Garden Progress Report, August 2nd.

Potatoes:  Almost ready to dig.  The early – Alta Blush are all set.  The 3 beds of mid-season Pontiacs (store bought seed) in a week or so.  Will know the poundage soon.  Some of my 18 plants of Chieftain (home kept seed) have some strange, stunted plants and leaf shapes. – some strange virus I’ve never seen.  I thought perhaps it came from slicing the seed spuds before planting, but my younger son used some of mine and kept his whole with same result.  So will definitely only use home kept seed potatoes for emergencies.

Onions:  Stutgart (sets) tops have fallen and will be pulled soon.  Patterson F1 (seeded indoors Jan 10^th and 22^nd) are still upright and watered occasionally.  Will lift soon.

Cabbage:  Hybrid Storage Green are doing exceptionally.  The 4 square feet per plant spacing seems perfect.  The black plastic mulch is working well.

Kale:  Winterbor F1 is doing very well.  We just don’t need even two plants.  The greenhouse will be rolled over them for the winter to extend the season and kickstart the spring.

Beans:  Blue Lake Pole (my seed).  Will start picking in a few days.  The tight spacing demands watering every day.

Peas:  Sugar Ann Snap.  Went way higher than usual 2 feet and fell over making a mess for picking.  Could have pulled them by now but will wait for saving seed.  Next year will sow only 2 rows across bed and build supports to 4 feet high.

Squash:  Honey Boat Delicata.  Three plants growing into my small bunch of corn are doing well but leaves are a bit 'cloudy' looking.  I’ve not pruned any growing tips and fruit set looks good.  These should keep into February.

Corn: Golden Jubilee.  Hard to find at road stands so grow a dozen for the two of us.  Just love the real corn flavour.  Almost overtaken by the squash but got above them and should do well.  Concerned about corn being a raccoon magnet.  Hope my electric fence will work to keep them completely out this time.

Carrots:  Bolerro F1.  Germinated a bit sparsely but are filling out adequately.

Parsnips:  Albion F1.  Slow but steady, will finally thin.  Must order new seed for better germination. 

Beets:  Winterkeeper.  Really old seed but with excellent germination.  Coming along fine.  Will stay in ground with carrots, parsnips and rutabagas for winter.

Rutabaga:  Helenor.  Doing well, exceptional germination, show water stress first.

Tomatoes:  Tiren F1 paste.  Have been topped at ceiling of greenhouse at 6.5 feet.  Last flowers are pollinating soon.  

Mountain Magic F1 – topping now at 8 feet. Performing well.  

Sun Gold – 8 feet, need stool to service, very tasty.  

Bolseno F1 -- good red slicer, glad I have this one plant, dependable.

  

Chef’s Choice Orange – New test, rather on the non juicy side.  Will keep looking for the perfect beefsteak slicer.

Cucumbers:  Socrates – fantastic, 22 slicing cukes, each a half pound, spaced over 33 days so far.  Mild, sweet.  Will train across the whole north roof line in greenhouse if it will go that long.  Marketmore 76 – only 4 slicers so far and have hit 6 foot ceiling.  But found one escaped side shoot near bottom of plant and will train that as new leader.

Sweet Red Peppers:  Super Shepherd.  Coming along decently.  Show water stress easily – just learning drip irrigation in that one bed for first time.  Will use tomato clips with strings once the crop gets heavier.   Must save seed this year.

Cantaloupe:  Hannah’s Choice.  An experiment – don’t know what I’m doing, need to learn how.  This is second year learning.  That was the cause for the drip irrigation experiment.

Lettuce:  Encore Lettuce Mix.  Finished – still have some in the fridge.  Last overgrown plants went to hens yesterday.  Seeded indoors for fall plants last night.

Spinach:  Olympia.  Long gone.  Just seeded more in pots for transplants for fall with lettuce.

Garlic:  Red Russian.  Harvested – good crop.

Fruit production is a whole different topic for another time.  But my Figs:  Desert King are ready to pick.

 Happy Gardening.