In article ,
(simy1) wrote:

(Pat Kiewicz) wrote in message
...
"DaveH" wrote in message
.. .
I'm always interested to know what others are growing.

Paste tomatoes (caged)

did you put them out already? I did ten days ago, in my new full full
sun garden (sunrise to one hour before sunset). I guessed the
continuing wet weather would help with both temperature and moisture
(it sure helped with moisture, and so far it has not gone below 48F).
Also, what do you do with all those toms and veggies in general? I am
already giving away lettuce to anyone who is willing to eat it, and I
know I will be doing the same in august with tomatoes, and I only have
30 plants.

Only 30?!? The mind boggles ;-) Our garden is confined to the upper
deck. Everything is in pots so the deer and other critters can't eat it
all. We have....

4 kinds of tomatoes - 7 plants total
bush cucumbers
bush beans
two kinds of lettuce
sugar snap peas
lots of herbs though as usual the basil looks terrible, sigh.

Maybe someday we'll have a fence and a moat and who knows what else and
will be able to plant a garden in the actual dirt ;-)

marcella

simy1 said:

(Pat Kiewicz) wrote in message
news:F-ednRTLoZFYIijdRVn-hw@comc
ast.com...

Paste tomatoes (caged)

did you put them out already? I did ten days ago, in my new full full
sun garden (sunrise to one hour before sunset). I guessed the
continuing wet weather would help with both temperature and moisture
(it sure helped with moisture, and so far it has not gone below 48F).

Yes, but my peppers and eggplants are still inside under the light. I had
started weaning them outside last week, but mostly it's been cool and
cloudy.

Also, what do you do with all those toms and veggies in general? I am
already giving away lettuce to anyone who is willing to eat it, and I
know I will be doing the same in august with tomatoes, and I only have
30 plants.

The corn we eat. I grow only the SE types, which are sweet, 'corn-y' and TENDER,
unlike the crunchy (only) supersweet (sh2) types that seem to have flooded the
markets. I might have a meal of sweetcorn, tomato and pepper salad, and yogurt.

The peppers we eat and freeze (and give some away). I also lose some most
years to the !#!@! pepper maggots.

The extra tomatoes (I only have 16 plants total) are dried, or processed
into concentrated puree (chunked and frozen after I have enough puree).
I give away some of the salad tomatoes. (But one of my best friends HATES fresh
tomatoes! Weird!) 8^)

The winter squash I cook, puree and freeze. (LOVE multigrain 'pumpkin' waffles!)

The onions and garlic I use (though I lose some of the onions in storage due
to less than optimal conditions). We eat the leeks. (I loved leeks baked with
butter.)

Sometimes I end up giving away lettuce. Oftentimes I give away cukes.
Generally I pick the summer when squash really, really small which keeps it
under control. Else we have (whole wheat) zucchini bread.

Gave up growing melons, as they seemed to inevitably get bacterial wilt.
(The cukes are seedless, grown in a screened in box so they are safe from
the beetles that carry the wilt.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

DaveH wrote:

I'm always interested to know what others are growing.

For me this year--
Tomatoes--

German: After trying about 200 varieties, I've settled on this
occasionally oxheart shaped red as the best of the lot, which I grown
from saved seed. Wispy foliage, not very vigorous, moderate yields,
fruit size variable; but complex, dense, sweet "classic" tomato taste.
I take kosher salt to the garden, tear a fruit in half, and munch
'till I'm a sticky mess.
snip
The German tomato sounds very good. I will look for seeds or plants!

I'm growing: potatoes (20), strawberries, beans (golden wax wax, royal
burgundy), herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, chives, parsley,
mint), peppers (California wonder, Bell boy, hot, jalepeno, haberanero),
tomatoes (beefsteak, brandywine, sweetie, roma), brussel sprouts,
lettuce (bristro blend, Grand rapids), mesclun mix, corn salad, onions
(spanish, green), swiss chard, beets (Detroit red), peanuts, carrots,
radishes (Cherry belle, gourmet mix, zucchini, cucumbers (straight
eights, burpless), peas (Lincoln homesteader), cantelope (Hale's best),
broccoli, and watermelon. I may sneak in a couple extras if I find
plants that strike my fancy. Most of the above were started from seed
so I haven't seen what the nurserys have to offer yet. The only loss so
far seems to be the newly planted rhubarb.

simy1 wrote:

(Pat Kiewicz) wrote in message ...

"DaveH" wrote in message
...

I'm always interested to know what others are growing.

