Garden update

16 years ago

It is getting warmer but so far the garden is fairing well. The tomatoes are all producing and doing well, the plants are well over 7 feet tall, still having a bit of a stink bug problem, I have never seen so many as this year. Here in Florida the tomatoes have always given me trouble but this year it is a bumper crop. Finally figured them out.

Now peppers have always done great for me and this year is no exception and the plants now are well past waist high. In addition to the double row pictured there is another 20 bell peppers in the bunny garden that will just go for roasted peppers. Pictured in the row is a mix of giant marconi and California wonder. The other 20 plants are from seed kept from a local farmer and they make the absolute best red roasted peppers....no clue what type they are.

Watermelons are fruiting and some of the melons are getting quite large.

Cantaloupe and cukes are in a mixed bed.......seemed like a good idea at the time but the patch has exploded and trying to pick the cukes (marketmore) is a delicate dance akin to playing twister but they are supplying half the neighborhood with cucumbers, the rabbits don't like them. The cantaloupes must have 50 lopes on them from tennis ball size up to almost full size......I can't wait.

The "Mysore" black raspberries I planted this spring are producing frut daily, quite good growth for just planting them a couple months ago. The flash on the camera did wash the leaves out as they look quite pale in that picture. Not only are they producing fruit but are still flowering profusely so a long production season. I had read mixed reviews on the "mysore" from they are good to they are horrible to the fruit is infested with small bugs. I was told that they need water to produce larger tasty berries which isn't a problem as all the gardens are on automated watering systems anyway. I am here to report the "mysore" is quite good. They have a distinct black raspberry taste. The sweetness is less than a blackberry but they are sweet and not bland at all as some had said. Should make terrific jelly and pie and are perfect for eating fresh. The only drawbacks are the thorns. I have decided to root some and let them have another 75 feet of row.

We have 50 basil plants and they are growing like weeds.......I know that seems like a lot but it is one of the rabbits favorite foods. We picked 2 gallons of basil Saturday and we kept a bit for bruschetta and the rabbits got the rest.

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Comments (14)

whgille
16 years ago
WOW!!! Bamboo rabbit, your garden looks so good and you are going to have a bountiful harvest. All your veggies look so healthy!

I also planted mysore raspberries and I agree with you, they are sweet and productive, no bugs on them either. And like you I don't like the thorns either, but they are doing better than other berries that I planted.

Keep us updated on the harvest and the varieties of veggies that are doing well for you.

Silvia
olyagrove
16 years ago
Terrific garden, what a harvest.
Thank you for the info on Mysore raspberries, I might give them a try. I planted Apache blackberry and really liked the berries - huge, and tasty - and the plant is thornless...
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coffeemom
16 years ago
I'm in awe. You sure know what you're doing.
User
Original Author
16 years ago
Coffeemom,

While I would like to take credit I think the real credit goes to the rabbits. It is easy to grow big veggies if the soil is good and rich and the rabbits just make things grow. The soil here now looks just like it did in PA, jet black and rich and things grow great with this much longer growing season.

Btw your banana had to be moved....they made a change in how the water is diverted for the lakes and it could have potenially flooded where the banana sat. It would take a lot for that to happen but out of an abundance of caution I moved it and will put one of it's pups by the lake. That banana is growing like a weed and pushing a leaf a week.
coffeemom
16 years ago
Yea! That ice cream loves your rabbit soil for sure!
flyingfish2
16 years ago
bamboo, just how many rabbits do you have??

Your produce makes me envious!

bernie
User
Original Author
16 years ago
Flyingfish2

Well I have 2 adult bucks...7 adult does and 3 young does that are growing up as replacement stock and currently 50 or so young. That number bounces around as the bunnies go to freezer camp and does give birth, have 3 does due this coming week. The rabbits produce approx 25 gallons of manure/waste hay per day.
annafl
16 years ago
Wow, bamboo rabbit, your garden is incredible. I also love how it is all sustainable. I still have a ways to go. Your plants look so healthy and good even after the heat. I see trees in the background. How much shade do they get this time of year? Thanks for showing us. Olya, where did you get the apache blackberries? Would love some thornless good berries.

Anna
User
Original Author
16 years ago
Anna,

The live oaks are behind the garden, north of it and do not shade it at all. The garden is in full sun from about 10:00am until 4:00 or so.
tomncath
16 years ago
Definitely shows the difference in climate just 80 miles away. Nice green healthy garden due to lower night temps, mine looks like the pictures Sal posted, everything is burned up now....

Congrats on a very healthy garden!

Tom
coffeemom
16 years ago
Anna, I got my thornless blackberry at HD.
olyagrove
16 years ago
Anna, I want to say it was Lowes, but maybe Home Depot, since Coffeemom got hers there. Definitely one of the two. They had tons of them, but that was months ago - at the same time they had Sunshine blueberries,grapes and figs. I let mine flower and produce a few berries -berries were huge and tasty ;)
annafl
16 years ago
Thanks, Olya and Kristi. I will keep my eyes open.

Anna
User
Original Author
16 years ago
"Definitely shows the difference in climate just 80 miles away. Nice green healthy garden due to lower night temps, mine looks like the pictures Sal posted, everything is burned up now...."

Tom,

Everything? While I agree the tomatos will fry eventually your peppers must be fine? My peppers continue all summer till the frost gets them.