Vegetable Growing Volunteers desperately needed!!!

Sharon,
I'll get these questions answered for you, it may take a few days as Carla is hard at work putting together all the gathered info. Please have patience, as I've got a lot on my plate but am getting it cleaned up and organized as I type.

 

Hello Sharon,
We're in zone 4 and at a higher altitude then I'm used to growing, so I'll be learning all over again. I have a list of what I plan to grow, but will have to get out my seeds to look at what varieties I have. I will post this information later, maybe tonight.

 

We are in zone 8. We plan to grow Asparagus (Mary Washington), temdergreen improved green bush beans, Detroit beets, Waltham 29 broccoli, Bubbles (F1 Hybrid) Brussels sprouts, Golden Acre early cabbage, Pot O Gold carrots, Fordhook chard, Peaches & Cream Hybrid and Silver Queen Hybrid corn, maybe Seneca Sensation white, Burpless (F1 hybrid) long vined and Summer Dance cukes, Homemade Pickles short vined cukes, Black Beauty and Ichiban eggplant, Early White Vienna kohlrabi, Buttercrunch and Plato II lettuce, Fastbreak Melons, California wonder sweet peppers, Tyee spinach, zucchini-black summer squash, Alpine strawberries-Ruegen and yellow wonder, Celebrity Hybrid, Early Girl Improved, and maybe Pruden's purple tomatoes, Glory Sugar and Tendersweet Orange watermelon, Florence Fennel-Fino , Celeriac-large Prague, Cutting Celery-Afina, Snow Pea-Oregon Sugar Pod II pea, Anaheim, Early Jalapeno and Serrano Peppers-Chile, Tomatillo, Mung Beans and Broccoli sprouting seeds, Softneck type garlic, Jersey King and Purple Passon asparagus roots, Russet Norkotah, Kennebec, Georgia Jet sweet potatoes, Hale's Best Jumbo cantaloupe, Improved Virginia peanut.

 

These are just the things I haven't been able to get ahold of Carla about. Carla? My take on it would be that the more information you wanted to give the better, but it would be enough to say, "I grew Chioggia beets in Montana by the row method with manure and compost and they did great." More, even much more would be wonderful, if you are that sort of person. But this is Carla's book, so she'll have to settle this.

Sharon

 

Is it enough to grow the veggies as we usually would, or do we have to experiment with different methods, storage techniques, etc?

I grow a lot of squash, and many of the other veggies too. What is required, records (when planted, first harvest, peak of harvest, end of harvest?) weighing yields? Or just keeping a tally of what grew well and what didn't?

 

Hi! Here's the list of vegetables from the next edition. I need at least 3 people to volunteer to grow each one - ideally, people from different areas of the country, so that we can see how brussels sprouts fare as a fall and overwintered crop, or so we can discuss tomato diseases in the North and South. So when you volunteer, *please include your location.* Thanks so much. I've put an asterisk on the ones I'm growing or plan to grow in my garden, but I'd much rather collect other people's data, so if you are in the Northeast and want to grow something I've starred, definitely sign up. When you sign up, if you know what variety(s) you are going to grow, please list them.

Thanks for your help! Here's the list:

