Always fun to see whats new in the garden after being away for vacation.
– The small pumpkins are turning orange. The big ones are getting enormous. I found 2 today and wouldn’t be surprised if there are more to be found under the vines.
– The butternut vines are starting to mildew. But no signs of stem borers. I picked my first butternut squash today AND I counted 16 more! Amazing for 3 plants!
– The savoy cabbage is heading nicely as well as a couple more red cabbages.
– The tomatoes seem to be doing better against the Late Blight. The 5 plants left look big and healthy. Still no good ripe tomatoes yet, but looks like I may be able to get some soon.
– Can’t wait for that popcorn. It is 7 feet tall and looks really nice.
– I have one sweet potato vine that’s growing very well now. Skippy partially dug it up a couple weeks ago and I noticed there are lots of tubers down there.
– The chiles are starting to ripen. Nice red Thai Hots, Nardellos and sweet peppers coming along. Eggplants too are growing well.
– I have a dozen parsnip plants getting big now. And 4 or 5 celeriac. These are new crops for me and it will be exciting to harvest these later. I’m not sure when to harvest. Maybe the parsnips are a spring crop?
– I also have a nice row of winter radish growing. A mix of pink and white ones.
– Have some spaces to fill. I’ll have to look up what can be seeded now. I think fall greens, lettuce, spinach, arugula etc. A good thing to plan on doing tomorrow.
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Speaking of Corn – have you have a problem with Japanese beetles eating the silks?
Kathy … long time parsnip grower here.
Let them in the ground until late fall or early winter if you can. Cold helps the starches turn to sugar. Mulch to keep the ground from freezing so you can dig them. You have to dig them since the roots are VERY long and pulling them makes you think the other end is in China. They store best in the ground.
Paul
Cross fingers, no blight on my tomatoes here in RI, at least yet. I am picking ripe ones. The Brandywines matured the earliest ever for them.
I am puzzled by the cantaloupes. It took forever for them to set fruit, then they grew like gangbusters, now they are taking forever to ripen. And one of them seems to be a mutant, not normal cantaloupe skin, but smooth and green, also it's smaller than the others.
I'm in NJ and my tomatoes are still green too. Today I added lettuce and fast growing peas to my fall garden (spinach, broccoli & cauliflower going in soon once they are ready to transplant). Don't forget garlic can be planted next month for a early spring harvest!
Your garden is looking great. I'm hoping to plant corn this coming summer as we have had a very wet winter here in Australia.
I have no Japanese beetles on my corn. I hope yours go away soon Grumpy Misanthrope. I usually hand pick into jar of kerosene or alcohol.
Thanks for parsnip advice Paul. You must be a fantastic gardener!
Karen Anne, I just picked my first Brandywines (2!) today. Ahh! Can't beat it. I'm jealous of those melons.
Susan, I'll remember to plant peas soon. Good idea. And I have a spot reserved for garlic, to plant after it cools off. I saved my biggest heads and an even bigger one from my local CSA. Hard to believe its already fall planting time. Where did summer go?
I love to hear about Australian gardens.