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About half way through the season I visited an agricultural college site and noticed that they had mulched their onion crop with straw. As I had almost a full bale of straw in the back of the truck I decided that I would do that also.
That day I added straw mulch to the garlic, onions and cucumbers in the raised beds. The straw did a good job of keeping the weeds at bay and keeping the soil moist. Also, I suspect it allows a fair amount of air to reach the soil, so it is a win win in my opinion.
The onions in the photo are Walla Walla onions that I started in the spring from plants I purchased at Lowe's. As I recall, I paid $2.83 for a bundle, which contained 80 small plants. At this point it certainly looks like we will have at least $2.83 worth of onions in the fall.
As the composition of the soil where the real Walla Walla onions are grown is an important factor in their taste, I doubt that the taste of my onions will compare with the real thing. Still, I am looking forward to a nice crop of sweet salad onions.
As for mulching with straw: next season I intend to use straw mulch for the garden tomatoes, as well as everything in the raised beds. Yeah, it really works that well.
Today I pulled and strung garlic from the raised bed. Actually, this is the first time I have tried garlic, so I was pleasantly surprised at the harvest.
The varieties are Italian Purple and Canadian Music; the bulbs for which we purchased at a garlic fest in Vermont in the fall.
Both varieties are hardneck, which as I understand it, are best for cold climates like ours. I had purchased California softneck bulbs from Agway, after being assured they would grow in our area; not a single bulb came up after our miserable winter. Going forward, I will stick with hardneck varieties.
The garlic is hanging in the tool shed to dry, when I open the doors in the morning the smell is divine. ( I love garlic)
We had to put poultry netting around the tomato plants to keep critters from the plants. Something was taking a single bite from the tomatoes on the lower trusses. From the teeth marks I could tell it was some sort of rodent, squirrel or a woodchuck.
As you can see by the photos, the tomato plants are cordon type, growing upright attached to the fence. This method has many benefits, like keeping the fruit off the ground. allowing ventilation and sunlight to reach the tomatoes.
And, on the subject of tomatoes, of all the varieties I planted this year the trusty old Tropics are doing the best, that includes both the greenhouse and the garden. So, why mess with success? Going forward it will be just Tropics in both locations.
The Matilde cucumbers just keep coming, it seems there is just no stopping them. Tomorrow I will pick another batch to make more pickles.
The plants have grown up one side of the greenhouse, up to the peak, and down the other side and have begun to infiltrate the tomato plants. The tomatoes, on the other hand, are fighting back, as they also have fruit hanging above my head also.
The one drawback of the Matilde is the number of male flowers. I have never grown a variety that has produced so many male flowers. The spent flowers are all over everything, hundreds of them are laying everywhere. It has been necessary to use a shop vac to pick them up so that they don't begin to rot and draw bugs.
The potted ginger is really growing now, to the point that I am going to place it on the deck with the olive trees for the remainder of the season. I am not sure what, if any, insects attack ginger, but I will have to watch the plant closely.
Although I am pretty much growing the same varieties this year that I have grown in previous years, the fruit seems to be much larger. As the only real change I have made is to the growing media, that has be what is making the difference in size.
Not only is the fruit larger, but there is more of it. The bottom trusses are beginning to ripen, while the fruit on the upper trusses is getting larger, and, at the very tips of the plants, fruit is still setting. Off hand, I would say that this is going to be a very good year.
Again today I picked another batch of Matilde cucumbers from the greenhouse, which once again will be turned into lacto-fermented pickles. The first small batch is just about gone, as Miss Ava ate at least four today and took one home with her. These pickles are one of the things that make summer such a delight.
The Matilde cucumbers in the greenhouse are coming fast and furious now, so I thought I would get serious about lacto-fermenting pickles. This variety of cucumber is absolutely, without a doubt, the most prolific variety for greenhouse growing I have seen yet! The small cucumbers make great pickles, as they ferment quickly, the larger cucumbers are used for salads and table consumption. The cucumbers in the photo were picked this morning, with another batch looking like it will be ready in just a few days.
Rather than use Mason jars with air locks, I decided to go with the larger fermentation crock for this batch of pickles. For some reason they seem to take much longer in the crock, but that is OK, as I have a lot of pickles in process already.
