Garden 2016 Underway

[Spung-Man]

not sure if you've tried that New Zealand spinach

Yes, you are spot on for toughness and taste, but I couldn't build enthusiasm from the family; same for other spinach substitutes like amaranth, Malabar spinach, and good King Henry. Swiss chard spoiled their tastebuds.

Have you ever grown Komatsuna greens? That's another green that I've heard performs well in the heat

That's komatsuna greens growing beneath the hot peppers in my first photo. With heat I get disease to Brassica, so have to frequently reseed and pick immature.

I'll be back shortly about gooseberries and currents.

S-M

 

[RednekF350]

I made my first tomato gravy of the season from fresh San Marzanos tonight.
Sautéed a little onion, garlic, a cubanelle, fresh basil and a half a long hot and slow-cooked it all down for an hour.
The sweetness of the San Marzanos is amazing !

 

[Spung-Man]

Oh yes, tomato gravy is so much better than sauce! Anyone from South Jersey knows the difference.

Romas, Sungolds, and Carolina Golds with mozzarella tonight, olive oil and balsamic; glass of Spanish granacha My San Marzanos are a couple days off. The regular basil grew like gangbusters then petered out, so substituted Thai and holy basil for the regular stuff.

 

[SuperChooch]

This am had a 3 egg omelet with some fresh tomatoes, jalapeños and my first cherry pepper of the season. This evening had a couple Rutgers 250's (the new retro Rutgers variety) and my first Brandywine of the season with some oil, salt and balsamic.

 

[smoke_jumper]

Oh yes, tomato gravy is so much better than sauce! Anyone from South Jersey knows the difference.

Oh boy!! The great sauce/gravy debate.
As most Americans I'm pretty much a mutt but I do have a lot of Italian. My grand father was Italian and grew up in Millville until he moved to Hammonton. He nearly had a melt down the first time I heard some one refer to sauce as gravy. To this day I never under stood why. To top it off I grew up with friends who were Italian and was practally exiled when I asked to pass the sauce. We all grew up in South Jersey and I could barely tell the difference taste wise. I've learned to never mention it unless I've heard someone else call it gravy or sauce first.

 

[smoke_jumper]

Thanks Smoke, we love going to the farm or farmer's market too. I didn't know that strawberries were shade tolerant! Funny that you mention them because the kids want to grow them next year. Any advice for us on how to get a good-sized crop (enough for fresh eating and making a few jars of preserves)?

I'm not sure they like the shade since I planted them in the sunniest area in my yard (50% or so). Keep in mind Strawberries come up year round. I started with an elevated box about 4'x8' we planted 2 plants years ago. Every spring I relocate the ones that popped up outside of the planter. If you try them keep on top of them. They will take over if you're not careful

 

[Spung-Man]

Back to the question about currants and gooseberries. Back in 1918 currants and gooseberries were banned in NJ (to stop white pine blister rust), but that ban was lifted in 1966 to allow red currents and gooseberries. The European black currant I believe is still listed. We are at the southern edge of current and gooseberry production because of hot summers.

While the literature indicates they are heavy feeders, it is easy to overdo a good thing in our region. Last year I heavily used alfalfa meal to induce bumper crops. Crops were impressive. Unfortunately, it turned the plants into iceberg lettuce to the bad guys, they blighted back with summer heat and I totally lost one of four plants and set back the others by a year.

Much to my daughter’s disdain, no gooseberry–rhubarb pie, no red current jelly this year. Don’t over-fertilize. Picking enough of tiny red currants for jelly is a test of patience, but the end product is well worth the effort. It is ambrosia on ice cream; the tart flavor is amazingly complex. I had good luck with Jonkheer van Tets Currant, Rovada Currant, and Invicta Gooseberry. I’ve added a new gooseberry release called “Jeanne,” which promises to be sweet, tasty, and disease resistant.

S-M

 

[Teegate]

The final group of onions. These and all that we have used already were grown in a two foot by two foot plot.

 

[RednekF350]

The final group of onions. These and all that we have used already were grown in a two foot by two foot plot

That's awesome Guy ! I can't believe that you can grow that many onions in such a small area.
What is the variety ? Are they a sweet onion ?
The only subsurface plant I ever messed with was radish.

