XXX Veggie Garden Porn... August Update... Very Graphic

[bvar22]

(See this thread for the Spring Edition of Veggie Garden Porn)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x2601


This is how things looked a couple of days ago.... Uncommonly GREEN and LUSH for August.... Weird.

(The rickety structure in the right foreground is a "work in progress". It will become a Grape Arbor of woven Hickory Branches. It is sturdier than it looks, and the Grapes are doing great. The "arch" is still being braided out of Hickory and Willow and will be added this week. That IS a Pumpkin on the far right.)

We have had a very bizarre Summer in West/Central Arkansas (Ouachita Mountains).
Our August weather came in May/June, over 100 degrees and NO rain from late April until July.
The early Summer outlook was grim. It was too hot for Tomatoes, and everything was baked, stunted, or wilted.
Last year, we carried Veggie Baskets full of Tomatoes, Melons, Cantaloupes, Beans, Cucumbers, Peppers to neighbors on July 4th.
Not this year.
We barely harvested out 1st tomato by July 4th.

We were almost ready to Write Off this year's garden......and then the HEAT broke, and it started raining. The garden responded, and we are harvesting lots of good veggies.
We are STILL having unusual weather with cool temps and rain well into August.
The Garden loves it, and so do we.


This is a "Better Boy". It produced many tomatoes, but they are disappointing...bland,
still, they are better than anything in the stores.
This bush is almost eaten up with Late Blight.
We are going to harvest the tomatoes and pull it up tomorrow.
This will NOT go into our compost. Anything showing any fungal problems or blight is going to be removed from the garden area.
We have plenty of compost and don't feel it is worth the risk.

We have done some things to limit blight and other fungal problems in our garden.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=246&topic_id=12114&mesg_id=12124
These types of problems are common in our area, but the damage can be limited organically.
Next year we are going to be more aggressive.



This is my favorite tomato, a "Creole", and has managed to evade Late Blight (See Above Link) and is still going strong.
Starkraven and Myself both agreed, "Best. Tomato. Ever."
"Creole Tomatoes" will be our main tomatoes next year.



This tomato is getting a lot of attention. We transplanted it yesterday.
We started the seed in Mid July. We are hoping for a Late Frost and some more Creole tomatoes into October. We may be a little late, and next year we will start seeds on July 1st. We also started another Creole, 2 Bloody Butchers, and 2 Brandywines.
We've never grown Bloody Butchers, but how can you resist that name?...and only 55 days to fruit.
We'll let you know how this works. Even if we don't get tomatoes, we've only risked a few seeds.



We were really happy with the Cantaloupes this year....very tasty.
These are Ambrosias, and we love them. We grew them on a stout trellis this year, and they pick themselves when perfectly ripe.
When they fall off, they are perfect for eating, just make sure they have something soft to fall on. :)



The biggest surprise this year was the "Lower Addition".
This was the section we added this Spring. We simply tilled up the section, screened out the rocks, and mounded up the dirt.
We added no compost or other soil enhancements, and expected very little. The soil didn't look very fertile.


We planted a bunch of seeds just for luck....and WOW.
It turned into a jungle.

Field Peas on the right. Okra, Watermelon, Green Beans, Gourds, and Pumpkins moving Left.
If you look immediately in front of the Pole Beans on the rear left, you will see a broader leafed, not quite so dark green plant.
This is Okra.
We've never grown Okra before, and the next photo is one I took this morning, and is the catalyst for this whole post.



This is an Okra Blossom.
Having never grown Okra, or seen it grown, I was completely taken by surprise.
It is breathtakingly beautiful, about the size of a Hibiscus, and my photo does not do it justice.
I would grow these purely for the flowers, but they don't last long.
You have to get up early to see them (and use a flash to photograph them).
I hope the Okra is good. I've never really liked Okra.





The Asparagus is doing well. It has been trouble free so far.
No insects seem to attack it. No fungal or disease problems so far.
We just water it from time to time, and it keeps growing.
If it does OK over the Winter, we will be able to eat some next year.






This was unexpected too.
This Passion Flower has gone crazy and produced a ton of fruit.
We are open for good ideas on how to eat this fruit.
The Internet Tubes say it is very good for us with medicinal properties, but we've never eaten it.
Good recipes will be appreciated


Squash also did unexpectedly well. We have never been able to harvest any Squash.
The Squash Bugs always got to it first. I don't know if the weird weather was a factor, or the steps we have take to minimize the Squash Bugs were effective.
We will know next year.

