2024 garden season

[masseyrider]

Sunflowers are breaking out.
No rows. Seed just broadcast freehand and lightly cultivated in.
They overtake the weeds.
I'm guessing over an acre.
Bees love it and birds come in every year.
The yellow finches arrive by the hundred.
Even the local critters benefit.
A couple deer bed down in the tall plants.
I watched a skunk harvest his share by walking into a stalk with his shoulder until he can get at the seeds.
Little bit of habitat for everyone.
Attracts people driving by and the local neighbour women.
I'm their hero when I tell them to cut as many blooms as they want.
Rest of the garden I didn't bother with.
Prepped the soil and everything and then changed my mind.
It's only me and it's easier just to buy what I need.
I can only eat so much zucchini, cukes and tomatoes. This spring I dumped half the taters I had put away.
Corn last week was $.22 a cob. If I eat 10 cobs a summer I'm good.
Someone brought me half dozen squash plants so that's it.

 

[Oaktree]

Corn last week was $.22 a cob. If I eat 10 cobs a summer I'm good.

Love corn on the cob, been kinda pricey this year though...anywhere from 75-99¢ /ear. I think Shaws had it 5/$1 4th of July week, but that was it. Usually goes on sale more often than that.
Still a bit early for local corn...mine are just starting to form ears.

 

[CalG]

Wife and I went for a motorbike ride yesterday. We bought corn at $1 per ear. Really GOOD roasted on the grill. worth it!
We don't grow corn due to skunks.

I dug the garlic bed today (70 plants) They are hanging now in bunches out in the car park.
Watermelon radish went in the spot that was opened up.

 

[masseyrider]

Corn is on sale again. $0.20 a cob. I'll get 10 for that price. Even if I don't use it all the local critters like it from my scraps pile.
Sunflowers are just past peak.
I mowed around the field and saw a fair amount of bees working the blossoms.
While mowing the lawn around the house and barn and further the Swallows were in full feeding frenzy. Sometimes I'm tempted to cut the grass if only to watch their acrobatics.
Got some peaches and nectarines from my friend who was getting ready for market.
Just so, so good.

 

[masseyrider]

Wife and I went for a motorbike ride yesterday. We bought corn at $1 per ear. Really GOOD roasted on the grill. worth it!
We don't grow corn due to skunks.

I dug the garlic bed today (70 plants) They are hanging now in bunches out in the car park.
Watermelon radish went in the spot that was opened up.

Starting this late will your watermelons make it in Vermont?
We are considered to be Kanuckistan's banana belt in Niagara and any hope of harvesting melons depends on them started before early/mid June.
I put radishes in large planters. Easy to thin and weed.

 

[DJ54]

Buddy of mine came over yesterday and got 8 ears of Silver Queen for him & his wife. Looks decent even with the lack of rain we've had. I mulched it too with leaves, seems to have done its job. He had tomatoes from plants I'd given him, definitely an advantage of only having 8-10 plants and keeping them watered. Mine are coming along, just can't water the amount I have other than just keeping them going occasionally. I depend on rain for mine. So, we traded corn for tomatoes. Also had some Bell Peppers ready to pull, so got him 6-8 of those. Forgot to get a pic of them, more coming in a few days.

First round of Beets are ready to come out of the ground, so other friends are coming to pull them sometime this morning. Calling for rain most of the upcoming week, better get them out of the ground before they get too big, or even split.

My experiment of setting cabbage and brussels sprouts into second year Cereal Rye living mulch didn't pan out like I had hoped. Worked OK for a while, then grass and weeds came in when it got dry. Pulled moisture away from the plants. Mowed down tight between rows, cleaned up between plants with my trimmer with blade, then tilled either side, then mulched with leaves. After that gave them a good drink of water. Amazing how they have perked up, now to get some rain to keep them going.

 

[JPRambo]

We prepared a first time garden in March after receiving the soil analysis. Friend of neighbors volunteered a trailer load of composted cow manure. The area needed a lot of lime also. Put up a recycled chain link fence and some bird netting.
Wife planted greenbeans the first wednesday of April. Purchased a tomato plant a Orange box store.

 

[JPRambo]

Squash, zucchini, peas, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, radish, peppers, spinach, and bunching onions.

 

[CalG]

Watermellon radish is the popular name.

"What are watermelon radishes? Watermelon radishes are an heirloom variety of Chinese daikon radish. They get their name from their bright pink interior and green skin, not their taste. Members of the mustard family, they're firm and crunchy, with a mild, peppery flavor."

We don't grow any melons any more. the wife got discouraged with the vine borers.

Starting this late will your watermelons make it in Vermont?
We are considered to be Kanuckistan's banana belt in Niagara and any hope of harvesting melons depends on them started before early/mid June.
I put radishes in large planters. Easy to thin and weed.

 

[masseyrider]

Watermellon radish is the popular name.

"What are watermelon radishes? Watermelon radishes are an heirloom variety of Chinese daikon radish. They get their name from their bright pink interior and green skin, not their taste. Members of the mustard family, they're firm and crunchy, with a mild, peppery flavor."

We don't grow any melons any more. the wife got discouraged with the vine borers.

Don't I feel silly.
Never heard of them before.

 

[DJ54]

Pulled 4 ears of sweet corn for supper last evening, sure tasted good..!! My tomatoes aren't ready yet, so traded some sweet corn for some tomatoes my buddy had from plants I gave him. He watered his all along, so his came on earlier.

Made one of my Summer staples, a couple bacon, egg and tomato sandwiches w/cheese and slathered with Miracle Whip. I grew up eating these, and never seem to tire of them.

