pepperhead212's 2020 garden

[MsCowpea]

Very nice looking pepper plant—lots of peppers. Great haul on everything else.

[pepperhead212]

I think I'm going to grill a lot of these tomatoes, then can them - good to have around for Mexican dishes. Surprisingly, I only knocked those 4 green ones off, harvesting all of these!
Probably the most tomatoes I ever harvested in one day. 8-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I've never had this kind - sounds totally different from most others, as the seeds are supposedly edible.
The Okinawan Pure White Bitter Melon, from Baker Creek. First harvest 8-1 by pepperhead212, on Flick
Later on I'll give my experience with those different tomatoes. All of those in the basket are from 5 determinate varieties, and a couple seemed good, while others definitely weren't keepers. Same with the indeterminates, as well. I'll find out more when cutting them up, as well as tasting.

[indysun]

Nice looking bunch of tomatoes! What is the white dust?

[pepperhead212]

That white dust is Surround, which is on most of my larger tomatoes - I try to keep it off the cherries, as it's a pain to remove from small tomatoes. I just rinsed it off of all of these (except for those in the basket - I ran out of drying space!).

[pepperhead212]

I got a lot done today - even though I really didn't want to be out in that heat and humidity, it was windy, so that made it bearable. I took my canner outside, to jar some tomatoes, without putting all that heat into my house, but first I cooked a bunch of tomatoes on the grill, for "fire roasted" tomatoes, to use in Mexican food. I got 4 quarts, though one didn't seal, so that's in the fridge.
Roasting a bunch of tomatoes, for canning. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomatoes roasted on the grill, to make sauce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The fire roasted tomatoes, for canning. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also picked many of my cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tigers. I left the sunsugars for tomorrow.
About 3 quarts of Sprite tomatoes. 8-2 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About 2 quarts of Cherry Bomb tomatoes. 8-2 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Green and Lucky Tigers, 8-2 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And a few eggplants, as usual.
Eggplants, 8-2 harvest. That whitish one is a neon I missed for a few days! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also pulled those 4 Red Bor kale plants, that were still out there growing, without bolting. I trimmed the leaves off all of the stems, and had about 3 full 12 qt bowls of it, before washing and cutting! But it steamed down to about 9 qts.
The 4 Red Bor kale plants, finally pulled up, 8-12 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The kale, after being cleaned, cut, and steamed, in a 12 qt bowl, ready to freeze. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kale, Foodsavered and ready to freeze. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I was going to make Thai grilled chicken, since I was using the grill, but I ran out of time! That will be early tomorrow, before the rain gets here.
Paste for Thai grilled chicken. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Marinating the Thai chicken. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[MissS]

That was a beautiful harvest and you did a good days work putting it up for future use. Your efforts are paying off nicely.

[zendog]

Wow, you are definitely putting in a lot of work! I'm curious if you eat any of the leaves and shoots from the bottle gourds you grow. My Bangladeshi neighbors at the community garden do and so I just cooked up a bunch last night with a sauce made with black bean paste and soy and they were really tasty. I think I might like that better than the actual gourds, lol.

[pepperhead212]

[mention]zendog[/mention] I have never tried the leaves or shoots, but I have picked the tendrils, which those bottle gourds have a lot of, on all those vines! The Tinda and bitter gourds don't have large tendrils, so they can't really be used, though they also have huge numbers of them.

I didn't do much today - just got everything I could put away, or weighted down, to get ready for the storm coming.

In the peppers, I did notice that my "chocolate" habanero is ripening yellow, so it much be a stray seed, and I haven't had a yellow variety for a long time. And the Hanoi Market and Thai peppers - both Vesuvious and Superthai - are ripening fast! All these other things I've been harvesting, and the peppers are just getting started!

[pepperhead212]

The only damage I could find that storm did to my garden was to two peppers - stems of about half each of a Thai Vesuvius, which was conpletely snapped off, and the Aji Dulce, which was about 2/3 snapped, but still hanging.

