Planting/Growing Your Own 2019

[Tris Prior]

@horsepoor I mean, to be fair, there are a few plots like that (out of.... I don't even know, maybe 150 plots total?). There are always some folks who give up midseason. Usually the garden org is pretty good about giving obviously unplanted plots away to people on the long waiting list. And, y'know, there are going to be a whole lot of dead plants if the water situation doesn't get sorted and/or we don't get some rain....

It seems, though, that the complaint is about the trellises and supports specifically. :(

[Trifle]

@Tris Prior -- That is really crummy, and I hope that gets sorted soon.  I mean, come on, supports are part of a garden. 

@Buntastic -- that sounds really, really cool.  Love it. 

[Roadrunner53]

As far as trellis's and supports, could someone be in charge of that to put in 'matching' materials? Like all trellis's be a maximum of 6 feet tall, using galvanized poles and green plastic trellis material. Just a thought to make it more uniform and more appealing to the eye. Not criticizing, just offering a suggestion to make the gardens more esthetic. Rather than lose out on a place to garden, maybe you could talk to some of the other gardeners to come up with a plan and then present it to the land owner. If you all work together, everyone will be happy.

[Trifle]

Heard this on the radio today -- I thought my fellow gardeners could appreciate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl3sLHDKnog

:)

[Tris Prior]

As far as trellis's and supports, could someone be in charge of that to put in 'matching' materials? Like all trellis's be a maximum of 6 feet tall, using galvanized poles and green plastic trellis material. Just a thought to make it more uniform and more appealing to the eye. Not criticizing, just offering a suggestion to make the gardens more esthetic. Rather than lose out on a place to garden, maybe you could talk to some of the other gardeners to come up with a plan and then present it to the land owner. If you all work together, everyone will be happy.

The garden org is a nonprofit that is constantly hurting for money - dealing with the water situation by running a channel under the sidewalk is going to be hard for them to afford. So we would each have to buy that stuff for ourselves.... and considering that the plot rental already cost me $85, and we' literally just get the plot and the water and the initial soil (which has been there for years and in my experience needs a lot of amending with stuff we provide), and we have to provide all plants, fertilizer, literally everything else the plot needs for ourselves, I know I would have a hard time suddenly coming up with the cash to replace all of my stuff with matchy-matchy on top of that. And I'm sure I'm not the only one.

It's a good idea, though. I think it'd help to know exactly what the property owner is objecting to (lack of uniformity? The DIY nature of some handbuilt trellises? He doesn't like garden gnomes or flamingoes which live in some plots?). We haven't actually been told yet, it's been "let's solve the water thing first and then deal with the aesthetics issue."

[Buntastic]

This year’s garlic harvest gave me an overflowing wheelbarrow from 4 46”x92” beds. Mostly medium to large bulbs, quite happy with it considering I really intensified the spacing (rows about 8” apart, cloves planted about 3” apart in row).

[RetiredAt63]

This year’s garlic harvest gave me an overflowing wheelbarrow from 4 46”x92” beds. Mostly medium to large bulbs, quite happy with it considering I really intensified the spacing (rows about 8” apart, cloves planted about 3” apart in row).

Mine are on an 8"x 8" spacing - I hope I can harvest some before I move.  It will be interesting to see how well they did.

[Buntastic]

This year’s garlic harvest gave me an overflowing wheelbarrow from 4 46”x92” beds. Mostly medium to large bulbs, quite happy with it considering I really intensified the spacing (rows about 8” apart, cloves planted about 3” apart in row).

Mine are on an 8"x 8" spacing - I hope I can harvest some before I move.  It will be interesting to see how well they did.

You can always pull early if need be. They will be smaller than they could have been but should cure just fine.

[RetiredAt63]

This year’s garlic harvest gave me an overflowing wheelbarrow from 4 46”x92” beds. Mostly medium to large bulbs, quite happy with it considering I really intensified the spacing (rows about 8” apart, cloves planted about 3” apart in row).

