October 17th Harvest

      I have not written a post in so long, I may not remember how to do the picture pasting.  At least the garden did not forget how to produce.  But on October 17th, this picking is getting to be near the end. Maybe frost will hold off some more.

      Wow, what a haul for the middle of October.  I had great success with the peppers that I grew in the compost pile at the park.  The elevated peppers did much better than those in the ground, and also better than those in pots.  Will certainly repeat that experiment next year.

       Here is everything spread out.  The cubanelle peppers are on the left as well as the one orange cubanelle on the right.  The near to the last of the large tomatoes are in the upper middle, with the chocolate cherries just below them.  The pretty red balls just below the cherries are sweet cherry peppers.  New to me this year, they have kind of a smoky flavor.  I have kept some of the abundant seeds for next crop in 2018.   On the right are four bell peppers.  The long yellow peppers are sweet, and similar to banana peppers.  Sorry to see it all the fresh produce nearing an end.
      The ten day forecast shows no indication of frost, so there just might be a chance to pick summer veggies into November!

Chocolate Cherry Tomato

      An absolutely full flavored cherry tomato.  Not sweet like most cherries.  Full flavored like the big boys.  Seeds breed true.  Totally scrumptious.  And pretty to boot.

Goings and Comings

      Early October is a time of transition for gardens here in Delaware.  While some tomato plants and cukes and peppers are still hanging on, they certainly are not thriving in these shorter days of fall.  There just isn't enough solar power to keep them going.  But as they peter out, the salad greens and cole crops should come into their glory in the cooler temperatures.

Unnamed small cherry tomato still thriving,  October 8,  2012

Even the tomato foliage is still thriving

While some tomatoes may ripen, these plants have given up

Summer flowers still look pretty good, summer veggies fading fast

Pick me and pull me

      Most of the tomatoes that were put out early in May are done, having run out of gas even if they were indeterminate plants.  However, some of the plants that were started from cuttings in June or early July are still looking alright, particularly two Chocolate Cherry plants over at the park.

Still going, and going.....

        The most productive single plant this season was a volunteer squash plant that I hoped might be a white Caspar pumpkin from where it popped up.  So against the advice of garden writers (squash plants are notorious cross breeders), I left it alone.  Turned out to be a true Patty Pan squash, and it produced over 40 squash during the season.  The plant is looking pretty beat up now, though there are still baby squash setting!

Single Patty Pan squash plant,  October 8,  2012

Malabar,  October 8,  2012

      This is the one malabar spinach plant that I put out this summer.  I had started some cuttings last September, and after giving away three starts, this is the single one I had left.  It is a tropical plant, and will melt into a mess with the first frost.  I will be taking some cuttings soon to root for the beginnings of a new crop for next year.  So although this vine looks fine at the moment, its end is soon in sight.
       So as the summer crops are going, the fall crops are coming in stronger and stronger.

Four Seasons lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson, Arugula

Purple Top Turnip

Fedco Tendergreens, and kale to the right

      The cold frames will soon need to be put back together, and repaired where necessary.  I scavenged wood and glass over the last few months, so I expect there will even be newer and better cold frames in the near future.  I am potting up any volunteers that I find to develop good roots for transplant to one of the many cold frames.
      From one season to the next, with no big pause in sight.

The Tomatoes Are In

On deck supply, July 29, 2012

      The success of my gardening year is totally dependent on the quality of the tomato harvest.  As long as it is a good tomato season, everything is okay.  If I could plant only one crop in my garden, it would be tomatoes.  If I could plant only two, it would be tomatoes and more tomatoes.  I know the tomato season is in when there are more tomatoes on the porch than we can currently eat.  Or when I can give away some tomatoes because there are more in line.  There are enough now to start freezing some.  So although I am complaining about the heat, I should actually be thankful for the tomatoes.

