The Dawg Patch
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
@MissS, I really like Spring Treat. Not only is it nice and sweet but it's one of those that will germinate in slightly cooler soil than most corn. Still, I don't push that part of the envelope! The problem is that the seed is disappearing. This year I found just one source, I needed nothing else from them and wasn't willing to pay $6 to ship in one pack of seed! BUT I will be looking hard at my usual suppliers to see if there's anything else now out there that a "cool soil" germinator.
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
I've been having to do some hand watering as we've had just under an inch of rain since May 10. Yesterday I finally set up the sprinkler on top of the ladder for only the second time this year. Then I forgot about it so the corn and a few other things got four hours of watering!
I'm trying a new spaghetti squash this year. It's called Warsaw Pasta (‘Makaronowa Warszawska’) and as the name indicates it's from Poland. The Baker Creek catalog says:
"A truly unique variety that takes the shape of a shrub. Each plant produces 6 to 8 oval fruit reaching 2-3 pounds each with a skin that is initially green, and eventually turns yellow. Good disease resistance"
Hmmm, a OP bush type spaghetti squash. That should be a space saver and I'm all for that. It got planted in a 15 gallon bucket so we'll see. And yes, it's rather bushy with fruit already forming. It got put on a pallet because at the time I had no other space for it. I think that next time I'll plant it in the ground.
I got some Alabama Pole Bean in the swap but it's looking more like a bush bean. In the photo it's on a single pole and closest to the camera, surrounded by other single pole beans.
I also got about four beans of something called Purple Queen so they went into a three gallon bucket just to see what they are about and to collect seed for next year. It's got a really pretty flower and info I found says the beans will be round, burgundy and about 5.5" long while the plant is a strong upright grower. That growth is spot on. I had to put a tomato cage over it for support!
And finally, an early morning pic of the south half of the garden:
I'm trying a new spaghetti squash this year. It's called Warsaw Pasta (‘Makaronowa Warszawska’) and as the name indicates it's from Poland. The Baker Creek catalog says:
"A truly unique variety that takes the shape of a shrub. Each plant produces 6 to 8 oval fruit reaching 2-3 pounds each with a skin that is initially green, and eventually turns yellow. Good disease resistance"
Hmmm, a OP bush type spaghetti squash. That should be a space saver and I'm all for that. It got planted in a 15 gallon bucket so we'll see. And yes, it's rather bushy with fruit already forming. It got put on a pallet because at the time I had no other space for it. I think that next time I'll plant it in the ground.
I got some Alabama Pole Bean in the swap but it's looking more like a bush bean. In the photo it's on a single pole and closest to the camera, surrounded by other single pole beans.
I also got about four beans of something called Purple Queen so they went into a three gallon bucket just to see what they are about and to collect seed for next year. It's got a really pretty flower and info I found says the beans will be round, burgundy and about 5.5" long while the plant is a strong upright grower. That growth is spot on. I had to put a tomato cage over it for support!
And finally, an early morning pic of the south half of the garden:
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Pickles dug her potatoes yesterday! There were two 11' rows, one each of Red Pontiac and one of Yukon Gold.
Considering all the soppy wet soil that happened after planting, only a few plants in each row didn't produce much. We thought maybe the whole works would rot! Final tally is 20 lbs of the red and 19 lbs of the Yukons with some honkin' sized spuds here and there. Not bad for $2.20 worth of seed potatoes at the local feed & weed store. This one was 15.7 ounces!
The parade of daylilies keeps coming. Now the Scarlet Orbit is blooming.
Today I started planning the fall garden in general as far as figuring out which beds would be for brassicas, legumes, etc. while trying to maintain a 3 year rotation among the beds. I also have to assign categories of beds for spring too so that fall stuff doesn't run late over early spring stuff coming into the same bed. For example I can't have fall kale lasting until mid March when I need that bed for pea planting mid February! I like jigsaw puzzles.
Considering all the soppy wet soil that happened after planting, only a few plants in each row didn't produce much. We thought maybe the whole works would rot! Final tally is 20 lbs of the red and 19 lbs of the Yukons with some honkin' sized spuds here and there. Not bad for $2.20 worth of seed potatoes at the local feed & weed store. This one was 15.7 ounces!
The parade of daylilies keeps coming. Now the Scarlet Orbit is blooming.
Today I started planning the fall garden in general as far as figuring out which beds would be for brassicas, legumes, etc. while trying to maintain a 3 year rotation among the beds. I also have to assign categories of beds for spring too so that fall stuff doesn't run late over early spring stuff coming into the same bed. For example I can't have fall kale lasting until mid March when I need that bed for pea planting mid February! I like jigsaw puzzles.
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PlainJane
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Re: The Dawg Patch
It’s an endlessly fascinating jigsaw puzzle, isn’t it?