Mine are on an 8"x 8" spacing - I hope I can harvest some before I move.  It will be interesting to see how well they did.

You can always pull early if need be. They will be smaller than they could have been but should cure just fine.

Good to know. I will pull the ones that look closest to mature the day before closing.  I'll be nice and leave some for the new owners.   ;-)

[Buntastic]

This year’s garlic harvest gave me an overflowing wheelbarrow from 4 46”x92” beds. Mostly medium to large bulbs, quite happy with it considering I really intensified the spacing (rows about 8” apart, cloves planted about 3” apart in row).

Mine are on an 8"x 8" spacing - I hope I can harvest some before I move.  It will be interesting to see how well they did.

You can always pull early if need be. They will be smaller than they could have been but should cure just fine.

Good to know. I will pull the ones that look closest to mature the day before closing.  I'll be nice and leave some for the new owners.   ;-)

Can always dig your fingers around the stem and judge the size of the bulb before pulling, just like with carrots.

[Tris Prior]

Getting a good size handful of raspberries daily! And they are mostly cosmetically perfect. So pretty. And tasty!
These are mostly Canby, and the purple ones are Purple Brandywine which are just starting to ripen.
I also have a Raspberry Shortcake in the community garden that's bearing well but I ate all of those before I took a pic :P

[Buntastic]

Love fresh raspberries! I have Joan J (thornless) here, and a small amount of Caroline. Both are double bearing varieties.

Not getting great yields on the summer crop, bit less than a pint a day. Last year we were getting 1-2 quarts. But there’s a TON of primocanes that look super healthy, so our fall crop might be the big one this year.

[Indio]

Heat index is expected to be at 111 degrees on Sunday. In my lifetime, can't ever recall it getting above 102 or 103. This is indeedclimate change.

With the remnants of Hurrican Barry blowing through town, the weeds are loving the heat and water, but so are the veg. I've got loads of bush and pole beans ready for picking each day. The toms are getting larger but still nothing ripe enough to pick. Gotten a handful of bell peppers and lots of herbs. We are heading off on a bucket list vacation just when everything is going to start ripening. Unfortunately, planning trips around school vacations only left me with one option.

@Trifele I love gazpacho. I call it liquid salad. A few years ago, I tried an andalusian gazpacho from epicurious.com. It's very similar to the one you posted with the addition of hard boiled egg mashed with garlic and small breadcrumbs. It's been my go to recipe ever since I made it.

Thanks everyone for the tips about your favorite garden tools. I've been looking to upgrade my supplies at yard/tag/estate sales. Hoping to stumble across that vintage tool that isn't sold in box stores.

[jengod]

My favorite garden tools LOOK like heirlooms but are made by a guy in Montana. IMHO the coolest one is this little hoe that’s upcycled from an old tractor sickle attachment.

 https://fisherblacksmithing.com/garden-tools/recycled-sickle-section-hand-hoe/

I’ve had mine for several years now and it always makes me happy to handle them.

[Trifle]

That's a beautiful hand hoe @jengod!  It has such personality; it looks like it could talk.

Here's my bumper picking of slicer tomatoes today.  Time for more gazpacho!

[Buntastic]

My favorite garden tools LOOK like heirlooms but are made by a guy in Montana. IMHO the coolest one is this little hoe that’s upcycled from an old tractor sickle attachment.

 https://fisherblacksmithing.com/garden-tools/recycled-sickle-section-hand-hoe/

I’ve had mine for several years now and it always makes me happy to handle them.

I’m eyeing the crevice tool because I should keep my pavement cracks up a bit nicer than I do.

[Trifle]

My favorite garden tools LOOK like heirlooms but are made by a guy in Montana. IMHO the coolest one is this little hoe that’s upcycled from an old tractor sickle attachment.

 https://fisherblacksmithing.com/garden-tools/recycled-sickle-section-hand-hoe/

I’ve had mine for several years now and it always makes me happy to handle them.

I’m eyeing the crevice tool because I should keep my pavement cracks up a bit nicer than I do.

