Looking Forward to Start Digging up My Potatoes

 Although I have been picking many vegetables from my garden including tomatoes, corn which is done for the season, peppers, zucchini, and even eggplants  I am still waiting for my potato plants to start turning brown.  When the plants are turning yellow or brown is the perfect time to start digging them up and begin using them in delicious meals and dishes.  I love potatoes and when they grow like they should they end up being one of my favorites vegetables to cook with.  

I am hoping that these new potatoes I planted this season are at least a decent size, but I will not know until I start digging them up.  The soil is beginning to crack from the potatoes and must make certain to keep them covered otherwise they will not be able to be eaten.  Always make sure that your potatoes not the plant are covered throughout the season.

Eggplants and zucchini are the latest vegetables to be harvested from the garden the past couple of weeks.  A couple of weeks ago I got the very first zucchini from the garden which I did not think I would get any this year because of the late seed planting.  These are plants I like to start inside, but due to the cold weather in May I was unable to start them in pots.  Instead I had to hope for enough room in between the tomato plants and enough sunlight in order to get them to sprout.  Luckily they did and so far I have picked two zucchinis this season.

Eggplants on the other hand I did start them inside and very early because they need plenty of time similar to watermelons which also require an adequate amount of time.  I saw a couple of plants that had some good sized eggplants that were almost ready to pick a week or two ago.  I took a look at them this week and decided that it was time to begin harvesting.  I harvested four eggplants with three over them are some of the largest eggplants I have ever grown.  I can't wait to make them into some eggplant Parmesan meals or possibly eggplant pizzas which are also very delicious.

 

It Looks Like Plants are Starting to Produce Fruit for a Good Harvest

This is about the time that things are starting to happen and harvests will start to become common or at least once a week at the minimum.  Tomatoes will probably be the last to harvest not including my pumpkins which are always picked close to October as possible if at all.  Sometimes I have to pick my pumpkins much earlier because the plant is dead and the pumpkin can't grow or ripen anymore by being outside.  For now I am going to be focusing on vegetables that are ready or ripening right now.

 

The first new harvest for the season are my cucumbers.  I transplanted many vines this season and I also planted seeds directly in the soil as well so I have two batches of plants that I am hoping will produce many cucumbers for me.

 

I have already picked three so far this year and I am hoping to pick many more.  I have looked at the vines and I am seeing most of them with at least one or more female flowers and fruits that are getting bigger each day.  By the end of this month I hope to have at least a dozen cucumbers picked.

  Next up on the list would be my zucchini which have been growing for quite some time.  I would say around the fourth of July is when my plants began producing flowers and short after zucchini appeared on all three plants.  There are three plants, but four zucchinis that I will be picking very soon because they are large right now and only a little bit more time on the plant until it is ready to be picked and then cooked.  

My pole beans have been climbing with their vines and while this is happening they are starting to produce flowers along the way.  I think my beans might actually starting coming right after I start picking my first batch of corn.  Right now they have flowers that are opening, but no beans so far.  With the two plants that sprouted this season I am not looking to have a big harvest.

As I just mentioned my corn plants are coming through with the silks that is a sign that corn should be harvested in a couple of weeks.  This first time is a fast grower and doesn't take as long as my silver queen which I planted  in the other row.  This is the first time growing silver queen corn and I am looking forward to how it will come out this season.  Right now I will have to wait for them since they don't have any silks yet, but this early type does and should be harvesting in the near future.

Wondering What I have Been harvesting Today?

Today was quite a busy day with cutting the tops of the onions now that they are dry enough to bring inside.  I also decided to pick the rest of the corn that were on the stalks, picking several cucumbers, picking a zucchini, and putting away the tables that the onions were drying on.  Now I just need to wait for things such as melons, eggplant, and pumpkins to ripen so I can harvest them as well.
 

For the moment I have been continuing to harvest peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and corn.  The very last of the corn was harvested this afternoon.  There might be an ear here or there still on the stalks, but they will not be very big and not worth the time to pick them.  I will remove the husk from them and place them in my onion totes which will decompose over the winter for nutrients for my onions in the spring time. 

