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nutsaboutflowers

Vegetable Garden Status Report

nutsaboutflowers
10 years ago

Time for us to report on how our vegetable gardens are coming along......

I have 14 tomato plants, and about 14 tomatoes so far.
The peas are flowering. The bush beans are as well.
My pole beans are about 6 feet tall but no flowers yet.
The garlic has nice curliques.
Spinach has bolted so I've cut it off.
The lettuce is growing beautifully. We've eaten quite a bit so far.
Strawberries are producing nicely but not as big as last year.

How are everyone else's vegetables coming along?

Comments (41)

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    10 years ago

    Not as good as you! LOL

    Tomatoes are slow - i noticed some have flowers now.
    Beans are up - is that a good thing?
    6 spindly pea plants, no flowers in sight
    Onions are coming along quite well
    We actually had radishes this year! They're finished now.
    Lettuce - the romaine is doing great, the butterhead is slow
    Spinach - most bolted, so i picked what had bolted and left the rest for now
    Carrots - coming slowly
    Beets and swiss chard - slow too
    Kohlrabi - the bedding plants are doing well but the seeds never showed, so i bought more plants
    Rutabaga - didn't germinate
    Cole crops - coming slowly. Noticed a tiny head on one broccoli plant today
    Potatoes - slow
    Corn - haven't been down to that garden lately. Will have to check tomorrow.

  • northspruce
    10 years ago

    I posted a photo of mine in my garden tour thread, but here's the run down:

    Zucchini: planted 6, one sprouted. It's doing well.
    Parsley: doing nicely.
    Cilantro: out of control, plus several volunteers from last year.
    Lettuce: red butterhead didn't germinate well but the ones that did are looking beautiful. Some green volunteers from last year have popped up. Even in the lawn. :/
    Peas: doing awesome, have several pods starting to fill already.
    Tomatoes: only planted two, one is already gigantic and needs pruning.
    Hot peppers: the ones in the garden are doing great and the potted ones are very pitiful this year.
    Volunteer cantaloupe has shown up from compost addition.
    Cucumbers: planted too many, all germinated, cutworms ate none, taking over the world. No flowers yet.
    Pole beans: planted too many, all germinated, growing nicely but no flowers yet.

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    10 years ago

    Forgot to mention the zukes and cukes. Guess what - they're SLOW! LOL

  • shillanorth Z4 AB
    10 years ago

    Peas are up about 4 inches, potatoes looking good, tomato has lots of blossoms, carrots barely sprouted and pumpkins have their second set of leaves. A fair to middlin` year!

  • Pudge 2b
    10 years ago

    Mine is doing pretty good even though I had hail damage about a week or so ago. The hail broke some of my tomatoes and shredded some bean leaves and the peppers really took a beating. But, corn is looking really good, sugar snap peas are blooming. Lettuce is really nice. I tented some light sheets over it the last few days to shade it during the heat. The soil in the raised beds really heats up and I'd hate for the lettuce to go bitter or bolt at this point. Peppers have fruit that is getting bigger so maybe the damage won't stop them much. The bush beans aren't blooming but appear to be close. Pole beans are also about 5' but not blooming. Tomatoes have a bit of fruit on them. Cucs are blooming. The second planting of corn is up and growing. Dill is slow, barely poking along so far so I have to search around for volunteers that are bigger. One watermelon plant that is starting to vine out a bit.

  • nutsaboutflowers
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I just noticed about 6 peas on my plants this evening. Now what did I plant? Edible pods? Where's the tag gone ?? :)

    Awesome status reports ! Keep them coming.

