2023 Garden Plans

This topic has 115 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 11 months, 3 weeks ago by chocomouse.

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July 7, 2023 at 10:00 am #39689
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
The expected high for today here is 75, and we've already gotten at least 1.5 inches of rain, and more expected on and off all day.

My father-in-law (trained as a meteorologist by the Army during WWII) used to say that Nebraska had five seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer and Monsoon. I think we're in Monsoon season!

The variety of zucchini that they sent us as part of the Nebraska Urban Soil Improvement study, dunja, seems to be one that doesn't spread very far, I think it is mostly contained in about a 3x3 area. It's considered a 'bush' zucchini.
July 7, 2023 at 9:06 pm #39695
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
Here's a picture of the zucchini plants. This is actually two seeds in one hill, a bush variety like this might be better one seed per hill.

My wife like to tell the story of the year her stepmother's brother decided to grow zucchini. He thought you got one zucchini per plant, so he put in like 24 of them.

He was literally bringing big baskets of them from Omaha to Lincoln every weekend because he'd run out of people in Omaha he could give them to.

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July 8, 2023 at 6:44 pm #39705
chocomouse
Participant
We've had 3 days of 88-92* temperatures, some hazy sun, but minimal rain. I'm hoping our plants will start to grow. Except for some cherry tomatoes, some jalepenos, and 1 green bell pepper, we have nothing, not even any signs of fruit starting on any of the vegetables.
July 9, 2023 at 6:43 am #39706
navlys
Participant
Mike that's a funny story!
July 9, 2023 at 11:02 am #39708
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
There are some tomato plants that don't have fruit on them yet, but I think at least one plant in each variety (8 of them) has several fruit on them, and some are getting close to tennis ball size, though no signs of color yet.

This cool damp weather has been a real boon for setting fruit. I think one of the spaghetti squash seeds I planted last Monday has sprouted, too.

I've got broccoli plants that are two feet tall but no signs of broccoli heads yet.
July 9, 2023 at 1:44 pm #39712
BakerAunt
Participant
I am really missing my favorite farmers' market vendor, as her produce was excellent and reasonably priced. I bought lovely broccoli from the Amish lady, but she charged $6 for a 1 lb. stalk. I bought 4 oz. of salad mixed greens from the organic farmer (only one who had greens when I got there), but the cost was $6--an increase of a dollar since they moved to compostable plastic holders. I did get a good buy on two green and one yellow zucchini for $1 each. I want to help the farmers' out, but I'm beginning to wonder if we should go to the larger town where we shop next Saturday to check out their farmers' market.
July 9, 2023 at 6:32 pm #39722
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
IMHO farmers markets have never been a way to save money, sometimes I even doubt whether its a way to get the best and freshest produce.

But it is a way to support farming.
July 14, 2023 at 7:54 pm #39783
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
We got the soil report today from the sample taken this spring before starting the Nebraska Urban Soil Health Initiative program, several pages of numbers. There's also 11 pages of explanation for the tests and what various results might mean.

Lots to digest.

They'll do another test next spring and, I think, a third one in 2025.
July 17, 2023 at 6:21 pm #39803
BakerAunt
Participant
We have the starts of at least three honey nut squashes in the garden!
July 17, 2023 at 9:01 pm #39806
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
The first head of broccoli has started forming, but it has black spots on it, probably mold from the extremely wet weather the last few weeks. I'm not sure I'll be able to salvage any of it. I'm probably going to cut that head off tomorrow.

The other plants (I planted 6) aren't forming heads yet.
July 18, 2023 at 9:38 pm #39810
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
I picked the first really large zucchini, 36.5 ounces. I missed seeing it the other day and in this damp warm weather the zucchini are growing like mad.
July 19, 2023 at 2:39 pm #39815
chocomouse
Participant
Yesterday I cut two heads of broccoli in the garden and a handful of cherry tomatoes on the deck. Finally, our first garden produce since asparagus in June. And today we picked 6 cups of blueberries. The sun is shining with an almost blue sky; it's our first real day of sunshine with NO RAIN for well over a month! We've had over 7 inches of rain so far this July. The haziness from the fires in Canada has mostly disappeared, and it is so much easier to breathe.
July 19, 2023 at 3:39 pm #39821
BakerAunt
Participant
I picked another 1 3/4 quarts of blackberries in our woodland's open areas on Wednesday morning. There will be another batch of jam.
July 19, 2023 at 7:20 pm #39823
cwcdesign
Participant
The haze from Canada has made it all the way to the Georgia Coast now - I had no idea it was coming this far.

We have several cherry tomatoes starting to blush on the plants Will got from the garden center. Considering how late he planted them and that they're just running amok, we think that's pretty impressive. He's also worried about us being able to attract pollinators
July 25, 2023 at 6:36 pm #39930
BakerAunt
Participant
We have had an issue with cherry tomatoes falling off. Some are half ripe or even three-quarters ripe. We have set them in a sunny window to ripen.

Just now, my husband came in with three regular tomatoes, all green, that he found on the ground next to another plant. We will put them in the sun and try to ripen them that way.

Does anyone have ideas about why the fruit is coming off before ripening?
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