Gardening 2017: Fruits, Veggies, Flowers

[Bsuds]

Let them get a much sun as possible, pick them all and then google "green tomato recipes". We like Green tomato cake and fried green tomatoes with bread crumbs. But there are more.

Green Tomato pickle relish is awesome too.

[klc]

... and green tomato salsa, that's my usual strategy. But I'm hoping for a few more ripe ones first?

[Catsumi]

I've been enjoying all my tomatoes - beefsteak & cherry - here in Rutland, but now the nights are getting colder. There aren't too many ripe beefsteak tomatos on the plants, just tons of green tomatos

Do you think I can leave them to ripen in the garden for another week or two? Or will frost hit them before they can ripen anyways?

They're in a community garden too far from home for me to cover / uncover every night, so they'd have to take their chances naked.

Opinions please!

It is a bit annoying to see those tomatoes hanging out there, green and hard. Since you cannot cover them, leave them on vines as long as possible as QK recommends. When frost cometh, pick them and wrap each individually in newspaper and layer in box, no more than two toms deep to prevent bruising. They WILL ripen, slowly, but won't taste as wonderful as fresh picked but who cares? They are a treat to have around November and December when orices are outrageous and the packaging is better than the product

Just an idea: if you can get your hands on nylon or mesh curtains (thrift store) they make great covers early in spring to protect lettuce and spinach against the dreaded White Crowned sparrow who will eat them down to the roots, and again later to protect against sunburn. Water easily travels through, keeps weed seeds out, and light weight and a fraction of the cost of row covers. In the Fall, they make good tomato plant frost protectors.

[Catsumi]

P.S. Forgot to mention that you can easily hold the curtains against the wind by sticking wooden skewers in the ground and attach ends of fabric with clothespegs

[Bpeep]

Sometimes we get a frost that'll kill tomatoes peppers and cucurbits then no frost for weeks.
A sprinkler running lightly may save those plants on those early frosts.

[Queen K]

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/206838 ... an-streets

Wow, just wow, I want to see this place. Yes it's in an area most of us would not visit, but I want to see it.

Specialy designed containers? I had to investigate and got this:

Sole Food currently operates farms in four locations in East Vancouver. These sites, established on un-used land are leased to Sole Food by the city or Landowners on a temporary year-to-year basis. Like most urban areas, the soil at these sites is not suitable for growing due to contamination. In order to grow food in these circumstances, crops are planted in specially designed boxes which keep them separate from the soil or concrete below. In addition, they are built on shipping pallets allowing them to be moved with a forklift on short notice should the land be developed.[7] These portable planters enable Sole Food to relocate without having to replant their crops, which is important because the land they use is only temporarily leased.


And we are taking in our garden now. I am not waiting for the last moment to do it all in.

Barney Google, I don't see you on here anymore, but please check your PM.

Slootman, ditto.

[Catsumi]

Yes, yes!! What a great idea. Kills three birds with one stone.

Provides edibles
Uses vacant, unusable land
Provides "employment"
And, it's sustainable

I would certainly support this idea if attempted in okanagan

Junkies, prostitues and other lost souls were children at one time. Some must have (hopefully) good memories of helping mom or dad in the garden and the joy it brought watching real time miracles of seed to feed. This may open doors, perhaps one to the way OUT of present misery.

Good find, QK

[Queen K]

New plea:

I have to downsize my Tayberry canes. Our Barney Google has not been on line lately and I have no idea if I should save the canes for BG for October or not.

But is someone wanting Tayberry canes? Google Tayberry. They are very thorny and invasive. I recommend a LARGE land base if you want them to just proliferate. Delicous tasting, they are a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, developed in Scotland.

Anyone? You dig, I hope you take about twelve out.

QK

[Bpeep]

Hope y'all covered your tomatoes last night.

[Lady tehMa]

Nope - I have hopes to harvest some chard this weekend though.

[Queen K]

I now have a nice green tomato harvest and will get more today. Going out to do more yard work in a moment.

I am leaving every last blooming flower up though, it's not over til it's over!

Slootman? How you doing?
Bman? Garden report?

I have a few taters to dig up and see what happened with them.

All the sunflowers are coming down along the fence though, I'd like to dig in some compost along there for next year.

[Lady tehMa]

I did not get my chard harvested last weekend, though I did put most of my food garden to bed.

I need some insulation for my fig tree but I am minus a car and housebound with illness. And my husband is not sympathetic to gardening.

[Queen K]

Tell him digging up Swiss Chard is not exactly "gardening" as it is "eating."

[Bpeep]

Only 22 weeks till spring!

[Queen K]

Only 22 weeks till spring!

I feel like my flowers are having a reniassance in the gardens. The new blooms are super intense in colour, as if competing for the last bee flying around out there. I have to pull up anything but had to in the front to get some other things done and new compost dug in for over Winter.

Lots of compost this year. Got three bins cleaned out, one restarted with all the new garden waste and am about to tackle two more.

Anyone else?