that is a beautiful garden!!!

Thank you Cindy. I really had no choice about the type of garden (raised). My back yard sits on a 50' thick layer of heavy clay and there is only a 3-4" layer of topsoil. Drainage is non-existent with that clay.

For those of you, who like to experiment, Here is the latest green when ripe bell pepper. The older varieties like Staysgreen and Evergreen have not had a lot of impact. We will have to see how Overgreen does. Syngenta is really pushing it. http://www.growingproduce.com/...

farmerdill said:For those of you, who like to experiment, Here is the latest green when ripe bell pepper. The older varieties like Staysgreen and Evergreen have not had a lot of impact. We will have to see how Overgreen does. Syngenta is really pushing it. http://www.growingproduce.com/...

Interesting. I eat all my bell peppers green so I guess I might really like those.

I eat them green as by the time they turn red (first off takes too long) bugs have damaged the fruits. I would much rather have perfect green fruit.

tveguy3 said:Ken that is a beautiful raised bed. What is in the pots around it? We had 32 degree temps last night, and it might get colder before the sun rises this morning. Guess my growing season is ending fast here.

32? Wow, that seems cold already for this time of year.

But I know what you mean about the night time lows dropping. No windows open at night any longer around here.

Eggplant looking mighty sorry as I know they don't like that colder weather we get at night. Still some flowers, not really paying attention to them as I know it's too cold for those to set eggplants.

But I have some smaller fruits on the plants so waiting and hoping those grow out to harvest size before I pull the plants.

Really pleased with those eggplants this year.

I knew I had some tomatoes to pick today. So picked a nice batch of cherry tomatoes but also got some Country Taste, Harless Creek Gold and Azochka slicers. Pretty good for this late in the season.

Lots of my cherry tomatoes are done and pulled. But the Super Snow White and also the Honeydrop Cherrry tomatoes are still doing really well. Cranking out the fruit. Chocolate Pear gave me some fruit today but the plant really is done now. Died of blight.

Picked all my squash and pumpkins today, and then pulled all the vines down off my hoop trellis and carted them off to another spot on our property where we dump that kind of stuff. Got some mystery squash again this year (and again from a seed swap - the same one as last year's mystery squash came from, in fact); forgot to take a photo, but they look like they might be some kind of big spaghetti squash. Guess I'll try cooking one up and see what happens... they clearly are not the "mixed mini pumpkins" that they were supposed to be!

The tomato plants in the open garden are pretty much goners, although there are still some fruit ripening on them... the plants in the hoop house, although they do show some disease, are still going pretty strong and also still ripening fruit, despite being determinate varieties.

Plants in the open garden


Viva Italia inside the hoop house

Weedwhacker said:Picked all my squash and pumpkins today, and then pulled all the vines down off my hoop trellis and carted them off to another spot on our property where we dump that kind of stuff. Got some mystery squash again this year (and again from a seed swap - the same one as last year's mystery squash came from, in fact); forgot to take a photo, but they look like they might be some kind of big spaghetti squash. Guess I'll try cooking one up and see what happens... they clearly are not the "mixed mini pumpkins" that they were supposed to be!

The tomato plants in the open garden are pretty much goners, although there are still some fruit ripening on them... the plants in the hoop house, although they do show some disease, are still going pretty strong and also still ripening fruit, despite being determinate varieties.

Plants in the open garden


Viva Italia inside the hoop house

Oh my, you have been busy!!!

Your tomatoes in the open garden look like many and perhaps even most of my tomato plants look like by now. I am not used to all this blight because I usually grow mostly hybrids and they have lots more disease resistance. The Country Taste, for instance, are as green and healthy as ever even now.

Hey, hoop house tomatoes are winners for you.

Our part of the country is officially under a frost/freeze warning for Wednesday night. The tomatoes will have to fend for themselves but the peppers will get a cover. Usually there is one night of cooler temps and then back up to warmer weather. It looks like that will be the case this time. There is a 90% chance of hard freeze by late October by the averages here. Another ten days.

About 1/3 of the tomato plants have stopped producing so they have been pulled. We have been blight free and wilt free since getting away from hybrids more than fifteen years ago. The only blight we see is if a hybrid gets grown as an experiment. All thirty-five plants are as healthy as can be and they are even setting on new blossoms and I hate to yank them out but has to be done with winter coming.

I contribute non-disease conditions to cultural practices more than anything else. First is soil health by adding lots of organic material. Next is a very good mulching program to keep soil splash at zero. and lastly, garden sanitation to refuse the danged pathogens a place to overwinter. I wish I could rotate (well, maybe I don't because a larger space would mean more work for this old fat guy).

