Sunday, July 6, 2014

Sunday Reading - What's Hot and What's Not in the Garden





All I can say about this years growing season is that it has been good for beans. I don't think I have seen so many bean blooms and especially Bush bean growth since 2009 or was that 2010? Whatever year it was when it was so wet. Not that overall it has been especially wet this year. We have had periods of rain and then periods of dry but it has been cooler than usual and we have had sufficient rainfall to keep everything going well. The cooler periods however have effected the warmth loving Nightshade varieties a bit and slowed their growth down considerably.

Melons have also done well this year. They are overgrowing everything by leaps and bounds and redirecting the tendrils has become a daily chore. The last couple of weeks the Tomatoes are beginning to come back and although we had our first ripe tomato on the fourth I doubt we will see anymore now for at least another two weeks. Potatoes are the one Nightshade variety that did well, I suspect it is because they can tolerate the cooler temps.

Cucumbers started really taking off last week and I have already lost count of how many I have given away or fed to the Rams. At about the same time the Muskmelons also began exploding and have set a bunch of fruit the last few days.




About the first of July I noticed the working girls began heavily hitting the Cucumber and Melon blooms once again. The mornings especially are greeted with every little yellow bloom accompanied by a bee butt sticking up out of them. One reason I plant so many Melons and such is because the bees like them so much this time of year and to use as Sheep feed. The Rams especially who are limited to their smaller enclosures have come to love Cucumbers and over ripe Squash. The largest Ram, named Lamar will almost catch a thrown Cucumber like a trained dog when he sees it coming his way.

The last round of yard mowing set the Dutch clover back and since we haven't had any rain the last week or so to speak of it hasn't come back yet. I suspect this is why the bees switched to the Cucumber and Melon blooms so heavily. We also cut the Clover and Alfalfa field for baling which removed that area from foraging as well.

Even though I don't stress about them the Squash bugs have been a complete menace this year. I estimate their population is running at least 10 times the numbers I usually get. They are already killing off plants which is about a month earlier than usual. I am wondering if the addition of the large Melon patches last year isn't what caused their population to grow. I am seriously considering the removal of Melons and such from the main garden and into a rotation system of several spots to try and stay ahead of massive population centers for the future. Overall the numbers could cause some serious damage later in the year at this rate once the Squash and Zucchini are killed off the bugs will move into the Melons and Cucumbers.

The Bindweed/Morning Glory infestation is almost impossible to control even with daily weeding trips. The hardest part is now that some of the plants are getting large the Bindweed grows up into it and is impossible to find right away. This is turn is again making me consider a second garden spot that I can rotate around on in an attempt to control the Bindweed by tilling the fallow spot each year. I have the space and it beats resorting to other means of control I think.

As usual the Sweet Corn isn't even worth talking about.  I seem to get a good crop of Sweet Corn maybe once every four years or so. This year saw too much rain at one point that stunted about 90% of it and then the others began tasseling early. At least it didn't get blown over for a change.

Despite the issues it does look like the Tomatoes are coming back strong and the Melons should be good if the Squash can hold out long enough. As I mentioned it has already been a record Bean year so there is that no matter what.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!




12 comments:

  1. I saw bees working on squash bloom this morning. I sprayed the squash this year and haven't had squash bugs yet and have also kept mexican bean beetles away. Getting a strip of garden ready for fall crops today and will start manuring it. Cool weather is nice the last few days.

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    1. Sf - Yep it was nice. I am afraid it moved on away from us today though. 91 as I type this. The bees love the Squash blooms but they typically stop working them after morning is over I guess because the Male blooms close up then.

      I think I may need to break down and do a bit of spraying here too just to save my water melons and such.

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  2. Good luck other than my potatoes and tomatoes it has been rather lackluster here this year.

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    1. Bubba - Well unless things change it looks to be a boomer year for melons on top of the beans.

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  3. This is the first year that my mom didn't plan a large garden in her sprawling back yard; health concerns, dang it.

    Glad yours is doing so (relatively) well.

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    1. RP - Sorry to hear that and thanks for the glad tidings.

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  4. Crops here in Mn are ahead and behind at the same time. Some corn is already knee high with some I saw today looks like its a month behind. same with soy beans. I guess it depends when the farmer was able to hit his fields. Hay is being cut and bailed also. I think the wheat is running a little ahead. Some road side stands are open but we have not stopped yet.

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    1. Rob - The locals are pretty much done with the wheat harvest now although I did see the smallest harvester I ever saw go down the road last night. It was like putting my Ford next to the Massy it was so small.

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  5. PP,

    I've harvested my first several cucumbers this evening for canning pickles tomorrow. You have plenty of melons and cucumbers now, how are your pumpkins coming along? Did you plant any watermelon?
    What's with the corn? I would really like to get a nice harvest this year but it's not looking good. I haven't had a corn harvest in 2 years.

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    1. Sandy - The Pumpkin are growing but only a few out of the hundreds are starting to run or getting their first buds for blooms yet. We need a bit more rain to get em started again I think.

      Sweet Corn is so hard to grow. I think it is much more picky than the big ag GMO corn they grow in the fields.

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  6. Sounds like a lot of work, but at least you aren't bored. Sack up all those beans, they should keep a good long while, and there's a lot of ways to prepare them. I've got a book around here somewhere that's all about cooking with beans.

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    1. Harry - The green beans we eat fresh. The wife sometimes blanches and freezes or cans some but usually she doesn't bother. The pole beans I let dry in the pods and save em in jars and use em all year. I am simmering the last bit of last years crop today as a matter of fact.

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