Cherry tomatoes were not on the list this year to plant. Yes, they are good, but I did not want to plant them. Well, they planted themselves. Several volunteers came up, so it was decided to keep the best ones. Every day or so yields another few handfuls. Eaten raw, on salads, or in several cooked dishes (such as penne pasta with cherry tomatoes) they will disappear fast.
Doug
13 Aug 2008: The first zucchini was harvested yesterday. Here we go. Zucchini are big producers and I expect to have a plethora of them in a week or so.
The green beans harvested were enough to make a small potful but bugs are getting to the leaves so I don’t expect to get much more (though there are a lot of flowers on the bean plants).
I harvested a bucketful of Yukon Gold potatoes mixed with a few Red Pontiacs. Naturally, I made a batch of herb-roasted potatoes to compliment kick-butt pork chops.
Green peppers are starting to come in. I’m going to let a few hang until they turn orange or red as they are sweeter and tastier. The jalapenos are looking good and I’ll try one in a few days.
The first Roma tomato was used on dougthecook pizza last night. Also picked a few Big Boy tomatoes.
Doug
I was asked the other day about fertilize schedules for vegetables. There is plenty of fertilize information but not all in one place so I decided to create a vegetable fertilizer chart. Once the vegetables are planted, it is weed and feed (hopefully not feed the weeds) time until harvest.
Side-dress - apply fertilizer 6 inches or so from center of plant. If one plant is involved, apply around entire plant. If a row of plants are involved, apply in a straight line on both sides of the row.
| Vegetable | Dosage | Amt per plant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrots | 10-10-10 | Side-dress when 3 inches tall | |
| Cucumbers | 10-10-10 | 1 TBL | Side-dress when plants vines are 10 inches long and after flowers begin to bloom. Do not dig down with a hoe more than 1 inch because this will damage the shallow feeder roots. The main roots go down 5 feet. |
| Green Beans | 0-10-10 | Side-dress. Generally do not need fertilizer in decent soil. Do not give fertilizer that contains nitrogen. |
|
| Lettuce | 10-0-0 or 10-10-10 | 1 cup per 10 feet | Side-dress when 2 to 3 inches high. |
| Peppers | 5-10-10 | 1 tsp | When blossoms show |
| Potatoes | 10-10-10 | Side-dress when flowers appear | |
| Pumpkins | 10-20-10 10-10-10 |
While vine is growing. Once fruit is set. |
|
| Radishes | 10-10-10 | 1 cup per 10 feet | Work fertilizer in soil just before planting. |
| Spinach | 10-10-10 | 1 cup per 100 sq. feet | Side-dress when 2 to 3 inches tall. |
| Sweet Corn | 10-10-10 | Side-dress when plant is 1 foot tall and when tassels appear. | |
| Tomatoes | 10-10-10 | 1 TBL | Side-dress 8 inches from plant in a circle every 3 weeks |
| Zucchini | 10-20-10 or 10-20-20 | 1 TBL | They need higher phosphorus than nitrogen. Side-dress fertilize when fruits form. |
Green beans, aka snap beans or string beans, are pretty easy to grow in the Midwest. They are a very popular warm season vegetable.
There are two groups of beans: bush and pole. Bush beans grow as a bush and require no support while pole beans need a framework to hold them up. We have had great luck with Blue Lake 274 bush beans. They take 58 days to harvest and are plump with good yield. Also, they are bean mosaic resistant.
A good pole bean is Blue Lake which takes 65 days to harvest and are stringless.
Plant after the last frost (May 15th in Peoria area) has subsided. We have always grown beans from a seed which you can get in packets from a nearby supply store. Space out planting 2 weeks so a plentiful supply is available through August. Do not plant beans in the same spot as last year since disease and/or pests may have wintered over. It is best to get new bean seeds every year.
Beans are planted at a depth of 1 inch. Bush beans are spaced out 4 inches between beans and 18 to 24 inches between rows. Pole beans are planted 6 inches apart in rows of 30 inches. Water after planting. Do not soak beans in water before planting as they tend to crack.
