So it's been a busy garden haul season around here.  I actually forgot to take some pictures of my garden hauls.  There was a giant basket of tomatoes that was left out.  I've been chopping, canning and freezing all week.  I have my first cantaloupe melons, and my first peperoncini peppers.  I've never had peppers so happy, they've really loved the heat this year. 

From your gardens this week:

Jaz on Tour is producing gorgeous tomatoes!

I love this photo from Natalie!  Her blackberries look beautiful!  Nice haul!

Liesl is in the same situation as me - tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.  She also blogged about her situation here. 

I love this basket from Joyful Lova.  It's such a pretty collection of color from her garden.  It looks like it could be turned into a piece of embroidery.  _______________________________________________________________________________

Remember, if you'd like to to join in the fun, add your picture to my flickr pool. I'll be posting everyone's haul every week here on the blog. Please add a description to the picture that includes what's in the picture. If you're growing any neat heirloom varieties, please include that information also. Finally, if you have a blog, make sure to share your address. I look forward to sharing your photos, and learning about what you're growing! (please see my original post on this topic if you'd like more details.)

Sunday Photos - August 12th, 2012

Watching Dr. Who while making peach salsa.  Both are delicious. 

~wildflowers by the shed~

The biggest turnip I've ever grown!  I should have put in my foot for reference.  You can see the brick next to it; it's at least 6 inches wide.  

I'm so in love with my peppers this year.  These are poblanos.  There are many, many peppers in the garden, they just need to turn color.

Hydrangeas for the front of the house - a border.

Garden Haul

This is the week my garden really, really is starting to show why I've put in all this effort. My onions are ready, the tomatoes are blushing, and my peppers are bigger than I've ever seen in years past. The onions are drying on the porch as I write, and the pumpkins are hanging out there also.  I've also started to see some yellow zucchini and I've been collecting jalapenos for days now.  I'm wondering how much I'll be able to put by in the coming weeks before school starts.  

Many of you have started to produce gigantic hauls also!  From the flickr pool this week:

Wow, those blackberries are gorgeous Natalie! Our eggplant is still tiny, but it looks like yours is doing really well. See Natalie's blog post here.

Liesl again wowed me with her gorgeous carrots! I've had some as of late, but I don't think the weather this year was very carrot friendly. Many of mine seeded before they really produced. Liesl blogged about here haul here.

Joyful Lova shared some peaches. She noted that they'll get about 30 this year.  (we had one - yeah.)

Cara, a newcomer to the garden haul, post a beautiful picture of her haul. She blogged about her garden here.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Remember, if you'd like to to join in the fun, add your picture to my flickr pool. I'll be posting everyone's haul every week here on the blog. Please add a description to the picture that includes what's in the picture. If you're growing any neat heirloom varieties, please include that information also. Finally, if you have a blog, make sure to share your address. I look forward to sharing your photos, and learning about what you're growing! (please see my original post on this topic if you'd like more details.)

Garden Haul

We're still in Pittsburgh, so I can't share any haul from my own garden.  However, I thought I would still share the bounty you're all bringing in these days.  After all, it is that time of year!

My Rural Garden said - This week in the garden was a little out of control... seven squash, a small bowl of cherry tomatoes (we got a gallon of them two days later), 4 onions for relish (see the recipe on the blog), 26 cucumbers in this photo and another 25 three days later, and another gallon of beans.

Natalie @ remembrances noted that this was the first cabbage she has ever grown. I still haven't been able to produce a successful cabbage, I'm going to try again for fall.

Wow, for a container garden Joyful Lova's sure has produced lots of potatoes! She said about her haul - potatoes (charlotte and desiree), the last of the longpod broadbeans, a few purple shiraz mange tout, a few strawberries (july has given me a small harvest compared to the bounty in june), the first sungold tomato, and the 1st peach.  Very nice!

Jaz on Tour said - The garden got away from me in the last few days. seem to have trouble keeping up with it these days! My first big tomatoes finally ripened! They may not be the prettiest, with all the cracks, but I'm not bothered.

