2024 garden season

[CloverKnollFarms]

Still have about 30 more to pick. Good yields, especially with this weather.
Winter Luxury, Autumn Buckskin and Connecticut Field

 

[DJ54]

Mulching my Pumpkins with leaves sure seem to have really helped keeping them weed free, and survive the drought conditions here may have caused another issue. After the vines died down, I dropped the ball with spraying for pests. I'm not sure if the leaf mulch created a place for Squash bugs to lay eggs and hatch later or what, but they definitely came back with a vengeance. I sprayed them with Neem Oil, Spinosad, and a good dose of dish soap in the evening. By morning none were to be seen. Now, 2 days later there are a few on them, so will hit again today.

Our County Parks and our tractor club held our annual Harvest Celebration last weekend. While the potatoes were a bust, the Pumpkins, and Popcorn did great, ornamental corn was so-so. You can see the Pumpkin patch to the left side of the last picture.

Pest pressure was different there. We went out the first morning to pick gourds that had grown out over the first two rows of potatoes, and there were literally swarms of Cucumber Beetles coming up off the pumpkin vines. I've never seen swarms of them like that before. Strange there were hardly any Squash bugs like here at home, but that may have something to do with growing on bare dirt.

My buddy growing for the Farmer's Market had the same problem with Cucumber Beetles on his Squash plants. In fact, he's still spraying 2X a day for them trying to salvage what he has left. His location is even more drought stricken than here.

It's been 36 years since I can recall the effects of a severe drought and pest pressure and forgot how bad it was. Apparently, pests are finding anything that has green left and are attacking to survive for moisture.

Drought definitely affected the potatoes at Smeck. We planted 250 lbs. this Spring, and in a normal year would/should get 2500 lbs. back. I seriously doubt we got 100 lbs. We usually have a couple guys follow close behind the digger to keep kids back away from the apron chain on the digger, but was worse this year as potatoes were so few, they were almost knocking each other down to get to what few there were. I was following close off to the side watching for plants, and many came off the apron chain with no potatoes on them. Just didn't get the rain when needed for them to form. There is a swale in the field where the left a dead furrow several years, and there were potatoes there of some size. So, moisture was definitely lacking. Hopefully we'll have a better year next year.

 

[DJ54]

Juliet Grape tomatoes are just now coming on. Tasty little boogers. Can't believe how well the tomato plants look with no rain now for 4 weeks, even then it was a 10 minute heavy downpour of 1". Leaf mulch definitely saved them.

Sliced a Celebrity Plus this evening and couldn't believe how juicy it was with what little moisture we've gotten in the past 4-6 weeks.

 

[DJ54]

Picked 65-70 lbs. of tomatoes today for salsa and juice tomorrow. Amazed how well they are doing in this drought, super juicy inside. Plants are still nice & green and producing. Mulch definitely saved the day this year. Everyone else's around are dried up and dying.

 

[CalG]

The wife and I have been drying those little grape tomatoes.
Just a little salt before going into the dryer. A few flats of whole fruit makes a couple gallons of dried. Boy are they tasty!

Looking forward to dips, soup toppings, sandwich garnish, etc.

I've got three trays of sliced "JET" tomato in the dryer now. Well seasoned for "tomato chips". They smell like the best sauce ever......

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Got the last of the pumpkins roadside yesterday to sell. I love walking 1/4 mile to the road to find cash in the box, or money in the venmo account, while I do other important work.

 

[DJ54]

Picked another 60+ lbs. of tomatoes yesterday to make into juice. Still that many more will be ready to pick on Friday or Saturday. I'm done for the year, time to call folks who normally pick to can up some goodies. I'm really impressed with how they did this year considering the drought we had.

I started 24 plants for a buddy who had picked here last year and wanted some for himself to grow. He told me last weekend he's never had tomato plants produce like these. He and his wife have canned up more tomato products than they ever have and have been giving them away too. If you like a balanced flavor tomato great for slicing fresh, canning etc. I highly recommend the Celebrity Plus hybrid.

 

[CalG]

Picked down the last peach tree the other day. (Recall, this is Vermont ;-)
The one tree is always late. The fruit is tasty, but not very good looking. And the fridge is still full of peaches picked earlier. This final #35 went to fruit leather. The young ones love it!

We hit 350# of good fruit from 3 1/2 trees ;-)

 

[masseyrider]

Picked down the last peach tree the other day. (Recall, this is Vermont ;-)
The one tree is always late. The fruit is tasty, but not very good looking. And the fridge is still full of peaches picked earlier. This final #35 went to fruit leather. The young ones love it!

We hit 350# of good fruit from 3 1/2 trees ;-)

Call me jealous. Here in the Niagara area, Kanuckistan's banana belt, the last peaches were picked 3+ weeks ago.
I had a few in the fridge the other day but threw them out. They had turned kind of mealy inside.
Nothing like a good peach when in season.
Always disappointing from the store.

 

[CalG]

Call me jealous. Here in the Niagara area, Kanuckistan's banana belt, the last peaches were picked 3+ weeks ago.
I had a few in the fridge the other day but threw them out. They had turned kind of mealy inside.
Nothing like a good peach when in season.
Always disappointing from the store.

We feel blessed (or cursed, depending on where we are in putting them by. Frozen slices seem to be the handiest.

My wife is very good at "going through" the flats and getting the ones that are ready. Still, We joked today that even at a peach a day each, we have over a months worth of fresh peaches in the fridge. We are counting on seeing our eldest son this week end and pushing off a good box to take home for his two kids. Real peach eaters those little ones. A real pleasure to see them enjoyed.

Of course, I can't grow an apple tree if my life depended on it... I've tried! ;-)

 

[CalG]

Anyone else growing the Cherokee Purple tomato?

