Heirloom Tomatoes/Wild Turkeys At Raquette Lake, NY

Welcome back.  I hope you are enjoying reading my blog as the summer draws to a close.

Sunflowers in Full Bloom

Although our family is on vacation this week in Raquette Lake,  NY,  I decided to write a short entry. 

The tomato harvest is well underway as the month of August comes to an end.  On the morning

we left for the Adirondacks, I picked some nice tomatoes and also some hot peppers.  We have been enjoying them while at camp.

Hungarian Wax and Jalapeno Peppers

As you may recall, I planted a mixture of hot peppers that included these two varieties.  They were started from seed as described in my post on March 30, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/planting-peppersspringtime-birds.html).

The larger heirloom tomatoes are now starting to ripen, as I picked a few from the heirloom mixture that I planted (also from seed).  Refer to my post on March 25, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/its-tomato-starting-time.html).

Cherokee Purple and Dixie Golden Giant (large tomatoes).  Also Corborino and Artisan.

I'm sure that by the time we get home in a few days, there will be an abundance of all of the varieties.  In the coming weeks I will also be harvesting the rest of the potatoes (I only have dug a few hills), and also some Brussels sprouts and sweet Spanish onions.

Finally, a few photos of some wild turkeys that have been wondering frequently around the property of the cabin we are currently renting in Raquette Lake, NY.

Until Next time

Onions and Potatoes

Welcome back.  Yesterday I pulled the yellow Stuttgart and red onions.  It's hard to believe that the growing season is winding down.  The summer sure went fast.  But it's not quite over yet.

So when is the proper time to harvest the onions?

Generally, when the tops start to turn brown and die off, it is time to harvest.  This indicates that they have stopped growing.  Of course, different varieties will mature at different times as is true with all vegetables. For example, the yellow sweet Spanish onions that I planted are still growing, I normally wait until September to harvest them.

You may recall my post on May 10, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/05/planting-more-early-season.html), in which I described planting the Stuttgart and red onions.  It doesn't seem that long ago, but it's been over three months now.

Below are the results of that planting:

Once the onions are pulled, it is best to let them dry in the sun for a few days as a type of aging.  A wheelbarrow works well for this.   Of course, they can be used as soon as they are harvested, but if you want to store them, it is better to make sure they are dry.  Onions can be stored over the winter in a cool dark place, preferably around 40 to 50 degrees.  I store mine in our cellar, which maintains that approximate temperature range during the winter.  These conditions also work well for potatoes.

Some varieties store better than others.  The Stuttgart onion is an excellent keeper.  The red onions do fairly well also, but not as well at the Stuttgart.  The yellow sweet Spanish onion is not a good storing onion.

I also dug 4 or 5 hills of potatoes yesterday, for several reasons.  The vines are still growing, but they are starting to wilt down a little.  Similar to the onions, I usually dig the potatoes once the vines have died off, which is normally mid-August to September depending on the variety.

I described planting the potatoes in my blog entry of May 30, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-with-potatoes.html).

I dug a few of the Yukon Gold hills, since we are going on vacation and we wanted to use them to make a potato salad.  This variety is an excellent choice for potato salad.  I also wanted to "test" the crop to see how well they have grown this season.

Based on the results from digging these 4 or 5 hills, It is going to be an excellent potato harvest this year:

Yukon Gold Sampling

Finally, a photo of a pretty sky this evening with a small rainbow included:

Until next time and as always, thanks for reading.

Wildflowers, Sunflowers, and a Garden Pest

Welcome back.

As promised, this week I will take a break from the veggies and dedicate my post to the flowers in my garden.

Preparing the garden to plant wildflowers is pretty much the same as it is for vegetables, as far as rototiling, etc.  I have a small raised portion of my lower garden that I have been using for the wildflowers for the past 4 or 5 years.  Prior to that I planted sunflowers there.

After rototilling, the next step is to rake the soil.  However, I take a little more time to remove as many stones and coarse material as possible.  The seeds are very fine, actually similar in size to lettuce seeds.

