Picking Veggies

Each day I pick something out of the garden for dinner. Last night it was a large basket of yellow beans. I cook what ever I picked that day for dinner, and then freeze the rest. I have found this is the easiest way for me to freeze vegetables. In the past I would pick, cook some veggies for dinner and save the rest for another night. I didn't always use my extra, so they would be wasted, and if I had veggies in the refrigerator then I wasn't picking all the veggies ready for harvest out of the garden. Now I am picking, eating fresh, and freezing veggies in smaller quantities, but not wasting. You should try this method if you have a busy lifestyle...and who doesn't??

Peas and Beans are ready for harvest.

My peas and green beans are ready for picking. I try to pick them every other day as that keeps the plants healthy and extends the harvest.

GARDEN PROGRESS

Check out the progress in my garden. At this time of the year, gardening becomes very interesting as your harvest begins to muture and the garden changes are visable everyday.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes need no introduction. Even if you only have space for a modest container, you can grow a plant without much effoet in any hardiness zone. Wih more garden space you can easily grow enough to supply fresh tomotes all summer, with enough to perserve, dry, or freeze for the winter. I make and can pasta sauce that I give as gifts at Christmas time and have enough left to keep a herty supply at my house.
SOW:
If you need only a few plants , or you want serveral varieties, buy plants-but wait until the soil is warm enough to plant right away. Look for stocky plants with dark green foliage that is free of any obvious pests or deseases. To start from seeds using your own disease -free plants, just throw a couple of over ripe fruit on the ground and look forward to seedlings.I am growing Herloom tomatoes for the first time this year . They come in a variey of shapes, flavors, and colors.
GROW:
Tomotes need a rich , well drained soil, so work in compost or well rotten organic matter before planting. I always dig a very deep hole, sprinkle some fertilizer in the hole add some soil and then plant my tomatoes. I plant very deep covering the first couple lower branches as that makes for a strong root system and a stronger, healthier plant.
HARVEST:
Once the skin reaches its mature color, the fruit is ready to harvest. Pick ripe fruit every other day when they are in full flow.If you can't eat them all right away they'll keep for at lest a week in the refrigerator. Let them warm to room temperature to appreciate the full flavor. Pick unripe fruit left on the plants when the first fall frosts are due. Bring them indoors and put them on a sunny windowsill to continue ripening.

PEAS

PEAS
My peas are in blossom! I should have fresh peas within two weeks. Frozen peas are so ubiquitous that it is easy to forget the simple pleasure of shelling pea pods and eating fresh, sweet peas straight from the vegetable garden. If you find shelling peas too labor intensive, you can try snow peas or snap peas instead; you eat the pod whole so there’s less work –and less waste, too.
SOW-peas are hardy plants so they are a useful early crop. I didn’t get mine in as early as I usually do- I like to have fresh peas by the 4th of July, this year they will be a week or two later but my plants look good. If you start early enough in the season you can make several sowing through the spring and summer for a succession of fresh peas. However, in hotter areas they will suffer in the heat, so confine yourself to early spring and fall crops.
GROW- I fertilize mine when the plant looks like it is ready to burst with blossoms. They have that look for about two weeks before they actually blossom, so it is not difficult to catch this stage and react with some fertilizer. I dig a shallow ditch on the upper side of the row next to the roots- sprinkle the fertilizer into the row and as I cover the row I work the soil towards the plant. Peas do not need a lot of water until the first flowers start to form. As the pods start to swell, regular watering in dry spells should increase the yield.
HARVEST-For the maximum harvest, pick pods regularly to encourage more flowering and more pods to form- I pick mine every other day. Nip off the pods using your index finger and thumb to avoid uprooting the plant. If you have a surplus of any kind of pea, they freeze well. Blanch briefly in boiling water, cool quickly (in ice water), and freeze on a metal tray. Separate and transfer to plastic bags or plastic containers when frozen. You can also pick pea shoots and tendrils when young and tender and add them to salads. They will have a mild pea flavor.

More on strawberries!

More news on strawberries! As you can see from the photo my strawberry harvest has been plentiful this spring. I have picked about 20 qts. of strawberries and my plants are still producing, although I get fewer each time I pick. I froze 2 gallon bags of strawberries and I made 35 jars of jam and we have enjoyed endless strawberry shortcakes.
I feel like no garden should be without strawberries. There’s nothing to compare with a warm fully ripe berry right from the plant, and they couldn’t be much easier to grow. Simply plant a few new seedlings every year to harvest berries the following year. Some folks use the plants from the runners as their seedlings for the following year but I buy new plants each year. I pick all the blossoms off the new plants the first year, that way all the plant energy goes into making a strong plant. Plant in rows 18 inches apart, with 3 feet between the rows. Plant them at the correct depth-the top of the crown should be just above soil level. The second year they bear fruit. When they stop bearing the second year I pull them out and use that space for the following year’s new seedlings. It is good to fertilize your strawberries. The first year I fertilize the plants at least twice in the summer. The flowing spring I fertilize once when I see new growth, early in the spring, and then again before the blossoms appear. If you fertilize too much or at the wrong time you will have beautiful lush plant but they will not bear fruit as all the energy has gone into growing the plant and not producing blossoms for fruit. I cover my new seedlings in late fall with straw to help them survive the winter. As soon as it begins to warm up in the spring I uncover to allow maximum sunlight.
Harvest-you need to pick strawberries on the day they ripen because overripe fruit deteriorates quickly once picked. However, under-ripe fruit can be too tart. Ideally, pick every day in peak season in the morning, when the fruit is cool and the dew has dried. Store the berries in shallow layers in the refrigerator. Don’t wash them until just before serving, which will help retain their vitamins and keep them fresh.
I plan to cover different vegetables in this blog – if you have questions about a vegetable please let me know – otherwise I will randomly choose a different vegetable for each post.

Garlic

Garlic is unique amoung vegatables . It never prduces seeds, so the only way to progagate it is by saving cloves from the previous season. Fortunately, each clove you plant divides into a bulb containing 12-15 new ones. It is very easy to grow enough for the most adventurous of cooks who use garlic in almost every recipe. YOu can plant garlic from the supermakret , but there's a risk of intruciing viruses and other deisease. It is safer to start with cirtivied desese -free stock from a reputable supplier.
This is garlic from a friend’s garden as mine are not as tall as these. They are now just over 3 feet tall. Note the “bulb” as shown in the photos still on the plant. These have to be removed as they will use all the nutrients that give the garlic its strength or intensity.

There is a photo showing what they look like when removed for a better view.

These plants are a combination of Italian Purple and German White garlic.

You plant them on Columbus Day. They are harvested normally after the 4th of July….usually the 3rd week of July, or after you cut the “circular bulbs in the photos” from the plant,and when the bottom 3 or 4 leaves are dry and brown.