Gardening 2018

[Lady tehMa]

What are you going to do with them?

This has been a very disappointing year in my garden. Except for the grapes - grapes were/are exceedingly bountiful. Tomatoes still ripening slowly, and beets/cukes/onions/lettuce all did poorly.

[Catsumi]

Banana squash are pure gold, imo.

I cut into long strips, peel off outer shell with my handy-dandypeeler, chop into 1" chunks. Put in microwave proof bowl with lid, cook until tender. Mash and freeze. Better than mashed spuds, or, combine the two as topping on Sheperds Pie, etc.

My toms, due to insufficient water, have cracked tops but that's ok as I peel them anyway for bacon, tom and cheese on pumpernickel, toasted. Black Krims weren't big this year but still one if the tastiest dark red toms ever.

I tore my garden out; got enough zuc for a while.

Grapes, LadyT? Freeze them.

[Jflem1983]

My garden sucked again this year. Building a soil base on sand and rocks has been a bit harder than i thought. Harder is the wrong word. More work than i thought. It has been a lot of wheel barrowing. Now trailering with the garden tractor. Loads and loads and loads of nice dirt. Slowly trying to build soil for a garden. After 3 years i have terraformed a nice chunk into somewhat gardenable land.

[Catsumi]

My garden sucked again this year. Building a soil base on sand and rocks has been a bit harder than i thought. Harder is the wrong word. More work than i thought. It has been a lot of wheel barrowing. Now trailering with the garden tractor. Loads and loads and loads of nice dirt. Slowly trying to build soil for a garden. After 3 years i have terraformed a nice chunk into somewhat gardenable land.

I don't understand. Are you saying your soil layer was too thin, hence garden sucked? What were you growing?

Save every scrap of veg and fruit peelings and dig those into the soil. Worms find the treasure trove and help turn it into soil fast. Tried and true as I have done this myself turning so-so ground into richly productive garden. Even dug in chopped straw and loads of leaves and grass clippings collected by pals (avoid dogturds though).

[Jflem1983]

My garden sucked again this year. Building a soil base on sand and rocks has been a bit harder than i thought. Harder is the wrong word. More work than i thought. It has been a lot of wheel barrowing. Now trailering with the garden tractor. Loads and loads and loads of nice dirt. Slowly trying to build soil for a garden. After 3 years i have terraformed a nice chunk into somewhat gardenable land.

I don't understand. Are you saying your soil layer was too thin, hence garden sucked? What were you growing?

Save every scrap of veg and fruit peelings and dig those into the soil. Worms find the treasure trove and help turn it into soil fast. Tried and true as I have done this myself turning so-so ground into richly productive garden. Even dug in chopped straw and loads of leaves and grass clippings collected by pals (avoid dogturds though).

Refuse to compost as there are rats in town.


Yes soil is still thin in too many spots.

Ill keep adding good dirt.

[Queen K]

Get some well rotted manure, leaves and grass, dig it all in now and let nature take its course. Next year add a bit more soil.

[Catsumi]

Agreed. When you dig in veg peelings, manure, etc. the stuff gets coated with dirt. Even rats won't bother with that. It's when you leave it on the surface in the open that you might attract rats.

Tried and true method to improve soil water retention, friability and nutrition for plants and attract worms.

[Lady tehMa]

Banana squash are pure gold, imo.

I cut into long strips, peel off outer shell with my handy-dandypeeler, chop into 1" chunks. Put in microwave proof bowl with lid, cook until tender. Mash and freeze. Better than mashed spuds, or, combine the two as topping on Sheperds Pie, etc.

My toms, due to insufficient water, have cracked tops but that's ok as I peel them anyway for bacon, tom and cheese on pumpernickel, toasted. Black Krims weren't big this year but still one if the tastiest dark red toms ever.

I tore my garden out; got enough zuc for a while.

Grapes, LadyT? Freeze them.

I might have to freeze them, every time I think we've cleared a section, I find more.

My 2 go-to's for squash are butternut and spaghetti, and it doesn't look like any of my squashes fruited!

Because I spent so much time indoors due to the smoke, I had an irregular watering schedule and I don't recall fertilizing once since I planted That might be why some of my plants have failed so spectacularly (cucurbits in particular).

Tomatoes I've had some failures but the Black Krim and Old German have done okay, even if they're only now ripening.

I like my tomatoes large. When you cut one for a sandwich, you can cover a piece of bread with just one slice!

[alanjh595]

I like my tomatoes large. When you cut one for a sandwich, you can cover a piece of bread with just one slice!

Personally, I like 2 slices to the slice of bread sandwich ratio. WOW, you got some really great squash. GREAT job tehma!
Now just find a cool, dark place to store them in, and you will still be eating them in April.

Just for for your future reference, I love Spaghetti and acorn squash. (I an still looking for what you want)

[Glacier]

This year I didn't bother staking my tomatoes. They are growing all over the ground, and it's a massive bumper crop. Never had so much luck with them. And this is is despite the fact that we just had the coldest summer in 13 years.

[Lore]

News said there is a risk of frost tonight in case
anyone has tomatoes still on the vine.
Just covered all mine with sheets.

[Catsumi]

Take care when lifting those sheets off in the a.m.

Might find some Airbnb folk wanting croissants and cafe au lait.

[Glacier]

News said there is a risk of frost tonight in case
anyone has tomatoes still on the vine.
Just covered all mine with sheets.

Yup, going to harvest my oodles of tomatoes tonight.

P.S. Here's my mom's neighbour harvesting her carrots today... .

[Lady tehMa]

If anyone wants to get rid of leaves you can drop them off at my house :)

[Queen K]

I spotted a load of leaves in the back of the truck of a prof. landscaper and asked for them to be delivered. Less than a block away, here's the addy, and she did it! Yahoooo.

Also, the progress on our trunk and roots is amazing.