Even though they are what everyone else has, too, I am SOOOO happy to have them coming into my kitchen.
One of the zucchini went into what we call "smashed sandwiches." We saute veggies in olive oil (sliced onion, squash, and sugar snap peas in this particular version), pile them into French bread that's been sliced open longways, add some cheese (Provolone is a family favorite for this) and slivers of marinated artichoke from a jar, then cook the finished (closed) sandwiches in one of those George Foreman grills.
This version included sugar snap peas because I brought the last of those in before cutting down the plants.
The sugar snap peas shared a trellis with the cucumbers, and I wanted to make some more space for the cukes. Good air circulation can be helpful in slowing down the assorted mildews that attack the leaves of those vines. The vines are getting long and bushy, so they definitely will benefit from the extra "breathing room."
Also, it has been very hot every day for a while now, and the production of those sugar snap peas has slowed way down. Obviously, though, it hadn't come to a complete standstill before I removed the plants.
Something else that seems to have cropped up in the garden, something unwanted, is the adult of the squash vine borer. I am hoping that the Bt that I have been spraying will slow the damage from the babies of those day-flying moths.
At the Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry garden where I volunteer, we started our yellow straightneck squash early enough that the garden is pretty much pelting us with squash.
One of the gardeners took the 90 pounds of produce we harvested on Wednesday (65 pounds of which was summer squash) to the pantry in Marietta. We were very happy to have been able to provide some good veggies to the pantry!
Oh my, that little moth will certainly send a chill up your spine....
ReplyDeleteMy peas are done, and no cukes or squash yet, but the tomatoes and peppers are ripening up!
ReplyDeleteOur pea plants haven't produced any peas yet. Still growing. Soon, hopefully soon. That zucchini looks great. How wonderful that the other garden is producing 90 pounds of squash for the pantry. How wonderful.
ReplyDeleteEG, Yes, that is one scary insect! If we are lucky, spraying with Bt will help keep the damage from its babies to a minimum, but I have already started some replacement squash, for both my garden and the PAR garden, just in case.
ReplyDeleteErin, My peppers and tomatoes must be a couple of weeks behind yours. The fruits are still too small to get too excited about, but the plants look good, so I am hopeful. In the garden, every year is different, and it is looking to be a good cucumber-year in my yard.
meemsnyc, At the Plant-a-Row garden, in a good year we take more than 2,000 pounds of veggies to the pantry, and we are very happy that this year is off to such a good start! People who are struggling financially, who don't have access to regular, good medical care, really need access to good food that can help keep them healthy.
Hope your peas kick in for you soon! I am thinking of trying a fall planting of peas this year. I usually just grow one crop in the spring, but peas are sooo delicious...
I'm just wondering if any blog readers are growing Cherokee Purple tomatoes? I have several plants - along many other varieties - but the Cherokee Purple variety have "leaf curl". The leaves are green, the plant is blooming - but the leaves are curling? I grew a couple of these last year and can't remember if this was an issue or not. Any other experience with Cherokee Purple? They are soooo good- I want them to be healthy. I started them from seed along with all my other plants so all have had the same conditions.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I have Cherokee Purple growing in my yard, along with Rutgers, Wuhib, and Olivette Jaune. So far, they all look fine, but lots of tomato plants in other nearby gardens have curling leaves.
ReplyDeleteIf the leaves look as though they would be "normal" if they would just flatten out, the problem is probably just the heat. Lots of plants roll their leaves when the temperature gets high, and this summer has been extraordinarily hot in many parts of the U.S.
In general, Cherokee Purple is a variety that should be able to take the heat, but if your seed came from a grower that has been growing out seed season after season in a cooler (more northern) climate, then your particular strain might be having trouble with the heat(heat tolerance could have been bred out of the strain). Hopefully, the daytime highs will drop into the usual June range soon - rather than continually hitting August-like highs.
If it seems as though the leaves would be misshapen when flattened, then something else is going on.
Thanks so much for reply. I started all my tomatoes and peppers from seed this year. The seed for Cherokee Purple, Gold Medal, Suddeth's Brandywine, Martino's Roma, and a "blonde" cherry I can't spell without looking all came from Seed Saver's Exchange. Maybe it's just the heat. The plants look healthy otherwise and the leaves aren't turning yellow. They are all blooming. I will have to look into the varieties you are growing.
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