Bunching Onions*
Garlic*
Rocambole
Elephant Garlic
Globe Onions*
Potato Onions*
Top setting onions
Shallots/multiplier onions
Leeks*
Pearl Onions
New Zealand Spinach
Wild Chicory
Asparagus Chicory
Root/Coffee/Magdeburgh Chicory
Endive/Curly endive
Escarole/Raddichio*
Witloof Chicory/Belgian Endive
Butterhead Lettuce*
Crisphead/Iceberg Lettuce
Looseleaf Lettuce*
Romaine Lettuce*
Winter Lettuce*
Vegetable Amaranth
Malabar Spinach
Spinach*
Swiss Chard*
Water Spinach/Ong Choy/Swamp Cabbage
Edible Chrysanthemum*
Brussels Sprouts*
Cabbage, early*
Cabbage, late/storage*
Chinese Cabbage*
Napa Cabbage*
Bok Choy/Pak Choy*
Chinese Mustard Cabbage*
Broccoli*
Cauliflower
Kohlrabi*
Sea Kale
Collards*
Pepper Cress/curly cress*
Upland Cress/Creasy Greens/Winter Cress
Kale*
Mizuna*
Mustard Greens*
Rocket/Arugula*
Turnip Greens
Tyfon*
Watercress
Asparagus
Cardoon
Celeriac/Celery Root*
Celery
Cutting Celery/Par Cel*
Celtuce
Globe Artichoke
Rhubarb*
Pole Peas*
Bush Peas
Snap Peas*
Snow Peas*
Bush Beans*
Pole Beans*
Flageolet/Horticultural/Green Shelling Beans*
Dry Beans*
Adzuki Beans*
Lima Beans*
Mung Beans
Rice Beans
Runner Beans*
Tepary Beans
Fava Beans*
Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas
Lentils
Peanuts
Pigeon Peas
Black Eyed Peas
Crowder Peas
Green Soybeans/Edamame*
Dry/food soybeans*
Winged Beans/Asparagus Pea*
Yardlong Bean
Flax*
Rape
Safflower
Sunflower*
Potato*
Sweet Potato*
Arrowhead
Cassava
Kudzu
Taro
Malanga
Yam
Mangels
Sugar Beets
Eating Beets*
Burdock
Carrots*
Chufa/nutsedge/ground almond
Hamburg Parsley/Parsley root*
Jerusalem Artichoke/Sunchoke*
Jicama
Lotus Root
Parsnip*
Red Radishes
Daikon*
Wasabi
Sakurajima Radish
Lobak/Korean Radish
Black Radish
Rat-tail Radish
Rutabaga
Salsify*
Scorzonera
Skirret
Turnip*
Yacon
Zucchini*
Summer Squash/Crookneck/Yellow Squash
Pattypan/bush scallop squash
Pumpkins*
Butternut/Buttercup*
Hubbards*
Cushaw*
Kabocha
Banana Squash
Delicata Squash
Turban Squash
Tahitian Squash
Bitter Melon
Calabaza/Cuban/Indian Squash
Chayote
Fuzzy Melon
Lady Godiva
Spaghetti Squash
Winter Melon
Craft Gourds*
Cocozelle
Luffa
Cantaloupe*
Charentais Melon
Asian Melon*
Ananas Melon
Honeydew
Galia Melon
Canary/Spanish Melon
Watermelon*
Citron
Pickling Cucumbers*
Slicing Cucumbers
English Cucumbers
Armenian Cucumber/Snake Melon*
West India Gherkin*
Italian Eggplant*
Asian Eggplant*
Eggplant Collards
Ground Cherry
Martynia
Okra*
Hot Peppers*
Sweet Peppers*
Tomatillo/husk tomato*
Cherry Tomato*
Currant/Wild Cherry Tomato*
Slicing/Regular Tomato*
Paste Tomato*
Stuffing Tomato
Storage Tomato

Whew! That's quite a list (In order to help me collate the information, I've put things in even more categories than Carla has - that way we can be as specific as possible. I've also added a couple of fruits and vegetables not on Carla's list, to see if anyone is growing them.) As you can see, I need all the help I can get, so sign up! And Carla, I've sent you a couple of emails about how to approach this list, and not heard back. If I'm not getting through to you, please let me know - I finally went ahead and did it before everyone was totally done ordering seeds.

Cheers,

Sharon (Fearless leader of the Vegetable group who now needs a nap.)

 

I believe I used several types that year. All were supposed to grow over 6' though, since my kids consider anything under that a daisy.

 

Ha! I second that

 

Linda, you are probably only a couple of hours from me - we should have a NY homesteaders gathering one of these days.

Diane - I don't know about Carla, but I want to hear all about your garden just for my own sake!! Seriously, this vegetable growing thing is a lot more fun if, instead of just "official reports" we all act as though this is our back fence to chat about the cucumbers over, IMHO. And I don't think anyone suspects you of slacking off ;-).

I'm so glad so many of you are getting involved!!

And Laura, what a neat idea about sunflower stalks. Were they a particular variety?