What I tried was putting them back together, holding them with grafting tape. I'll see if it works.
Thai vesuvius, totally snapped off by wind, and put back together with grafting tape. 8-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Aji dulce, snapped off about 2/3 of the way by wind, held back together by grafting tape. 8-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Today I realised that the branch that I tried to fix on the Thai pepper plant had died. I had tried sprinkling them with water frequently, and waited for them to come back, but it died, so I picked all of the peppers from it today, and there were a lot! The branch on the Aji Dulce, however, seems to have come back. The leaves will wilt slightly in the sun, but come back as soon as the sun is off of them.
Unfortunately, the section of the Thai Vesuvius, that I tried to put back together with grafting tape, did not make it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

All of the peppers from the dead branch of the Thai Vesuvius. 8-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The damaged branch of the Aji Dulce, recovering well. 8-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The habaneros are starting to ripen, but they are not chocolates, just some orange hab - must have been a stray seed in the pack. I'm sure they'll still be good.
Ripening habanero, supposed to be chocolate, but must have been a stray seed. 8-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

A few more things later today:
A couple of bitter melons, and some more tomatoes and eggplants. 8-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomatillos, and a few more tomatoes. 8-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A really strange Amish Gold Slicer, all on one stem. 8-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The cucumber plants looked horrible, after all this rain and humidity brought on some bad fungal disease. I picked my last 3 today, and pulled the 3 plants, planting 3 clones, after clearing all the vines.
My last few cucumbers - you can see why I pulled the plants out! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

3 cucumber clones, planted on 8-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

It's pepper time! In addition to all those tomatoes, peppers are starting to ripen big time, though many of the Ajis are not ripening yet.
Thai Vesuvius, picked a couple of days ago,, ripe and ready to dry. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

3rd picking of Thai Vesuvius. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Clockwise from TL- Hanoi Market, unk. Habanero, Aji Dulce, Superchili, Superthai, Jalapeño. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[MsCowpea]

Great pictures of your super harvest. Your roasted tomato sauce looks fantastic. I used to cook sauce outside too on a camp stove. Better than my electric stove in the house.

[pepperhead212]

Thanks, [mention]MsCowpea[/mention]. I'll be making more of that fire roasted sauce tomorrow or Thursday, as I have even more than last time.
I went back out, when the shade was on the areas, and pulled every tomato, green and ripened, from those determinate ones, 6 varieties. It doesn't look like any of them are starting to flower much again, like some do after the initial picking, so I may be pulling those soon. Other tomatoes are still doing well, and the bitter melons and tinda gourds are loaded. I got some dark seeds from the largest tinda gourd - I'll see if a couple sprout, and save them for next season, though I still have a lot in the seed pack. The new white bitter melon is not at all bitter, and the inside is not red, like the photo in Baker Creek (my source for the seeds), so I assume that it's not mature enough, but when I leave them much longer, they start getting brown spots, and even those aren't red. I saved some seeds, but don't think they are mature enough - I'll find out.
About 2 layers of ripe tomatoes, plus a lot of green ones on top, for pickling. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About 2 more quarts of Sprites. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bitter melons and Tinda gourds. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The new white Okinawan Bitter Melon, cut open. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Green bitter melon, cut open, and partly seeded. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Thanks, [mention]MsCowpea[/mention]. I'll be making more of that fire roasted sauce tomorrow or Thursday, as I have even more tomatoes than last time.
I went back out, when the shade was on the areas, and pulled every tomato, green and ripened, from those determinate ones, 6 varieties. It doesn't look like any of them are starting to flower much again, like some do after the initial picking, so I may be pulling those soon. Other tomatoes are still doing well, and the bitter melons and tinda gourds are loaded. I got some dark seeds from the largest tinda gourd - I'll see if a couple sprout, and save them for next season, though I still have a lot in the seed pack. The new white bitter melon is not at all bitter, and the inside is not red, like the photo in Baker Creek (my source for the seeds), so I assume that it's not mature enough, but when I leave them much longer, they start getting brown spots, and even those aren't red. I saved some seeds, but don't think they are mature enough - I'll find out.
About 2 layers of ripe tomatoes, plus a lot of green ones on top, for pickling. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About 2 more quarts of Sprites. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bitter melons and Tinda gourds. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The new white Okinawan Bitter Melon, cut open. 8-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Green bitter melon, cut open, and partly seeded. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[bower]

I can see you won't be short of delicious food to eat this winter! Great haul of tomatoes and peppers and everything else.
Funny what a difference a little roasting makes to tomatoes... stovetop sauces are never as good, and they take longer and are more bother - I've given up on them entirely. I haven't had fire roasted though, just using the oven, but I bet it's even better. Not to mention the plus of cooking outdoors on a hot day.