The Zucchini is already harvested and eaten, but the Butternut Squash is still going strong.
It is still flowering and making new fruit.


The Honey Bees have had a good Summer in spite of the early drought.

Both hives have high populations, and appear healthy. They hang out on the porch when it gets hot, and fan the hive with their wings. The white blob in the right photo is a piece of HoneyComb that we put back on the step for the Bees.



This is Clover Honey that we harvested in July.
We left plenty for the Bees. We love the Bees and are beyond fascinated by them.




This last photo is some Swiss Chard that bolted in the July heat.
The colors are spectacular. It was too pretty to clip, so we left it alone, and will harvest seeds for next year

WE are canning lots of delicious Green Beans which are going strong, and shifting gears for the Fall.
We will add compost to some of our beds, cover with newspapers and mulch, and let rest until next Summer.
Others will get Fall and Winter crops.
We are planning for a Fall planting of Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach, Mustard, Radish, Onion, Chives and Garlic.
Maybe some Cold Frames for pushing in to Winter.
It is sad to think that the Summer growing season is almost over. :(


This has been our 3rd growing season, and we are still experimenting and learning.
The most common phrase heard in our garden now is "Next year, we will....."

[donco6]

1. Love the pics, thanks.

But you don't like okra?? Mmmmm. I love it in soup and gumbo.

I wish I had your room. I love growing things, but I have a postage stamp!

[bvar22]

25. I'm now open minded to Okra.

I've carried a prejudice since childhood.
I didn't like Green Beans or Broccoli then either, but now I could live off them and be happy.
I've always seen it in Gumbo, but ate around it.
Most of the people up in these hills (some say mountains) absolutely LOVE it.
I've changed my mind about a lot of things over the last two years.
I suspect Okra will be one of those, especially if it comes from our garden.

[eppur_se_muova]

33. Okra: coated in corn meal and pan-fried is the Southern way.

I love okra fried this way -- it really doesn't taste like much served any other way, although I have had some good, spicy Indian dishes containing okra, together with other vegetables. Okra is common in Indian cooking, where it is called bhindi. Try these googlons: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=okra+indian+recipe&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g1
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bhindi+recipe&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g5

[donco6]

35. Make sure to pick it before it gets stringy.

No good that way.

Like a green bean that's gotten too "beany".

[suzie]

45. You'll know you've become a Southerner again when you explain exactly how you make fried okra

to friends and relatives. And think it's the most marvelous dish from the garden. Followed by okra and tomatoes.

For the best fried okra, you take the small, tender pods and slice them fairly small. Then dip them in beaten egg and dip in cornmeal. Then stir fry until light brown and tender in butter/olive oil/combination.

Emeril's Louisiana Real and Rustic cookbook has a great okra and tomatoes recipe. Lots of garlic, onion celery, bay leaves, thyme, some cayenne and the okra and tomatoes. It's all baked so you never have to worry about the slime stage of the okra. This smells so good when cooking that you won't believe it.

[tridim]

2. Great garden! I'm so jealous of your space.

I only have about 25sf to work with.

[bvar22]

26. We still use the Square Foot Method to lay out most of our beds.

I am amazed at how much a 8' X 4' raised bed can produce when using the Square Foot Method.

We've only recently acquired all this space, and we do enjoy it.
Before moving here in 2006, we lived on a houseboat, and then a small apartment in St Paul with a concrete back yard.

This was our entire garden in 2005.
I still remember eating that little red tomato.
Best tomato ever.

[closeupready]

3. Beautiful pictures!

I cook okra like I cook eggplant - carefully, gently cut into 1/2" sections, saute in hot oil, add tomatoes, seasoning to taste, and then simmer on low for about 25-30 minutes - do not stir too much or it will get slimey. Serve with rice.

[bvar22]

27. Thanks.

We will try your recipe.

[Lint Head]

4. This was bought at my local Farmer's Market. It's a South Carolina

peach. I thought your XXX post would be more like this.

[bvar22]

28. We've got some of those:

Cantaloupus Bohuncas



Tomato Erectus

[BlooInBloo]

5. Awesome! There's a dude up north of here who has various honey types for sale...

I want to try the blackberry!

[BeatleBoot]

6. Gearing up for Hell Week at the Corporation starting tomorrow

To me, your post is like fantasizing about winning the Lottery.