 

[masseyrider]

Pulled 4 ears of sweet corn for supper last evening, sure tasted good..!! My tomatoes aren't ready yet, so traded some sweet corn for some tomatoes my buddy had from plants I gave him. He watered his all along, so his came on earlier.

Made one of my Summer staples, a couple bacon, egg and tomato sandwiches w/cheese and slathered with Miracle Whip. I grew up eating these, and never seem to tire of them.

Love the sandwich. I have it for brekky 3-4 times a week.
Hate Miracle Whip with a passion. Always have. Leaves a funny taste in my mouth.
In High School I'd get a Kaiser bun with ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato for lunch. It came with MW. The lunch lady knew to have one with mayo for me.
I use real mayo and lots of pepper, sprinkle of salt.

 

[DJ54]

Funny how people have different tastes. I grew up with Miracle Whip so there's that. I like Mayo too, but only really prefer the Kraft brand. A friend from the South told me I just had to try Duke's, it's the best ever. They didn't have it here until a few years ago so picked up a jar. Tried it on several things including the BET, and just was not impressed. Pitched the rest of the jar and got my miracle whip out.

A lot like BBQ sauces, I like a mustard/vinegar type like Cattleman's Carolina Gold. But there is a big difference between "gold" sauces, tried Heinz because the store was out of Cattleman's. It's just
Ok, but Cattleman's is the best in my book. Don't care for a sweet sauce of any kind from BBQ to pizza sauce. Guess that's what makes the world go around...

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Picked 49 ears of sweet corn today!

 

[DJ54]

I'll assume you've been having some dry conditions too seeing a couple of the tips either not completely filled or starting to dent. Or, like here pretty sure Aphids cut the silk off some ears here, did completely pollinate but had some dented kernels at the end.

My buddy picked some from a fellow who raised some to sell wholesale, so he could fill CSA orders he and another fellow are doing a joint venture on. I'm assuming it is a Round Up Ready hybrid, but tips were bare back about 1-1/2". The rest looks fine, but they too have had drought conditions.

Kinda' thinking that particular hybrid he picked doesn't have drought resistance in its genetics. He did plant some Incredible of his own and just picked it yesterday. He has had severe drought conditions, only about 1/2" -3/4" of rain since May. It fully filled out, but kernels may not be as full as mine. But he has a tendency to pull corn just beyond what I would call the blister stage. Just the way he prefers it. Me, I prefer like yours, plump but tender.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

We had a month of basically no rain in June. July has been ok. We have deer nipping off tips and full ears. Some with silks clipped. Next year we are fencing it all in, and I'll be retired so I can care for it better. This year I just planted it and let it go since I'm on the road for days at a time. The early maturity corn has nicer ears, the mate stuff is making two ears, but they both suffer in size. I'd rather it make one good ear than two so-so ears. I never got to hill it, side dress, or anything else. Our pumpkins are doing excellent however, and the corn is delicious

 

[Sonny580]

diggin out the failed broc. plants. now to haul them over to the compost pile.
spuds only have 1 nice tater per plant, so wont be many of them this year!

 

[Oaktree]

We had a month of basically no rain in June. July has been ok. We have deer nipping off tips and full ears. Some with silks clipped. Next year we are fencing it all in, se. Our pumpkins are doing excellent however, and the corn is delicious

My corn's weird this year. Ears are already well underway, but the plants themselves are rather stunted...the tallest might be 40" or so high. Usually we don't see ears form until mid August.

Been a VERY rainy summer.

Funny how people have different tastes. I grew up with Miracle Whip so there's that. I like Mayo too,

I detest both equally. If I'm making something that requires some sort of mayonnaise-y goop (coleslaw, potato salad, tunafish sandwich, etc), I'll use MW (or store-brand equivalent) sparingly. Still don't like the taste, but at least it doesn't give me the runs...

 

[DJ54]

My corn's weird this year. Ears are already well underway, but the plants themselves are rather stunted...the tallest might be 40" or so high. Usually we don't see ears form until mid August.

Been a VERY rainy summer.

I detest both equally. If I'm making something that requires some sort of mayonnaise-y goop (coleslaw, potato salad, tunafish sandwich, etc), I'll use MW (or store-brand equivalent) sparingly. Still don't like the taste, but at least it doesn't give me the runs...

I've seen stunted like that during a rainy Summer that lays wet and can't drain. I'm somewhat fortunate mine has some slope to it and drains well. But during real heavy rains it will wash soil somewhat downhill. I used to plow rolling the dirt uphill with the 2 bottom plow I have, but have to deadhead around to make another pass. 4 years ago, I found a Fast Hitch hillside plow for my Farmall 140. Plow one direction, flip the plow and plow right back the same furrow going the other direction. Love this little plow.

I have a buddy the same way, doesn't even like tartar sauce on fish, says it's disgusting. Yet, we've gone to Frisch's, and he's ordered a cheeseburger because he loves the sauce to which I agreed. On about the 3rd time of him doing that I waited until he finished, then told him what that sauce was. I thought he was going to upchuck right there, and his wife is about to bust out laughing. Now if he gets one, it's minus sauce.

Same with another that hates Ranch dressing. We used to frequent a small Mom & Pop steakhouse that had a small salad bar. They did have the best mac salad. He always commented it was the best mac salad next to his wife's. One evening when half-way through his small 3rd helping, he was going on about how good it is and wondering what they used to make it. Setting directly across the table from him, I told him it was Ranch dressing. The look on his face was priceless, slid his plate back, and never got it again.

 

[Sonny580]

our corn got only 4 feet tall,--VERY small ears and no taste whatsoever!! NOT a good garden year!