What have you done today in the Garden?

I laid an automatic water system for some beans, onions, peppers, basil and watermelons. I harvested beans, chard, potatoes, courgettes, carrots and cucumbers. i had a couple of clients and I harvested a bowl of strawberries for my daughter. I watered for about 2 hours and tied up tomatoes and removed suckers. I dug over a new place and planted potatoes, I hope to get in the last of my potatoes tomorrow. It seems I am going to be given another garden with a polytunnel and water, I better make some more tomato cuttings.

 

Odif, how long is your growing season? or are the cuttings for a tunnel?

 

The cuttings are for a tunnel. The growing season lasts until the beginning of November here. I have given up growing tomatoes outdoors, except Roma and cherry tomatoes. The rest don't always do well. I think it has to do with the sometimes high humidity and huge differences between day and night temperatures. The cuttings I want to make are mostly from a Spanish type that you can pick underripe, even green and store the whole winter. I ate my last tomato, (harvested green in late October last year) in April this year. In a tunnel the growing season can extend to end of December. Even though frosts start in beginning of november, the real cold is sometimes only in January and February. I want to ultimately try and have tomatoes all year round. We are still waiting for our first ripe Tomato of this year.

 

We have ripe tomatoes, Odif. I canned tomatoes yesterday, and picked a basket of ripe and semi-ripe ones today.
I agree about Romas and cherry tomatoes--they have a longer season here, and do better than the slicing types. We still plant Celebrities for the flavor, and I do can them, but prefer Romas for both canned and frozen sauces.
I picked four cucumbers, likely the last of the season. The vines are looking pretty poor, but still have blossoms! I checked the bell peppers, and they won't need picking until the weekend. I always get anxious and pick them too small. I want a really large bell pepper to wave under our neighbor's nose (he fancies himself as quite the gardener and passes out advice whether you ask for it or not).

 

Marlin, you convinced me to never again brag about my veggies. LOL
I watered a lot today. Picked enough Pickling cukes for half gallon. I want to use midget size this time. We still get lettuce, although it is bolting. I'm hoping for seed early enough to grow another lettuce crop before cold weather. We really enjoy salads.

 

Growingpains, go ahead and brag about your vegetables! There is a whole lot of difference between bragging and boasting. Bragging means showing what you have grown and being happy about it--boasting is just showing off and trying to make someone else feel inferior.
What kind of pickles do you make? A friend gave me a recipe for refrigerator pickles. Hers are absolutely delicious--we'll see how mine turn out .

 

Marlin, the refrigerator Dill pickles and they really are delicious and easy.

 

I watered the beans and the baby plants. I harvested a load of onions and beans, courgettes, cucumbers and a nice lettuce. I weeded in the tomato house. It has come over all cloudy, so it may rain. We are off to Spain to get some straw and some onion and lettuce plants. If it doesn't rain, I will harvest potatoes and plant beans this afternoon.

 

Picked enough beans for two days, Kale to freeze a quart, one ripe tomato, watered two tomatoes in pots/ that's a twice a day chore. Picked enough lettuce for a bed on which to serve the Tabbouleh. Second day and it was just as tasty as yesterday.
As I put the cucumbers in a half gallon jar, I realized I needed more. Fortunately, I had missed one and it was larger than I was using, but it filled the space perfectly. Used our own Dill, onions and garlic. I hope they taste as good as they look.

 

I watered my garden really well for 2 and a half hours. I harvested cukes and a few beans and lots of basil. Also harvested 5 aubergines, our first ones. We just made some pesto. Nothing more to do in the garden today, it is finally raining.

 

Odif, do you make Pesto using eggplant ? I have grown them, but find we aren't overly fond of the taste.
I googled Pyrenees Orientales and wondered which area is your domain . The area appears to have mountains both east and west.

Today I watered almost every vegetable we're growing. I carried the water and with high humidity, I was losing a huge amount of water in perspiration. Also dug and created a new lettuce bed. I think it will mature before cold weather comes. I'll be wise and create a shade for it when the sun is beating down.

 

Growingpains, we will probably make aubergine caviar with the eggplants. I live in the haut vallespir on the border of Spain. Only had 2 mms of rain so I went back and dug up 2 rows of onions. They were all drying up because they were ready and I weeded leeks and beetroots and peppers and planted more beans. After I went to my other garden and gave it a thorough soaking.

 

Odif. it looks like a beautiful place to live. Are you usually water restricted, or just lack of recent rain? We collect rain in 55 gallon barrels for use when rain is scarce.
I planted more beans yesterday.

 

I collect rainwater, there is a 5000 litre tank, but 2 days after the last rain, it was empty, so I checked and found that the guy had strimmed through the pipe and there were plants blocking it. So hopefully my repair job has done the trick, I will see. The tank is below most of the garden, so I fill up watering cans and carry water to the plants. I just got hold of a 1000 litre tank that I will put at the top. In the meanwhile, there is a public tap about 50 metres from the garden which I filled the watering cans and watered with. 2 days ago I got hold of some hosepipe and now I have a hose. Nobody has a problem with this. I only did this after seeing the mayor using public water in the same manner for his garden. I mulched the whole garden to reduce the frequency of watering. The garden with the Tomato house, has an automatic watering system, so I just have to set the timer. For my other garden up the road, i have a spring and a thousand litre holding tank. The whole garden is covered in woodchips. I only go about twice a week and drown it.

 

Odif, you're a Real gardener. Have you posted photos of your work?
Maybe you're a mite younger than I am ? I'm in my 81st year. My arms seem to grow longer each year from carrying water jugs.