Beans have a shallow root system so cultivating nearby with a hoe can damage them. We recommend hand-picking weeds within 1 foot of the plant after a rain if possible. We have had good luck mulching bean plants as it keeps the ground at a more stable temperature and holds moisture in.
Since beans are legumes, they require no additional nitrogen. A 0-10-10 fertilizer will work well but can be hard to find.
Pick beans after they are thoroughly dried (i.e. do not pick in the morning). The beans should be plump and long. Bean plants are brittle and easy to break so be careful. You can use a small scissors and snip the bean off or carefully yank on it. The plants will continue to generate new beans after they are harvested. We usually get 3 or 4 pickings in a season.
Toss the beans in a plastic bucket as they are harvested. Store unwashed until ready for use. Remember, the best tasting beans are immature ones; that is they do not have full seeds in them. The longer they linger on the plant, the tougher they become.
Bean mosaic disease turns leaves yellow and reduces yield.
Bacterial bean blight causes bright yellow or brown spots on the leaves. Avoid contact with wet plants and use disease-free seeds.
Beans can be stored, unwashed, for up to 3 days in a plastic bag in the vegetable crisper part of the refrigerator. The bag prevents moisture loss and wilting. Green beans are excellent candidates for canning. We have canned them nearly every year. Beans dated 2004 are still being used in our soups or casseroles. Before freezing, the beans need to be blanched.
Doug
July 14, 2008 - I picked two big potfuls of green beans. We boiled up a bunch and they were delicious! There were plenty of small beans in progress and flowers signifying new ones. Bugs have eaten holes in many of the leaves. I may put sevin dust on them but prefer not to. Last year we had four pickings of beans, each one generating less.
Our variation on the classic green bean casserole is the next recipe for beans.
Doug
Whoa. The strawberry plants are overflowing! We picked a bushel of strawberries last night - then stuffed ourselves with strawberry shortcake. Fresh strawberries are softer and tastier than store-bought. In a few days there will be a *lot* more. I hope the sweet corn crop is this good.
Doug
26 May 2008
Another row of radishes were planted since the first row will be harvested within the week. The potatoes were side-dressed with 12-12-12 fertilizer. Yeah for the strawberries as they are showing many blooms. The spinach is near harvesting for baby spinach - next weekend. We have had below normal temperatures for the past several weeks. Onions are a foot high and looking good!
The field corn around us is several inches high already.
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a = asparagus (mary washington, 2 yr)
b = beans (blue lake bush 274)
B = big boy tomatoes
c = corn (early sunglow, yellow)
C = red chili pepper
cu = cucumbers
J = jalapeno pepper
k = kennebec potatoes
L = lettuce
o = Roma tomatoes
O = onions (yellow)
r = red pontiac potatoes
R = radish (cherry belle)
s = strawberries (June bearing, All star #1)
S = spinach (baby)
t = carrots (Nantes)
y = yukon gold potatoes
Y = yellow bell pepper (Golden California Wonder)
z = zucchini
23 May 2008
I decided to plant carrots, lots of them. Last year they grew pretty well. Fortunately it was not windy. The carrot seeds are so small it is hard to plant one at a time. I tap them out of the package.
Also, the onions were finished planting. I hope to get pictures up soon. The potatoes are doing well. The corn is poking its head through along with the zucchini and cucumbers.
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a = asparagus (mary washington, 2 yr)
b = beans (blue lake bush 274)
B = big boy tomatoes
c = corn (early sunglow, yellow)
C = red chili pepper
cu = cucumbers
J = jalapeno pepper
k = kennebec potatoes
L = lettuce
o = Roma tomatoes
O = onions (yellow)
r = red pontiac potatoes
R = radish (cherry belle)
s = strawberries (June bearing, All star #1)
S = spinach (baby)
t = carrots (Nantes)
y = yukon gold potatoes
Y = yellow bell pepper (Golden California Wonder)
z = zucchini
Enjoy easy to grow broccoli in your garden.