Paste tomatoes (caged)


did you put them out already? I did ten days ago, in my new full full
sun garden (sunrise to one hour before sunset). I guessed the
continuing wet weather would help with both temperature and moisture
(it sure helped with moisture, and so far it has not gone below 48F).
Also, what do you do with all those toms and veggies in general? I am
already giving away lettuce to anyone who is willing to eat it, and I
know I will be doing the same in august with tomatoes, and I only have
30 plants.

We can never have too many tomatoes. This year I planted 12 plants
(brandywine, beefsteak, roma, sweetie) and I get all the free tomatoes I
want from a relative who grows tomatoes for a cannery. I can and freeze
tomatoes whole, stewed, in sauces, in salsas, and in complete dishes.
During the growing season, we eat them freshly picked from the vine for
fresh salsas, salads, sandwiches, and sauces. There are very few days
we don't eat tomatoes in one form or another. Other vegetables are
eaten fresh, canned or froze. The trick is growing enough to eat off of
and have enough to preserve. Lettuce is a little difficult in that it
doesn't preserve well so we eat it daily when available from the garden.
This year when the weather threatens frost, I'm going to transplant
the lettuces into containers for the greenhouse and windowsill.

Marcella Tracy Peek wrote in message ...
Only 30?!? The mind boggles ;-) Our garden is confined to the upper
deck. Everything is in pots so the deer and other critters can't eat it
all.

Maybe someday we'll have a fence and a moat and who knows what else and
will be able to plant a garden in the actual dirt ;-)

marcella

I put up an electric fence around my garden. Five strands of wire, the
bottom one 6" above ground and the top one about 7'. I haven't had
deer or rabbits in the garden since I put it up. However the coons
crossed it for the corn but they didn't bother anything else.
I hear all kinds of stories about how high deer can jump, but I guess
they don't want in my garden bad enough to expend the energy. (no
snide remarks ;) )

Bob S.

DaveH wrote:

I'm always interested to know what others are growing.
A fun thread!

Tomatoes, a variety of hybrids and heirlooms:

German Johnson, Celebrity, Park's Whopper, Brandywine, another heirloom
I can't recall (Matice?), Fourth of July, Early Girl, generic plum, San
Marzano, and Sun Sugar cherry.

Eggplant:

Dusky, White Beauty, Black Beauty, Classic, and the sampler from Cook's
Garden.

Peppers/Chile:

Ancho, Anaheim, Lilac, Whopper, Golden Summer, Large Hot Thai, Long Cayenne.

Herbs:

Basil, Dill, Italian Flat leaf parsley, slo-bolt Cilantro, oh and how
can I forget, GARLIC

Corn:

First block is Seneca/Daybreak and the rest of the season I plant Silver
King (really really good!).

Pumpkin/Gourds:

Howden -- excellent for carving... good size, wonderful shape
Speckeled Swan gourd, Turk's Turban, various small varieties. I didn't
get my dipper or bottle gourds going in time this year. :-(

Flowers:

Various sunflowers, zinnia, dahlia, gladiolus.

I'm sure I've forgotten some. :-)

Mary

DaveH wrote:
I'm always interested to know what others are growing.

For me this year--
Tomatoes--

German: After trying about 200 varieties, I've settled on this
occasionally oxheart shaped red as the best of the lot, which I grown
from saved seed. Wispy foliage, not very vigorous, moderate yields,
fruit size variable; but complex, dense, sweet "classic" tomato taste.
I take kosher salt to the garden, tear a fruit in half, and munch
'till I'm a sticky mess.

Reif Red: Very close to German, sometimes better. More vigorous,
higher yields, beefsteak type fruits.

Pineapple: Almost sickeningly sweet bicolor. My wife's favorite.
Fantastic with oil/vinegar and fresh basil on good toast.
Very sturdy, disease resistant--still standing last year when most
other plants were affected by wilt. Moderately high yields.
Really a great tomato.

Fantastic: The best hybrid I've tried. Way superior to the usual
suspects like the "Boy" and "girl" series.

San Marzano: First time growing this year.

Not growing Brandywine for this time this year. I've tried all the
strains, and though BW is one of the best, I think it's a bit
overrated. Can verge on being too tangy/peppery. German and Reif Red
are superior, imo.

I've never tried Park's Whopper, Mortgage lifter, and some of the
other classics. I think the darker tomatoes like Pruden's purple and
Black Krim are mediocre. Too delicate and soft. Completely subjective,
of course.
-----------------------------------------------------

Other veggies--
Hale's best cantaloupe. First time for this variety. I haven't grown
melons in some years. Previously grew Ambrosia which is so sweet it
tastes like it's been injected with sugar.