Lacto-fermented garlic scapes; these should be a thrill for the old palate! In previous years I simply tossed these on the compost heap, but I came across a recipe for fermenting them and thought I would give it a try. Well, I love garlic, and, I love pickles, so why not?
The DJI Phantom drone is another interest that has been keeping me occupied this summer. As I had flown smaller quadcopters, I am familiar with the controls, however, I am just now becoming more comfortable with the large drone. In case there is any interest in experiencing drone flying I have included a link to my video below.
DJI Phantom Flights, July, 2015
Several months ago, on a whim, I planted a piece of ginger that we purchased in the supermarket, just to see what, if anything, it would do. Well, it did absolutely nothing at all, so I got tired of waiting and was set to toss it out. When I dumped the soil from the pot, lo and behold the ginger had begun to root. And, the piece of ginger was considerably larger than it was when I first planted it. It is now replanted in a much larger pot and happily growing in the greenhouse.
In a previous post I wrote of a pepper plant that was doing nothing also. After doing the post I decided that the time had come to take drastic action, so I chopped the entire top of the plant off, right down to the first node. I guess that got the plant's attention, as just a short time later it is now developing nicely, with flowers and new side shoots.
The wife loves basil, even put leaves on sandwiches, different strokes for different folks I guess. She said that I never grow any basil for her, so I decided to fix that also, planting several different types of basil to grow in the greenhouse. Basil is expensive if you buy it in the market, but I find it one of the easiest herbs to grow.
The cucumbers and tomatoes are fighting it out at the peak of the greenhouse, as I have yet to terminate the growing tips of either. It is apparent that the stronger light at the peak of the greenhouse makes the plants grow like crazy.
With the olives spending the summer on the deck, I have plenty of room for other plants in the greenhouse. We wanted another eggplant, but all that was left was a white eggplant, and it looked pretty sad, however, I bought and planted it anyway. It loves the warmth and humidity of the greenhouse, really taking off. I had sworn I would never put another eggplant in the greenhouse because they attract spider mites, but so far, so good. At the first sign of spider mites the plant will be sprayed with neem oil and will be placed outdoors to finish the season.
Yesterday was my first attempt at photography from my drone. The aerial
photo is a screen capture from a video, as I have yet to learn how to
get the photo sequence to work. I guess I have to read the instruction
manual. In any event, the drone adds a whole new aspect to photography.
The greenhouse cucumbers are coming on strong, so it looks like I will have to find some dill and dig out the BIG crock for making garlic dill pickles. This year I am growing a variety that needs no pollination, which makes it ideal for the greenhouse: Matilde.
Features:The perfect-sized cucumbers for making the delicious little pickles known as Cornichon pickles. ‘Mathilde’ cucumbers have no bitterness and can be picked when just 2" long. This is an early-producing variety with heavy yields making it a good choice for Northern climates with short seasons.
Uses:Eat fresh for a delicious and nutritious snack. Slice into salads, layer on sandwiches or toss with vinegar, onion and seasoning. Serve with dip on a vegetable tray.
As cucumbers are mostly water, these plants are really going through a lot of water on hot sunny days. Late yesterday I filled the five gallon reservoir with water and it was necessary to refill it again today. Keeping the reservoir filled and the soil moist goes a long way in preventing deformed fruit.
When time permits I am still making time lapse sequences, trying to improve my skills. It is frustrating at times, as it requires tying up your equipment for several days to produce about twenty seconds of video.
I simply can't imagine the effort the professionals, at say the BBC, put into their work.
Although I am not really happy with the cucumber tendril time lapse I decided to publish it anyway. I really wanted to demonstrate the tendril attaching itself, twisting to form a loop and pulling in each direction. Unfortunately, this time the plant did not do that, however, the tendril in the background is whipping around searching for support, moving the entire plant from side to side. Plants are fascinating life forms.
Last, but not least, this friendly little character, who we named Simon, has decided to make his home on our property. He is a great "guard monk", perched on his favorite spot he chirps at anything intruding on "his"domain. His reward for watching the property is a full cup of sunflower seeds each day, so he has plenty of time for guard duty rather than scavenging for food.
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