Garden Update 8/18/14

Here are some photos from the week. Not much of a harvest but we did have a couple more cucumbers (not nearly as many as I would like) and some more tomatoes. Its ironic that the one tomato plant on my balcony is producing more tomatoes than the 6 plants in the garden.  The fall crop is also making some nice progress. The beans are growing fast and carrots are about an inch tall now.

Half Eaten Harvest 8.11.14

I picked a few tomatos at the garden today and my first cucumber of the season. Bad news - the cuke was half eaten. Hopefully there will be more (un-eaten) of these to come.

Few More Tomatos 8.8.14

My strategy this year was to plant mostly yellow tomato varieties to keep passers-by from harvesting. This strategy has been pretty successful thus far. However I have been forced to pick much too many green tomatos as someone (or something) has been chewing or cutting off the stems from the bottom. The most likely culprints are mice or cut worms. I will try to put some dish soap in the water next time I water them as an nature pesticide. Also, I noted the lines at the top of the tomatos which are most likely from irregular watering, but should not affect the taste.

There's Time ..... to Grow!

Now that we are in August, some of you (like me) are probably wondering where your summer has gone as you realize that the time for gardening left is limited. But, there is good news! There is still enough time to get lots more out of your garden this year.

To name a few -
 •Beets
 •Carrot
 •Lettuce
 •Rutabaga
 •Swiss chard
 •Broccoli
 •Brussels sprouts
 •Cabbage
 •Collards
 •English peas
 •Kale
 •Kohlrabi
 •Mustard greens
 •Radish
 •Spinach
 •Turnip

Realizing that I neglected my garden for most of July, I have turned to quick growing vege's that will give me a harvest before it gets too cold. There are a number of options but below I have noted a couple of great "fast growing" varieties of fall garden veges.

Little Finger Carrots (57 days)

Pea Snow Oregon Sugar Pod II Seeds (60 days)

Broccoli Di Cicco (48 days)

Radish Cherry Belle  (24 days)

Kale Red Winter Organic ( 50 days)

Harvest Monday 8.4.14

In a quick trip to the garden, I managed to water the plants as well as pick a few tomatos. I am also most excited that there will soon be cucumbers to pick. Sadly most of my cucumber bushes did not make it and I only have about 6 going right now.

Begonia in Bloom, Huzzah!

Begonia 8.2.14

The Begonia Bulb from last year is blooming again, which I am most happy about. The tomatoes on my balcony are turning yellow. These ones look a bit odd as they are quite round when they are supposed to be yellow pears. I also found a single pea plant still blooming and then I planted many more pea seeds for a late season harvest. The weather outside is feeling more and more like fall which is surprising as its still August. I planted a row of carrots today and started romaine lettuce seeds.

Yellow Pear Tomatoes 8.2.14

Last Pea Plant 8.2.14