 

Zucchini I have been picking for the longest this season.  I now have four newer plants that were added about a month or so ago and they are at the point that they might be producing female flowers real soon.  This means that I might actually have time to begin picking zucchini from them.  I just picked a large zucchini from one of the older ones that were transplanted into the garden.  This is the biggest so far this season and hopefully will get several more before the season is done.

Peppers are also a very consistent vegetable to pick through the season.  I have started picking them a week or so ago and now most of the plants have plenty of flowers along with plenty of peppers.  This season I planted Chinese giant instead of the normal California bell pepper.  They are very similar except for the fact that the Chinese giant ones maybe a little bit bigger than others.  I guess I will find out with time how big they can get.

Getting the first Set of Red Onions Harvested this Past Week

At the moment my red onions were ready to be harvested, but my yellow onions are still not quite ready to be picked.  I always wait for the stems to fall over when harvesting onions and my red onions have fallen were ready to be picked from the soil.  I had planted two extra totes of red onions this season and it seems to have been a good decision.  Once they dry out on the table outside I will then bring them inside and feast on them throughout the year.
 

Although I have harvested red onions the rest of the garden is still growing and not quite ready for a good harvesting.  I would say within a week or so I should be start picking vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and possibly peppers.  Right now I have been slowly picking zucchini which has been growing quite well and ripening fast.
 

Many of my tomato plants are producing fruit and have not began to ripen just yet.  I am hoping that with all this hot sunny weather they should start turning red.  It will be interesting to see how many plants of cherry, Roma, and beefsteak I have.  I went through several plantings in the spring and kind of lost track of how much of each type I have.  At the moment I have at least two Romas, several beefsteak, and several cherry tomato plants.
 

I will also start digging up my potatoes that I planted in the springtime.  The plants are started to wither and die and this is when you know it is time to get them out of the ground.  I plan on digging them up sometime this week at the latest.  I could do it tomorrow morning before the afternoon rain comes.  I will have to see how the week goes before digging them up.  They will definitely be up by the end of the week.

What is Next Now That Lettuce and Spring Crops are Done?

Yup it is now time to switch to summer crop mode now that most of the spring crops are either going to seed or starting to turn brown which means no more production from them.  I still have to wait before digging up my potatoes which is one of the very last spring crops along with onions that have to be picked from the soil.

As for my onions they are still growing and getting bigger at the moment.  Some of them started to go to seed quite early so I had to make sure to remove the seed pod at the tip of them stem otherwise my onions would be very small when I pick them.  My yellow onions I will keep in the totes for now, but my red onions look like they are just about ready for harvesting.  At the moment most of the red onions have fallen which means they are done for the season.  Since my yellow onions have not fallen that means they are not quite ready for picking.  It won’t be long before they begin to fall.
 

Now that it is time for summer crops to produce it looks like my peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini are the first to be harvested during the month of July.  At the moment I have picked two zucchinis which have already been used to make some good meals and there are still more growing on the plants.
 

Pepper plants and tomato plants have flowers and some fruits.  Right now my peppers do not have fruits, but my tomato plants do.  I have at least a couple of plants that have flowers and fruits that will hopefully be ready by the month of July.  Usually it is usually a cherry tomato plant that is producing because they grow and ripen much quicker than beefsteak tomatoes.  Right now my beefsteak tomatoes are the ones that have tomatoes growing and plenty of flowers beginning to open.

 

I also have a couple of small cucumbers that are growing on a few vines that look like they have been pollinated.  One of them is getting bigger each day, but another one is too small to tell if it has been pollinated yet.  I am staying optimistic that they both have been pollinated and I should be getting the first cucumber of the season very soon

Many Fruits and Vegetables Appearing on Most Plants and Vines

It looks like this is the month for harvesting which may include tomatoes, beans, zucchini, melons, and many more.  At the moment I will be definitely harvesting zucchini, onions, corn, beans, and possibly cherry tomatoes.  All the others I might not be picking this month, but most likely in the month of August at the latest.

