October 27, 2007

carrot problems

Aarrgg! My carrots are all infested with root maggots. They look disgusting. I will have to pull and dispose of the entire crop. Very disappointing. Root maggot controls include crop rotation, immediate turning of soil in the fall, beneficial nematodes, and row covers. Next year I hope to plant my carrots in my new community garden plot, which will have more sun. It looks like people there worry more about rabbits as carrots are covered with chicken wire not fabric. Daucus carota

October 24, 2007

roasted jalapeños

Most of my jalapeño harvest is now chopped, grilled and frozen.Capsicum

October 21, 2007

drying chiles

Red cayenne chile peppers I’ve picked earlier this summer have dried nicely sitting on a plate in my kitchen. It takes a few weeks. Since I have a big batch of them now, I strung the chiles on wire and hung them up. I just treaded the peppers on 18 gauge galvanized wire and bent it into a loop for hanging. I went ahead and hung a few of the thicker skinned jalapeños and round chiles too. Just to see if they’ll dry. They look very decorative.Capsicum

October 18, 2007

fall fava beans

I’m trying again with fava beans. Early this spring I planted a crop that was overcome by black aphids. Since I had some seeds left over, I thought I’d try again this fall. I planted the last of my seeds September 19, a month ago. I now have 20 small plants from about 30 seeds. And the best thing – NO APHIDS! I’m curious to see if I’ll get any beans from these late plants. Time to harvest for favas is about 85 days. That would be December 13. Favas…

October 17, 2007

fall tomatoes

I’m picking my tomatoes when they show a little red and letting them ripen inside. This seems to work better in the fall than vine ripening. The squirrels occasionally try a few bites and the slugs sometimes find them. I’d rather grab them ASAP and keep them in a big bowl inside to ripen. Its already late October! The tomato leaves are starting to yellow and some are drying up and turning brown. Our temperatures have cooled off here in the Boston area (zone 6b), but my guess is maybe…

October 13, 2007

community garden tour

Skippy and I walked though the Rock Meadow Victory Garden yesterday. I just get overwhelmed with how beautiful vegetable gardens are! And to see so many together almost puts me over the edge. The fall is a great time for gardens. Rich colors and the evidence of a full season of producing fruits. Birds and bees are in abundance – singing, buzzing, gathering. This collection of 120 garden plots is very nicely maintained. A beautiful range of gardens: from all flowers to all vegetables – even some fruit trees and…

October 13, 2007

rain drops on kale

We’ve been lucky to have a good soaking rain for the past couple days. And our weather has cooled off and become more like fall.Kale (Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group)

October 12, 2007

teeny pumpkin

Here’s my tiny little pumpkin. It’s even smaller than it looks. I’m leaving it on the vine to make sure its fully ripe. The stem is starting to turn brown, but there’s still some green on the fruit. No frost in the forecast, so I think its fine to leave it to ripen longer.

October 10, 2007

zinnias and snapdragons

These flowers are growing along side my vegetable garden.

October 8, 2007

fall peas

My fall crop of peas is a couple feet tall now. I planted them on August 11. The variety is Alderan (Tall Telephone). Here’s the description form Sandhill Preservation Center, where I got these heirloom seeds: “Alderman (Tall Telephone): 75 days. I remember how much I enjoyed growing this variety in the cooler Springs in the Northwest. There it would reach 6 feet tall and be loaded with pods. Our rapidly changing climate here makes them shorter.” Pisum sativum

weeks and counting until my last spring frost