Weekly Garden Update - September 29, 2016

I almost started to call my weekly garden update the Wednesday Weekly Update with this post, but even though I started writing the post yesterday, obviously it didn't get finished until today which is certainly not Wednesday.

Dazzling Blue Kale

Here's a look at the well recovered Dazzling Blue Kale, so well recovered that I harvested a half pound from one plant just after the photo shoot. The other plant had funky aphid damaged leaves that were a gathering spot for aphids again so I removed those leaves and put them in the compost. It's interesting to me to note that one of the plants is more susceptible to powdery mildew and the other is more attractive to aphids. You can see one of my latest critter protection projects under way also. More on that in a future post.

Broccoli & Brussels Sprouts

I'm still finding aphids in the broccoli and haven't checked the Brussels sprouts lately, but no doubt they are there. The Brussels sprouts have lost a lot of leaves in the past few days, the older ones are yellowing and dropping of. I'm not sure if it is stress from heat, not enough water, or perhaps from powdery mildew, perhaps all of the above. I gave them supplemental water during the heat wave, sprinkling it from above.

Carrots

The plants in the tunnel on the other side of the bed are mostly growing well. The parsnips which you can glimpse on the left side of the carrots had sparse germination and are slow to grow (as usual). The carrots performed the opposite, better than expected germination and lush growth.

Kohlrabi

The kohlrabi has grown like crazy and is ready to start harvesting.

Kongo Kohlrabi

You'll see that Kongo kohlrabi next Monday.

Tronchuda Beira Cabbage

The Tronchuda Beira cabbage and Russian Hunger Gap kales are growing well and should (fingers crossed) provide some nice harvests this fall.

Russian Hunger Gap Kale

Jericho Romaine Lettuce

The Jericho romaine lettuce was slow to get established but seems to have settled in now.

Romanesco zucchini and Other Curcurbits

It's turning out to be a mixed year for the curcurbit family in the garden. The Romanesco zucchini has done well but has not been as crazy productive as in the past. I'm not complaining, it has produced no less than what I need. The cucumbers, not in the photo, have been disappointing, producing less than what I need. The Tromba d'Albenga squash (on the trellis behind the zucchini) have been slow to get going and are producing less than expected but I'm not left wanting.

My experimental patch of Kiwano Horned melons and Vine peaches has been a total disappointment. Do you see the sowing date on the tag above? And there's the vines (2 plants) below. Not much action for 3 months in the garden.

Kiwano Horned Melon

I've spotted perhaps 2 flowers on the horned melon and the Vine Peach has 2 fruits. These plants are obviously not suited to my cool climate, even though the Kiwano Horned Melon is supposed to be adapted to the Netherlands, but I guess their summer weather must be warmer than mine. Anyone want my extra seeds? They're perfectly good, just not suitable to cool summers.

Vine Peach

Crane Melon

One Crane Melon has set. I thought the recent heat wave was going to be the start of our typical "summer in fall" season, when we usually get our longest stretch of reliably warm weather. I count on that long warm fall to have success with things like melons and to extend the tomato and pepper harvests. But perhaps nature has a different idea this year, the weather is doing an about-face and it's going to get unusually cold. The next few days will see highs in the 60ºF's and lows in the 40ºF's. And this is the second cold front to come through in a couple of weeks, the first one dry and this one with a slight chance of rain. I wonder if this is a trend that will continue into or through winter. We could use the rain but too much would cause a lot of erosion and damage in the areas burned by the Soberanes fire.

Discus Buttercup Squash

I don't recall seeing a sunburned winter squash in my garden before, but that's what it looks like on these Discus Buttercup squashes. I think they will be ok, the skins were hard and still seem to be so but not yet to the stage where I would harvest them.

Blasted Peppers

The pepper patch is still a mess and I need to go through and clear them out. I started that yesterday afternoon after doing the photo shoot.

Baby Aji Amarillo

The Aji Amarillos are still the bright spot in the patch. The Baby Ajis are starting to ripen and the Grande Ajis are developing some good sized peppers.

Aji Amarillo Grande

Aji Amarillo Grande

Do you see the little patches of red in the lower left background in the photo, it looks like confetti because it is pepper confetti, the rats got in and started to shred the long Turkish peppers to get at the seeds inside.

Greek Gigande Beans

There are drying Greek Gigande beans on the vines. I'm not going to get a lot of beans but I will at least have fresh seed stock to try again next year.

Blue Speckled Tepary Beans

The Blue Speckled Tepary beans are starting to produce mature pods as well.

Blue Speckled Tepary Beans

They are just starting to dry, the beans in this pod were still soft.

Blue Speckled Tepary Beans

I'itoi Onions

Wow, the I'itoi onions are happy! I nibbled one blade from a plant and like it. It could be a nice spicy substitute for chives. The leaves will become much larger as the plants grow.

Hopi Chinmark Corn

 The pillaging rats continue their work.

Hopi Chinmark Corn

Snap traps seems to be useless. But yesterday evening I went through and wrapped each individual ear with a piece of Agribon fabric. I don't know if that will deter the rats and I'm afraid it will give the aphids a cozy spot to proliferate. But I don't know what else to try other than just ripping out all the plants.

Zuni Tomatillos

Zuni tomatillos are disappointing. I don't know if they are supposed to produce such small fruits, but this is ridiculous, that's one of the best in my hand. It has been afflicted by powdery mildew also. I'm about ready to give up and rip it out.

Zuni Tomatillo

The pole beans are trying to put out some new growth. There's a chance for a second crop if they can regrow so I'll leave them for now.

Monarch Caterpillar

To finish on a high note, one of my favorite critters is back!