  • User
    10 years ago

    My peas have flowers but they are only 3 inches tall one even has a 1cm pod. Very stunted. carrots, beets and chard are barely showing their heads Planted in may this is nuts. 3 squash plants still uber small and surprise surprise on tromboncino did make it but only 3 in tall. I do have a cucumber that has flowers (note all this is in the bale garden)Nasturtiums I planted around the bottom of the bales are starting to flower. Up on my deck in a barrel I have 2 nice tomato plants that are starting to flower and a potato plant. In another container some sort of squash not sure which one made it might be vegetable spaghetti it is starting to make flower buds. I lost my apple tree to the root and one of my plums also to the root. Half the cherries were not pollinated and are now shrinking. (but I will get a hand full) I had one apple on my new tree but it fell off. I also have a planter with basil, cilantro, and dill all barely making a debut no sign of the dill. Very discouraging year.

  • don555
    10 years ago

    nutsabout seems to be setting the standard... bush beans already flowering?... way ahead of mine! Pole beans to 6'?... mine are maybe 2'.

    My snow peas are flowering at least. And all tomatoes are setting fruit -- the cherry tomatoes in pots plus the regular tomatoes in the garden, up to maybe golf-ball size for the bigger tomatoes now. Corn a foot or more tall. Pumpkin starting to form a vine, now 3 or 4 feet long (so still tiny). Been picking spinach (bolting now), swiss chard, "perpetual beet", lettuce blend, green onions. Zucchini not yet flowering. Watermelon plant still puny but healthy.

    On the fruit front -- raspberries buzzing with a billion bees, fruit still tiny and unripe. Blackberries have flower buds but no blossoms yet. Apples mostly non-existent this year. My various new cherry introductions have very healthy plants but fruit set is almost non-existent... i was hoping for more, even though I realize 2 years since planting is being extremely impatient.

    Flowers... roses are doing well. Waiting for the first clematis flower... thought it would be today on the Jackmanni superba, but no. Maybe tomorrow?... those buds are soooo close...

  • northspruce
    10 years ago

    Oh yeah, dill. I forgot I planted it, and weeded out several by mistake before I remembered what it was. I think I have about 5 growing.

  • nutsaboutflowers
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Why did I give myself such a long handle? You can call me NAF if you like :) Seems to be the easiest.

    I feel privileged that Don has said I seem to be setting the standard. In my wildest dreams I didn't think I'd ever get to that on this forum, LOL !

  • thirsty_dirt_77
    10 years ago

    Goodness where to start! I went out last night and took some pictures of everything to compare to last years pictures I took on July 4th and I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of veggies are the same, some are further ahead than last year and a few are behind (mainly due to a later planting.) Here's a list of my veggie status - please keep in mind my planted space is close to 1,800 sq ft - yes 1,800, thats not a typo ;)

    Green Arrow Peas - no flowers yet, average plant about 20" - 24" tall
    Sugar Snap Peas - starting flowering last weekend, can't find any pods yet though
    Carrots - pretty bushy and need of thinning, further ahead than last year
    Gold Rush Yellow Bush Beans - HUGE! and starting to form buds, WAY AHEAD of last year
    Beets - on par, ready for thinning
    Kale & Kohlradi - first year growing it but looks great!
    Turnips - thinned a few weeks ago, what plants are surviving look awesome, reseeded a few spots last week were they were dying - we've had grub issues before
    Swiss Chard - some about 6" but most shorter, a little behind compared to last year
    Onions & Garlic - doing awesome where the ants aren't digging their latest empire (I did a garlic experiment this year, the results are the grocery store organic garlic that spent 2 months in the fridge before planting far exceeds the sets bought)
    Cabbage & Cauliflower - severely behind due to having to replant because of deer & the cold, thank goodness the local greenhouse still had some when I needed it
    Ground Cherries (Gooseberries) - first time growing, they look like little potato plants and are flowering
    Zucchini & Squash - behind but also planted 2 weeks later than last year, grown a staggering amount the past week though
    Cherry Tomatoes in the Garden - getting tall but aren't too bushy yet and are flowering
    Tomatoes in the Greenhouse - were transplanted late, have finally adjusted to their new home and are beautiful healthy plants that are starting to form buds
    Peppers in Greenhouse - loved the heat last week and are starting to bud.
    .... and I'm sure I missed something! Oh! I planted 25 asparagus crowns in the end of April, all but 2 came up (I think I broke them when I was digging around) and ferned out and looking healthy.

