As usual looks great Silvia, your name should have been posted in that last picture ;-) Almost time for a margarita!

Tom

Hi Tom

I am going to the party, the dishes that I am taking are very good!

Rice with vegetables and tomato base with chorizo and sweet plantains

And this very tasty tomato salad!

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I am also taking mint for mint juleps, but I will have a margarita.:)

Silvia

Anybody been outside tonight?

Oooooowwwwww..........ArrrrrArrrrrArrrOooooooowwwwwww!!!!!!

Silvia.....your garden looks great like always....My arty-choke is finally producing a fruit !

And my Orlando eggplant has little fingerlings on it....

Maxine (Vqueen) came by with her daughter to pick-her-pot-o-peppers.......

Right away she spots some bugs on my maters...I mean I saw the frass but didn't see the critters...sure enough I had a KaleCondo hosting whiteflies......THANK-YOU

So now to my "problem"....I gave away some Purple Jalepeno Peppers this season.....The seeds were sold as HOT...but:

My best plant crossed with a BELL....no heat at all.... Sooooo, I'm looking for feedback on the heat of YOUR gift pepper

doug

Hi Doug

Thank you. And today is going to be another hot day.:)

I am so glad that your artichoke is producing some fruit, I am thinking of starting them earlier next time.

My new eggplants are producing also, I have a new one that is white, let's see how that one does in the heat.

Some of this morning harvest

I have all the kale and collards pick before they get buggy, you can freeze them or share with friends. Kale is on the menu and also swiss chard at my house,lol

I had one purple jalapeno from your beautiful plant and if it has no heat is okay by me, I use all peppers. The tomato salad that I did yesterday had some minced hot peppers, dry oregano, olive oil and red wine vinegar, it was excellent!
I bought a very good peanut oil in the oriental market and I put my french hot peppers that I have in the porch and your purple jalapeno to marinate and use them in cooking. I will sample the next purple jalapeno...

Silvia

Man do those party dishes look great!

How much longer will you be getting tomatoes? I've just about picked the last of mine, lots of trouble with TYLCV here this spring. I have about 35lbs inside ripening and about another 15lbs that I will pick either today or by Wednesday, after that it will only be some Sweet Baby Girl cherries for another month :-(

We're not much on eggplant but I was so impressed with your Orlando that I'm thinking of growing one just as a ornamental plant in the garden.

On a bright note we're still getting lots of cukes off of the plants inside the pool cage :-)

Happy Sunday!

Tom

Thank you Tom, the pictures don't capture the flavor in the dishes. That rice had so many things flavoring, a lot of veggies, spices and herbs from the garden. The tomatoes were a hit and the mint juleps too, they were kind of strong for me.:)

I hope that I still have some more weeks of getting tomatoes, the community garden are just getting theirs ripening because they were planted later than mine...at least they will get some cherries. Next season I will grow your sweet baby girls, looking forward to those.

And yes, even eggplant is not your favorite, you will like it for ornamental purposes, my eggplant pickles are really good. I don't know if you ever tried eggplant in an Italian caponata? that will probably change your mind, it has zucchini and tomatoes cooked in the oven for a long time.

Cucumbers are good this season and the beans are finally producing good amounts. First time trying is a bean for hot weather kwintus and yellow arikara that I got in Monticello, they are very good and will grow them again.

Happy Sunday!

Silvia

I just wanted to say Wow, Sylvia! You're so inspirational to people like me who are just starting to experiment with gardening.

I have some sweet potato vines that I just stuck in the ground (no raised bed), some watermelon in the bed, an early variety of summer squash in the bed, some very slow-growing okra, some eggplant seeds I just planed (Black Beauty), some Everglades Currant Tomatoes seeds just started from Tom (thank you again!), one banana pepper plant, and some sunflowers. We also have some fruit trees with very little fruit so far (mango, avocado, starfruit, bananas) and some Muscato grapes.

Thanks to all of you guys for inspirational posts like these or I never would have gotten started :)

Hi Nessz

Very nice to hear that you got inspired to grow edibles. Every season you will get better and learn new things about what works for you.

Sweet potatoes are very hardy and you don't need a raised bed, I have few volunteers coming up where I had them last season around the bananas. And I ate some okra this morning, I do prefer the dwarf varieties because they don't take too much space in my garden.
On the fruit front I ate a ripe papaya, have some apples in my 2 trees and I am going to have a lot of ripe bananas.
Make sure to follow a program for fertilizing the fruit trees.

My banana is getting another bunch of fruit...

Silvia

I love your squash Silvia. I had "squash problems" this year :) My tomatoes are still producing pretty well though.