The cultivator looks medieval -- very cool

[Frugal Lizard]

Harvesting is kicking it up a notch - with great pickings of shelling peas and snow peas and other stuff
I am noticing one tomato with blossom end rot - damn.
Neighbour's dog is jumping into my garden to bury things - damn.  This means the seed portion of the fennel experiment is a bust.  (the seedling portion of the experiment is coming along)
I ended up planting potatoes and cukes in my Dad's garden.  They are coming along nicely  Heat is supposed to break tomorrow so we will go out there and tend them.  Cukes are not doing well in my city bed.
Before the heat was unbearable, I planted more carrots and beets.  First catch of carrots was really spotty.  And you can never have too many beets.
Thursday the kids and the Hubs went out there and picked 3 quarts of raspberries.  The crop is just amazing this year.

[Buntastic]

Not too shabby for 2 hours work. First remote garden I’ve had in a couple years, this time just a mile or so away. Property owner is very excited, loves the design, wants to reimburse me for the materials, wants to learn. Seems like a great fit. We may eventually expand into the front yard.

I am going to fix that janky side with the spliced together boards. The design came together a bit different and I didn’t have the right length board, so I test fit with some scrap pieces to see how I liked the look.

I build my beds mostly with 2x6x92 studs, which are the most cost effective piece of lumber I’ve found in my area at just a bit over $3 each. (Contrast that with full 96” 2x6 lumber at over $5 a board.) For this design to fit nicely around the patio I did use a couple cut down 10’ boards and I think that janky side needs a 12’ board.

[Jon_Snow]

I've been off-forum for a month or so and am now in the process is catching up on the various threads that I follow. It's wonderful to see the forum gardeners well into the food-growing swing of things.

As for my own garden patch I'm pretty much ready to proclaim this my best season yet. Whether it's been the slightly cooler and wetter start to Summer than has been typical since I started this hobby 5 years ago (in conjunction with FIRE), or the fact that I HEAPED on the seaweed onto my beds in the Fall....or perhaps because I'm just getting better at this...the garden has just been amazing. It has been an incredible experience to share daily harvests with family and friends. And much to my surprise word of my forest garden beneath a grand redwood tree has started to trickle out on my little island....

Sadly, peas are now done and I regret not planting another crop - I have a forum friend visiting and she had to make due with munching on the slightly bitter specimens that remained. The writing is on the wall for my last lettuce patch as well, but everything else, including some new (to my garden) crops, is on the ascendancy. Heat loving crops are a bit behind where I'd like, but this is not uncommon in the PNW. And this years Summer has been somewhat slow to warm up compared to the past several.

Wide shot as things stand as of now. My potato "bin" in the immediate foreground is ready to harvest...and I've been pulling the garlic beside it as required...



It's a tough call as to what crop rises to new heights in a homegrown garden vs. THE STORE...but beets have to be right up there. Agreed, fellow gardeners? What else shines for y'all in the home garden?


Shout out to @NinetyFour for showing off the beety bounty. :)


I've never had a squash harvest like this year. I have four varieties planted within that tangle of squash. In hindsight, I should have planted three plants there as they are bit a bit crowded.


Here a couple of spaghetti squash varieties. Cut one in half, clean out the seeds and pulp,  brush lightly with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook at 375F in the oven for 45 minutes. Fluff up the insides with a fork for some delicious veggie "noodles".

[StarBright]

Weird year - May was more cool and wet than usual, but it seems like the last several weeks have been ideal for warm weather crops.  However, I have pretty poor fruit set, and nothing anywhere near ripe on my tomatoes.  The eggplants seem to have set fruit, but they aren't growing like, at all.  Even the Slim Jims, which should be early and prolific. The broccoli just started to create heads, then each one would bolt. So far only one summer squash.  Most of my winter squash died, but the melon vines are sprawling and looking great.  At least the peppers seem to be doing well, I'm harvesting garlic and I have a lot of volunteer fennel that the pollinators will be enjoying as it starts to bloom.

I was really hoping for better after redoing beds and bringing in so much new manure last fall, but oh well. 

