let's see your veggie garden {pics} 2021-26
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
My 4 plants of Basque pepper have yielded about 80 peppers, averaging about 4" long. I have discarded the seeds and vanes, and sun-dried the cut-open peppers. Then I oven dry them further. I will attempt to mill it into a powder in the next month.
Bob
Bob
dogfish858
Member
Today I pulled in my main-crop potatoes grown conventionally. Due to lack of rain I got maybe 175 lbs where I got 500 lb last year. On my no-till organic plot, I got this
glamour shot in late July:
Otherwise it's been a bit of a struggle. Our weather is extreme and towards the ends of the season we can have frost and 28C days. This was one storm that missed us but annihilated the crops to the north and east a few miles:
Now the harvest is mostly in on the fields and I'm just waiting on my tomatoes. Found some real apples at a neighbor's -- the prairies don't really have 'real' apples -- and have about four pans of these tomatoes to do. Fortunately, our garbage weather nearly eliminates pests and disease, and short of some flea beetle on the Chinese greens, what has grown has been healthy.
glamour shot in late July:
Otherwise it's been a bit of a struggle. Our weather is extreme and towards the ends of the season we can have frost and 28C days. This was one storm that missed us but annihilated the crops to the north and east a few miles:
Now the harvest is mostly in on the fields and I'm just waiting on my tomatoes. Found some real apples at a neighbor's -- the prairies don't really have 'real' apples -- and have about four pans of these tomatoes to do. Fortunately, our garbage weather nearly eliminates pests and disease, and short of some flea beetle on the Chinese greens, what has grown has been healthy.
Bob
GreenDragon
Moderator
@dogfish858 what is the difference between “real” and “not real” apples? Inquiring minds want for know 
GreenDragon
Moderator
Had to take a picture before cutting down. This is one of my super-okras. I’ve never, in 20 years, had any okra plants grow over 6 feet. Based on my son (6’) it’s got to be close to 15 feet!
MadFarmer
Well-Known Member
Is it Eagle Pass okra?
GreenDragon
Moderator
I can’t find the package, but that doesn’t ring a bell. It was tasty though!
When an abundance of apples falls to the ground, the bugs and critters just can't take a bite out of each one. These were selected from the apples beneath my Winesap tree. No reaching upward.
Bob
smallwanderings
Well-Known Member
4.5 gallon bucket of sweet potatoes from one plant, started from a small bit of potato that sprouted in the refrigerator.
Some plants still in my garden:
broccoli
cabbage
sweet peas
bok choy
There are still two pepper plants, one tomato plant, another sweet potato plant, three carrot plants and marigolds.
And I'm guessing this is collard greens, which found its way into my garden somehow.
Also these praying mantis egg cases were on the sweet potato vine.
and these swallowtail caterpillars on one of the carrots.
Some plants still in my garden:
broccoli
cabbage
sweet peas
bok choy
There are still two pepper plants, one tomato plant, another sweet potato plant, three carrot plants and marigolds.
And I'm guessing this is collard greens, which found its way into my garden somehow.
Also these praying mantis egg cases were on the sweet potato vine.
and these swallowtail caterpillars on one of the carrots.
November Harvest
Although I have left a few carrots in the ground, this is pretty much it for my 2021 season. First frost is tonight. (Our mythical "first frost date" used to be 15 OCT.)
The walnuts (a couple of dozen) are less than 10th of what is laying on the grass beneath the Black Walnut trees. [Being rather lazy, I simply sat in my lawn chair that always remains above the garden, and picked up the fallen nuts that I could reach while seated, until my repurposed ice cream tub was filled.] I'll leave them on my front porch to freeze and thaw over the next week, then will drive over them with my car, to encourage the husks to come off. Once they are fully dried, I have to crack each nut with a 16 ounce claw hammer--several times, then tediously pick out the bits of nut meat. Black walnut is too intense for me to eat directly, but when minced to a near-powder, and sprinkled on ice cream, for example, it is spectacular. I usually just bag and freeze all the bits, then mince up a small quantity on-demand.