Sharon

 

Peas, planting and growing, p. 272, 9th ed
I'm not sure if I should rate this til I see how they come out!
lol I planted both english and snap peas yesterday (April 6), 1/2# of each. I like that the book encourages you not to worry about even spacing or straight rows too much. I soaked mine overnight to give them a head start. I also added rhizoba innoculant to the wet peas before planting. The english peas went into a bed which the helpful chickens tilled for me, the snaps in a trench in untilled ground. Today, we got 4"of snow to help water them. I always use rebar for staking things, since my DH works in commercial construction and huge amounts of it get thrown away.

April 28 - The peas are just finally up out of the ground. I'm not sure soaking did a bit of difference in germination.

Garlic planting and Growing, P 230, 9th ed
Planted garlic yesterday too. I planted shallow, since I'm late getting it in. Since I'm highly experimental, and garlic is expensive from seed companies, I bought garlic at the grocery store, exceptionally nice large heads and planted those. We'll see... The elephant garlic I had forgotten about is starting to send up green shoots.

Allium Group 4, p 233, 9th ed
Picked a fat bunch of wild chives to freeze. They grow all through my lawn and are the first thing to green up in spring. Chives are definately better frozen than dried.

I've got a flat of globe onion seeds and leeks started. They're just popping through the soil. I think I'll also try direct seeding a few leeks, ala Lane's Leek Growing System. More later.

Also started are 2 windowboxes, with 'Spicy Mesclun Mix', regular spinach, red orach, butterhead lettuce and an heirloom leaf lettuce mix. I forgot to order malabar spinach, so I won't be growing any.

I also have watercress started in the house, in cell packs sitting in containers of water. When they are bigger, they'll be moving to the little stream that comes out of the spring house. (Planted it outside in the stream on 4-27)

Carla, Sharon, I'm not sure whether or not to post when I've got things planted, since I can't really rate the method til I see how it grows, but I did want you to know I've been busy and not slacking off. Besides, I have a better chance of not forgetting to post later if I mention when I actually plant it.

Diane W (beaglady)

 

Howdy....I will help for zone 6 in the tip of Oklahoma over by the Ark. border. Some of Ok is in zone 7, but we are in 6.....

I will be growing Malabar spinach this year and saw it on your list. Also.....

M. Wash. asparagus(already have a big bed of it) It is important to keep the grass from growing in your asparagus bed. We mow over the bed in late winter to remove the rest of the growth from the previous year and then dump a load of well composted manure over it.

Surecrop strawberries(already have those too)Strawberries love a little acid soil...so spread your ashes on them during the winter. Don't fertilize them while they are blooming though or you will get mushy berries.

tomatoes of lots of varieties...heirlooms that I grow include brandywine, yellow hugh's, amish paste, boxcar willie, ark. traveler, and can't remember the rest...heehee... I start my maters from seed in the side porch that faces the South. If it freezes outside I put a little heater out there to keep them warm. Maters love manure tea and when I set mine out I do a couple of things first......I dig a hole with the post hole diggers, put some compost in the bottom of the hole, followed by a small handful of fertilizer( I just use triple 13 or rabbit poo), then put the plant in and cover with soil. If I have enough milk jugs or coffee cans I plant inside those with the tops and bottoms cut out. To keep cut worms off I usually put either a match stick along side the baby plant or a nail....the match stick will rot and I don't have to go back and get those later, the nail is more of a pain for the tiller. I use neem oil spray for pests. Something that helps me to save my little critters that are good.....I wash off the plant well with a hose and then spray the neem oil on there. When the good bugs get on there they won't die if they don't eat the plant..only the bad ones do. The neem oil is considered organic by most people...but some don't like to use it. I also plant a marigold between each mater plant.

The other varieties that I grow of maters include beefsteak, delicious, rutgers, early girl, big boy, and can't remember what all....We love our maters around here!!!! I start them all from seeds and still can't resist the others from the store when I see them! I always plant about a hundred plants and sell the extras at the farmer's market or give them to friends.