There is some vacant area where the squash vines should be, so I'm going to start some cauliflower and broccoli for a fall crop and hope for better results.

This is my experience too. May and early June were awfully cool and wet and then we went really hot and dry. We managed a few nice heads of romaine and then they bolted over night. We got our first tomato today (an early girl, on July 21!) and our first summer squash. On the other hand, I've got several beautiful rainbow chard which I've never had luck with in the past.

Our fall squash look decent but most of our melons died and we have one puny watermelon vine left. Even my basil is surprisingly puny for late July. Pole beans doing well, but bush beans somehow kept getting washed out in the rain, so only about a third of the plants eventually popped up.

This is only our third summer with a large community plot but it is definitely totally different than the previous two years.

[horsepoor]

I'm suddenly getting some tomatoes too!  The black cherries and San Marzanos, with Pink Bumblebee cherry not too far behind.  The rest are taking their sweet time.

Over the last few days I've brought in about 8# of garlic, 20# of potatoes, a fair amount of carrots, some leeks, zucchini, a few of the skinny eggplants, and peppers.  My Shishito pepper plants are loaded, so we'll be eating lots of those.  And I have quite a few tomatillos.  Need to figure out something to use them for other than salsa and chile verde.  Pretty soon I think I'll pull out one of the plants to stop the pollination because, like, how many tomatillos can a person even eat?  Looking forward to getting some eggplant and okra soon.

[Trifle]

Great pictures as always @Jon_Snow!  Those are some handsome beets and squash.  I was thinking about doing spaghetti squash next year (along with my favorite -- Delicata) and you have me convinced!

Things are going great here too.  Still harvesting tomatoes, beans, cukes, potatoes, and carrots.  Looks like the summer squash and zucchini are done.  I brought in about 10 pounds of potatoes yesterday -- first harvest -- and boy are they tasty.  It's been a while since I had a potato straight from the garden, un"cured".  I sliced them into chips about 1/4" wide and sauted them in olive oil and put a little salt on.  We had them with some fish for dinner.  Yum!

Up today -- pulling up the rest of the carrots from the spring planting, and getting ready for the fall planting.  In a couple weeks I'll be planting carrots, chard, and kale.  It was an excellent year for carrots, so going back for round 2.  It was a decent but not great year for the greens.  I got only two good pickings before the cabbage moths got the upper hand.   Hoping the fall will be better.  I like it when the greens last for months and you can cut-and-come-again. 

[Buntastic]

Season is going reasonably well, though I’m regretting giving my dad so much of my compost. I really should have put it on my garden, I’m realizing as I’m out harvesting daily now just how low some of the raised beds have gotten. Ah well :)

Summer raspberries are finishing up, first green fall raspberries are already forming.

First planting of bush beans is pretty much done, debating pulling it or seeing it if reblooms. Don’t really have anything to plant there if I do, as I didn’t buy any brassica or carrot seeds this year. Any tips on getting better carrot germination? I was thinking of trying row cover next year to help hold moisture.

Being picking green peppers for a week or two, just now getting first ripe tomatoes.

Harvested a bunch of garlic. The bulbs with tops filled a wheelbarrow and slightly overflowed.

May try harvesting new potatoes soon. None of the vines have died back and don’t remember which beds are the early variety versus the late one though.

New Garden is going well. All beds are built, cardboard down, and existing pile of topsoil filled them about 2-3”. Compost to top them off is being delivered today. Also going to try building a deeper planter box lined on the bottom with silt fencing along the owner’s garage. It faces south and VERY sunny so I think it could grow some excellent tomatoes and peppers.

Also thinking about various ways to stake and trellis tomatoes and cucumbers. Saw a really interesting setup last night at a house a few blocks away.

[Jon_Snow]

Great pictures as always @Jon_Snow!  Those are some handsome beets and squash.  I was thinking about doing spaghetti squash next year (along with my favorite -- Delicata) and you have me convinced!

