Harvest Monday

Summer Apples

Welcome to Harvest Monday! I can't believe another week has gone by already and we are entering the second half of the year. Oh my where has time gone?  Harvest Monday is a great blog hop sponsored by Daphne's Dandelions, so hop on over and visit with other gardeners from around the world.

One day the wind was blowing the apples off the tree plus the birds were starting to get into them, so I picked the tree clean. They are a bit sour, was waiting for them to ripen up a bit. I have been trying to find out what is causing that brown corky growth on the tops of some of them. When I search for cork in apples the pictures look different from this and shows corky spots on the inside. These are fine inside, just have that dry brown spot mostly on the top part and not all of the apples show it. I'm wondering if it's sunburn.

Golden Bantam Improved

This year I have some of the best looking corn plants I have ever had, they went 7 feet with the tassels, almost all had 2 ears per stalk and some put out tillers and tried to make more. BUT it was so very hot and dry when it put out tassels and silks that the pollen was just drying up, so my beautiful 10-12 inch ears are nowhere near being filled. What is there tastes delicious, however. So, note to self, corn should not tassel the last two weeks of June!

Eggplant

I harvested some more eggplant. These are not as big as they look; that is one of those little cereal bowls from the dollar store.

tomatoes

The small salad tomatoes are winding down, only 3 pounds this week instead of nearly 5. They are now split about half and half, Princepe and Snow White.

In addition there were two Black from Tula, along with a paste tomato and a small round one from volunteer plants.

Rond di Nice

And of course some Rond di Nice squash. This one weighs about a pound. The five pound monster that was imitating a green pumpkin was fed to the chickens. The other sorts should be coming on shortly, maybe next week. I think I'm going to stuff this one full of tomatoes and cheese. Maybe I"ll add a little sausage to it. mmmmmm.....

See this post for a garden tour and the newest additions to the poultry flock.

Garden & Poultry Tour

Eggplant

Well tons of stuff going on around here. We've had a slight break in the heat with some humidity and some rain so things are really taking off. I swear some things like squash vines grow a foot overnight.

I'm going to link up with Oregon Cottage's Garden party, go check out all the pretty gardens!

Lots of new stuff coming along too. Another eggplant, more a pinky lavender color which is really pretty. I think this is eggplant #8, I'll have to check.

Black Tail Mountain Watermelon

The Black Tail Mountain melons are setting fruit.

King of the Garden Lima

The King of the Garden Lima beans are running up the trellis. These are giant limas, speckled maroon. Peter Henderson Co. sold them at the turn of the century, another name for them is Leviathan. These are big plants, too. Last time they went 14 feet tall.

Green house bed

I'm kind of a lazy gardener in some ways. If things sprout in the compost and aren't too much in the way, I tend to leave them. Here is the bed in the greenhouse, you can see a cantaloupe, an onion going to seed, some nasturtiums and a tomato. The feathery leaves in front are sweet alyssum.

Hale's Best Jumbo

Further down the bed is the first melon to set on these plants and what a whopper it is! I've never seen one so big; I just hope it tastes good!

Tromboncinno

The tromboncinno vines have run more than 10 feet long along the house and are now putting out a lot of side branches. Tons of male flowers every day.

baby squash

And now finally, what looks like the first female blossoms coming on. Sure hope they start setting fruit!

ducklings

Now onto the poultry tour! Two months ago I had 9 chickens. Today I have 16 ducks and 13 chickens, with possibly more on the way. (I have a broody hen that should hatch eggs by Friday).

There are 5 baby ducklings in the house. They started close to the same size but now two are much larger than the other three. Either pure Harlequin or Harlequin x Runner.

It maybe a couple more months before we can determine sex on these. But all the boys will be named Dinner.

Muscovies

Yesterday I went and picked up some Muscovies. I have been looking for this breed of duck for awhile. They are not related to other ducks, but can breed with them, although the babies are mules. They say the meat is much leaner and tastes different from other duck meat. I got quite a variety of colors and patterns, can't wait to see them all grown up. I don't expect they will lay until spring though.

Welsummer or Welsummer X Dorking

Still not sure if the four poults I got from a friend are pure Welsummer or crossed with Dorking. They are just beginning to get their combs and so far everyone looks about the same, so it will be a while yet before I know if there are any roosters. If so, their name is Dinner.



Bringing in the Muscovies caused quite a ruckus in the yard. I blocked off the baby pen where my Buff Orpington pullets had been living, so I could put the ducks in there until they get used to their new home. The pullets are getting big enough and have been running around with the big chickens for awhile now, but they keep trying to get back in their baby house..

