Vegetable Gardening

**spokewench** · 08-09-2009, 06:18 AM

Well, so far the garden is okay; but we have had two record nights in a row. Yesterday night, it was 38 I think and last night it was 37.

Yikes, its August for goodness sake!

WE are getting into the low 80s during the day. That's mountain weather for you - so unpredictable.

**BleeckerSt_Girl** · 08-09-2009, 08:36 AM

We are getting a cool snap here as well- last two nights in the 40'sF...in August?! At least no fear of frost.

Here are some adorable 'baby pictures' from my new big veggie garden:

Romaine lettuce:

Carrots:

Beets:

Butterhead lettuce:

Radish:

Spinach:

**spokewench** · 08-09-2009, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

We are getting a cool snap here as well- last two nights in the 40'sF...in August?! At least no fear of frost.

Here are some adorable 'baby pictures' from my new big veggie garden:

Romaine lettuce:

Carrots:

Beets:

Butterhead lettuce:

Radish:

Spinach:

OOOOH, aren't they cute!

**tulip** · 08-09-2009, 04:17 PM

Here are some potatoes and basil from my garden. I made a wonderful salmon with potatoes, basil, and white wine in my Romertopf last night. Delicious!

Lisa, those lettuces (lettuci?) are beautiful! It's still very hot here, but I've been growing leeks all summer in pots and will be transplanting them to the garden next weekend for my winter crop. Then the collards, kale, and first of the fall lettuce go in. Can't wait!

**BleeckerSt_Girl** · 08-09-2009, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by tulip

Here are some potatoes and basil from my garden. I made a wonderful salmon with potatoes, basil, and white wine in my Romertopf last night. Delicious!

Lisa, those lettuces (lettuci?) are beautiful! It's still very hot here, but I've been growing leeks all summer in pots and will be transplanting them to the garden next weekend for my winter crop. Then the collards, kale, and first of the fall lettuce go in. Can't wait!

Perfect potatoes, Tulip! I don't grow potatoes but am lucky to have a friend who gave me some surplus from her garden.

I'm a sucker for old fashioned boiled buttered parsley potatoes - and I've got some garden parsley!

Yes, those multi-colored lettuces are SO pretty- especially the speckled ones.
I also have a little patch of teeny baby mesclun greens sprouting- all different colors as well.

Golly, when i think about how all I ever saw growing up as a city kid was pale flavorless iceburg lettuce, often slightly brown around the edges from age....look at the gorgeous bounty we can enjoy now. We are so lucky.

**Selkie** · 08-10-2009, 01:10 AM

THANKS for the recipes!! Once it cools down and I feel like turning on the oven, I'm going to bake some of these goodies!!

**bmccasland** · 08-10-2009, 05:18 AM

Yummy looking pictures Tulip and BleekerSt! Good thing Farmer's Market is tomorrow. And I have to wait, waaaa.

I'm partial to roasted new potatoes myself. Olive oil, herbes, big chunks of red or yukon gold - roast in 400 (?) degree oven for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes until golden. Salt and pepper to taste. I could eat the whole pan. I can't WAIT until it's cool enough to fire up the oven for an hour!

**OakLeaf** · 08-10-2009, 05:49 AM

Originally Posted by bmccasland

I can't WAIT until it's cool enough to fire up the oven for an hour!

Dang, I need a summer kitchen.

Maybe this'll be the year I build myself a solar oven, anyhow.

Or maybe next year. It's too hot to saw.

**skhill** · 08-10-2009, 05:54 AM

I ate my first ear of home-grown corn last night-- yum! 15 minutes from garden to plate....

I'm in a tomato lull, and the green beans are about done (thank God) but the zucchini is sure producing. And producing....

**tulip** · 08-10-2009, 05:55 AM

I'm partial to roasting potatoes on the grill outside. Prepare just like Beth said, put them in foil and do the same thing on the grill, but not for as long. The kitchen stays cool that way.

**badger** · 08-10-2009, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Artificial insemination for squash.

The one from your compost is as likely to be an inedible gourd (the result of something hybridized either intentionally by the grower or randomly in the garden) as anything you want to save, but it could be fun to just let it grow and find out.

I would believe this if I've not seen it with my own eyes, but I don't think insemination would do anything, as the zucchini doesn't seem to come out of the flowers so much as it seems pre-determined which ones will fruit. It's hard for me to explain, but I know that no amount of artificial insemination will produce a fruit on the blooms that are just long stalks. The ones that have fruited already has a little zucchini growing with the bud on top. Again, hard to explain...

**OakLeaf** · 08-10-2009, 08:55 AM

Whether a flower is male or female is "pre-determined." Typically a plant will have many more male flowers than female, but if you're not getting any female flowers, I don't know what might be causing that.

Female flowers:

Male flower:

Female and male flowers side-by-side:

**GLC1968** · 08-10-2009, 09:32 AM

We accidentally turned our backs for just one second...and the next thing you know, my H is picking a 15 lb zucchini that looks more like a skinny watermelon!

Tonight we'll be shredding until the cows come home (or the goats). We have zucchini coming out our wazoo! Our freezer will be busting at the gills!

We are wildly successful with our chosen cuke variety this year as well. Yesterday when I was searching for our lettuce and spinach seeds to re-sow for fall, I discovered that both the crazy over-producing zucchini variety and the super successful (so far) cuke variety - were from seeds both bought at our local nursery (in their OP section). It certainly points to the concept that buying local seed means that you'll get local hardy/adapted plants! I have three bean varieties that are also local and so far, they are doing extremely well, too.

**NoNo** · 08-10-2009, 09:45 AM

I'm going to have to study those pictures. I was wondering which was the female versus male. We eat the flowers (after dipping them in batter and frying them

), but you can only pick one of them or the zucchini won't grow. I can't recall if it's the female or male, I'd have to ask my mom's uncle, but it's been killing me to look at all those flowers and think of the yummy treats I'm missing out on.

**BleeckerSt_Girl** · 08-10-2009, 03:38 PM

From ripping up the lawn on June 25th:

To this morning, August 10th:

Thread: Vegetable Gardening

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