Tomatoes and other crops

I was so pleasantly surprised to go out to pick a couple tomatoes for supper and came back in with an armload from the 4th of July tomato.  These are cluster type tomatoes, so when I poked into the plant I found two fully ripe clusters of tomatoes.  The rest of my plants are still all green so this was a terrific find.  I had enough to share with co-workers so we could all enjoy the first tomatoes of the year.  The Sungold cherry tomatoes are also putting out a few fruits.

I ran across some soluable 15-30-15 fertilizer which I mixed in my 50 gallon water barrel.  I hand watered all the flower and vegetable gardens with sprinkling cans to spread the fertilizer out.  I am not a very disciplined fertilizer user, so this was one more time fertilizing than I normally do.  I tend to use granular fertilizer if I do anything beyond compost application before planting.

Zucchini are coming in now.  I have the 8 ball variety and missed picking a couple so they were more the size of melons when I got to them.  Still nothing growing on the real melon plant.  Not even a blossom.  Fertilizer was put on this as well. 

I only have one type of cucumbers left.  My lower garden which has not been good for cucumbers is still not good for cucumbers.  The window box also petered out.  My vines that I trellis against the wall behind my tomato plants are still the best crop I have ever produced in my yard.  

Time to start pulling out and drying my onions.  The tops are all over and drying out.  I prefer to sun cure the bulbs during the day and put them in at night to keep them from getting dew on them.  They really store best if you cure them right.

I pulled my garlic out and have that hanging to dry.  The bulbs look nice and full.  I was afraid they weren't going to be very good when the tops were looking a little weak, but they pulled through well.  They will probably be good for planting a couple bulbs in fall.

Summer weather has been good for growth

Bed #1 on 6-16

Bed # 1 on 6-19

Bed # 2 on 6-16

Bed #2 on 6-19

Bed # 3 on 6-16

Bed #3 on 6-19

Bed #4 on 6-16

Bed #4 on 6-19

If you have been following the weather in the Midwest you are probably aware that we have been hot and dry.  I have photos from the vegetable gardens taken 3 days apart.  I have been watering to supplement the lack of rain.  Look what 3 days of heat can do for growth!
The peas that went in before Easter are in full production and even starting to lose their vigor with the heat.  I expect that I will be composting the vines within the week.  I have bush bean on their west edge and peppers and kale on the east edge, so this will provide the growing space those crops need.  This is the one vegetable plot I ran soaker hose through so I can irrigate without overhead sprinkling as needed.

Clockwise from left: shelling peas, Oriental peas, lettuce, garlic, and green onions at bottom.

 I pulled my garlic this last week also.  You can see it laying on the right side of this photo.  The tops had browned out which indicates they are done growing.  I had no idea what kind of garlic I put in as I picked up the bulbs at the farmer's market last summer and used what I had on hand.  It is the first time I had soft neck garlic in the bed so I was able to braid it for drying.  Hard neck garlic has too stiff of stems for this.  I started with three plants and just kept adding to the bunch to braid them into this bunch.

There have been several things ready for harvest.  We had fresh green onions on the vegetable tray for our parties.  The peas have provided my coworkers with healthier eats from my desk than a candy dish.  They appreciate the effort, so it is fun to share with them.  All the plants are in the ground now.  I held off on the tomatoes until after the graduation party was done so they would not risk damage from guests accidentally stepping into the bed.  I ran a soaker hose through this area as well and mulched with a bargain bin brown paper mulch that I found at the hardware store.  I'll let you know how well that works when the season is done.

Soaker hose around tomato 

brown paper and cocoa beans for mulch

I was so pleased with the tomato harvest last year that I put them back by the driveway again this year.  The sun and heat are fantastic in this area as well as the water supply so close for long, slow soaking.  Tomatoes do not grow well under black walnuts which has limited their growth in the backyard.  My neighbor has a beautiful tree and I would never  begrudge her the shade so I can have happy tomatoes.  The peppers do not seem to be affected even though they are in the same family.  I am happy to work around this and enjoy her shade on our backyard visits.  Good neighbors are worth working around small inconveniences that jugulans can present.  
It is good to sit down and get some journal entries done again.  It has been helpful to me to look back at some of the entries from last year to know what work and when I was planting things.  Maybe now that we are done with all our parties and planning, gardening will become part of the pleasures of life again.