Thanks @Trifele! There is no way I can adequately explain how prolific the spaghetti squash has been this year. It can quite literally feature as a side dish for every meal...which is fine because it's so delicious AND nutritious. I actually experimented with cooking the squash halves "upside down" but I found they tended to get overdone that way. I actually just replaced a picture of overcooked spaghetti squash with one that features the "noodles" having firmer structure. I don't think I have tried delicata so I will look into it based on your glowing recommendation. I always like to try a new crop variety every year. I also enjoy a "mashed potato" squash variety, the first ones look to be ready in a few days.

Things are going great here too.  Still harvesting tomatoes, beans, cukes, potatoes, and carrots.  Looks like the summer squash and zucchini are done.  I brought in about 10 pounds of potatoes yesterday -- first harvest -- and boy are they tasty.  It's been a while since I had a potato straight from the garden, un"cured".  I sliced them into chips about 1/4" wide and sauted them in olive oil and put a little salt on.  We had them with some fish for dinner.  Yum!

That sounds great. What I have really come to enjoy in my PNW garden are the different "phases". And I can tell they differ greatly from your particular location Trifele. I am now in the heart of squash season, and the cucumber, tomato and bean wave is just starting now and will dominate things into August. And I cannot agree more about garden potatoes. I dig them up and serve them up to family and friends who just cannot get enough of them. It's hard to describe why they are so good....but the flavour is amazing and their texture just has a wonderful....creaminess?

Up today -- pulling up the rest of the carrots from the spring planting, and getting ready for the fall planting.  In a couple weeks I'll be planting carrots, chard, and kale.  It was an excellent year for carrots, so going back for round 2.  It was a decent but not great year for the greens.  I got only two good pickings before the cabbage moths got the upper hand.   Hoping the fall will be better.  I like it when the greens last for months and you can cut-and-come-again. 

I have always been somewhat disappointed with my carrots but this year, and I haven't the slightest clue as to why, but they are amazing! I spaced out my plantings pretty well so I should be harvesting them right into September.

I think my climate is pretty much perfection for brassicas. The leafy greens, kale and collards, are always on a rather epic scale...a fact appreciated by a visiting forum friend who harvests these daily....she is all about cut-and-come-again....and again, and again, and again.... :) While more heat would be great for more prompt tomato and pepper production, it does mean that we have a steady supply of the kales and cabbages for the entirety of the summer. I do sometimes see the dreaded, little white moth flitting about my garden...but they generally don't seem to inflict much damage, and whatever bit of munching the caterpillars do, the plants seem to outgrow the damage. I still find myself chasing them around the garden and whapping them out of the air or off my plants when they land. My DW finds this highly entertaining. :)

Posted recently in my Journal....one of the very most satisfying things for me to grow....from a seed about the size of a particularly large grain of sand. I don't think I'll ever stop thinking that this is sort of miraculous.

[Buntastic]

My day has been full of shit, how’s yours?

[Buntastic]

I love hardneck garlic. Here is ONE (larger than normal, but not super atypical) clove:

[horsepoor]

Nice cabbage there Jon!  I harvested a red cabbage last week and had the same thought about the tiny seed it started from back in March.  Amazing!  Getting a bumper crop of carrots here as well.  I put in 4 varieties; the later varieties should be bigger and tougher, so they'll be good for soups and stews in the fall, while we're enjoying the more delicate Nantes types now.

Bun - I've been praising my hardneck garlic too.  So far I've peeled almost three quarts that will get put through the food processor with some olive oil and frozen in ice cube trays. 

Last night I got some seeds started inside, hopefully not too late for a fall crop of cauliflower, broccoli, collards, chard and Napa cabbage.  I'll direct sow some lettuces in a week or two, and maybe try for another round of beets as well.

[jengod]

My nuisance child, I mean my beloved toddler, likes to pick green tomatoes off the plant as soon as she sees them.

Rather than let the food go to waste I tried lactofermenting the green tomatoes and I opened the jar just now they were freaking delicious.

Even better, the rest of my finicky family wouldn’t dream of eating such a thing so they’re ALL MINE. (I might make a jar for my parents tho.)