Many varieties do well in the home garden. Try two each year. Choose the one you like better and grow it again the following year with yet another variety. Keep doing this each year. This is a simple way to find out which variety does best in your garden.
Get broccoli into the garden as early as possible. Start your own seeds 4 to 6 weeks ahead of the frost-free date in your area orr buy transplants from a reliable garden center. Look for compact, stocky plants.
Broccoli plants grow upright, often reaching a height of 2 1/2 feet. Space plants one foot apart in all directions in beds.
Transplants are recommended though you can start from seed. Set seedlings outdoors as soon as you can work the soil. If frost threatens, protect the seedlings with cloches. To prevent cutworm damage, place a two-inch collar of stiff paper around the stem of each plant before planting. At least 1 inch of the collar should extend below the soil line, with 2 inches above. Space rows about 2 feet apart, with at least 20 inches of space between the plants.
Use starter fertilizer for transplants and side-dress with nitrogen fertilizer (10-10-10) when the plants are half grown.
Broccoli likes a lot of water. Use a thick mulch around each plant to keep soil moist. Weed regularly.
Broccoli has two mortal enemies: rabbits and cabbageworms. Protect the plants with a fence or small, individual wire cages. I use cut-up 1 gallon milk jugs. Because rabbits stop feeding on broccoli when it gets big, remove the cages when the plants get large. To combat worms, spray broccoli plants at weekly intervals with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a biological control that kills worms but is totally safe to animals and humans. Organic gardeners accept its use.
Pick the green flower buds before they start to spread into little yellow flowers. The buds should be firm and tight, just as they are in the grocery store, and 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Cut the bud with a sharp knife five inches down the stalk.
Heads that start to flower are past their prime, although the flowers are decorative and edible. A number of smaller buds will form below the central bud after you pick it. Harvest these in the same way as the original, larger bud. Keep harvesting to force continued production.
Store the broccoli, *unwashed*, in loose or perforated plastic bags in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator up to 5 days. Broccoli left unrefrigerated quickly becomes fibrous and woody. Wet broccoli quickly becomes limp and moldy in the refrigerator. Old broccoli may look fine, but it develops strong undesirable flavors. It tastes best and is highest in nutritional value when storage time is brief.
Nipped leaves - rabbits
Holes in leaves - diamondback worms
Yellow flowers - Heads ready to flower. Planting too late in the spring or failing to give the plants a good start contributes to this condition. Premature flower development also may be caused by interrupted growth resulting from extended chilling of young plants, extremely early planting, holding plants in a garden center until they are too old or too dry, and severe drought conditions.
Small heads - They form soon after plants are set in the garden (called “buttons”) and usually result from seedlings being held too long or improperly before sale or planting.
Try this stir-fried steam broccoli recipe. I make this ad infinitum when broccoli is in season. Also frozen broccoli works well, too, in the off-season.
12 May 2008
I’m just about finished planting. Today the tomatoes, peppers, and most of the onions went into the ground. Radishes and spinach are showing. A nice 3/4 inch rain yesterday made planting easy but muddy. The strawberries have several blooms on them and are doing nice.
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s yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
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a bbbbbbbbbbbb
a ccccccccccccc
z cu ccccccccccccc
z cu ccccccccccccc
z cu ccccccccccccc
RRRR SSSS LLLL
ooooBBBB C YYYY JJJJ
OOOOOO
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kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
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a = asparagus (mary washington, 2 yr)
b = beans (blue lake bush 274)
B = big boy tomatoes
c = corn (early sunglow, yellow)
C = red chili pepper
cu = cucumbers
J = jalapeno pepper
k = kennebec potatoes
L = lettuce
o = Roma tomatoes
O = onions (yellow)
r = red pontiac potatoes
R = radish (cherry belle)
s = strawberries (June bearing, All star #1)
S = spinach (baby)
y = yukon gold potatoes
Y = yellow bell pepper (Golden California Wonder)
z = zucchini
