Vegetable Garden 2009

[sazemisery]

Here is my list of vegetables for 2009. I must explain the Mr.sazemisery has diverticulitis and can't eat so many of the veggies I used to grow like corn and okra. I still plan to grow corn for flour, meal, hominy and polenta from seeds given to me by an Indian artist who got them from the Cherokee Nation. It is a pinkish red corn the tribes planted on their original lands in the Carolinas before the Trail of Tears brought them here to Oklahoma.

This list does not include the herbs and lettuces and spinach I have in the greenhouse now.

Beans - Dry shelling type

• Jacobs Cattle
• Scarlet Runner
• Etna

Beets

• Chioggia (red and white rings when sliced)
• Golden

Carrots

• Cosmic Purple
• Yaya

Cucumbers

• Armenian

Eggplant

• Baby (free seeds I got with purchase ???)

Melons

• Tigger - Softball size red and yellow striped
• Moon and Stars

Peppers

• Jimmy Nardello - Good frying sweet pepper
• Italian Sweet Red
• Early Jalepeno
• Bulgarian Carrot

Squash - Summer

• Yellow Scallop

Squash - Winter

• Delicata
• Peanut - Looks like a pumpkin with peanuts stuck all over the surface

Tomatoes & Tomatillos

• Purple Tomatillo
• Cherokee Purple
• Bloody Butcher
• Atkinson - Bred for Southern conditions, this medium-height variety produces 8-oz red globes even through hot, dry summers. A tomato with considerable merit, which was no longer being offered commercially.
• Sun Gold Cherry

[sazemisery]

1. Forgot the potatoes

• Yukon Gold
• Red Cloud
• Caribe
• Butte

[bvar22]

2. Nice Menu.

I'm envious of your corn.

The Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Department has been obtaining and growing a variety of heirloom Cherokee plants for the past several years. Although the seed stock was gathered from throughout the United States, its origins come from the Cherokee Nation’s ancestral lands in the southeast.

“We have several varieties of corn, gourds and beans, as well as a few specialized plants such as tobaccos and squashes. Many of these plants represent our living ancestors and make delicious table fare. Others are great for art,” Gwin said.

http://nativetimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1042&Itemid=0

We're going to grow some corn in traditional rows this year, and are looking for heirloom varieties. Mother Earth had a good article on Dent Corn and some other varieties that we will be trying this year. Corn was impractical inside the boxes, so we decided to till up some rows.

Thanks for posting about the Atkinson tomato:
Bred for Southern conditions, this medium-height variety produces 8-oz red globes even through hot, dry summers. A tomato with considerable merit, which was no longer being offered commercially.

I found this:
"Atkinson was introduced 1966 for southern, hot and humid areas by Auburn University. They produce good yields of 1/2 to 1 pound, red, globe-shaped tomatoes that are very meaty with good, old-fashioned tomato flavors. The fruits are meaty. This is an outstanding tomato for sandwiches, salads and canning. Great for growing in Southeastern U.S. and TROPICAL REGIONS. Disease Resistant. A good choice to grow as a fresh market tomato."

We're interested.
We've had great success with tomatoes until the heat really rolls in late July. Then production crashes, the plants start to pick up molds and spots, and the tomatoes start losing flavor. I hate giving up on fresh tomatoes, and last year nursed them along with minimal results.

We even started some plants in June thinking that fresh, young plants would do better, but that didn't happen.

I am planning to rig a some type of screen to give some plants shade from 10 - 2PM this year to see if that will help.


Have you grown the Atkinson Tomato?
I like what I've read so far....bred for The South...heat & disease resistant.
Sounds like just the thing for August tomatoes.

[sazemisery]

3. I haven't grown the Atkinson yet....

but picked it for the drought tolerance and the disease resistance. I will let you know how it goes if you decide not to try it this year.

I successfully grew corn in my raised beds. Planted them in 2 of my my L-shaped beds. I planted 3 rows(beds are 3 ft wide) and 6 inches apart in the rows. Got 116 ears out of the harvest. After they reached about 3 feet high, I placed cattle panels I had lying around on the outside perimeters of the beds and 2 foot tall flower bed fencing in-between the rows. I did this because the first time I planted corn in the raised beds, a storm came through and flattened the corn. I saved that harvest by propping up the corn with cattle panels and flower bed fencing. The flower bed fencing looks like this:

You can buy it either in rolls or they have panels that are hooked together and fold for storage.

I intend to save seed from my corn so I will have plenty to share next year if you are interested. I only have about 30 kernels to sow this year.



edited for redundancy