As the great Ron Finley says, “Growing your own food is like printing your own money.”

[WhiteTrashCash]

My garden this year is the best I have ever had. I am successfully growing tomatoes, bush beans, sugar snap peas, yellow straightneck squash, cucumbers, carrots, strawberries, and Triple Crown thornless blackberries. The spinach was a failure and I think it's because the climate is too hot here for the leafy stuff to grow well. The green peppers may grow and survive as well now, because while they were being eaten to death by bugs until a few days ago, a garden spider built a web over them and now they are growing great.

A major difference maker has been successfully fertilizing the entire garden with compost over the winter. It's amazing how well everything is growing after that. Also, I am using newspaper/leaves mulch and that has cut weeds down to nearly nothing.

I bought all my seeds at the dollar store within walking distance of my house for 25 cents a packet, so the results have been quite profitable.

[FireAnt]

This is my first time posting on this thread, but I've been gardening for about 5 years since I moved into our house. I have 4 garden beds filled with goodies. This year I started super late (planted June 1) because it was really cold in Michigan. Everything is coming in later, but I'm still having quite the successful year. No tomato blight or other issues which is usually a regular occurrence. The only issues I've had is that my arch nemesis (the groundhog) ate all of my coneflowers surrounding my garden fence and the bugs won't keep from eating my kale! My hardneck garlic grew small this year, and I think it's because of the rain we had in the spring, but I'm not sure.

[Buntastic]

@FireAnt garlic likes moisture, though if it was waterlogged maybe not. It’s also a pretty heavy feeder so perhaps there wasn’t enough fertility? Only other thing I can think of would be if you had a sign of any diseases like garlic rust, or maybe didn’t cut the scapes promptly. How long have you been growing it?

Is it cabbage moth caterpillars eating the kale or something else? If caterpillars, try Bt.

Glad other things are going well for you despite the late start!

[Telecaster]

Speaking of fertility, what do you guys use for fertilizer?  I'm trying to keep it organic and all that, but I feel like I'm not keeping up with my plants needs. 

[Buntastic]

Speaking of fertility, what do you guys use for fertilizer?  I'm trying to keep it organic and all that, but I feel like I'm not keeping up with my plants needs.

I raise chickens and rabbits. Chickens I use deep bedding, I had ~10-13 birds most of the winter and generated 5 cuyd of compost material. This year I have 30 birds so I’ll generate even more compost. Rabbits are great because you can apply the manure straight to the garden. I typically let the manure age in place until early spring or late fall, or if I’m moving a bed from one crop to another, or I think something needs side dressing. My population constantly fluctuates, currently a little over 70 including all the offspring at various ages but my goal is to keep it over 100 to meet my customer demands and our personal consumption.

Otherwise look for ways you can get your hands on compostable materials like food waste, coffee grinds, whether your municipality has free/subsidized compost, etc. Or of course you can buy it in. In my area compost (typically dairy cow manure, being WI and all) runs about $30 per cubic yard with delivery. 1-2” of compost per year is considered sufficient for most vegetable gardens depending on how intensely you space, do multiple crops, etc. Commercial compost is often not fully finished, so it typically works well to apply it in the fall at the end of the season versus in the spring (unless you’re in the deep south where winter is a big part of the growing season)

I don’t have much experience with organic fertilizers and zero experience except growing up in my parents garden ages ago with artificial fertilizers.

[jengod]

Today’s win: My scarified Leucaena seeds are germinating!

In other news we still have a few late boysenberries, the grapes are coming ripe, I think we might get some goji berries for the first time, and it looks to be a good year for figs. There are also still some hidden apples that the jays and squirrels haven’t found yet. Lots of blossoms on the lemon tree.

[WhiteTrashCash]

Today’s win: My scarified Leucaena seeds are germinating!

In other news we still have a few late boysenberries, the grapes are coming ripe, I think we might get some goji berries for the first time, and it looks to be a good year for figs. There are also still some hidden apples that the jays and squirrels haven’t found yet. Lots of blossoms on the lemon tree.