There are many different mixtures of wildflower seeds you can purchase.  The mixtures are categorized according to region of the country, color, plant height, sun preference, moisture preference, etc.  Some mixes are designed to attract butterflies.   Following is one of the packages I used this year..  I also used a butterfly mixture:

Wildflower mixture that contains Chrysanthemum,  Dianthus, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Alyssum and more

After preparing the soil, sprinkle the seeds on the surface according to the package directions.  Most packages will tell you how many square feet the seeds will cover.

Next, I use a rake to gently rake in the seeds to an approximate depth of one quarter of an inch.  The idea is to mix the seeds with the soil to prevent them from washing away, and also to keep them moist to promote germination.  As an added precaution, I put a very light coating of grass clippings over the top to further prevent erosion of the seeds and to retain moisture.

One very important aspect is to water daily until germination occurs.  The seeds are so tiny, therefore they must be kept moist.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos at the time of planting, however I did take one about 2 weeks later near the end of May:

Wildflower Bed

If you look closely, you can see that the seeds have begun to sprout.

The flowers have been blooming for a month or more, and are starting to fill in nicely  Following are a few photos I took this past Sunday, August 10th:

Also, as you may remember, I planted sunflowers as I wrote about in my post on June 23, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com.br/2014/06/sunflowers-and-nesting-tree-swallows.html).  In that post I also described how I moved some of the plants to create an evenly spaced plot.

This past Sunday I also took a few photos of the sunflowers:

Finally, a certain garden pest has been nibbling in my garden, mostly affecting the beans.  I planted the pole beans 3 times, each time they were mysteriously eaten,  After the third planting, I even put a little fence around the bean poles, however that didn't work either.  Can any of you guess who the culprit was?

Scroll down for my guess......

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Until next time.

Harvest Time Has Begun/Blanching Beans

Welcome back and as always thanks for reading.

August has arrived and the garden is really starting to produce nicely overall.

So far this season we have been enjoying lettuce, scallions, and peas.  Over the last week or so the green and yellow beans have been ready to pick.

Green Romano Beans

Although I didn't post an entry on planting beans, this year I planted yellow wax beans and a Romano type flat green bean.  The Romano beans are delicious and I have found that I prefer this type of green beans as compared to the typical green bean.  

After being away on vacation for 4 or 5 days, I returned to find a decent amount of vegetables to pick, including a few surprises.  There were also some disappointments:

Garden Harvest

The best surprise was the tomatoes!  I picked some of the Artisan and Corbarino varieties.  For information on these varieties, refer to my post on March 25, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/its-tomato-starting-time.html).  In the basket above the Corbarino tomatoes are in the center, the Artisan tomatoes are in the right corner.

Another nice surprise was the lemon cucumbers, an heirloom type, which are producing very well.  See my post on June 4, 2014 for information on this variety (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/06/planting-cucumbersa-visit-from-turkey.html).  This cucumber is delicious, the best I have ever tasted, as they are slightly on the sweet side.

The cucumbers overall, however, are a disappointment since the vines seem to be dying off for some reason. It may be it has been too wet, or there is some sort of blight that is affecting them.   The same is true for the Zucchini and yellow squash, which are planted next to the cucumbers.  The squash seem to be producing fairly well despite the vines not being too healthy.

The pepper plants are also starting to yield, as I picked a couple of Hungarian Wax ones that were included in the hot pepper mixture I started from seed (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/planting-peppersspringtime-birds.html).

Finally, since I ended up with a fairly large batch of beans, I decided to freeze a bag of them so we can enjoy them later on this fall or winter.  To freeze the beans, I used the following procedure:

• Wash the beans thoroughly in cold water and then cut off the ends.  You can leave the beans whole, or cut up into smaller pieces, depending on your preference.

• Bring a pot of water to a boil.  A pinch of salt can be added if desired.
• Place the beans in the boiling water ans set a timer for 3 minutes.

• After 3 minutes, drain and place the beans in an ice water bath for 3 minutes.
• Drain the beans and pat dry to remove some of the moisture.
• Place in a freezer bag or container and freeze.  Be sure to label with the contents and date. The beans should keep well for at least 6 months.

This process of boiling for a few minutes, followed by rapid cooling is called blanching.  Blanching stops enzyme actions that can cause loss of flavor, color and texture.  It also cleanses the surface of microorganisms.

In my next post I will share some photos of some flowers that I am growing in the vegetable garden this season.

Until next time.