Harvest Monday

Italian Heirloom

I'm a little late getting started  but it is Harvest Monday, a great blog hop hosted by Daphne's Dandelions, so hop on over and visit with other gardeners around the world. This week I'm also joining Oregon Cottages Garden Party for the first time. Looks like another great blog hop!

Some more firsts this week, the first Italian Heirloom tomato. I think this plant wasn't getting an even water supply which would account for the cracking, so I need to pay more attention. Tasted great tho, a bit sweet with a little tart. I got the seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange.

little eggplants

A nice bowlful of  small and tender eggplants, which I sliced and fried in olive oil, smothered in marinara sauce, topped with some yogurt cheese and pesto.








There have been a few eggs, but some days none at all. One hen is molting, one hen is broody, and the other two are not laying every day. I think because it's just been so stinkin' hot. I've picked a lot of small tomatoes and a few greens but even the chard has slowed down. There are things coming along, but we in a bit of a lull at the moment.

You can check out my eggplant breeding experiment on this post. And get a little garden tour at this one.

Garden Update

Buttercup squash

Has been a really busy week; I have not been feeling my best and had little energy with a crazy work schedule. The garden is also feeling the heat and some things seem to be in lull at the moment. I did get about .5" of rain on the 4th which was really nice. Not nearly enough, but nice.

All of the squashes are doing well, the Buttercup plants are growing by leaps and bounds and setting fruit. These are winter squash so won't be ready until fall.

Squash vines on the greenhouse

Here are the squash vines growing on the green house. Most of these are Buttercups plus a couple of Tromboncinno. 

The row cover in the foreground is covering a new planting of French Filet bush beans.

Amish Paste

I've been a bit disappointed with the Amish Paste tomatoes. Half the plants went under to some sort of wilt (probably verticillium) and they have only set a couple of fruit so far.

Red Burgundy Amaranth

The first planting of Red Burgundy Amaranth is blooming.

Like I said things are in a lull, probably because it's been so hot and dry. However now that the summer rains are trying to come in, the temps are down a bit and the humidity is up so things should start growing again.

Something I learned recently is that most nitrogen in the soil is bound up and not usable to the plants until liberated by micro-biotic life in the soil. If the air temp is below 50 degrees no nitrogen is released. As the temperature begins to rise more and more nitrogen is released until it peaks at about 75-80 degrees. Above 80 there is a decrease in nitrogen release, with it stopping completely around 100 degrees. This certainly explains why there is that certain point in spring, when the temps rise over 50 degrees and suddenly the garden takes off. And again why when it begins to hit 100 degrees that growth slows down, being a function as much of nutrient deficiency as of lack of moisture.

The Eggplant Breeding Experiment

Neon Hybrid Eggplant

A few years ago I grew the really pretty pink Neon Hybrid Eggplant. I just loved the color and this photo does not do it justice. But it was a hybrid and I really would like to have a pretty pink open pollinated variety. One that comes true from seed each generation. So I'm working on breeding my own. I saved the seeds from the hybrid and this year I planted some.  I planted about 10 and they are growing in 2 gallon pots on my patio.

Eggplant #1

True to the genetic prediction, the resulting plants are roughly 50-50 white or purple. The purple ones are long and slender and the white ones are more globular.

Eggplant #2

Eggplant #3

I have numbered the plants according to the order they are setting their first fruits. I am also tracking their productivity separately.

Eggplant #4

Eggplant #5

Eggplant #6

Like most solanums eggplants are basically self pollinating, although I have a lot of bees, so some crossing could occur naturally, I"m not going to worry about it.

While there isn't very much variation in this generation the next generation should show a much greater diversity of size, color and shape.

Unless some of the others are more prolific, I will probably only save seed from #1 and #2, since they are the sturdiest and first fruiting. Next year then I will raise as many plants from each batch of seed as I possibly can, because the more I plant, the more likely I will get a pretty pink one.

Eggplant #7

Have you ever saved your own seed and developed your own type of plant?


I learned a lot about plant genetics and how to breed plants, the best methods of seed saving and a lot more from Carol Deppe's book, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties. She tells you how in very simple layman's terms. I think every serious gardener should have a copy of this one!