My Basque peppers have been surprisingly prolific producers (from only 4 plants). I've already harvested all of them--fully ripened--on 4 or 5 occasions, and have dried them, for grinding into powder. But the peppers I harvested today have stubbornly remained green for many weeks. I will likely attempt to rapidly dry them green, then make up a separate batch of Green Pima d'Espelette powder.
Bob
Although I have left a few carrots in the ground, this is pretty much it for my 2021 season. First frost is tonight. (Our mythical "first frost date" used to be 15 OCT.)
The walnuts (a couple of dozen) are less than 10th of what is laying on the grass beneath the Black Walnut trees. [Being rather lazy, I simply sat in my lawn chair that always remains above the garden, and picked up the fallen nuts that I could reach while seated, until my repurposed ice cream tub was filled.] I'll leave them on my front porch to freeze and thaw over the next week, then will drive over them with my car, to encourage the husks to come off. Once they are fully dried, I have to crack each nut with a 16 ounce claw hammer--several times, then tediously pick out the bits of nut meat. Black walnut is too intense for me to eat directly, but when minced to a near-powder, and sprinkled on ice cream, for example, it is spectacular. I usually just bag and freeze all the bits, then mince up a small quantity on-demand.
My Basque peppers have been surprisingly prolific producers (from only 4 plants). I've already harvested all of them--fully ripened--on 4 or 5 occasions, and have dried them, for grinding into powder. But the peppers I harvested today have stubbornly remained green for many weeks. I will likely attempt to rapidly dry them green, then make up a separate batch of Green Pima d'Espelette powder.
Bob
GreenDragon
Moderator
I love black walnuts and ice cream together! One of my favorite flavors.
Homegrowngoodnes
Well-Known Member
We had an enormous black walnut tree in out yard when oi was a kid. I bet the trunk was 6' diameter or so cuz i know two adults couldnt reach around it with their arms and touch fingers
After spreading the bucketful of black walnuts onto the driveway, and driving over them, this is all that's left. It's a couple of dozen. I'll allow them to fully dry, before cracking them.
Bob
MadFarmer
Well-Known Member
Redleaf
Well-Known Member
Am I correct to assume that is a hornworm laden with parasites ?
The photo shows a hornworm parasitized by braconid wasp cocoons. They will hatch by eating into the hornworm. If you see a hornworm like this, wish it luck, and allow it to go on its way. "Helpful" insects to us may not be "helpful" to others.
Bob
Bob
This is my basketful of green Pima d'Espelette. While still green, I sliced the whole peppers into coins, then slowly dried it all (with vanes and seeds) in my toaster oven, with the temperature set to "warm". It took about 2 days of warming and stirring for these to completely dry. As they dried, their green color vanished, replaced with a deep brown.
This morning, while... waiting... for... my... coffee... to... slowly... drip... through... its... cone... filter, I ran the dried pepper slices through a cheap, coffee mill. The green Basque pepper powder has very little heat, but does have a distinctly "smoky" pepper flavor. With the inclusion of milled seeds and vanes, the deep brown color has softened to the light brown that you see.
I still have the dried red peppers to mill. And they are hot! I'll need to wear a face mask to mill them.
Bob
I gathered my courage this afternoon, and finished processing my ripe red Basque peppers (Pima d'Espelette) that I had cleaned and dried in late summer. The chunks were too large to fit into my little coffee mill, so they began their journey by going first into my food processor, which was able to chop them into large, irregular flakes. This then went into the coffee mill, in several batches.
In natural light, the green powder appears a bit more greenish than in this photo. It will be interesting using the ripe vs the green in different recipes.
Bob
In natural light, the green powder appears a bit more greenish than in this photo. It will be interesting using the ripe vs the green in different recipes.
Bob
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