Here is a picture of my tomatoes from today

Hi Amber

Thank you and I have to tell you that winter squash is my favorite vegetable to grow because it keeps well and is very versatile for cooking.
What kind of squash problem did you have? bugs or disease? was it in the summer squash or winter or both?
I am glad that your tomatoes are doing well!

Silvia

Silvia, your garden and your dishes look great! That rice dish with the chorizo and ripe plantains make my mouth water!

Like Tom, my tomatoes are almost done. My zucchini's are producing as are my eggplants. Peppers are still going. Beans still didn't do great, but are producing a little. No virus that I can tell (I did the coffee filter thing, Silvia), just not as vigorous as they were the first couple of years. Don't know what's wrong.

Silvia, what lettuce are you still harvesting? Not bitter?!

I still am getting a little broccoli, but getting buggy. Kale is still doing well.

Anna

Amber, those tomatoes are gorgeous!

Hi Anna!

Thank you, rice is a very common dish but this one every one kept praising and asking for the recipe. The secret was in the sofrito made with pureed tomatoes, onions, garlic and the spices, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, acchiote and olive oil. Cooked the day before and yesterday finish cooking in the oven till it got a nice crust.

Beans this year were not producing well for some reason till recently...

The lettuce I mixed a bunch of heat tolerant lettuces that are mostly red varieties and planted around early February, I also have others that were planted later in another bed and they are also hardy in the heat, have not tried those yet. But with the current hot temperatures, they won't be good for long.-(

Silvia

I don't know if you ever tried eggplant in an Italian caponata?

Oh boy, I have to research this :-)

Next season I will grow your sweet baby girls, looking forward to those.

You won't be sorry, this is an amazing little workhorse, productive, disease resistant and great flavor :-)

First time trying is a bean for hot weather kwintus and yellow arikara that I got in Monticello, they are very good and will grow them again.

Will they grow in zone 10 during the summer? Truly a bean and not a cowpea? Bug resistant?

Nessz - enjoy the currants, small in size, BIG in flavor :-)

Amber - looks like you grew all the colors I wanted to grow....

Tom

Oh, what will I do when these are gone :-(

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Amber's kick-arse Corinto's are still going strong :-)

Tom, those are some good looking tomatoes and cucumbers! congrats on your success!

I just finished cutting up tomatoes to be put in the freezer, that way they are easy to use in the future in any recipe that calls for tomatoes.

When I planted the beans, I didn't write down the varieties, that was my surprise when I started getting those really long beans, I went to look at the seeds planted and realize they were the kwintus, which is an italian romano type, not a cowpea. I don't know how well will do in your zone and I don't think will do well even in my summer conditions but for now is doing great. Another good one but bush and very early is the arikara.

Next season I am going to grow more huge beefsteak varieties for the community garden, I don't know why but men seem to love big varieties! lol

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: kwintus beans

Hi Silvia,your garden is looking great & the side dishes are awesome.I have some of your sweet potaoes in the ground & will be planting more this week.Can you believe I'm still getting a few tomatoes from out of the greenhouse.I went in there yesterday afternoon & the thermometer was off the chart,as it only goes up to 120degs.I'm getting tomatoes from the garden,that I'm starting to freeze for later use,but I am having a real battle with the caterpillars & have had to spray with BT a few times-the result of our mild winter,no doubt.

Hi Darcy

Thank you. I am glad that you are getting the sweet potatoes planted, I hope that they do well for you.
I can relate to the greenhouse heat,lol. I noticed one thing when it got hot, if the tomatoes were already fully developed, they got sweeter. And we are having a lot of disease and bugs this season I think due to the mild winter, the winds and the drought but the good thing is that we can still get a harvest and that is important.
I am already thinking recipes for the bananas and winter squash that are ripening...

Silvia

I don't know why but men seem to love big varieties!

When it comes to vegetables, bigger is better!

Tom, that is funny! In your case all the big varieties are better but yard longs and gourds,lol

Bush snap beans, french velour and arikara, very productive. Those purple ones are very ornamental!

Silvia

Silvia, the winter and summer squash failed. I had bugs and disease. It just turns out for me that way somethings. I haven't given up though :)

Tom, yeah I like strange colored tomatoes. I found out that Indigo Rose makes a nice bird trap crop. The birds think they are berries so they focus on them and ignore the others. What do you do with all those tomatoes you harvest? Do you can or freeze them?

Amber, I planted my summer squash in the pantera bowls that Tom gave me and the winter squash in 1 gallon nursery pots and buried them in the raised bed, the roots traveled after a time but by then they are strong...