First on the list is between zucchini and onions.  Since most of my onion plants have fallen over this is the sign that I use when it is time to pull them from the soil.  I would say that my onions are going to be the next harvested vegetable from my garden.  Although I don’t use them right away because I let them dry in the hot sun, my zucchinis may be the first to be used for a meal sooner.



I have a few plants that have zucchini vegetables on them.  The earlier planted zucchini plants will have the first crack at harvesting.  The seeds that were planted a little bit later will obviously take just a little bit longer for some vegetables to be growing from them.



My pole beans are also on the list to be harvested very soon.  Some of the vines already have beans that are ready for picking which is quite soon for them.  The other vines are still in the process of growing and producing flowers and are not ready for harvesting just yet.  I will probably pick all the beans that are ready at the moment in order for the plants to continue producing pods.



Corn is also early this year and is usually picked in August, but this may be due to the new variety that I planted this season.  This is most likely an early picked corn that is growing in the garden right now.  I feel that I will be picking them this month at the latest.



Tomatoes I am also looking forward to because I have many plants this season and I might have enough to last a little bit longer than usual.  I also use many of them for sauces and salsas so none of these tomatoes will be wasted.  Whatever is not used for sauce will be used for sandwiches or salads.

It Looks Like Blueberry Season is in Full Force

Today was a good day to start picking some more blueberries from the garden.  Most of the time the month of July is when you need to start picking them because many of them should be ripe by this time.  It is not uncommon to start picking them at the end of June, but this year it looks like they were not ready enough for harvesting until July.  The good news is that I picked much more today than I did in my very first blueberry harvest.

Five and a quarter pounds is what I got today and the first harvest was barely a pound if not a little bit less.  I still have plenty of berries out there and I should be able to have a couple more harvests with plenty of berries. 

My tomato plants are looking good with plenty of tomatoes growing on them at the moment.  Cherry tomatoes are usually the first to be picked, but I actually had a Roma tomato growing on one of my plants since I placed them in the garden.  This year I am not sure if I will be picking a Roma for the first harvest or a cherry tomato like usual.






Normally my zucchini plants have already started growing on my plants, but since I planted them a little bit late they are getting their flowers late as well.  They are now just showing signs of flowers of both male and female.  Only one plant looks promising that I could be picking a zucchini very soon as long as this flower was pollinated.



My rhubarb plant that I added to the garden this season is doing quite well even though it is quite hot right now.  I still won’t be picking any of the stems this year, but I am hopeful that next year I will be able to pick at least a few of them to do something with.  It takes at least one cold winter to get them producing many delicious stems year after year.

How about Some Corn on the Cob?

Yes that is what I was able to enjoy yesterday with a decent harvest of some of my corn.  I like to cook all of them right away or at least the same day that I pick them and with that I got to have some corn to eat with my dinner.  They were quite large and delicious and I can’t wait to continue picking all the rest that are still out there.  I would guess that I have about a dozen or so left to harvest.


Beans are also flourishing and some more of them were picked as well.  I still have many growing on the vines which means I should be getting some more this month and hopefully through September as well.  As long as those buds and flowers keep coming I should have many more harvests.


A few peppers, cucumbers, and a couple of Romas were the harvest of today.  I even had one zucchini that was ready as well.  It is just the second round for my zucchini plants are there are a couple more out there that are not ready, but I should be picking them soon.

More Vegetable Harvests will be Coming Very Soon

I will be very surprised if I don’t start harvesting my corn this coming week.  Most of the stalks have about one to two ears on them and a few of the earlier ones are actually close to picking.  I checked a couple of them today and they are still white which means they should be turning yellow very soon with some good sun in the next few days.

On the other hand some of my tomatoes are starting to turn as well.  Cherry tomatoes as you well know I have been picking for about a couple of weeks, but my other tomatoes I have not started yet.  That should soon change with a few of my regular tomatoes and sauce tomatoes are a light orange color at the moment.