      When you want a lot of tomatoes, you have to plant a lot of plants.  This is the tomato section in the back garden with two rows of 17 plants in each row.  I have learned my lesson to stake and desucker tomato plants in order to get tomatoes that you can find.  A plant on the ground with lots of slug eaten tomatoes is not a thing of beauty.

        Same two rows of plants, but from a different angle.  The two tomatoes in front are Cherokee Purples, one of my favorites.  But so are the Brandywines, Black Krims, Chocolate Cherries, Yellow Jubilees, Marglobes, and many others in the garden.  Note the row of peppers growing in front of the tomato plants to take advantage of the sun at the base of the plants.

Closer shot of the Cherokee Purple

      We actually had rain the other night.  One point one inches in fact!  What a blessing.  These are some clumps of unripe Chocolate Cherries the morning after.

And a volunteer cherry tomato plant

      And these are the Glacier Tomatoes, an extra early tomato that is supposed to ripen in 55 to 60 days, and does.  And has a pretty good tomato flavor to boot.  They are rather prolific, and got the season off to a good early start.  Yet they are still producing heavily now, and make a very good salad tomato.  I will be saving some seed for next year.

      This tomato jungle is what results when you let the plants grow on their own.  Lots and lots of branches, and tomatoes on the ground that are hard to find.  I usually end up cutting off the first six or eight branches at the bottom of the plant, keeping only the central leader.  This is what the same plants look like just minutes after a good trim:

      The critters have done a lot of damage this year to the fruit on the vines.  In this dry summer, even hard green tomatoes are being eaten for their moisture.  And not just bird pecks.  Big chunks of tomatoes gone in short periods of time.

A now worthless Dr. Wyche tomato

Two Brandywines, lost before their prime

      So this summer I have been picking tomatoes just as they start to ripen, as they get that first tell tale color change.  I would rather have vine ripened tomatoes, but you see the results above of waiting too long to pull the tomatoes from the vine.  The very first picture shows the tomatoes ripening on the porch, and they taste just fine.  I will let the tomatoes ripen on the vine at my park plot, as there are thousands of tomatoes there to satisfy lots of critters.  I expect to get at least some vine ripened fruit there.
      But so far, so good.  The tomatoes are in!!

Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes

Do you Remember?  Yummy.

       Chocolate cherry tomatoes from Territorial Seed Company have quickly become one of my favorite tomatoes.  They are quick to ripen in only 70 days, grow profuse crops of tomatoes in the summer, and hang on late into the fall.  Picked green late into October, I have had some ripen to more than decent tasting tomatoes in December.  You can save tomato seed by a convoluted soaking and cleaning method, or I have just simply allowed a couple of tomatoes to wither and dry by themselves.  Then crumble away the husk, and save the seed.  This is the first year I tried the drying method so I was quite interested in the germination outcome.
      So bring on the paper towel.  Actually 1/2 of a paper towel as I cut it in two.  On February 10, I put on 15 seeds as I have recently been overwhelmed by too many seeds germinating.  Less than four full days later, I am set to go:

      The seeds were placed in the middle of the half sheet of towel.  Spread them out so that they don't touch each other.  The two ends of the towel were folded over the middle section, so now it is about 1/3 of the starting size.  I use an eye dropper to drop water onto the towel, just to moisten it.  Then this little packet fits nicely inside one of those cute little zip lock snack bags.  I even recycle the bags, cabage having been in this one the week before.  After only four days:

Chocolate cherry seeds started 2/10, now on 2/14/12

       This method worked great, as 13 out of the 15 seeds germinated.  I planted all 15 seeds, as the two slow ones may have popped by tomorrow had I waited.  I am thinking that planting the seeds as soon as any root shows will result in the least amount of transplant shock.  The neat thing is that you can plant just one or two seeds per cell this way and not have to cull or separate seedlings.
      Seed Swap Idea!!  I have a limited number of chocolate cherry seeds that I can swap in 15 seed bunches.  I am looking for malabar spinach seed, black pepper seed, or the little golden cherry tomatoes.  Anybody interested?