[pepperhead212]

I learned about that fire roasting long ago, in Diana Kennedy's early Mexican cookbooks, calling for broiling tomatoes. That's the main thing I use them for, but they are also good in foods of other cuisines.

[pepperhead212]

Yesterday was pepper day, today, tomato day. Once the peppers started coming in, I had to split them into different days! A lot of other things, of course, but small numbers of most others. The eggplants had been slowed down by the heat, but there are large areas of new growth, and blossoms, so soon I'll be getting a bunch of those.
Peppers, 8-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Thai Vesuvius peppers, 8-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

This has been a terrible year for my beans, but the Thai Red Long beans are starting up, and maybe other late planted ones will also make up for the previous lack of production.
The Thai Red Long bean, finally started to produce. 8-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Still getting a generous number of tomatoes, though the rain and humidity has brought on some fungal problems, which were pretty much absent in the early summer, due to the dryness. I can't complain, however! That Matina (1½-2") is back producing, after a brief delay, due to heat; this, and the splitting from the extreme rainfalls were the only problems I had with it, so I will grow it again. The Green Tigers were much better than the Lucky Tigers, which it seems replaced the Greens in the catalogs. The luckys split horribly after those rainfalls, while the greens split some, but not nearly as much. So I'll be saving seeds for that!
Tomatoes, mostly Matina and Big Beef, and a few Amish Gold Slicers. 8-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Over 3 quarts of Cherry Bombs, plus a few more Tigers. 8-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Mostly Green Tigers, a few Lucky Tigers, 8-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I'm still getting a generous number of Big Beef, and a few Amish Gold Slicers, plus a new one for me this year - Mountaineer Pride. I tried this one because it is supposed to be late blight and septoria leaf spot resistant , and it definitely seems to be - it is the only variety that didn't seem to come down with some fungal disease, once the excessive rain and humidity started up. The flavor isn't quite as good as Big Beef, and some of the others, but the tomatoes are very meaty, and the less juice is probably the reason for the milder flavor. It definitely is more resistant than others to disease. Not much splitting, either - a few shoulder splits, when I'd get those excessive rains, but that's all. 4-6 oz fruits.
Thai long red beans, and mostly Big Beef and Mountaineer Pride tomatoes. 8-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I'm getting some small tomatoes, but the output is decreasing some now.
2 qts of cherry, grape, and tiger tomatoes. 8-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I still have no baccatum ripe ones, except for the colorado variety, but a lot are out there. A new Indian pepper is starting to ripen - Byadagi, which is relatively mild, and is the second most used pepper in India (Kashmiri #1, which is even more mild). I had to order seeds for it - the peppers were probably irradiated, and seeds were not viable. I loved the flavor of the pepper for using in Thai curry paste - even better than a mild Numex, or Anaheim, which has been my favorite for years. This plant isn't producing that much; I might try it again, but if it still doesn't work out, I'll just buy the peppers .
Byadagi, beginning to ripen. 8-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Both cuke clones are producing, in the SIP, and the raised bed.
County Fair clone in raised bed, starting to produce. 8-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Today I put another tray of peppers in the dehydrator - adding to the 3 yesterday, plus the 3 eggplant trays from yesterday. I harvested a bunch more beans, and, while weeding the area around the beans, I found a volunteer sugar snap pea, with a couple of pods started! I planted some radish seeds in the raised bed, after weeding it, and I was going to pull the dill, which was pretty much gone, but there were 6 black swallowtail caterpillars on them, so I left them there, until the caterpillars are gone.
One of 6 swallowtail caterpillars on the dill, 9-6 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Longest of the 6 swallowtail caterpillars, 9-6. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Another of the 6 swallowtail caterpillar, 9-6 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I harvested my first winter squash today - that yuxi squash, which didn't pan out, as Baker Creek said it would, being useful as a summer squash type, as it was very hard when very small. The others, on the ground, are much larger than this early one, which is just over 4 lbs. No signs of disease at all, and I got a lot of blossoms for the tacos last night, and a couple more days.
First and smallest yuxi squash, 9-6, about 65 oz. by pepperhead212, on Flickr