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein
- Robert A. Heinlein
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Oh yeah! I'm quite sure there will be ninety hundred tweakings of the plan before fall. LOL! But at least I'll have some extra bed space for those MMMM surprises.
Yesterday the potatoes had their final sorting and are now in crates in a closet for the duration. With no cellar here, an indoor closet in an air conditioned room is the best we can do.
Meanwhile the first two squash were picked this weekend. A Straightneck and a Costata Romanesco.
We're talking about cutting back the garden a bit next year and dropping Irish potatoes along with some other stuff. Long term the sweets do better here than regular potatoes by plant health (no rot), larger final volume in half the space, almost no insect pressure and length of storage (lots longer). It's a no brainer for this area.
Yesterday the potatoes had their final sorting and are now in crates in a closet for the duration. With no cellar here, an indoor closet in an air conditioned room is the best we can do.
Meanwhile the first two squash were picked this weekend. A Straightneck and a Costata Romanesco.
We're talking about cutting back the garden a bit next year and dropping Irish potatoes along with some other stuff. Long term the sweets do better here than regular potatoes by plant health (no rot), larger final volume in half the space, almost no insect pressure and length of storage (lots longer). It's a no brainer for this area.
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
It's just barely June but here come the bugs! My morning garden inspection found the following:
Worms, possible Southern army worms. I saw a worm down in about 15 Silver Queen whorls and it sure looked like one. This is a first for something like this getting in the corn. I mixed up some bT and sprayed a shot down into every stalk on all four rows. No sign of any of this nonsense (yet) in the bed of Incredible which is about 1-2' taller and 30' from the SQ corn area.
The first sign of Japanese beetles. I've never seen them on the beans before. There was just one beetle (it lives no more) on this one set of leaves but I had to immediately go over to the one rose bush and to the three dwarf crape myrtles where they like to go. None on the rose but yes, up at the top where I can't reach on one of crapes there was a small section of damage.
Some of the corn stalks in that failed Spring Treat planting are silking and tasseling. I'm not wasting any fertilizer on the surviving stalks and I've decided not to hand pollinate. I just want to see if they'll do it themselves despite being scattered apart.
But there's always something pretty to offset the ugly if one looks hard enough. Today that would be the Blooming Prairie bush beans, a sample of which came in the MMMM. So pretty with their burgundy-tinted stems and purple flowers! I need to collect what I can and replant next year so I have some to give back to the swap!
Worms, possible Southern army worms. I saw a worm down in about 15 Silver Queen whorls and it sure looked like one. This is a first for something like this getting in the corn. I mixed up some bT and sprayed a shot down into every stalk on all four rows. No sign of any of this nonsense (yet) in the bed of Incredible which is about 1-2' taller and 30' from the SQ corn area.
The first sign of Japanese beetles. I've never seen them on the beans before. There was just one beetle (it lives no more) on this one set of leaves but I had to immediately go over to the one rose bush and to the three dwarf crape myrtles where they like to go. None on the rose but yes, up at the top where I can't reach on one of crapes there was a small section of damage.
Some of the corn stalks in that failed Spring Treat planting are silking and tasseling. I'm not wasting any fertilizer on the surviving stalks and I've decided not to hand pollinate. I just want to see if they'll do it themselves despite being scattered apart.
But there's always something pretty to offset the ugly if one looks hard enough. Today that would be the Blooming Prairie bush beans, a sample of which came in the MMMM. So pretty with their burgundy-tinted stems and purple flowers! I need to collect what I can and replant next year so I have some to give back to the swap!
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Seven Bends
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Pretty bean flowers! I just planted Blooming Prairie from the swap a few days ago; not sure when to pick them/how to eat them (snap bean, fresh shelling bean, dried beanz?). The dried beans certainly were pretty, too.
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
@Seven Bends, if it helps here's some info I gleaned from the 'net while looking up those Blooming Prairies:
From Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds in BC. Named after a town in Minnesota, Blooming Prairie hangs heavy with glossy purple, slender, straight, and crisp pods. The flavor is full and decidedly old-school "beany" in the best way, the texture crisp and refreshing. Sometimes these like to think they are pole beans! IF you give them the support, they may vine up a couple of feet.
Well, I've found they do like to vine a little bit, at least some of the plants. Not all. Since I have that horizontal support string run down both sides I've just taken the few rambunctious vines and wound them laterally down that string.
I ended up digging and hanging up the Siberian and Russian Inferno garlic. Not many of those; just 13 Siberians and 4 Infernos. They were an afterthought anyway.
In the evening all beans, cukes, squash and tomatoes were sprayed with Serenade fungicide. We've had small late afternoon showers lately and I'm trying to get ahead of any funk that might be thinking about rearing it's nasty head.
I loosely tied the peppers to their stakes as they're getting taller and the wind is starting to blow them around. There were some small peppers starting on a few plants!
