Monday, September 27, 2010

Beach Farm: Week 8



This is celery, apparently more difficult to grow than other vegetables. Constant moisture is one need. Another is moderate temps and a long season. Also, a sleeve needs to go over it so that its stalks look like those in the bag at the grocery -light colored and erect.

On the celery -this guy. Ah, go ahead, who want the leaves anyhow.

Broccoli has given up all its main florets. Now its side shoot season.

I was impressed to see such large shoots growing from under the soil.

Siamese tomato?

Speaking of tomatoes...they look like sh*t. Once they hit the ground, hello blight.

Speaking of disease, I think bean anthracnose infected one or two plants. That said, we harvested more healthy beans than we know what to do with from about 8 plants.

Our Swiss chard never did well and I pulled some out. While pulling, I discovered some grubs.

I think 'Buckeye Rot.' Close contact with soil, green tomato, warm and wet days. Only one specimen.

The harvest. Those over-sized cherry tomatoes are coming on strong. I was waiting for the cubanelle peppers to turn color, but instead they turned to rot -so I picked em green. Hungarian wax to the far left and a bunch of ichiban eggplants. The hot hot peppers are just now beginning to turn, forget the cukes -two little boogers. Yellow wax and Roma beans by the dozens. Bell peppers should be ready next week, but the cooling temps and heavy rains are putting the damper on the hot weather produce.

However, I did get some seeds in on Sunday morning. Snap peas under the cuke trellis, spinach, parsley, and cilantro where the green beans had been. Next weekend I put in the different salad greens and maybe some radishes. All the rains have been just what was ordered for those newly planted seeds.


6 comments:

  1. Sorry to read about the Rot and the catepillars! That is quite a harvest though!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, meem. It sure is. All sitting on the counter gone uneaten.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am pretty sure that is a black swallowtail caterpillar. It looks like it is pretty big. If you wanted you could bring it in and give it celery leaves until it is full grown. It actually hibernates in the chrysalis over the winter. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1356

    Then you could let it free in the spring. Or just enjoy it in the garden. I love bring monarch caterpillars in and raising them with my daughter. She loves watching them change. Very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's still an amazing tableful...

    ReplyDelete
  5. your harvest is SOOOOOOOo beautiful!!! so very inspiring!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Swallowtail was my guess Kelly-seen pictures on Marie's blog.

    ReplyDelete

If I do not respond to your comment right away, it is only because I am busy pulling out buckthorn, creeping charlie, and garlic mustard...