Peppers including bells, anaheim, jalapeno, and cayenne I start these from seeds too. Start them early because they take forever to germinate! I treat them very much like maters except they don't need staking. They will cross so if you collect your seeds the second generation will be different.

bunching onions and keeper onions I just planted onions today(March 22). I could have started them earlier but it has been very wet. I plant these with swiss chard or another one of the lettuce or brassica family.

sweet potatoes I start my sweet potatoes from a couple that I save from the year before. I just put them in a glass of water and cover half way up with water. When they start to root and make a plant.....you can use those "slips" to make a new plant. They can't take it cold and the little potatoes form along the runners. Different then white spuds.

white potatoes....probably kenebec...those are the ones that I usually get. I plant my spuds in compost that has been well tilled and then I just lay them down into the dirt and cover them with a heavy layer of straw. They grow up through the straw and when they are done I just peel back the straw and there they are! Easy!

red potatoes....red pontiac usually These are great canned to use during the winter for stews or for augraten..however you spell that. I scrub the skins off of the new potatoes instead of peeling them...then can the little ones whole and the bigger ones cut up into inch chunks or so. EASY way to have a fast side dish! Pretty good drained and fried up with bits of bacon or some onions. I grow them the same as the white ones.

broccoli (waltham and can't remember..will check) One thing that helps with broccoli and the other brassicas is to cover the small plants with a sheer curtain or row cover until they get larger. The bugs and worms will not be as numerous that way. The little white butterflies that lay their eggs on the leaves can not get through the sheer and the curtain gives it a little cooler environment. I have a large crop that I start indoors in January and then set outside to harden off in March and then put into the garden in April. If it gets a bit spendly just plant the plant a little deeper. I find that hardening it off for a couple of weeks makes for sturdier stems though and there isn't as much need for that...


brusselsprouts(bubbles)I treat my brussels sprouts just like my broccoli. As another comment.....All of the heavy feeder veggies love manure tea. My favorite kind is rabbit poo tea and that helps make lots of sweet tender sprouts and also huge heads of broccoli

cabbage(will check I only planted a couple dozen plants)The sheers are almost a neccesity if you want wormless cabbage around here. I find that when you start to see the little white and lavender moths then you better have a cover over your brassicas. It helps shade them in our harsher sun and also keeps them pest free. I have found that a side dressing of mulch works well to keep them from splitting as well as the manure tea for larger heads.

carrots(danvers) They have to be kept moist while they are germinating. You can put a board over them or just put straw over them and when they start to sprout kinda move the straw aside to let them have light. Mine overwinter very well and I think they taste better with a freeze.

beets(detroit dark red and also some new ones that I am getting from Paquebot on the cooking and crafts forum) When I thin my beets I just replant them somewhere else in the row. I also plant my beets in big blocks rather than rows. I plant them very very early spring...really late winter and then cover them with a sheer curtain to keep them from drying out and helps them to germinate more quickly. I have tried plastic and it can sometimes make them moldyish...so the sheer works better and they still get enough light to germinate well and grow. I kinda plant them in an indented spot so that I can flood the spot with water and makes for more tender beets.

green beans(blue lake bush)I plant my green beans along side my corn to help them both. I never water the tops of my green bean plants because they tend to get scorched by the sun if the leaves are wet during the heat of the day. My neighbor and I have the great bean tail debate each year...LOL! She leaves the ends of her's on when she cans them and I take the tiny pointy ends off....no difference really...but it gets pretty comical when the two of us get together to can each year!

okra(some heirloom okra that I got from a friend that produces when it is short and keeps on until it is only about 5 feet tall, great stuff!) Okra is one of those things that has to be planted when it is warm out. Grandpa used to say that if it was above 50 at night it was time to plant okra. It is one of the easiest things to grow because it really doesn't have many pests. Keep it picked so that it will continue to produce well.

butternut squash, a great keeper. I mulch mine well and leave them on the vine till the vine dies back. I have some in the basement from last year still good! I plant radish seeds along with my squash plants to deter squash bugs. It is not fool-proof, but really helps.

cushaw , these get to be whoppers! The best for canning and you get soooo much for your money! Water these well because they seem to need more water than other squash. At least mine do. Probably because they are such huge veggies!

cantelope, probably hales best jumbo, the only real problem with cantelope are the squash bugs that bother it occasionally! If you don't want the bugs to bother the bottom of your melon then place it on a peice of heavy waxed paper or something and it keeps it from rotting on the bottom and from the little roly poly bugs and other stuff that like to attack from underneath.

