August 23, 2018

Good morning,  I am impressed with the eggplants, by getting the flea beetles off the eggplants , they are beginning to look very nice. In fact, they have really gone to blooming. I do plan to garlic spray them another time. Just for good measure.

Curiosity makes me wonder what else fermented garlic may work on. It is looking like the butternut harvest this year will only be a shadow of what I have grown in the past. The frost and the hail really did a job on setting them back. The second growth spell and blooming never did fully materialize. This was pushed back at least a month and a half and the plants do not have the vegetation to support a second fruiting. It is very interesting that I stumbled onto the right growth cycle by sowing the seed in March, with the first harvest in May and June, then the second crop developing in July and early August. Oh well such is agriculture.

I must say I am very impressed with the new growth on the tomatoes. I feel the added expense of nematode resistant seeds is well worth the expense. The first tomato planting has grown and filled the bed and there appears to be a pretty fine fruit set. The indeterminant tomatoes are just now really making a showing. My thought that they were not worth the trouble has been revised and I am beginning to think having both determinant and indeterminant plants may be the way to insure a continuous supply of toms. Especially since it does appear that the heat of early summer really slows the second growth spurt and blooming of the determinants. Having not grown indeterminants for several years I had forgotten how big they can grow.

The sweet harvest continues. The first bed is nearly complete. It will be interesting to see if the next bed provides some lunkers. The largest spuds so far are maybe a pound and a half. It has been a bazaar growing year and it will be interesting to see what the final sweet potato harvest looks like.

The fall brassica seedlings are looking good. Hope for well stocked beds looks pretty good at this time.     

 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 (new planting for fall, late September?). Also, there is volunteer basil and dill.