Liesl's garden is continuing to haul gigantic amounts of food! She blogged about her garden haul here.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Remember, if you'd like to to join in the fun, add your picture to my flickr pool. I'll be posting everyone's haul every week here on the blog. Please add a description to the picture that includes what's in the picture. If you're growing any neat heirloom varieties, please include that information also. Finally, if you have a blog, make sure to share your address. I look forward to sharing your photos, and learning about what you're growing! (please see my original post on this topic if you'd like more details.)

Labeling Plants

During my first couple of years of gardening, my plant labeling usually fell off by the mid point of the year.  Plants would finally produce their fruit, and I would have to guess what they were.  For some crops it was easy, but with my tomatoes, it was always a guessing game.  This year, I finally got it together, and consistently labeled my plants.  With heirloom varieties, it's particularly important to label, as the differences in production can vary drastically.  

The above melon is a Noir Des Carmes, from Seed Savers.  It's a variety of cantaloupe.  Since it was planted in the spring in the grow box, it just took off.  I already have quite a few melons growing on it, and I'm pretty sure I'll have some fruit this year, if the chickens don't get to it first.  

This is the other variety of melon I planted, a Charentais, also from Seed Savers.  Do you see the difference?  These plants have been pretty sad throughout the season.  The have some flowers, but I don't know if I'll get any fruit, as none have started to grow yet.  Melons have to be on their way at this point in the season, otherwise, they don't generally produce in the Northeast.  

Obviously, one of these melons I'll probably plant next year, and the other will not be used again.  Lesson learned...

Garden Haul

So again, this week is all about cucumbers. There are also some beans in the basket, but they were buried. We're going to be taking some to our in-laws in Pittsburgh this week. They had theirs attacked a groundhog (they think), and they don't have any.  I made some bread and butter pickles (and I'll be making more), and I also made some sweet relish.  Do you have any ideas as to what I should make next?  I'm not really into dill pickles, so I don't plan on lacto fermenting any.  I'd love some recipe ideas.  We just made some plain cucumber water the other day, and it was delicious.  

My potato plants are starting to die off, my pumpkins are turning orange (wow!), and my peppers and tomatoes are getting really big!  I'm sure to have more variety in my basket soon.  

Your gardens have really been hauling it in lately!  

From the flickr pool:

A spring like garden haul from Thimble Nest (talk about a different climate!)

A gorgeous haul from Liesl!  I'm jealous of those purple peppers.   I always see them around, they seem to turn early.  Do you know what variety that is?

Some gooseberries from mentos2 (I've honestly never grown or eaten gooseberries, but now I want a plant.)

rattlesnake pole beans, "white wonder" cucumber, brandywine yellow tomato, and okra from Restoring the Roost  What do you do with your okra?

Jaz on Tour's first big haul!  I'm curious, are those black beans in the corner?  I'm wondering what variety of seeds I should purchase so I can grow those.  I LOVE black beans.  

My Rural Garden's gigantic bowl of peas (and some tomatoes, cucumbers, and a squash). I've decided to grow more in the fall, but I'd like to get a wooden ladder to act as a trellis.

_______________________________________________________________________________Remember,

If you'd like to to join in the fun, add your picture to my flickr pool.  I'll be posting everyone's haul every week here on the blog.  Please add a description to the picture that includes what's in the picture.  If you're growing any neat heirloom varieties, please include that information also.  Finally, if you have a blog, make sure to share your address.  

I look forward to sharing your photos, and learning about what you're growing!  (please see my original post on this topic if you'd like more details.) 

 

Window Box Seats

Today, Tim was able to install new window boxes on our bee hives.  The window boxes allow us to peer in on the progress of the bees without disturbing the hive.  

While it was open, he was able to check on the hive's progress.  It looks pretty good, both boxes were full, and they were heavy with honey.  

To fit the new box on, Tim had to pry the lower box off the bottom, and carefully fit the new box into place.  It's a bit complicated.  Tim had to move swiftly and carefully at the same time so as not to disturb the bees.  

The window doesn't show much now, but once the bees decide to move in, I'll have to share the view.

Sunday Photos July 22nd, 2012

cherries before pickling

a slightly fuzzy Gillian Welch

young onions for a onion tart

a new lady added to the garden to join her husband

I've never seen cantaloupe so happy...

The tomatoes are getting there...

zinnia

lovely rainbow swiss chard