watermelon, sugar baby I have yet to figure out a fool-proof way to tell if the watermelon is ripe. I was told by some to watch the curly q to see if it was shriveled up and by others who said the bottom white patch would turn yellow. The shriveled curly q probably worked the best. I waited for it to shrivel and then gave it a couple of days and then picked it.

spaghetti squash This is a great keeper too! Squash bugs seem to like it so watch for them and treat with neem oil or some other natural spray or better yet....just keep a very close eye on them and squish them as they come on there. Early in the morning is the best time because they move more slowly then!

leaf lettuce(both ruby red and black seeded simpson) I plant this very early and then to harvest I go out there with my scissors and whack off what I need for the salad. It grows right back.

head lettuce(including buttercrunch and iceberg-my hubby's idea- never had much luck with it before and he likes the stuff! ) The stuff that I have in the cold frame and that has been out there all winter....is forming heads(iceberg). It took it forever though. I don't think it works well in this area...but if you give it all winter it works. Buttercrunch works well both spring and fall. I have done both for years. We love salad and I like to have some going all year long.

spinach(bloomsdale)Spinach doesn't like acid soil so you have to be careful with it around here! I side dress mine with lime and it works pretty well. I pull off the bigger leaves and leave the little ones to get bigger. It lasts longer that way. If you live where it is hot you can make a shade tent for it out of sheer curtains and then you get a longer yield without it bolting.

zucchini (whatever is cheapest at wallyworld..heehee)Plant radishes and let them go to seed in the middle of your squash hills. The bugs will be deterred. I planted them in tomato cages a few years ago when the garden was jam packed and it helped to save space. Also kept them off the ground and they didn't get that fuzzy stuff that they sometimes do during a rainy season.

yellow crookneck and yellow straightneck I pick mine really little because we love them just barely stir fried! Again....plant some radishes with them to deter bugs

turnips. Love those turnips! Easy to plant and we steal the greens until the turnips get big enough to harvest. I still leave a few of them all season so that we can have the greens.

chard(love that rainbow swiss chard!) Just planted mine today(March 22). I noticed that some had reseeded and was up in some funny places throughout the garden. It will also overwinter and readily reseeds for me if I let a few go to seed. The red chard seems to come up before the other colors.

collards(vates I think??)These are easy to grow like the turnips.
They like the cooler weather and we sometimes will plant another crop in the fall.


and I think that is it for now....don't really remember what all there will be out there. I do have some neato okra that grows on a fence...vining okra. I want to try that this year if I find out it won't cross with my other okra. I will also be growing some special soybeans for an Indian friend of mine. She has some seeds that she brought over with her on her last trip to India and wants me to try growing some of them for her.

So....anything of the above that you want to know about.....that is great! I have grown most of it for 20 plus years and have a huge garden every year! We can and freeze it all and grow enough veggies for the year! So....just ask if you need any info....be glad to help! God Bless all! Nan

OH....p.s. I looked back through and forgot several...sorry

Cucumbers(how could I forget cucs! We pickle about 40 quarts a year of those critters...we love Marketmore 76. When they are small they pickle great and large are wonderful slicers!) I have planted them on both a fence and in tomato cages. I prefer tomato cages. I make a big round hole within the concrete reinforcing wire cage and then plant around it. Place a milk jug with holes in the bottom in the hole and then when I water them I can put the water in the jug and it gets them watered more deeply. They can't stand to be dried out. Mulch heavily. I put a scoop of rabbit poo in the milk jug and then when I water it they are fertilized at the same time..kinda a time released version on the cheaper side...heehee!

garlic...I have both the small and the elephant. I don't know the exact variety of the small kind because an older woman gave me both! The elephant garlic takes a couple of years to get large enough to use and to separate into other plants. It is much milder, but is very good.

purple hull peas(known as cowpeas around here)I plant these on the side of the corn...with the green beans on one side and the purple hulls on the other. These are vining and need a bit of support. Very easy to shell when they get larger . Just kinda squirt out the end. I now have a pea sheller and so it is easier still!

radishes(iceburg and whatever the cheapy ones are at wallyworld...I grow them in each hill of squash to deter squash bugs!)

rhubarb..the green variety..have had it for several years now and it is very prolific! My cat loves to hide under the leaves too..LOL! I bought the seeds from Wallyworld in the cheapy section and boy have they been good ones! They are not the pretty red colored ones and you have to be super patient for it to produce from seed...

sunflowers..several different kinds. During the winter I put a sunflower out for the birds about once a week. Good to plant them by your shade loving veggies!

new zealand spinach, great stuff. Make sure you mulch it well because it doesn't like to be dried out. It will reseed if you let a couple of the plants go to seed.

banana squash

delicata squash

eggplant...I think it is called black beauty...I always get the packets from Wallyworld for a dime and they are great! I start them at the same time I do my tomatoes and peppers. They are about an inch tall so far!