Every garden and gardener has their own take on what does well...that's my take and I am sticking to it. Don't fix it if it isn't broken.

Newyorkrita said:

Oh my, you have been busy!!!

Your tomatoes in the open garden look like many and perhaps even most of my tomato plants look like by now. I am not used to all this blight because I usually grow mostly hybrids and they have lots more disease resistance. The Country Taste, for instance, are as green and healthy as ever even now.

Hey, hoop house tomatoes are winners for you.

You have talked about how those hoop house tomatoes have been extra productive for you. And how early you get tomatoes. But now it just hit me from looking at your picture that your also able to extend your tomato season later into the fall. So double winner for you!!

PaulF said:Our part of the country is officially under a frost/freeze warning for Wednesday night. The tomatoes will have to fend for themselves but the peppers will get a cover. Usually there is one night of cooler temps and then back up to warmer weather. It looks like that will be the case this time. There is a 90% chance of hard freeze by late October by the averages here. Another ten days.

About 1/3 of the tomato plants have stopped producing so they have been pulled. We have been blight free and wilt free since getting away from hybrids more than fifteen years ago. The only blight we see is if a hybrid gets grown as an experiment. All thirty-five plants are as healthy as can be and they are even setting on new blossoms and I hate to yank them out but has to be done with winter coming.

I contribute non-disease conditions to cultural practices more than anything else. First is soil health by adding lots of organic material. Next is a very good mulching program to keep soil splash at zero. and lastly, garden sanitation to refuse the danged pathogens a place to overwinter. I wish I could rotate (well, maybe I don't because a larger space would mean more work for this old fat guy).

Every garden and gardener has their own take on what does well...that's my take and I am sticking to it. Don't fix it if it isn't broken.

That is a good motto and certainly don't change what is working well for you.

Yup, I know what you mean about hating to pull the tomato plants when there are still tomatoes forming. But it gets so late in the season that they really need to come out so the garden cleanup can get done.

My peppers are still producing also. I think it is surprising that the peppers like the cool weather better than the tomato plants do. I wouldn't expect that.

Hello!
I meant to get more done but with the frost, I had a LOT of clean up work to do which meant the expansion had to wait. I pulled out all the tomato plants and pepper plants and brought those over to the fire pit. I pulled out all the cages and supports as well.

Took out all the pea and bean plants and cucumber plants and stored the bamboo for next year. I still have the malabar up, hoping the seeds mature against the odds since I have very very few left from last year.

The ground cherries are still up and producing as well, though the standard ground cherry plants had the higher leaves and berries damaged from the frost. The golden berry version with the fuzzier leaves has proven a hardier plant and did not suffer any frost damage at all. I still need to trim and organize the berry canes for the fall and pull the zucchini plants out, and bring in all the herbs for winter drying.

OH! And I cut and brought in all the chard and celery. I blanched the whole lot and froze the greens, but cut the stems to dehydrate. I dehydrated the chard in the oven and they all turned licorice black. Blech, though they tasted fine. I dehydrated the celery in an actual dehydrator and it stayed nice and bright/light green. The paper covering out in the garden made the celery nice and light, but also gave the slugs a happy home so there was some loss there.

The expansion is nearly complete. I set out initial pathing just with lawn fabric and staples. I'll get stones or bricks or something out there eventually. I need to mix in the composted manure and peat to my sandy soil, and I think I'll get a nice cover of maple leaves as more and more fall. (I got a big supply already but that is all used up on the new ramp patch though I'm a little nervous I have over covered the area with too many leaves. I hope they can grow through to the surface in the spring!) Once I mix in the dirt I'm going to rough out the drip irrigation (Oh, I pulled out all the soaker hose set up and threw it out too!) and then hopefully very very soon, get the actual garlic in the ground! I also need to dig up the asparagus and rhubarb and replant it in the new home. Busy times!


The corn patch

robynanne said:Hello!
I meant to get more done but with the frost, I had a LOT of clean up work to do which meant the expansion had to wait. I pulled out all the tomato plants and pepper plants and brought those over to the fire pit. I pulled out all the cages and supports as well.

Took out all the pea and bean plants and cucumber plants and stored the bamboo for next year. I still have the malabar up, hoping the seeds mature against the odds since I have very very few left from last year.

The ground cherries are still up and producing as well, though the standard ground cherry plants had the higher leaves and berries damaged from the frost. The golden berry version with the fuzzier leaves has proven a hardier plant and did not suffer any frost damage at all. I still need to trim and organize the berry canes for the fall and pull the zucchini plants out, and bring in all the herbs for winter drying.