 

[bobpbx]

I didn't know you liked onions Guy. I know you are a picky eater.

 

[Teegate]

They are either yellow or sweet as I grew them both together. Jessica made French onion soup today. She did not like it but I did.

Bob....I am not a fan of onions in most of my food but I like onions when they are mushy such as in soup.

The assesor came today while she was making it. My wife said she warned him before he came in to expect a strong onion smell.

 

[RednekF350]

I am having the best year in recent memory for peppers. I think maybe the hotter weather helped.

Yesterday afternoon I put up 7 quarts of cherry hots and long hots and I left a lot hanging.

The cubanelles are really kicking too and we have had side dishes of sautéed long hots and friers three times this week.

Tomatoes are all rolling in and we had our first BLTs this week with the Ramapos. Glad to see the return of that variety. My Dad always grew them and they are now being resurrected by seed companies.

 

[NJChileHead]

A belated thank you, Smoke_Jumper and Spung-Man, for the good information, and my apologies for the delay. I was away on vacation in the beginning of August and haven't been on here (been playing catch-up with housework, etc.). Hope your gardens are still doing well!

 

[SuperChooch]

So my garlic is out and my basil bolted so I have quite a bit of real estate opened up. What should I plant? Also where do you all get plants this time of year? In the spring they seem to be at every garden store, later summer/fall not so much....

 

[Teegate]

Can't help you in the near term but you should plant onions later this year and they will start growing very early in February/March if we get a warm spell.

 

[Spung-Man]

It’s not too late to plant if you can find seedlings for sale, and even possible to grow from seed Asian greens, cilantro, and radishes. I’m setting out plants of lettuce, greens, daikon, cilantro, parsley, Thai and sweet basil, scallions (to overwinter), snow peas, gherkins, and even a couple squash. I start everything, even parsnips, in seedling cells to pot up into four packs (except the parsnips). Summer’s heat was brutal on the garden, knocking out the cool-season stuff like chard, string beans, and most greens but not collards – albeit a bit worn-eaten.

The Asian narrow-leaf New Yu Mai lettuce kicked ass, at least the ones in shade below peppers and okra. I’m buried in tomatoes, and pretty good on tomatillos (green and pineapple), eggplant, yard-long beans, scallions, daikon, bitter good, and luffa. Only the holy and lemon basils survived out of a half-dozen cultivars. Apollo Hybrid “Brokali” keeps getting bigger and bigger without any signs of heads, so I expect a fall bumper crop.

Stink bugs quickly did away with my melons, cucumbers, and two types of squash. They are truly evil, and scary smart. A new parasitic wasp should soon be released for sale, not anywhere soon enough for me as there is no chemical control for them. Can’t grow garlic no matter how hard I try, and refuse to buy the cheap ones raised in China. Local stands like Bertuzzi's and Levari's still carry domestic garlic, without which life would be insipid.

S-M

 

[Spung-Man]

Just checking in to report that the garden is still producing. We are picking four varieties of lettuce, parsley, cilantro, scallions, kale, mustard, collards, and other greens, parsnips, daikon, a bit of chard, a couple peas, and Jerusalem artichoke. The Apollo Hybrid “Brokali” side sprouts were nothing special, but the main leaves and thick stems may appear rock-hard but they steam-up beautifully soft. Brokali's flavor is very good too.

Even though the Pine Barrens is colder than surrounding areas, well-drained sands allow the cultivation of some tender economic plants that might not otherwise survive sub-zero Fahrenheit (Paperbush—Edgeworthia chrysantha, Mexican Orange—Choisya X dewitteana 'Aztec Pearl,' Yaupon—Ilex vomitoria).

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Raw Jerusalem artichoke is a good water-chestnut substitute, and is easy to grow.

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Six heat waves during 2016 helped mature a good crop of tongue-numbing Japanese pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum).

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The warmth also helped this heat-lover to good bloom from late September to early October. This is the Mexican witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana var. mexicana) from the Sierra Madre Orientale. Normally its flowers are more cream-colored but in 2016 the petals are yellow.

S-M