Now...I think that is it..but I am sure that I have forgotten something...OH...did I mention Corn? I grow Bodacious sweet corn and have for years! My favorite! I plant three, 150 foot rows. It is wind pollinated and so to make sure it gets pollinated well I make like an airplane and rake my arms gently over the tops of the stalks. I have found that if you plant it early enough and harvest it when it is ripe and not let it get toooooo ripe then you have very little problems with worms. We parboil our shucked, silked ears and then run them through cold water then straight to the freezer in ziplock bags. I get the canners to boiling before we even go out to pick the first ears. That way it goes straight into the hot water and the sugar is set. Of course we eat our share of fresh corn too and I snitch a few raw ears every morning just to make sure exactly when it is ripe....heehee! That is what I tell the kids when they catch me anyway!
Now.......I guess that is it....LOL! I always seem to find a packet of seeds that I just can't resist though..and in it goes!

again....God Bless all! Nan

 

I'll be happy to report on our garden's progress! This will be our first real garden on the farm as last year we were moving and settling in when we should have been planting. What we did plant was mostly devoured by grasshoppers. We've been composting, so our soil will be much better this year. We'll also be doing a variety of gardening methods -- row planting, raised beds, container gardening... Some things (like my early salad garden) will be going in within 2 weeks and others will go in by mid-April. We just started seedlings and the first ones sprouted up today (cabbage). The boys were thrilled to see them!

We're in Nebraska, just within the edge of Zone 5, and here's what we're planting that's on your list:

garlic

spinach

cabbage (will be planting an early and a late crop)

broccoli (will be planting an early and a late crop)

cauliflower (will be planting an early and a late crop)

mustard greens

asparagus (we're just putting in 25 crowns this spring, so I won't be able to report about a plant, but I can let you know how the planting goes and how they're doing throughout the year -- would that be at all helpful?)

rhubarb (there is a small plot of established rhubarb on the farm. I will be hopefully propagating it and I hope there are directions in the book, because I'm clueless! )

pole beans

bush beans

dry soybeans

potatoes

eating beets

carrots

red radishes

turnips

zucchini

yellow squash

pumpkins

butternut squash

watermelon

pickling cucumbers

slicing cucumbers

Italian eggplant

hot peppers (variety)

sweet peppers

regular tomatoes

paste tomato

We're planting a wide variety of lettuces/greens in the salad garden.

I'll warn you that I'm a very intermittent poster. I come back every few weeks to catch up on the notes I've taken from what I've tried. I'm trying to do better, but I just don't seem to get here as often as I should...

 

More veggie reports

Summer squash. It's been interesting to see which kinds are attacked first by squash bugs. The bugs have been attacked by insecticidal soap, so maybe I can report on how well the plants come back to production.
Zephyr - this is the bugs favorite, a smooth yellow squash with a green stem end. Tasty though. These freeze decently, if you saute them in butter first, then just thaw and reheat, especially if you melt cheese over them when reheating.
Rond de Nice - second favorite, a round zucchini type.
Cocozelle - third favorite of the squash bugs, a green speckled zucchini. I really like this one. Seems to have a bit more nutty flavor than most zukes. Very tasty. More of a vine than a bush.
Pattypan - not nearly as bothered by the bugs. We either slice this and fry it, or cook with tomatoes. The flying saucer shape is my favorite squash.
Spaghetti squash - so far, not bothered by the squash bugs. This takes up huge amounts of space, with vines at least 15' long & lots of immature squash on them.
Climbing Trombocino squash - these got planted late & don't even have blossoms yet. They are supposed to have a nutty artichoke flavor.
Last year, I planted delicata and the bugs liked them even more than zephyr, less than butternut.