OH! And I cut and brought in all the chard and celery. I blanched the whole lot and froze the greens, but cut the stems to dehydrate. I dehydrated the chard in the oven and they all turned licorice black. Blech, though they tasted fine. I dehydrated the celery in an actual dehydrator and it stayed nice and bright/light green. The paper covering out in the garden made the celery nice and light, but also gave the slugs a happy home so there was some loss there.

The expansion is nearly complete. I set out initial pathing just with lawn fabric and staples. I'll get stones or bricks or something out there eventually. I need to mix in the composted manure and peat to my sandy soil, and I think I'll get a nice cover of maple leaves as more and more fall. (I got a big supply already but that is all used up on the new ramp patch though I'm a little nervous I have over covered the area with too many leaves. I hope they can grow through to the surface in the spring!) Once I mix in the dirt I'm going to rough out the drip irrigation (Oh, I pulled out all the soaker hose set up and threw it out too!) and then hopefully very very soon, get the actual garlic in the ground! I also need to dig up the asparagus and rhubarb and replant it in the new home. Busy times!


The corn patch

Busy times is right! Your sure have been extra busy. But yup, Fall cleanup takes a lot of effort and then there is the getting the garden ready for spring. Always work to do.

It all looks good!!

Weedwhacker said:

Plants in the open garden

I need to make these! Get some set up for the tomatoes and for the berries too. I love these.

What a lovely garden space, Robyn! You did a great job with your expansion--I have "space" envy

Here is the new area for the ramps/beans/chard.


The long area on the east side of the shed is for full sun beans. There will be 8 ft trellis poles along there in the spring. The beans will grow up that over the summer and create the forest effect of the leaves filling in and giving the ramps more and more shade over the weeks. Based on the ramp growing studies, it looks like they need the sun in the spring to sprout, but need the shade over the summer to not die. Makes sense with their natural home being in a maple/birch forest floor. The middle is for the ramps and the long side on the west is for chard which will be able to take the afternoon sun but can handle larger amounts of shade. (I considered bok choy too.. still considering but I don't have any seeds for those.)

The whole thing is covered with a couple inches of loose hay and then raked maple leaves on top of that. The study said to give them lots of falling leaf cover so I used the hay before I had the leaves, but I'm hoping that this will give them some nice mulch/compost as the hay and leaves break down into the dirt, and it will stop the grass and weeds from growing before the ramps can take over.

Any feedback is welcome!

PIcked what is probably the last of the Raspberries last night.
Decided I will cover the few tomatoes and chiles one more time tonight.

RpR said:PIcked what is probably the last of the Raspberries last night.
Decided I will cover the few tomatoes and chiles one more time tonight.

wow! I was expecting a fall raspberry harvest but the plant never flowered. It did last year in the fall, but that was the first year so it didn't really flower in the spring that year. Might be why.

So far this fall I have bought 6 cu yds of bulk compost and put along what will be the garden rows next year. Some of my vegies were not as green and healthy looking as they should have been. When I had a lot of horse manure available I used that. The last of everything has been harvested. I have boxes of tomatoes ripening for canning, and pears which I think I will dehydrate. This year the green beans were blanched and frozen in quart size bags, onions and garlic are stored in ventilated plastic crates. Some of those have been sold to the co-op. Squash did not do well in our area this year for ? reason. Gophers got some of mine along with other plants. I eventually trapped 6 of them and saw no more damage after that. I need more compost but now have to wait for the pickup to be repaired before I can haul another load. As soon as we get enough rain the garden needs to be rototilled and next year's garlic planted and mulched with straw. And then it can snow.

MaryE said:So far this fall I have bought 6 cu yds of bulk compost and put along what will be the garden rows next year. Some of my vegies were not as green and healthy looking as they should have been. When I had a lot of horse manure available I used that. The last of everything has been harvested. I have boxes of tomatoes ripening for canning, and pears which I think I will dehydrate. This year the green beans were blanched and frozen in quart size bags, onions and garlic are stored in ventilated plastic crates. Some of those have been sold to the co-op. Squash did not do well in our area this year for ? reason. Gophers got some of mine along with other plants. I eventually trapped 6 of them and saw no more damage after that. I need more compost but now have to wait for the pickup to be repaired before I can haul another load. As soon as we get enough rain the garden needs to be rototilled and next year's garlic planted and mulched with straw. And then it can snow.

All sounds good except for the part about snow!!