Harvest Monday

Mountain Rose Potatoes

I dug the Mt. Rose potatoes up this week. The vines were getting really wilted in the heat. I can see where if we had had a bit cooler and damper weather I probably would have gotten quite a few more large potatoes. But I got about 15 pounds from about 25 -30 sq feet.

Mt. Rose inside

They have pale pink swirls inside.

Mt. Rose and yellow potatoes

I cooked some up with the yellow potatoes I harvested from the pots on the patio.

Sunflower

A couple of sunflower seedlings escaped the birds and are blooming.

Black from Tula

Another first this week was a Black from Tula tomato. This variety is from Russia and I got the seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange.

Black from Tula

The bottom side did have a couple of holes, I don't know what caused them they were dry inside so not fresh bird pecks. This tomato weighed in at about 6 ounces.

Tula sliced

Having never had this variety before I ended up eating the whole thing. It was not sharply acid like some tomatoes but not actually sweet either. Very nice and juicy.








You can check out my post from yesterday, to see my poultry, melons, squash and more. Linking up for Harvest Monday, a great blog hop sponsored by Daphne's Dandelions. Hop over and check out what gardeners around the world are harvesting.

Poultry, Melons, Squash & More

Ducklings, about 1 week old

Well, I've moved the ducklings to a rabbit cage with a wire floor and a pan under it, so taking care of them will be easier and less messy. They also have more room to run around. As soon as they are feathered they will go outside in the chicken pen.

Welsummers

The young Welsummers went out yesterday. They are so wild and I don't have the time right now to tame them down, I just went ahead and put them out with the big chickens. They are half the size of my Buff Orpington pullets but they have made themselves right at home with the adults, even checking out the adults house. The Buffs are still scaredy cats when it comes to mingling with the adults.

Broody Hen

I also have a hen gone broody, she was quite persistent to sit on the egg nest so I made her a nest in a dog crate with about 10 eggs. When I first moved her over she was pretty upset, but it was almost dark and soon she settled right in. I'm not sure how hatchable the eggs will be, some of them had been in the refrigerator, but I'll try and candle them in a week or two and see how many look good.

Mr Roo and a couple of the girls

Mr. Roo has grown up into a very handsome rooster. However he is also getting to be mean. I have bruises on my knee and thigh where he is hitting me for no reason at all. I move slowly and quietly in the pen, careful not to upset the hens, and then BAM! here he comes. So unfortunately he is going to become chicken stew very soon. I am wondering if part of it is because I did not raise him from a chick, so he doesn't see me as the boss or the food source?

New Bed, Lima's on trellis

I did get that carrot/potato bed dug and will be planting some small artichoke plants out this evening, with black eyed peas in between. This bed is next to a large trellis out front and has some King of the Garden (aka Leviathan) lima beans starting up it.

artichoke plants

Baby Blue Hubbard Squash

The Baby Blue Hubbards are going like gang busters, I think there are 5  or 6 on this plant with more coming on.

Bee Balm

The Bee Balm, Monarda citriodorata is blooming. Click on the pic to see it larger, you can see the bees and hover flies that are draw to the flowers. This is also supposed to be a good tea plant but I haven't tried it yet. Self seeding annual.

eggplant

More eggplant are coming on, both white and purple ones.

Melons on the greenhouse trellis

There are at least 4 more large cantaloupes coming on the greenhouse trellis.

Society Garlic

The Society Garlic is blooming again. The flowers are great in a salad or as a garnish, tasting like a very  mild garlic. It is totally rootbound in it's pot but I haven't decided where to plant it out yet.

tomato wilt

On a sad note I have lost about 5 large tomato plants due to some wilt disease. Here is one of them, about 2 or 3 days ago it just looked like it needed a drink of water. (and the soil was a bit dry so I gave the bed a good long soak) and this morning the leaves are shriveling and drying up. I'm hoping no more succumb, as I didn't plant that many large canning tomatoes.

New Additions

Ducklings

Well by happy circumstance my poultry flock has nearly doubled in size over night. A new friend had too many ducklings and so gave me these four, hatched this past weekend. They are cute, but oh so messy with their water! See all the specks on the sides of the box? That's food and water they have slung around!

poults

Karen also gave me these four poults. They are either Welsummer or Welsummer X Dorking. We'll know for sure when they get their adult feathers. These guys are about 5-6 weeks old and were hatched by their mamma, so they are pretty wild. They are in a cage in the living room for the time being, while I get them a little tamer. Besides which they are only half the size of my Buff Orpington pullets so I will have to make a separate place for them. Maybe I can get that done this weekend.