    If I was at home I'd post a few pictures - maybe tonight!

    Cindy - its amazing how different your veggies sound in comparison to mine, I guess being closer to the river as opposed to on the hill makes a significant different! Best of Luck with the rest of the growing season!

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    10 years ago

    I went back and checked on the corn. "Knee high by the 4th of July"? No.

  • User
    10 years ago

    Thirsty- It could also be my bales have not decayed enough to promote good growing conditions. I have nothing actually in ground anymore. My friend in town here also has raised beds and her garden is hit an miss this year but still way ahead of mine. Maybe next year after the straw has rotted more I will have better results.

  • thirsty_dirt_77
    10 years ago

    I forgot my spinach!! It started to bolt over the weekend so its now blanched and vac sealed in the freezer - we had a chance to eat it fresh with a hand full of meals too! :)

  • lucklein
    10 years ago

    Okay people, don't laugh. I have a mini-garden of sorts. Five tomato plants in pots and three cucumber plants in a deck planter. All tomato plants have tomatoes - probably about 15 altogether and I have seen about 5 little, weenie cucumbers. That's the best I can do with my space for veggies. I have a small backyard, and two dogs, but I still get some fresh salad fixings!

  • thirsty_dirt_77
    10 years ago

    lucklein - any type & size of garden is better than no garden in my books!!

    Every year mine seems to get bigger (we have over 3 acres of land), I love it this time of the year but am always glad (and a little worn out) but they time is done. :)

  • weeper_11
    10 years ago

    My spinach has bolted, we didn't get a whole lot off of it before that happened, just a few meals.
    My lettuce is still very good, but getting tired.l.I doubt it will last much longer. I should have put my shade cloth over it, it is a bit bitter. My buttercrunch still has some life left in it though.
    Golden beets looking good, flying saucer zucchini looking very good.
    Bush beans and snap peas blooming.
    Carrots are bushy and possibly need thinning.
    Tomatoes are all flowering and are huge and bushy, even though I buried most of the plants when I planted them. A few tomatoes on some of them.
    Pole beans seem slow, they are only 1 ft tall or so and not flowering.
    Spanish onions look great, kale looks great.

    I can't believe how much lettuce and spinach does NOT last in the garden!

  • SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
    10 years ago

    Lucklein don't worry you can laugh at me...I have tons and tons of space and no garden, yet. I also am growing in containers. I started really, really late so I am not surprised my plants are behind :)

    I have 3 containers of cucumber and they are about 4" tall.

    The container with onion is about 3" tall, looks like grass atm.

    Radish done, not very good either.

    Trio containers of peas are about 3 feet tall as are the two beans. I am going to have to put something more up for them to climb on.

    I have lots of lettuce and romaine that is at various stages as I started them a long time ago and staggered planting.

    The three cherry tomato two of one variety is about 3' tall and lots of flowers the other variety is 3' tall and loaded with toms a couple starting to turn red.

    Two Marmalade (I think) are about 2' tall and starting to flower.

    Finally the strawberries I have a couple containers of Ozark that have produced 4 ripe fruit (couple more ready today for the girls) and the one railer I have with Everlasting has some fruit but they don't want to grow or ripen.

    Next year I need to put in a real garden.

    SCG

  • kioni
    10 years ago

    Hail. Twice. Mid June, leaving tomato plants as bare sticks, some topped and some not. Other things shredded, but everything appeared to be bouncing back.

    Second hailstorm this past weekend took care of all newly suckered growths trusses and leaves, now none of the nine plants have their original growing tips. Corn, blue lake bush beans, Swiss chard, red beets, look like chopped spinach.

    Early frosty peas that were in full bloom 10 days ago (seeded May 6) and maybe needed 2 or 3 more days for pods to finish, were wrecked. The peas within the battered pods were smashed, so against husband's wishes I ripped them out and hope to reseed in a few days when the soil dries a bit.