The tomatoes are setting fruit. Lots of little greenies. I can't wait for the first REAL tomato of the season! The second pic is Punta Banda, a small paste tomato I'm trying for the first time. Well, I actually tried it first last year but that doesn't count due to the herbicide fiasco. These are about 1.5" so far.
I have my first PT this morning for this leg problem so that shoots morning gardening. But so far the prescribed meds are helping a LOT! I'm actually able to get good sleep and a lot less peglegging around.
This afternoon I'll be starting 3 more regular tomatoes and five more dwarfs and this evening I'll be setting out zinnia plants.
From Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds in BC. Named after a town in Minnesota, Blooming Prairie hangs heavy with glossy purple, slender, straight, and crisp pods. The flavor is full and decidedly old-school "beany" in the best way, the texture crisp and refreshing. Sometimes these like to think they are pole beans! IF you give them the support, they may vine up a couple of feet.
Well, I've found they do like to vine a little bit, at least some of the plants. Not all. Since I have that horizontal support string run down both sides I've just taken the few rambunctious vines and wound them laterally down that string.
I ended up digging and hanging up the Siberian and Russian Inferno garlic. Not many of those; just 13 Siberians and 4 Infernos. They were an afterthought anyway.
In the evening all beans, cukes, squash and tomatoes were sprayed with Serenade fungicide. We've had small late afternoon showers lately and I'm trying to get ahead of any funk that might be thinking about rearing it's nasty head.
I loosely tied the peppers to their stakes as they're getting taller and the wind is starting to blow them around. There were some small peppers starting on a few plants!
The tomatoes are setting fruit. Lots of little greenies. I can't wait for the first REAL tomato of the season! The second pic is Punta Banda, a small paste tomato I'm trying for the first time. Well, I actually tried it first last year but that doesn't count due to the herbicide fiasco. These are about 1.5" so far.
I have my first PT this morning for this leg problem so that shoots morning gardening. But so far the prescribed meds are helping a LOT! I'm actually able to get good sleep and a lot less peglegging around.
This afternoon I'll be starting 3 more regular tomatoes and five more dwarfs and this evening I'll be setting out zinnia plants.
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Seven Bends
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Thanks. From that description and others I've read, it sounds like it is most often eaten as a snap bean but also can be used as a dry bean. I think I had 100% germination on my MMMM Blooming Prairie seeds this year, which gives me ten plants to work with (though crammed into a space that's really only big enough for 5-6 plants; I wasn't expecting 100% germination!) I'll focus on eating them fresh this year and saving enough seed to grow more next year, which might give me a chance to try them as dry beans.GoDawgs wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 7:26 am @Seven Bends, if it helps here's some info I gleaned from the 'net while looking up those Blooming Prairies:
From Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds in BC. Named after a town in Minnesota, Blooming Prairie hangs heavy with glossy purple, slender, straight, and crisp pods. The flavor is full and decidedly old-school "beany" in the best way, the texture crisp and refreshing. Sometimes these like to think they are pole beans! IF you give them the support, they may vine up a couple of feet.
Well, I've found they do like to vine a little bit, at least some of the plants. Not all. Since I have that horizontal support string run down both sides I've just taken the few rambunctious vines and wound them laterally down that string.
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Yesterday was so much nicer in the garden; cloudy and 87 with a nice breeze. Perfect for setting out plants. I was able to get about half of the zinnias planted before I had to go shower up for my PT appointment. Six Benary Giant Mix and four of something new to me, Pink Senorita. They all better get used to being out as we're back to 97 by Saturday.
They got "mudded in" since the soil was dry in that unused side of the bed. I made a bowl in the soil, filled it with water, let it soak in and then repeated one more time.
One or two of the Senoritas were a bit spindly due to having waited a while for a cloudy cooler day to be planted. Those got propped up by a few handy forked sticks laying around.
Meanwhile there are tassels just starting to push up in the Incredible corn.
Ear shoots too...
Time for that last fertilizing for the final push towards good eats! The early corn is usually ready around the 4th of July.
This morning I need to set up the sprinkler ladder and give the Silver Queen a good drink because it appears Mother nature isn't going to cooperate.
They got "mudded in" since the soil was dry in that unused side of the bed. I made a bowl in the soil, filled it with water, let it soak in and then repeated one more time.
One or two of the Senoritas were a bit spindly due to having waited a while for a cloudy cooler day to be planted. Those got propped up by a few handy forked sticks laying around.
Meanwhile there are tassels just starting to push up in the Incredible corn.
Ear shoots too...
Time for that last fertilizing for the final push towards good eats! The early corn is usually ready around the 4th of July.
This morning I need to set up the sprinkler ladder and give the Silver Queen a good drink because it appears Mother nature isn't going to cooperate.