Pumpkins, Zucchini, Basil, other herbs.

Pole and bush beans. Cascade Giant, Fortex, Blue Lake.

I might do corn this year. Kandy Korn has been the standard, but I
might try Silver Queen this year.

DaveH

Tomatoes - several varieties.
Sweet corn - several varieties
Pumpkins - bush, in with the sweet corn.
Beets
Green beans - bush
Summer squash - zucchini (this year will also add yellow summer squash)
Onions - winter storage mostly.
Cabbage - winter storage mostly.
Carrots - short to medium long varieties
Potatoes
Cucumbers - straight 8 and pickling
Peppers - green
Celery

Probably forgot a few vegetables, but the above is our standard (37
years of vegetable gardening). We preserve (canning, freezing) pretty
heavy around here. This year will start using my new dehydrator for some
things.

Also have rhubarb, asparagus, sweet cherries, apples, grapes, thyme,
chives, currants.

We used to grow winter squash, but now I just use pumpkins as a squash
sub. We always grow a variety within a group (at least two types of
beets, two types of carrots, four or five types of tomatoes or more,
etc. We live in central Wisconsin.

Barb

In article , wrote:
On Wed, 26 May 2004 23:58:28 GMT, (Rez)
wrote:

In article , DaveH
wrote:
I'm always interested to know what others are growing.
Weeds
Sounds like here! (I can't remember who is in Idaho,) but yeah it was
warm too warm Feb, March, and part of April, then it cooled off to
"normal" temps.

Yeah. We had no poppy season this year because of the early heat. On
the plus side, it also killed all the tumbleweed sprouts that weren't
in protected locations. So this year I've only about an acre of 'em to
pull instead of 10 acres (yes, I cleared it by hand... I should have
my head examined)

I'm mostly growing weeds too. Stuff in the barrels was doing pretty
well, flowers came up out there and in the strawberry barrels, and
now.. I'm growing ELM TREES!! There was about an inch of seeds stacked

Oh yes, we get those too. Elms normally do pretty well in the desert,
or did until we got 5 years of drought. All the mature elm trees
dry-rotted inside during the drought, so are gradually dying off or
keeling over. I have volunteer elms everywhere I don't want them.

up around the place, they were getting tracked in and if someone
spills water on the carpet somewhere, and light accidentally reaches
them I'd not doubt if they'd start growing in here too! Wouldn't be

I've actually seen that happen, where a chronically damp spot
indoors starts growing elm seedings.

BTW does anyone have some white ash seeds they'd part with? They will
grow here, but the real thing is hard to find. The nurseries only have
Modesto ash which I don't especially like. (Tho I have a tiny one in a
pot, that was pilfered from a parking lot.)

surprised, bind weed has found its way into the house more than once
where ghostly pale yellow green vines that blended in with the cabinet
color so didn't notice them until they were half way up the front
headed for the window in the kitchen, and in the laundry room it came
in the dryer vent hole and grew around the power line along the floor
to the dryer, and up the fishing pole and was headed for the string
that you pull to turn the light on! Guess it knew what to do!

LOL!! Yeah, I've seen weeds do that. You don't dare let much of
anything bigger than a petunia grow next to a building here tho, cuz
any woody roots left by last year's dead weeds will attract ground
termites so fast you wouldn't believe it. You can't leave anything
wooden lay on the ground for more than a week, or it gets infested.

But, I have solid elm tree seedlings in all the half whiskey barrel
planters, and they're in the walkways, anywhere there was dirt to grow
in because it started raining and it's rained just enough to keep the
soil damp enough for them to sprout. *sigh* I hate them sooooo! I

White ash seeds are like that in Montana

also have evil nasty asters all through the lawn in the back. I don't

Evil nasty asters? And here I only had one survivor from the ones I
tried to grow from seed (something kept eating them).

know how it got there, as I actually managed to pay someone to keep
everything mowed back there. Grape vines are too close to be spraying

I've got a grape vine in a pot that was a broken chunk from the
nursery, it grew big thick roots in a hurry and has just put out its
first new leaf. I have no idea what kind it is.

(They think you're weird when you gather all the broken pieces of
roses and such off the floor

around them. Should have just reseeded lawn .. had I known it was
going to rain so much.. it'd eventually choke them out! Well I can
dream can't I?!

Me too g

I hope to get a few tomato plants, a few buttercup squash vines since
the stores don't seem to carry them much these days, and when they do,
they want meat prices for them, and some peppers, zucchini, maybe some

Amazing, isn't it? Four bucks a pound for vegetables?!! I'm glad I'm
mostly a meat eater.

~REZ~