Vegetable Gardening

[badger]

I went away for 3 weeks, and when I came back, I noticed that my chard bolted. Is there any way to salvage them, or are they done once they've boted and are flowering?

and I also found that all my worms in my compost bin died Not sure what happened to them, but the bin is just soup now. Very sad.

[grey]

I went away for 3 weeks, and when I came back, I noticed that my chard bolted. Is there any way to salvage them, or are they done once they've boted and are flowering?

and I also found that all my worms in my compost bin died Not sure what happened to them, but the bin is just soup now. Very sad.

Nothing you can do once the greens bolt. They're terribly bitter after that. Just enjoy your flowers and then get the seeds for the fall!

Bleeker, I love your kitchen! It looks so cheery. And is that a six-burner stove I see? *jealous*

I made salsa yesterday, today the rest of the red tomatoes are going to be sauce, and sometime this weekend I'll make green salsa - I have 2 plants that produce an heirloom green tomato with excellent flavor (green when ripe). I'll mix it with the yellow and white varieties, some jalapenos (I will wear gloves this time, I have learned!) and a heavy dose of cilantro. Should be yummy!

[tulip]

Sadly, each time my tomatoes start to ripen, critters help themselves. I think squirrels are the culprits. I had three amazing heirloom Mr. Stripey and four Bradley tomatoes that were nearly ready to pick...just one more day...but in the morning, one was across the yard half eaten, two were hanging on the vine half eaten, and the rest had disappeared completely.

My kale, however, is still going strong. But with the 100+ temps, I suspect they will soon bolt.

[Blueberry]

The *$&% birds keep pecking our tomatoes. We're losing about 50% of them right now. Grrrrr....

[Owlie]

Every time we tried to grow tomatoes (or strawberries, or cukes, or pretty much anything edible) the wildlife would help itself, and we'd get maybe one fruit out of it. Same goes for...pretty much anything currently in the yard (none of which are veggies). I think we may have some kind of neon sign reading "SALAD BAR" somewhere...

[OakLeaf]

Electric fence doesn't keep the rabbits out. Netting has kept them out of my beans enough to let the beans grow, but they've broken right through the netting to get at my chard.

It's hit and miss this year ... tonight's dinner was pasta with broccoli, zucchini and arugula.

I picked the zucchini tonight just after a rain, fairly small, knowing it would be a ball-bat if I waited until morning. The blossom had closed for the night. I held the squash in my hand and felt this ... vibration ... like it was an appliance that it resembles physically. I opened the blossom and SEVEN honeybees flew out.

Last year I saw not one honeybee on my property. Not one, all year. I am soooooo happy they are back - at least for now.

[spokewench]

I held the squash in my hand and felt this ... vibration ... like it was an appliance that it resembles physically. I opened the blossom and SEVEN honeybees flew out.

Last year I saw not one honeybee on my property. Not one, all year. I am soooooo happy they are back - at least for now.

That is way cool!

[grey]

Sadly, each time my tomatoes start to ripen, critters help themselves. I think squirrels are the culprits. I had three amazing heirloom Mr. Stripey and four Bradley tomatoes that were nearly ready to pick...just one more day...but in the morning, one was across the yard half eaten, two were hanging on the vine half eaten, and the rest had disappeared completely.

My kale, however, is still going strong. But with the 100+ temps, I suspect they will soon bolt.

I have to pick mine early and let them ripen in windowsills - if I wait for them to turn red or even a good orange, some critter will take one little bite and waste the rest of it. I grow a lot of heirlooms (including Mr Stripey!) some seem to attract the critters more than others - so I grab them soon as I start to see orange developing. Have to check vines twice a day in this weather.

[QUOTE-OakLeaf]tonight's dinner was pasta with broccoli, zucchini and arugula.[/QUOTE]
Oh YUM! Can I come over?

[tulip]

My Mr. Stripeys were beautiful! Do they taste good? They do to critters. I will take your advice next year. I might still get some this year, too. We usually have tomatoes into September, even October.

[sgtiger]

Our front yard gets the most hours of sunlight in a day, so we decided to incorporate some of the veggies there.

The front yard went from this:


To this:


The herbs, carrots and radishes are grown right along with flowers in a raised bed:


Tomatoes:


The carrots we harvested today:


There's a couple of pumpkin vines and a strawberry bed too. I think planting them among accepted landscaping plants helps camouflage them a bit. At least the neighbors haven't complained yet...

[grey]

WOW sgtiger! WOW! I love it! I've wanted to do something like that myself, integrating ornamentals with produce in my front yard since it gets more sun than my backyard, but DH pooh-poohs me (and we're moving at some point anyway, might as well keep the easy-care perennials out front). Maybe if I show him your incredible pics he'll be ok with it for our next house. :-)

[buffybike]

Our front yard gets the most hours of sunlight in a day, so we decided to incorporate some of the veggies there.

There's a couple of pumpkin vines and a strawberry bed too. I think planting them among accepted landscaping plants helps camouflage them a bit. At least the neighbors haven't complained yet...

I'm using part of my front yard to grow herbs and eggplant, as well. I've also grown beans, peppers and tomatoes because it's our sunniest spot. There's a great book called Edible Landscaping if you want more ideas.