I've also got winter squashes plated in the field, where they are surrounded by weeds and thriving on neglect. More later...

Beans - I love to experiment with different kinds of beans - they are my favorite vegetable. BTW, I always use innoculant when planting beans & peas.
Asparagus yard long bean - These sure are slow growing, planted mid May, just got the first beans mid August. Very mild taste, faintly like asparagus.
Magpie bush snap bean (heirloom) Seeds are black & white speckles. The description says these can be eated as green beans, but the pods have been tough even when they were small, so they will all become dried beans.
Cherokee wax - yellow bush bean - nice flavor, worth growing again. These came from the bargain 10/$1.00 bin and did great.
Royal Burgundy purple snap bean - Maybe it was just that the rain was almost continuous while these were maturing, but they seem to have lot of spots. Turn green when cooked, but stay a little dark and odd colored.
Dragon tongue snap bean - Italian flat type, yellow with purple spots. This year, I grew these as part of the 'three sister' corn, bean squash combo in the field. Deer find them quite tasty. Last year, I grew them in the raised beds, where I found them tasty too. Hearty, with good flavor.
Bush Lima - these are just getting blossoms. Many blossoms this year, so hopefully a good crop.
Romano pole bean - Just getting blossoms.
White dutch case knife - another pole bean, also just getting blossoms.
Think I'm gonna experiment with planting beans mid August & try row covers, which I never did before. I still have seeds that never got planted.

Turnip - Planted 'gold ball' an heirloom type. They seemed to get woody when only about 1-1/2". Nice color, sort of almost like a rutabaga. Greens were tough and bitter.

Cucumber, slicing - These are producing like crazy this year. These are an 'experimental' variety that came free with seed order. Knock on wood, no bugs. Next year, I will trellis them. They are taking over.

Cucumber, pickling - Éarly Russian, heirloom, but I didn't plan well & put the free cukes nearby, so might not get to save seed. Maybe I'll just tear the other kind out soon. :evil:

Diane W
(beaglady)

 

This isn't my home group but I would be happy to report on what I'm growing. Some of my plants are going to be rased on my deck in pots otheres are going into a garden at my dear friends home. Here is a basic list on what I'm growing. There might be more I"m not sure yet.
I already have the tomatoes started under my lights and they are doing very well. I also have herbs started but I think that's a diffrent chapter! Oh I"m in Ontario, Canada
Kim

Onions
Garlic
Leeks
Swiss Chard
looseleaf lettuse
Romaine Lettuce
Broccoli
Peppers
peas
bush beans
pole beans
potatos
beets
carrots
radish
zucchini
cucumbers
Tomato cherry
Tomato bush

 

I'm so glad you are all telling us about your gardens.

Shumways had some problems last year, but sent out an apology letter this year and claimed major changes were in the works. I had a bad experience with them - didn't get some seeds until it was too late to actually plant them - but they sent me a credit, and I'll give them another shot. They carry a lot of old, OP vegetables, and have the most amazing catalog, so I try and support them.

Sharon

 

Carla, last year I chunked what I thought were rotten potatoes onto the compost pile. The next day my son put some lawn clippings on the pile..and covered them up. Just before frost we had another batch of spuds!!!! Those crazy things will go nuts in compost!

 

Maybe next year I should plant the potatoes IN the compost heap?

 

I've never tried this, but have heard of planting the potatoes inside old tires full of soil, stacked 2 or 3 high. No digging - just dump the tires and the potatoes are right there, waiting to be picked up. I'm planning to try this next year.

Last year, I planted my potatoes in one of my raised beds which made for an easy harvest. This year, my good intentions of making more raised beds didn't happen. We ended up planting the potatoes in newly plowed ground in the field. Due to all the rain this year, they didn't get planted til early June. The tops are shriveling, so I dug some of them yesterday. They are planted deeper than I would have liked, almost a foot, which would have been fine in soil that was loose and crumbly from organic matter, but is a real pain to dig in new, unamended soil. Some are fist-sized, but many are smaller, and there don't seem to be a lot of them. Wonder if this is due to the soil being harder for the roots to spread in than the raised beds were?

Diane W (beaglady)