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PlainJane
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Weather here has been ungodly hot and dry here too.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein
- Robert A. Heinlein
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
I usually hand water the raised beds. It takes about 45 minutes but rather than just water everything I can check the soil and see if something actually needs to be watered. It's also a chance to look over everything carefully and see if any problems are just starting. However the corn rows are another matter. They're out there unmulched so they need regular watering.
This morning I set up the ladder sprinkler to give the Silver Queen and a couple of other beds a nice long drink.
Those snaky looking things in the lower right corner of the photo are three Carentan leeks going to seed for collection later. They're what's left of the leek row that was down the side of what's now the trellised sweet potato bed.
This morning I also gave the Incredible corn its last fertilizing as well as the two watermelon plants since they're starting to run. They'll get their last dose when the first flowers appear.
There are also seven micro tomatoes that will eventually be potted up and put out on the front porch for the summer.
This morning I set up the ladder sprinkler to give the Silver Queen and a couple of other beds a nice long drink.
Those snaky looking things in the lower right corner of the photo are three Carentan leeks going to seed for collection later. They're what's left of the leek row that was down the side of what's now the trellised sweet potato bed.
This morning I also gave the Incredible corn its last fertilizing as well as the two watermelon plants since they're starting to run. They'll get their last dose when the first flowers appear.
There are also seven micro tomatoes that will eventually be potted up and put out on the front porch for the summer.
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
This morning we will be picking beans again. I've got two rows of Provider for fresh eating since we're still good on canned beans but we might have to can up one load if they start piling up. I've got a lot of other beans including five kinds of pole beans from small samples I got in the MMMM this year. So far Grandma Roberts' Purple Pole Bean is a real winner for growth. That sucker raced right to the top beating all the others and it's making beans right at the pole. I'll pick a few today to see how they taste and let the rest go to seed.
Got the first eggplants, one Chinese String and one Millionaire.
Got the first eggplants, one Chinese String and one Millionaire.
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PlainJane
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Re: The Dawg Patch
My pole beans gave up as soon as it got so hot and dry. Will try again in the fall.
Is Grandma Robert’s a filet type or a flat pod?
Is Grandma Robert’s a filet type or a flat pod?
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein
- Robert A. Heinlein
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
It's a filet type, I think. Not thin but round and not flat. I'll get a pic of them this evening. Off to PT in a few minutes.
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Grandma Robert's purple pole beans. I picked a few of these for a taste test. They are are pretty uniform at 5" long. There were larger beans but they were already getting bumpy and so maybe not as tender. They'll be left for seed.
This morning Pickles decided to just dig up the half row of Yukon Gold potatoes. The vines weren't all yellow yet but were looking pretty ratty and the weather's getting really hot so they were dug. These are the "insurance" seed potatoes, extras bought when we didn't know if what we planted would rot in all the rain, and they got planted for the heck of it. Got 5.5 lbs from that 9' row. In the basket are the 3.5 lbs of Provider beans we picked too along with that handful of Grandma Roberts and one Romanesco summer squash.
This morning Pickles decided to just dig up the half row of Yukon Gold potatoes. The vines weren't all yellow yet but were looking pretty ratty and the weather's getting really hot so they were dug. These are the "insurance" seed potatoes, extras bought when we didn't know if what we planted would rot in all the rain, and they got planted for the heck of it. Got 5.5 lbs from that 9' row. In the basket are the 3.5 lbs of Provider beans we picked too along with that handful of Grandma Roberts and one Romanesco summer squash.
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MissS
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Gosh you had a great harvest. Those Grandma Robert's beans are just gorgeous and I am not a fan of purple beans. I can't wait to hear about how they taste.
~ Patti ~
AKA ~ Hooper
AKA ~ Hooper
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PlainJane
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
Tomorrow is bean picking day again. Once they start, it's every two days for about two weeks. Those Provider plants are still loaded with beans coming on and more flowers too if they'll set in this heat. Forecast for 98 tomorrow with heat index in the low hundreds.
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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch
This morning I found the first four National Pickling cukes. They averaged 4-5" which is smaller than I usually pick for fresh eating or making relish but it's time for a jar of refrigerator dills and these are perfect for that!
Then there was a conjoined squash. I thought maybe it was a double flower but when I looked it up, the answer was that it resulted when a single ovary split in two when the flower formed.
While I was looking up the conjoined squash thing I found a great site from University of Maryland Extension with good photos of squash disease and pest problems along with how to deal with them. Bookmarked it.
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/key- ... ms-squash/
Then there was a conjoined squash. I thought maybe it was a double flower but when I looked it up, the answer was that it resulted when a single ovary split in two when the flower formed.
While I was looking up the conjoined squash thing I found a great site from University of Maryland Extension with good photos of squash disease and pest problems along with how to deal with them. Bookmarked it.
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/key- ... ms-squash/
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