I put netting over all our plant beds this year to protect them from pests because it really got out of control. I had to replant all my squash because a chipmunk chewed through the netting and devoured the seedlings. Then I had to rescue the chipmunk because he got himself stuck in the netting on the way out. I actually had to rescue chipmunks from netting FOUR TIMES this season.

Then, something miraculous happened. A chickenhawk moved into our neighborhood. No doubt attracted by the horde of chipmunks that live here. I haven't seen a chipmunk in two weeks now. I believe The Lion King has a musical number about this phenomenon. "The Circle of Life!" :-P

[FireAnt]

@FireAnt garlic likes moisture, though if it was waterlogged maybe not. It’s also a pretty heavy feeder so perhaps there wasn’t enough fertility? Only other thing I can think of would be if you had a sign of any diseases like garlic rust, or maybe didn’t cut the scapes promptly. How long have you been growing it?

Is it cabbage moth caterpillars eating the kale or something else? If caterpillars, try Bt.

Glad other things are going well for you despite the late start!

It could be fertility. This is my 5th year using the cloves from previous years. I was thinking about buying large ones from the farmers market. I know I didn't cut the scapes too late-- well just one that I missed haha. This is the only year I've had a small crop.

Yes they are cabbage moths, ugh. What is Bt? I've been using this since it's a fungicide as well as an insecticide.
http://www.gardensafe.com/products/fungicide/garden-safe-brand-fungicide3-concentrate.aspx

[Buntastic]

@FireAnt garlic likes moisture, though if it was waterlogged maybe not. It’s also a pretty heavy feeder so perhaps there wasn’t enough fertility? Only other thing I can think of would be if you had a sign of any diseases like garlic rust, or maybe didn’t cut the scapes promptly. How long have you been growing it?

Is it cabbage moth caterpillars eating the kale or something else? If caterpillars, try Bt.

Glad other things are going well for you despite the late start!

It could be fertility. This is my 5th year using the cloves from previous years. I was thinking about buying large ones from the farmers market. I know I didn't cut the scapes too late-- well just one that I missed haha. This is the only year I've had a small crop.

Yes they are cabbage moths, ugh. What is Bt? I've been using this since it's a fungicide as well as an insecticide.
http://www.gardensafe.com/products/fungicide/garden-safe-brand-fungicide3-concentrate.aspx

Okay, unless there’s sign of diseases (I don’t know much about other garlic diseases except leaf rust) it should be nicely adapted to your soil on year 5.

Bt is short for Bacillus thurigiensis (sp?), a soil bacteria that makes quick work of any caterpillar, especially cabbage ones. It typically comes in a powder form that you mix up and spray, commonly every 2-3 weeks from what I’ve read. I haven’t needed it here but commercial organic growers typically use a mixture of row cover or mesh (when plants are young) and then when too big to cover use Bt as needed.

To give you a sense of effectiveness, on the other extreme of the organic movement, there are transgenic crops (corn, maybe others by now) that use the relevant genes from Bt to protect themselves against caterpillars.

[FireAnt]

Speaking of fertility, what do you guys use for fertilizer?  I'm trying to keep it organic and all that, but I feel like I'm not keeping up with my plants needs.

I use this stuff with good results:

 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Jobe-s-Organics-8-lb-Organic-Heirloom-Tomato-and-Vegetable-Plant-Food-Fertilizer-with-Biozome-OMRI-Listed-09028/202737659

[RetiredAt63]

I love hardneck garlic. Here is ONE (larger than normal, but not super atypical) clove:

I harvested some of my garlic the day before I moved - it dried out nicely on the apartment balcony.  It probably would have been a bit bigger if I had been able to leave it a few weeks longer.  I'll have to take pictures for here.

[Buntastic]

I love hardneck garlic. Here is ONE (larger than normal, but not super atypical) clove:

I harvested some of my garlic the day before I moved - it dried out nicely on the apartment balcony.  It probably would have been a bit bigger if I had been able to leave it a few weeks longer.  I'll have to take pictures for here.