    I don't even want to get into what was done to the plants I kept in the house over the long winter to grow outside in pots (Gartenmeister fuschia, tulip blossomed geraniums, million kisses begonia, old spice geranium).

    But tomorrow should bring sunshine and who knows, maybe most of it comes back to surprise me! Worse things can happen, I'm just gonna give myself a few more days of being miserable about it, and then I should be able to shake it off. (when I first spied the damage the second time around, I swore I'll never garden again - now I want to see if this garden can pull off a decent crop of peas with a mid July seeding date).

  • north53 Z2b MB
    10 years ago

    Geez Kioni, That's a shame. As if one hail storm wasn't enough! I hope your over-wintered tender plants will recover.
    This surely is the summer of storms.

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    10 years ago

    That sure is a shame. All a person's hard work. :( But plants do bounce back. Last year Don showed us pictures of hail damage and how his plants recovered, so take heart!

  • SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
    10 years ago

    Man I would cry Kioni..... I hope you are surprised at how they bounce back. I have faith they will....

    Good luck.

    SCG

  • Collin001
    10 years ago

    Peas and pole beans were replanted twice but would not come up this year. Tree rats are burying peanuts rendering reseeding useless. The nights were cool into late June. I started sampling the first of the radishes and cukes this weekend and they were fine. Tomatoes are rather bushy and ahead of last year. Rabbit attacks are on the increase and broad beans may not reach maturity. Considering the state of neglect of the neighbourhood, any surplus will be a gift when you realize I am gardening in the shade.

  • SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
    10 years ago

    Collin it sounds like you need a dog to patrol your gardens. If I didn't have dogs the deer would be running amok in my gardens. The tree rats also keep away and rabbits are few and far between. The rabbits also know I like stew.

  • donna_in_sask
    10 years ago

    Radishes and spinach are done. I grew the lettuce and spinach in pots this year and they did really well; the lettuce is still producing.

    I was surprised that my peppermint survived the winter, haven't had that happen in a while.

    The tomatoes are blooming right now - I have way too many plants because I started them from seed and they all lived! Only 20 of them have prime places to grow though, stuck some in strange places, even in the edges of the flowerbeds that aren't immediately visible. I have a lot of heirloom tomatoes, especially "black" ones. They are on a Florida Weave system, most plants are between a foot and a foot and a half right now.

    The Rattlesnake pole beans have really taken off this past week; I am trying yard longs too. We had a heat wave last week, looks like they grew at least two feet in that time. I also have bush beans that are doing well, although the germination wasn't the best - I tend to over-plant, so it's probably just the right amount. :)

    I have three different varieties of cucumbers: Cool Breeze, Sweet Slice and Homemade Pickles. I had to reseed in a few spots because germination wasn't the best. They are doing well now; I have them climbing up a trellis rather than sprawling on the ground.

    The carrots, beets, kohlrabi, swiss chard and dino kale are growing well. I thinned them a bit yesterday. The mosquitoes are horrible.

    I have jalapenos and other peppers planted in the garden and in pots on the deck. The deck jalapeños have little peppers already.

    The sugar snap peas are growing in a huge pot; they are about three feet tall but I don't see any blossoms yet. i noticed the bottom leaves have some spots, not sure whether I need to spray for fungal disease...we've had a lot of rain this past month.

    The potatoes (Caribe) are about 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall and blooming. I have a zucchini in the back of the potatoes and it is being shielded out, so I think I need to yank out enough potatoes nearby to give it a fighting chance.

    There are a lot of birds in my yard, and they tend to help themselves to the unlimited salad bar, so I had my husband build some enclosures for things like beets. They get taken off when the beet foliage hits the top.

  • shazam_z3
    10 years ago

    Tomatoes have lots of flowers, should have some fruit ready soon.

    I bought a big cuke plant this year after my old seeds didn't really germinate. So now I have some cukes that look ready to eat.

    In ground strawberries are still growing. I now buy a basket from Superstore as they're actually quite excellent from there and only $15. We've had a few from it already, and there's loads of them still growing.