I might also start picking some more zucchini in a week or so now that my plants are producing more of them for me to pick.  It took a little bit longer before they could produce a second batch, but at least they are starting to grow some more for another harvest of them.

Last, but not least my eggplants have started producing flowers and only one has a vegetable beginning to grow from it.  Eggplants take a while to mature and that is why I am not surprised that it took this long to produce a vegetable that I am looking forward to harvest in less than a month hopefully.

Getting to Harvest Zucchini Today and Soon Many Other Vegetables

Right now I have not harvested anything from my summer crop.  If you count blueberries as a summer crop, then I have only harvested one fruit this season.  Well all that changed today when I harvested the first zucchini of the season. 

Not only are my zucchini plants producing vegetables, but my cucumbers are on the verge of harvesting as well.  For now it is my straight eight cucumbers, but my pickle cucumbers will probably come shortly after these. 

 One pumpkin looks like it wants to grow right on the vine.  I have a pumpkin plant that has its first pumpkin growing right on the vine.  This is the first one of the season as well and with many other vines growing in the garden I hope to see more of them in the coming weeks.

Much Harvesting of Zucchini and Tomatoes on the Way

I would say that most of the harvesting of my vegetables and fruits from the garden will be coming sometime this month.  I would say in the next few weeks I should be start harvesting my tomatoes.  My zucchini are ready to be picked and there are a minimum of three that need to be picked soon.

This is just one of the zucchinis that I plan on picking this weekend.  I think it is a perfect size for harvesting and I always wait until they have reached their peak size.








Tomatoes are also on my list for harvesting, but they will not be ready for another couple of weeks once they reach their peak size they still need to ripen.  It is still good to see most of my plants producing tomatoes including my steakhouse, cherry, and even Roma.

Here is just a small cluster of Roma tomatoes that have been hiding on some of my plants.  I hope to get plenty of them in order to make as much sauce as possible to enjoy over the Fall and Winter.








Some more blueberries were ready for picking and I picked my second harvest of these delicious berries.  I think I will have at least a few more harvests and hope to pick as many as possible.

This is just a sample of some of the berries that I picked recently.  I have many more that need to be harvested real soon and I hope to do that in the next couple of days or so.

What Plants Are Next for Transplanting?

It looks like this weekend has been quite productive with adding three types of plants into the garden.  This doesn't sound like much, but with over twenty tomato plants, twelve squash plants, and a dozen melon plants it makes for a long weekend.  Today I was able to finish the melons and squash transplanting.

A couple of days ago when I had finished tilling I wanted to get as many tomato plants into the ground as possible.  Since I had many tomato plants to add to the garden I wanted to get the hardest plants over with.  It only took about four hours to plant all my tomato plants into the ground.

My melons had been in peat pots for quite a long time and they probably wouldn't have last that much longer in these containers.  That is when I decided to plant them right after my tomatoes.  This includes all my
melons such as watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew.

Right after doing my melon plants squash plants were next.  The two squash plants that I grew this season were pumpkins and zucchini.  These are the only two squash plants worth growing.

Harvest Time for Beans and Cucumbers

It is that time of the year where I will be picking more vegetables and fruits and harvesting will be a daily thing.  Right now harvesting is still slow, but within a week or so I am sure that I will have to start picking more vegetables in the garden

I have started with zucchini and now that my beans and cucumbers are ready I will now start picking them.  My cucumber plants have many vegetables on them and my beans while they take a little bit longer to produce beans they will bring a much better harvest.

Even though I have only picked one cucumber so far you can see in the picture below that my plants have many of them that I am waiting to ripen.  Once they get a little bit bigger I will be picking all of them that are ready for eating.

I picked just two pounds of beans yesterday.

Along with beans and cucumbers I even had some more zucchinis that were ready for harvesting as well.  As you know these plants will just continue to produce for the rest of the year as long as I give them exactly what they need.