24.51 just in the squash
they are selling in huntington for $1.29 each little squash

Well, a few of the squash weigh well over a pound. Those will be put in some cornmeal and fried. I am amazed at what veggies are going for right now. I am going to be dividing this particular harvest up and giving it to some of my neighbors. They are in their 70's and 80's, and due to their health, can't garden anymore.

I would really expect for the prices to keep going up. Grow your own while you can, and get others involved in growing.

Saturday, June 4 2011 harvest...



My sugar peas started off with great promise. However, this early heat and drought has greatly hindered their production.

pill bugs killed my lone squash plant.. Think I am going to buy 2 seedlings and try again with them. I am getting some decent cucumbers and tomatoes though and my peppers are going crazy again. I need to get my okra in the ground too, but I am not too worried about it. I am convinced that it'll grow in just about any weather as long as its hot.

Yeah, okra's pretty easy. Sevin Dust takes care of most bugs. I hate to use it, but due to an infestation of squash bugs, I've had to twice. If you do use it, just remember to read how long you have to wait to harvest after the application.

yep got to becarful with that stuff,I seen at TSC they have gal jugs of 7 dust spray now?? I've never trid the spary,dust has always worked for me so why change?beside I'm still using the same can over the last 10 years or so never use it unless there is no other way

Picked about 20 lbs of squash this weekend . The cubanells and serranos are producing nicely as well as the tomatoes (although the "Russian heirloom" turned out to be a freakin cherry tomato ).

Melons and cukes are blooming but it looks like the "candy cane" corn was a waste of time. My corn patch looks like one of those pics from the dustbowl era.

I used black whiskey barrel liners and dark colored fake whiskey barrels for the greens / onions this year. They did really well until the temps got up around 80. I plan on planting greens in November this year but I'll probably move the onion planters to the east side of the house to keep 'em cooler longer next spring.

The chilis are all in lighter colored plastic and so far they're doing fine in full sun all day. The tomatoes in pots are on the deck underneath some large oaks so they're not getting scorched.

Think I'm fixin' to quit reading the Farmer's Almanac. They predicted a " cooler, wetter " summer. Uh-huh.

Out of 14 Tomato plants, only 3 fruit produced. I think I planted a little late and suffering from blossom drop as far as I can tell. From what I have read, either too much Nitrogen or too hot to turn blossom's into fruit....sigh. On the flip side, squash, corn, peppers, peas, and melons all looking great.

tomatoes don't do very good in this high heat,anything over 95* the plants grow good but don't fruit to well????

Keep the plants alive. I usually get an even better crop of tomatoes in the fall. The plants may end up looking like burned and brown, but I've had them come back to lush, green tomato producing plants.

My serrano plants looked great when they were blooming about a month ago. Deep green color and healthy looking leaves. Now they are slightly wilted (which I assume is from the heat lately) and have turn a faint shade of yellow. Individual leaves turn completely yellow and fall off periodically. They have fruited out too. Not sure what the problem is. Do they need to be fertilized? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Leever

I had been watering every 4 days. Lately more often, every 2-3 days.

I water, especially in this heat, every day. I use the Miracle Gro sprayer (although I only use Miracle Gro every 10-14 days) to water the plants. I water every plant for 15 - 20 seconds.

Your plants could be under attack by doodle bugs (rollie pollies), you'll see them pop up after you water...or they could be lacking water and or nutrients. I would water a bit more often, early in the morning, or late in the evening...I would also get some Miracle Gro and use it.

Now, I have to water for that long because of my soil type. You may only need 10 to 15 seconds of water...especially in clay soils.

My tomatoe plants are doing very well (Early Girls). I only have 4 plants but have to pick them every other day. Right now, I counted 45 additional tomatoes on the vine of which about 1/2 will need to be picked tomorrow (they are yellowish orange now). Cukes are coming back nicely after a round of aphids set them back. Lots of vines climbing and loaded with blooms and smaller cukes from 1"-2" long. Bell peppers have been the best I've ever grown for size. I normally make a lot of peppers but the size in the past was smaller, most about 1/2 fist size. This year they are reaching fist size and larger.

June 8, 2011 harvest...

try adding a high nitrogen plant food like Miracle-Gro it's the blue mix 24-8-16 and water daily in this heat right before dark or just before daylight if you have mulch down,if you don't have mulch you need to add it just to fight off the heat
btw if you water in the evening don't wet the leaves of your plants they won't have time to dry before dark

Thanks for the tips.

Anybody know how long tomato juice canned in a hot water bath will last ? I just discovered some from last year.

Help needed. My tomatoes are doing great. But just as they start to ripen, the birds are getting to them before I can.

I have placed a plastic owl on the garden fence, placed a rubber snake next to the tomatoe plants, placed a bird feeder full of good bird seed away from the garden, tied aluminum pie pans on the tomatoe stakes... Nothing is working...

Any suggestions to keep the birds away will be greatly appreciated..

Fortunately, I have not had the bird problems, but my aunt put up one of those shiny whirlybird things and seems to have helped. You can pull them when they've gone from dark green to light green and get them to ripen. Just put them in the windowsill or in a box lined with newspapers...Or just shoot the birds.

Ran into the bird problem a couple of years ago. You can buy netting, specifically for your vegetables, at Home Depot, Lowes, Wally World. Worked great for me.

Thanks.. Hate to shoot em.. I'm old school and prefer "vine ripened" but I may have to start pulling em a little earlier. Read an article a few minutes ago that said Birds eat tomatoes during droughts to get the moisture. It recommended placing a bird bath adjacent to the garden.. May try that too..

I wish they liked Crappie... I'd give up some crappie if it would keep em off of my tomatoes!

thanks again.