    Lettuce is coming up nicely. I did an early planting but the seeds were not viable. Grr.

    Peas are invading but no flowers yet.

    Raspberries have a ton of fruit on them. Should be ready soon.

    Carrots are growing nicely but it'll be a while yet.

    I also just buy a pepper plant now as I'm finding the seed selection to be extremely limited anyhow. It's growing nicely with some fruit ready to eat really soon.

    Also the herbs are doing very nicely. Homegrown coriander is very, very strong.

    This post was edited by shazam_z3 on Mon, Jul 8, 13 at 17:38

  • User
    10 years ago

    Wow my cilantro is starting to flower I am surely going to have great yields after all ...............................NOT

  • User
    10 years ago

    Couldn't let the peas feel left out

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    10 years ago

    My peas are small like that but they hadn't flowered yet, last time I looked. And only a half dozen or so even germinated.

  • thirsty_dirt_77
    10 years ago

    Finally went through the garden with the camera last night. Its amazing how fast everything is growing right now - I'm a little concerned about the high of 11C & 10C forecasted for the next few days!! ouch!

    Here are my crazy spuds

    and here is a main chunk of the the rest

  • shazam_z3
    10 years ago

    I find growing cilantro from seed to be nigh impossible. I did a few this year and they all died. There must be some trick to it.

  • User
    10 years ago

    Thirsty that is a dream garden for me. I can see why the deer would come shopping there.

    Shazam I have grown cilantro in my garden before no problems but that was when I had the in ground garden. They even reseeded the following year. No luck in the container for anything this year even the basil is garbage. I had such a good crop the last time I tried basil.

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    10 years ago

    Our garden has really picked up in the last week or so - since last report. I've picked a lot of lettuce and green onions, all the radishes and spinach, and a couple of kohlrabi. The beets and swiss chard have perked right up and grown a couple of inches, and so have the beans. One broccoli plant has a small head, but they're the exception - very spindly plants. The cabbages are starting to head, but it looks as if one cauliflower and one Brussels sprout plant have died - and since I only had two of each, that's not so great!

  • weeper_11
    10 years ago

    Picking snap peas now! Looks like the beans won't be too far behind. My flying saucer zucchini has tiny squash on it. Yummy, can't wait! Lettuce is definitely winding down. We're still eating it, and it hasn't bolted yet, but it is quite bitter. I really should have put my shade cloth up!

  • macky77
    10 years ago

    I'll let you know as soon as I find it.

    We just got back from our first holiday in four years. The teen I had lined up to garden for me backed out at the last minute, so the weeds ran rampant. It's 3200ish square feet of mess. :(

    From what I can see, the corn is doing phenomenally. Tomatoes are on track for this time of year and I even have some Black Krims just beginning to colour. I'm going to pick our first snow peas for a stir-fry tonight and the regular peas will probably be ready to start picking sometime this coming week. The onions are doing okay; the older starts are above the weeds, but the younger batch are struggling. I have almost 300, so I suppose I can lose a few. The younger rows of carrots are really struggling and being shadowed out in places. The broccoli has headed already and they're depressingly small. I'll clear the weeds and hope for a good crop of side shoots. Cabbage is good for once! There are flowers all over the runner beans and some of the bush bean varieties; the pole beans are on schedule (growing well, but no flowers yet). Beets are great. Winter squash vines look good, but I can't get in there yet to know if there are fruit yet. I see some zucchini from a distance. The carrot I have for seed has heads that should flower soon. I can't see the peppers; they're probably a loss. Celery looks like it's loved all the rain and considered the weeds to be mulch, of sorts... lol. Parsley is behind, but okay. I forgot to note the state of the celeriac, but it should likely be in the same state as the celery. The kids have at least one fruit so far on their Racer pumpkin and the vines on my Fairytale are pretty nice. The Orca (dry) beans are terrible as are most of the potatoes. That part of the garden doesn't drain well and far too much rain settled there for far too long. Spinach was just finishing before we left; got lots, though! Haven't gotten to the cukes to check on them yet. The rhubarb looks odd; I think my neighbour may not have picked as evenly as I do (we have six huge plants, so I asked them to please take some). Asparagus has ferned out nicely. The garlic is gorgeous; this is my first time growing it. :)

    But the fact remains... I can either garden or camp in the summer, but obviously not both. :(

  • nutsaboutflowers
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Well, 11 days later and..............