I don't think Tom freeze his but I do.:) After making enough salsa and tomato sauce and using them in cooking, before they go bad I cut them up in 2 cups size and put them in the freezer bag for later use. One of those big tomatoes that I am growing filled the 2 cups.

Some of us grew the last season Osu Blue that Tom got the seeds for and we were not thrilled about the flavor...Hopefully the Indigo Rose tastes better, if not at least the birds like them,lol

This season I am growing black pearl and italian white and I like the flavor and are healthy plants so far.

Here are some blooms today...sweet potato flowers, sometimes I get them, sometimes I don't.

Bi-color butterfly bush

Borage and petunias still going strong

Blue pea vine

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Silvia

And this queens wreath is grabbing attention from neighbors.:)

Silvia

What kind of sweet potatoes are those in the picture?

I grew some freebies out of the compost pile last year and they had a different leaf. Don't know what they were either.

Joeworm

I have few varieties of bush sweet potatoes but mostly in the picture is the amish bush porto rico being that variety the most productive in my garden.

Here is one with different leaf, also bush, I don't propagate them because they are not that productive. This one is a volunteer.

Silvia

Those purple ones are very ornamental!

You know me Silvia, I'll never be without my purple podded pole beans, extremely hardy, productive and I love the taste ;-)

What do you do with all those tomatoes you harvest? Do you can or freeze them?

No Amber, we eat them fresh and give lots away. One of our favs is tomato, cucumber and pepper salad marinated in Wishbone Robusto dressing with lots of coarse ground pepper, YUM :-)

...before they go bad I cut them up in 2 cups size and put them in the freezer bag for later use.

Silvia, tell me what you do with the ones you freeze. Cathy is interested but you know how that goes, I can never get her to come look at the computer after doing it all day at work :-(

My bi-color buddleia didn't make it but I never get tired of looking at your Queens Wreath...gave mine to Ariel123 and would love to see pictures of how they are doing.

Tom

Silvia, I'll try the pot burying method on the squash next time. Maybe it will help. The Indigo Rose tastes pretty good to me, but I'm terrible at judging tomato taste. I haven't tasted OSU Blue to compare. If you want to try Indigo Rose some season and need some seed, I have some extra.

Tom, I bet you are popular with your friends and neighbors.

The leaves from the plant in that picture look similar to what came up in the compost pile last year.

Thanks

Tom - After I freeze the tomatoes, they are good for any recipe that uses can tomatoes and have more flavor like in soups, stews, sauces. That is why I pack them in 2 cups so I know the amount, they don't even need to be thaw, they go straight in the recipe. The only thing that they are not good at is like fresh tomatoes.

When I went to Biosphere, I asked about her favorite buddleia and she said it was a pale yellow and the bi-color, she also said that they are nematode prone and when in ground they will last for a couple of years, I put mine in the container. They did have more colors...

I need more plants like the queens wreath, they sure make a statement when blooming and they are really no care like Anna said. I told my next door neighbor we should only plant things first that gives food, or that they are beautiful or that smell nice, he agreed.:)

Amber - That is a good idea! I will go first and mail you some seeds...
On Monday, I had a big surprise! remember that I said that I visited a farm and a winery in Italy? well, the owner just sent me some seeds for my garden, she said "have an Italian salad in my name" that was nice and not expected!

Joeworm - Probably you left some pieces of a store bought sweet potato and rooted, sweet potato will root from a piece or a slip. My volunteers are from pieces left in the ground after harvesting them.

Silvia

Hi All

I have been busy in the garden harvesting and later cooking.

The white eggplant that I got in Monticello it has been very productive like the Orlando and I made ratatouille with both eggplants, zucchini, onions, tomatoes and herbs from the garden.

I cooked some of the white beans from Italy, one is a big canellini and the other one is also a canellini but is huge! the biggest bean that I have ever seen.

One bunch of bananas fully ripe at the same time! what to do? dried them!

For those looking for a good tomato that produces well and is healthy, sweet...it is a cherry Smarty F1

And it is time to pick blueberries, remember that I told you about Mark's blueberries?

Happy gardening!

Silvia

Tom, what plans are you using for you five-gallon "earthbuckets" I see your cukes growing in? I've concocted something out of the large plastic kitty litter buckets that I'm about to try a tomato plant in. If it works, I'll share what I did. (If it doesn't, I'll deny ever having said anything about it.) :)

Oh my goodness, Silvia, you are amazing! That blueberry-almond dessert looks soooo good! I think I will make ratatouille tonight. I usually serve it over noodles, how do you serve it?

Your queen's wreath is gorgeous! Mine is resting now, but am looking forward to its next big bloom. Glad you are happy with it.

