August 2, 2018

Good morning, I had suspected that the late freeze and then the hail storm had set back my cucumbers and summer squash. Once my succession beds came on line, I felt this suspicion was true. My cucumbers are going crazy. I am nearly harvesting 10 pounds a day. I think not only was this bed never put under any kind of weather stress but also  this cucumber crop follows a snow pea crop. None the less there are a lot of cucumbers. Normally cucumbers are $4.00 per pound , but if a minimum of 5 pounds is purchased, I will sell them for $3.00 per pound. As for the summer squash bed, it is not as prolific, but none the less it is out producing the old bed very nicely. It does look like I will be able to pickle okra this year. I have planted 5 beds this year of which 3 are being harvested and the other two are just beginning to have some spears harvested from them. Deb has dried some. Not being a fan of okra, I must say they are pretty tasty. The butternuts continue to ripen and are being harvested. I have noticed that they have begun to sprout new growth and I hope they will ripen for a second harvest later this fall. I also did a spot harvest on the sweet potatoes. The spot I harvested, they had not enlarged enough to be harvested. They were all fingerling sized, a popular size but I do hope to get mostly 1 to 3-pound spuds. I will spot check again in a week or two. They are just about ready. The tomato harvest has slowed, my root knot nematode (RKN)resistant tomatoes have had a real challenge this year. They were intentionally planted in a known infected bed. Here too the late freeze and the hail added another level of stress to them. I have noticed where the heavy concentrations of RKN has really stressed the tomatoes, but it was exciting to see new growth on the tomatoes located in these areas. So, it looks likely there will be a second harvest from this bed. I look forward to pulling these plants to look at what kind of knotting is on the roots.

Garden wide I will be interested in root inspection, I have not seen the decline like I did last year. RKN did ever so slowly take its toll. Last year I only used the thyme oil extract but I also have added a nemacide and an organic fungicide. Ah yes, life after RKN infection, a challenge, but it looks like there is life afterwards.

All said the garden is doing well.

Follows is a list of what I am growing, please email as to availability and prices. Chard, kale, green onions, carrots, lettuce, okra, tomatoes, chilies (several varieties), eggplant, butternut squash, garlic, beets, bulb onions, cucumbers, summer squash, sweet potatoes, and beans. Also, there is volunteer basil and dill.