    I have 4 tomatoes that should be ripe enough to eat by tomorrow.
    We've eaten bush beans twice.
    I've eaten peas twice but they never made it into the house.
    My pole beans have a bean ! :)

  • Pudge 2b
    10 years ago

    My pole beans are just starting to flower. The bush beans have a couple of baby beans and lots of blooms. Up until last night, the corn was awesome, starting to send up its flower stalks. The later planting of corn is coming along nicely. Tomatoes have only a few fruits, cucumbers are starting to set fruit as well. Snap peas are doing well, I munch on them frequently while in the garden - they never make it to the house either :)

    We had a huge storm last night with heavy rain (2" in about 20 minutes) and a big, big wind. My garden is fairly protected with shrubs/hedge all the way around but today the corn is really leaning over. I had it hilled to stabilize it but that wind was about 10 minutes of hold-your-breath-terrifying so I guess I'm happy that it's still there at all. The bush beans got tangled up in that wind, too, but I think they may still be all right.

  • north53 Z2b MB
    10 years ago

    I saw all those red tornado warnings for Sask. last night. Glad to hear you were okay, Pudge.
    We didn't get a drop of rain out of it. It must have exhausted its supply over you. I would have been terrified to have that much rain in 20 minutes. Storms this summer have been so severe, it is scary.

    As far as the garden goes, everything was coming along nicely, but yesterday I noticed unhealthy leaves on the tomatoes. I hope I am not going to have a repeat of blight. These ones were all toward the base of the plant, so I picked them off. The carrots are doing great, and like everyone else, I'm snacking on sugar snap peas while I work. I was disappointed to lose about half of my garlic. They had all come up and then some turned yellow. I don't know why. I pulled them out. The rest seem to be okay. This has only happened once before.

  • macky77
    10 years ago

    Glad is wasn't hail or twisters for you, Pudge. We're about an hour east of S'toon and didn't get a drop of what was forecast. Hope everything that was affected recovers well.

  • weeper_11
    10 years ago

    We only got a few drops out of those big storm systems, most of them went to either side of us; we're an hour south-east of S'toon. Glad nobody had a twister land on them! I've heard lots of people say the storms have been terrible this year..I guess our place is in a little pocket or something, because we've barely even got any thunderstorms, let alone bad ones! When we get rain, there has been a few rumbles and then just rain and no storm. Huh.

    I've just about got some squash to harvest...they'll be ready in a few days.

    Picked a bunch more snap peas today, and a small bowl of bush beans. I see some baby beans on the pole beans, and they are flowering like crazy. The lettuce is officially done, it is too bitter to eat at this point. Lots and lots of little green tomatoes. I have a feeling I'm going to have a butt-load of tomatoes all at once at some point. My golden beets look like they are maturing well. And I have to start using my kale! It looks great.

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    10 years ago

    Last week I got some slow release fertilizer and I don't know if it was that or the heat and rain, but things are really coming along in the vegetable garden. The tomatoes are flowering and many of the Early Cascades have little tomatoes on them. The peas and beans are flowering too, as is the squash and the zucchini. There are a couple of little zukes on too. The cucumber plants are still pretty small, though.

    Everything else has really leapt. I could go out and pick some swiss chard right now, and the beets and carrots both need thinning now. The leeks look a little small, but I've never grown them before, so I don't know how they should look now. Dh's potatoes are doing okay, but not great (so far). I didn't go down to look at the corn garden - maybe tomorrow. My pepper plants are in containers on the patio and some are flowering now.

    So things are perking up. There's hope yet!