Anna

Thank you Anna. Blueberries are so good this year! the farm owners said that because we didn't get enough chill in the winter, there are less early varieties to pick but the late season are fine. We did picked a lot for fresh eating, pies, jams and freezing. The pie is probably my favorite, it is from a book from Maine...

I like ratatouille by itself, if I have a good crusty bread I would eat with that. The first time that I am trying those white eggplants from Monticello and they are so tender and almost no seeds, very good variety!

Every one in the house loves the queens' wreath. I cannot believe how big it got in such a short time. Thanks for your advice.

Silvia

my".....

Hi Wallisadi

Congratulations! those are some beautiful and perfect tomatoes! you are officially on the tomato hall of fame.:)
Keep up with the good work!

Silvia

Silvia - thanks for the info on freezing maters, I can't give them away fast enough, some are going bad so I know what to do with them now :-)

Good to know about the buddleia too, I didn't know they were node-magnets :-( I'll take cuttings and pot them up, but just the purples, the rest don't seem to attract the bees or butterflies :-(

And, I was considering a trial of Smarty F1 since I've seen such good reviews of it. If you have not sent the oxhearts yet could you throw in six seeds of this one? I really want to trial it against Sweet Baby Girl.

You're killing with that blueberry pie, do you know how hard it is to stay low-carb with you tempting me all the time :-( :-)

Steve - too funny, cukes are the only things than have done well inside the pool cage in relative shade. I'm not using the buckets in a capillary action capacity, I'm using the wicking cups to wick water OUT of the mix, not into it. I drill holes in the BOTTOM of the bottom buckets to drain water out of the potting mix, not retain it....

Mark - cucumbers last year, now tomatoes, what's next? Watermelons??? Good job ;-)

Tom

Tom - Do you pick most of your beefsteak tomatoes green? I was curious as I have a few betterboy bushes with a bunch of huge green tomatoes. On the one that is in ground, however, the tops of the tomatoes are all splitting and brown. The container plant isn't experience that problem.

Also, I've been fighting stink bugs. I am guess the only thing that works in wetting them down with neem oil so they can't fly off and then killing them by hand?

Thanks!

Tom - Do you pick most of your beefsteak tomatoes green?

I have to pick them green or the squirrels will get them :-( They ripen inside okay as long as you keep them out of the sun.

Tom

Tom - I just saw Louie this morning, he is back at work and ready for his late garden. He told me that over the weekend he planted tomatoes, lettuce and radishes.-( I told him he missed seeing you and the party.
And yes, I will mail you some Smarty F1 seeds and the next coming season we will both do the trial of this variety and your Sweet Baby...
When I put Monokah's tomato in the tomato forum, the search gave me this, a blast from the past,lol.

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: Monokakh' Hat tomato

Hi Mark

Your malabar spinach looks nice and healthy, you have your little surprises coming up! lol

Here is a picture of malabar spinach at Echo...

Silvia

cool......growing it as an ornamental, hate spinach....:) i saw the u-tube video at echo, seeds came from japan. thanks!

Thanks Silvia,

I got the MH and callaloo seeds :-) Did I do something wrong with the callaloo? Are the seeds small and black like other amaranth or bigger green pods? Since I didn't have any luck last time I need all the help I can get...maybe I just kept the seeds until they were just too old.

Sorry I missed Louie, I'm glad he's doing well.

I'm looking forward to trying both the MH and the Smarty, you're link was cool but I'm at work now and Big Brother blocks PB so I usually can't see the pics until I get home :-(

Tom

Mark - Malabar spinach is an ornamental for me too, I don't like the slimy texture but for sure it looks pretty!
I have to see the u-tube video from Echo, it is a good place to visit at least one time, interesting.

Tom - Smarty seeds will follow. About the callaloo, the ones that I originally planted were kind of green and Maxine told me just sprinkle, I didn't think they were going to come up but they did, seeds are very small. Now I have them coming up by themselves where I had them before. I think you can use them fresh(green) or mature and they come, just sprinkle them where you want them to grow, you can probably mix them with fine starter medium or peat moss and just put them on top, press so when you water the seeds don't run.

Louie was recovering for over a month and gained weight,I told him welcome to the club,lol. He said too many pringles and not enough vegetables plus he was bored,lol.

Silvia

Beautiful pictures Mark, now that I can see them ;-)

Silvia, cover the callaloo seeds , or no? I'm not clear about this....

Tom

Tom

I didn't cover the seeds, I just sprinkle them on top of the bed. Sometimes when I saw fine seeds like lettuce or carrots I mix them with a starting medium or peat moss, sprinkle them and press.

Silvia