Glad you got some of it :)

[Trifle]

I did another tomato picking yesterday and got two five gallon buckets full.  Wowza.  We made a quadruple batch of gazpacho and then I processed the rest and froze them.  It looks like there may be 2 - 3 more good size pickings coming.  All this from 8 plants -- very good year!

[Buntastic]

I did another tomato picking yesterday and got two five gallon buckets full.  Wowza.  We made a quadruple batch of gazpacho and then I processed the rest and froze them.  It looks like there may be 2 - 3 more good size pickings coming.  All this from 8 plants -- very good year!

Daaang. I’ve never gotten anything like that from so few plants.

[Telecaster]

I invite anyone curious, skeptical, or even horrified to come see for yourself how such a big flock can be raised in a city yard, not be a nuisance, and in fact even be pleasant to sit around and watch, if a bit dusty from their scratching.

My next door neighbor used to have chickens.  I used to quite enjoy hearing them clucking and such.   No roosters, thank goodness. 

[Fishindude]

Just for kicks I planted a huge patch of pumpkins this year, (82) hills total.    So far, so good and the patch is full of nice big green pumpkins, many are basketball size.
If the bugs or critters don't get them it's going to be a blue ribbon crop.

[Buntastic]

Just for kicks I planted a huge patch of pumpkins this year, (82) hills total.    So far, so good and the patch is full of nice big green pumpkins, many are basketball size.
If the bugs or critters don't get them it's going to be a blue ribbon crop.

Nice! What are your plans for them?

I’m pretty happy with my jack o lanterns so far, they’re getting decent sized and starting to grow their warts. I grew this one:

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/pumpkins/knuckle-head-f1-pumpkin-seed-91.html?cgid=pumpkins#sz=72&start=1

[turketron]

Our tomatoes have started coming in and we were super disappointed to cut open the first couple only to find some really gross looking black spots in them. We cut open a few more and it seems to be affecting ALL of them. After some initial shock that our entire harvest might go to waste, my wife did some research online and asked a couple growers at our farmers market what it could be. It sounds like early blight or some sort of fungus, and although they said it's likely all our tomatoes are affected, they all reassured us that we can cut out the bad spots and eat the rest of the tomato.

In other news, our zucchini and jalapeños are coming in nicely!

[Tris Prior]

Our tomatoes have started coming in and we were super disappointed to cut open the first couple only to find some really gross looking black spots in them. We cut open a few more and it seems to be affecting ALL of them. After some initial shock that our entire harvest might go to waste, my wife did some research online and asked a couple growers at our farmers market what it could be. It sounds like early blight or some sort of fungus, and although they said it's likely all our tomatoes are affected, they all reassured us that we can cut out the bad spots and eat the rest of the tomato.

That sucks! I've never had that particular tomato issue, but have had various other yucky things show up on tomatoes and that is exactly what I do. Just cut out the bad part and eat the rest. I don't can those, though, in case there are spores of nasties that you don't want in your home-preserved food. For eating it should be OK though.

[Buntastic]

Yesterday I harvested our first potatoes. They got rave reviews from the carb eaters in the family 🙂

Unless future harvests end up being different, however, I am not going to stack boxes again next year. All of the tubers were within the bottom 3 inches or so, very similar to what  Charles Dowding describes in the linked video, all of them were formed in the boundary between native soil and the compost I piled on the seed piece.

Similar to the video, they also came out very clean. I was not able to get them to pull out nicely like he does, because of all the compost I’d (turns out unnecessarily) added on top.

https://youtu.be/zXO_j0vriwk

@turketron I have had that happen as well in the past. I thought it was more linked to BER than a blight but I don’t remember what all was going on that season.

[Buntastic]

New garden tool. A DeWitt patio knife for cleaning crevices. Liking it so far! Seems made out of a very durable steel, hopefully it stays durable over time. Certainly a very well designed blade for both pulling with the hooked end and pushing with the edged knife.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EBS5E2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1