20 July 2015

Almost tomato season

Thanks to Walt's watering regime and the good weather we've been having, the tomatoes are doing great out in the vegetable garden. The zucchinis are too. Cucumbers started producing but then stopped — I think temperatures just got too hot for them. They're starting to produce again now that it has cooled down slightly. We're still hoping for crops of eggplant, bell peppers, and jalapeño peppers later in the season.



As you can see above, Walt did some pruning on an apple tree next to the vegetable garden, just to lighten its load. I had done the same on the biggest apple tree a week or so earlier. Now we have to clean up.



It looks like we are going to have a fine tomato crop in August. There are several varieties out there, and they all seem to be thriving.



I wish I could say the same for my greens — kale and collards. Both have been attacked by a cloud of leaf-eating insects that I think are called flea beetles. I'm afraid the plants are all done for. I'll have to do a new planting in September for autumn and Christmas. I have plenty of seeds left.

14 comments:

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    1. I hope it wiil be even more fantastic in a few weeks.

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  2. " Both have been attacked by a cloud of leaf-eating insects that I think are called flea beetles.".....
    Yup... us too... the poor plants look absolutely "miserables"....
    in the UK we are used to one type of flea beetle...
    here there are three main culprits...
    including a dark blue one, the size of a match head...
    with thighs like a "le Tour" cyclist!!

    For a little light re-leaf, Ken....
    please have a listen to this track on Soundcloud...
    https://soundcloud.com/biscuitbadger/06-flea-beetles
    full instructions for combat-t-t-ting the "little divils" come halfway through the song!!

    Our tomatoes are looking good at the moment...
    but we've got an American variety that has black skinned fruit...
    we are having difficulty telling if it is ripe yet...
    one that felt ripe, when picked was still green inside...
    it is most certainly going to be a difficult one to call!!
    Tim

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    1. Thanks to you Tim. The flea beetles here are smaller than a match head -- more like the head of a straight pin, and blacker than blue.

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  3. If it's any consolation Chenonceau have lost all of theirs as well. If the pro gardeners can't keep on top of the little blighters, nobody can. They've been hanging out sticky yellow strips which have just been catching gazillions of aphids by the look of it -- I assume a forlorn attempt to control the flea beetle though.

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    1. Thanks for that information and encouragement.

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  4. Sorry to hear about your kale and collards!

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    1. The trials and tribulations of gardening. I'll replant in September and hope for better luck. Collards and kale are better when harvested after the first frost anyway.

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  5. Your tomatoes come on about a month later than ours. It's good that you have more collard and kale seeds for later.

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    1. I got kale seeds in bulk at a garden center in Newport NC, where my sister (Joanna) lives. There were a lot of them, probably hundreds, for about 75 cents. Let's hope the flea beetles, which do look a lot like fleas, will have moved on or died back by September.

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  6. This looks wonderful! I hope you do some blog posts of the delicious things you will cook when these veggies ripen. Too bad about the collards and kale, some of my favorite summer greens. We are getting some every week in our C SA boxes.

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    1. I'm still cooking every day, but all the travel photos from June have kept me from posting about it. Things are settling down now, so I'll get back to doing food posts soon.

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  7. My neighbor brings me a tomato a day now. I don't even like tomatoes that much ! But she is going to help me plan and execute my next garden , all flowers. So I thank her for the tomatoes and save them .. for guests :)

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  8. Those are the prettiest green tomatoes I have ever seen, by the way ~

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