The problem with having a garden

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  • WithWhatsLeft
    WithWhatsLeft Posts: 196 Member
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    We didn't do so well this year. Couple different types of tomatoes, which are doing fantastic, but ripped out all the cucumbers as they were dying. I have bell peppers and hot peppers I should really check, as well as lettuce and collard greens.

    I lot of my herbs just didn't come up this time.

    The lettuce was really easy and good. I like a wild loose mix.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited August 2016
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    We have some limes growing, which I've been using them in place of lemon and lime juice, and a fig tree that's been pretty barren this year.

    I'll give it a look right now. I would like to grow some vegetables, but I have to wait until August is over for improved weather.
  • dothefreddy
    dothefreddy Posts: 29 Member
    edited August 2016
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    geneticsteacher wrote: »
    What to do with the cucumbers?!? There are too few to make pickles, but way too many to eat. I am tired of cucumber salad.

    Refrigerator pickles! They're super easy to do and a great way to use up cucumbers where you have too many to eat all at once but not enough to do traditional canning.

    This year's garden is starting to wind down and I has a sad. This year we did bush beans, cucumbers, several varieties of tomatoes (roma for sauce & ketchup making, sunsugar & sugary hybrid for salads & snacking, regular cherries and red brandywine), strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, kale, swiss chard, bell peppers, hot peppers (this variety is called Tabasco and maaaan are they hot little buggers!), eggplant, chives, basil, several varieties of mint (peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, apple mint, pineapple mint, juliep), butternut squash, black seeded simpson lettuce, carrots, blueberries & blackberries.

    I plan on really expanding our growing next year to include broccoli, more lettuce varieties, pumpkin, corn, beets and maybe a few other things.

    We also took out our poor diseased apple tree and are putting in a peach tree instead. Am real excited about that!

    Oh and a grape vine, but that hasn't produced yet. Only in it's 2nd year, hoping next year we'll see some action then. Poor thing had to be treated with Neem oil a good bit this year- Japanese beetles attacked the thing!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    We have too many tomatoes.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    We have too many tomatoes.

    Yeah, I usually have that problem, too. My go tos are making salsa and freezing it, caprese salads and pasta, ketchup..if nothing else, they're versatile little suckers. :smile:
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    dragon_girl26 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    We have too many tomatoes.

    Yeah, I usually have that problem, too. My go tos are making salsa and freezing it, caprese salads and pasta, ketchup..if nothing else, they're versatile little suckers. :smile:

    They usually go bad and we end up composting them, lol. I used up all the last ones making ratatouille though (but I had to actually buy the rest of the veggies, which kinda sucked).
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
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    Canning peaches next week and tomatoes the week after - sooo much work, but so nice in the middle of winter. Thanks for the cucumber suggestions. We may have enough to do 1/2 gallon of fermented pickles. (I have been reading the book Wild Fermentation.)
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    Well, I'm having a problem with slugs eating my strawberries, but my blueberries nothing touches and they are just out of this world good this year. I have some tomatoes in progress. I had raspberries, but I went on vacation during a vital part of their fruiting, it didn't rain enough, and never completely developed. :neutral:

    Any hints on the blueberry plant? I've had mine for three years, and not a single berry, but loads of foliage!

    Blueberry plants need another blueberry bush of a different variety close fro cross pollination. Either plant another or get a neighbor to do so.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
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    StealthHealth wrote: »
    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    Well, I'm having a problem with slugs eating my strawberries, but my blueberries nothing touches and they are just out of this world good this year. I have some tomatoes in progress. I had raspberries, but I went on vacation during a vital part of their fruiting, it didn't rain enough, and never completely developed. :neutral:

    Any hints on the blueberry plant? I've had mine for three years, and not a single berry, but loads of foliage!

    Blueberry plants need another blueberry bush of a different variety close fro cross pollination. Either plant another or get a neighbor to do so.

    Super valuable information, thank you! I'm going to purchase another before the next season!
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    StealthHealth wrote: »
    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    Well, I'm having a problem with slugs eating my strawberries, but my blueberries nothing touches and they are just out of this world good this year. I have some tomatoes in progress. I had raspberries, but I went on vacation during a vital part of their fruiting, it didn't rain enough, and never completely developed. :neutral:

    Any hints on the blueberry plant? I've had mine for three years, and not a single berry, but loads of foliage!

    Blueberry plants need another blueberry bush of a different variety close fro cross pollination. Either plant another or get a neighbor to do so.

    This, and I'd also recommend some netting to put around them. My mom''s first year with them, she saw several berries growing but maybe only got to pick about, like, 3. Darn scavangers! Heh
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Dandelie wrote: »
    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    Well, I'm having a problem with slugs eating my strawberries, but my blueberries nothing touches and they are just out of this world good this year. I have some tomatoes in progress. I had raspberries, but I went on vacation during a vital part of their fruiting, it didn't rain enough, and never completely developed. :neutral:

    Any hints on the blueberry plant? I've had mine for three years, and not a single berry, but loads of foliage!


    I've had the same problem with my blueberries. I am beginning to think I cannot grow them. The leaves fell off the one I had planted last year and hasn't grown any. I am thinking I may have to switch to peat moss. I did some research and found that blueberries like an acidic soil, so I bought some acid additions for the soil. Try testing your soil and see if that is the cause.

    Yes. Very acidic, actually. They hate wet feet, too. If you prep the soil like you would for azaleas and rhododendrons they should be pretty happy.
  • 7elizamae
    7elizamae Posts: 758 Member
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    I never had much of a slug problem until this year, but they destroyed my garden. All my lovely little seedlings gone overnight! They've even done a number on my dahlia!

    Next year, it'll be full-on defensive slug strategizing.

    I did get my usual raspberries, early peas, and my grapes are looking lovely. I just planted a batch of fall lettuce starts, so we'll see how that goes.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    geneticsteacher wrote: »
    What to do with the cucumbers?!? There are too few to make pickles, but way too many to eat. I am tired of cucumber salad.

    I love to spiralize them and add peanut sauce, some sliced red peppers, scallion, and sometimes chicken as a cold salad.

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