We have four plants, selected variety as they are somewhat resistant to late season blight,

The fruits are full of flavor! They don't look like much until you cut a slice for a BLT. Then watch out, You can't get enough. Great flavor, juicy, just the right amount of "vein". Not a heavy producer, but good for the North East, I'm not sure about other places.
Comment?

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Finished the garden season here today, 30 or so pumpkins, a few watermelons and cantelopes, and a 5 gallon bucket of pea pods. supposed to freeze tonight so the season is possibly over for us. Late season apples still on the trees, waiting to see if we actually get to freezing temps. some years we win some we don't.
Only other fruit we have is pears and quinces. Pear trees did not produce much this year as high winds and rain knocked most of the blooms off the trees earlier in the year.
Quinces we use for pectin in jam, they are a bumper crop this year.

 

[CalG]

Finished the garden season here today, 30 or so pumpkins, a few watermelons and cantelopes, and a 5 gallon bucket of pea pods. supposed to freeze tonight so the season is possibly over for us. Late season apples still on the trees, waiting to see if we actually get to freezing temps. some years we win some we don't.
Only other fruit we have is pears and quinces. Pear trees did not produce much this year as high winds and rain knocked most of the blooms off the trees earlier in the year.
Quinces we use for pectin in jam, they are a bumper crop this year.

It's hard to get enough pectin! ;-)

The gifts of our world are strange......

 

[DJ54]

Anyone else growing the Cherokee Purple tomato?

We have four plants, selected variety as they are somewhat resistant to late season blight,

The fruits are full of flavor! They don't look like much until you cut a slice for a BLT. Then watch out, You can't get enough. Great flavor, juicy, just the right amount of "vein". Not a heavy producer, but good for the North East, I'm not sure about other places.
Comment?

I tried a wedge from one a buddy grows for farm market. Too sweet for me, I prefer a more balanced flavor. While he raved about them, they just didn't turn my crank, but he loves sweet stuff, me not so much, other than a dessert item.

 

[Alan W.]

Anyone else growing the Cherokee Purple tomato?

We have four plants, selected variety as they are somewhat resistant to late season blight,

The fruits are full of flavor! They don't look like much until you cut a slice for a BLT. Then watch out, You can't get enough. Great flavor, juicy, just the right amount of "vein". Not a heavy producer, but good for the North East, I'm not sure about other places.
Comment?

My wife loves them but with the hot humid weather we have in this bottom the blight gets them fast. I usually grow the most disease resistant hybrid varieties I can get.

 

[Oaktree]

We joked today that even at a peach a day each, we have over a months worth of fresh peaches in the fridge. We are counting on seeing our eldest son this week end and pushing off a good box to take home for his two kids. Real peach eaters those little ones. A real pleasure to see them enjoyed.

Of course, I can't grow an apple tree if my life depended on it... I've tried! ;-)

Are you in the Champlain valley? Seems like that'd be about the only place in Vt. mild enough for peaches. Nothing I'd even attempt here.
My luck with apples is mixed. Got a couple macs, and a couple cortlands we planted almost 20 years ago, this is the first year I've had much in the way of cortlands. Macs still kind of pathetic. Meanwhile all the unknown variety (probably wild) trees that were on the property when we moved here produce like crazy. Fruit's kind of hard & sour...ok for pies, applesauce, etc, not so great for eating.

 

[CalG]

Are you in the Champlain valley? Seems like that'd be about the only place in Vt. mild enough for peaches. Nothing I'd even attempt here.
My luck with apples is mixed. Got a couple macs, and a couple cortlands we planted almost 20 years ago, this is the first year I've had much in the way of cortlands. Macs still kind of pathetic. Meanwhile all the unknown variety (probably wild) trees that were on the property when we moved here produce like crazy. Fruit's kind of hard & sour...ok for pies, applesauce, etc, not so great for eating.

Actually, the South East corner. Just over the ridge is the real banana belt of Vernon VT and Greenfield Ma.
The Connecticut River Valley has it's own climate down this way.

 

[masseyrider]

Bought 40lb box of butternut squash today. $12 Kanuckistan money.
No fuss, sweat, or input cost.
50LB of potatoes last week for $15.
10LB bags of carrot and onions for $1.77.
Local really aromatic garlic $3.99LB.
Celery this week 2/$3.50.
I think I give up gardening.
Biggest job was getting them in and out of the boot of my vehicle.

 

[DJ54]

Rains from Hurricane Helene got the cabbage kicked back in gear, can't believe how much they grew in a couple weeks, especially without splitting.

Chance of a killing frost tonight so got in gear this morning and got things ready to make Sauerkraut. Making 8 gallons this year, the 5 gallons I made last year only lasted until Feb. so made a little more this year.

Love these water seal crocks, once the domed lid goes on it doesn't come off until 'kraut is fermented. Just need to keep the gutter in the crock filled with water so it can burp the gas, yet not let contamination in.

Should be ready in 6 weeks, then will water bath some and a few put in jars and just keep in the fridge.

 

[masseyrider]

Rains from Hurricane Helene got the cabbage kicked back in gear, can't believe how much they grew in a couple weeks, especially without splitting.

Chance of a killing frost tonight so got in gear this morning and got things ready to make Sauerkraut. Making 8 gallons this year, the 5 gallons I made last year only lasted until Feb. so made a little more this year.

Love these water seal crocks, once the domed lid goes on it doesn't come off until 'kraut is fermented. Just need to keep the gutter in the crock filled with water so it can burp the gas, yet not let contamination in.

Should be ready in 6 weeks, then will water bath some and a few put in jars and just keep in the fridge.

Six weeks? That seems awfully long. When we used to make it at home it was about 14-18 days and it was sour.