I would rather pick ripe tomatoes and water pumpkins than speak to those vermin in Legal tomorrow.



Living the Dilbert comic strip...

BeatleBoot.

(sigh)

[bvar22]

29. Been there. Done that.

Our hearts go out to you.

Don't let the bastards wear you down.

[sharesunited]

7. Beautiful bees. The old fashioned amber kind, not those nasty yellow bastards.

[bvar22]

30. I'll tell the Bees you said that.

Ours are a European variety. Very gentle, and (yes) beautiful.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=280&topic_id=34941

[JohnnyLib2]

8. Terrific pictures!

Inspires me to think, "o.k., next year......." :thumbsup:

[Alameda]

9. Wow! Fabulous veggies, congratulations!

Right now I've just got a tiny little space with hardly any sun, but I have had great luck with scarlet runner beans and wild olive leaf arugula. You may want to try the scarlet runner beans, they have beautiful red flowers that attract humming birds. I get one several times a day. The beans are tasty and because they grow up you get a lot for the space. The wild arugula is great too.

[The River]

10. Passion Fruit Mousse

Brazilian favorite
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Brazilian-Passion-Fruit-Mousse-Maracuja/Detail.aspx

[donco6]

36. Mmmmm. I had this a few years ago.

Yummy and refreshing.

[Mojorabbit]

11. Lovely!

I am getting ready to harvest my hive the middle of this month. This year's garden was the worst I have had in over twenty years. Late freeze and then hot and steamy. I have everything almost ready for the fall garden. I am hoping for better luck.

[bvar22]

23. This year started very badly.

Many of our neighbors said the same thing as you....worst year they can remember.
Some people harvested zero tomatoes.
Many DUers in the Gardening Group have also reported a poor year too.

We are lucky to have a Spring fed well that supplies abundant water for irrigation and everything else. Many of our neighbors are not so lucky, and can't run their wells during a drought.
We measured ZERO (0) rainfall from mid-April to July at our location. Many gardens dried up and blew away.

Honey Bees do well here. We are a long way from Commercial Agriculture (GM crops, pesticides/herbicides), sources of Industrial pollution, Commercial Bees (Factory Bees), or Urban pollution. We have a good National Forest Buffer on 3 sides. We are in touch with 10 other small scale BeeKeepers through our local BeeKeepers Association, and NONE have had CCD.

We have two good colonies, and are planning to split them next Spring if they overwinter well.
Ultimately, we would like to have 8 - 10 colonies.

This is our 3rd Summer with the Bees, and we are totally in love with them.
The collective intelligence of The Hive boggles my mind.

I wonder how many BeeKeepers are on DU?

[truedelphi]

46. We would love the hives

But Lake County Calif. is quite far from you.

Thanks so much for all the pics. I hope the soil here is up to par next year and that we will have some pics that are of equal tastiness.

It seemed especially neat to view just the raw soil and the little pieces of wood, and then see the photo of what transpired over the growing months of the summer.

Ye Gad. Nature is one bountiful lass!

[drm604]

12. Our tomatoes have been going crazy.

I was a little late getting them in and didn't have much hope but they've been growing unbelievably fast. They are absolutely covered with buds and blossoms and some little green tomatoes. I'm in the Philly area. They're in a flowerbed in an urban backyard.

[msedano]

13. totally beautiful

congratulations.

i let my chard self-sow where it is. the hens love the greens and it makes a tasty quiche.

squirrels got the majority of my tomatoes, sunflowers, grapes. now they're after the figs. may you be varmint-free.

[obliviously]

14. I once grew a Dicktator!

[madmax]

15. WOW - Gorgeous! n/t

[MichaelHarris]

16. damn

I though my garden looked good. Yours is outstanding!

[Historic NY]

17. I'm jealous, too much rain here did me in.

[jannyk]

18. Want to Swap Some Seeds? Your garden is what I aspire to

.. not quite there yet. But I did pick 13 varieties of tomatoes today (I have 17 different types total) and dug a few pound of French Fingerling and Austrian Peanut spuds.

I too am doing good with the Hubbard Squash and also Spaghetti Squash and Sweet Dumpling. Summer Squash is still producing somewhat but I'm sick of it and so are all the neighbors! Beets, Italian Pole Beans and Cukes keep coming as do all the different Peppers and Eggplants.

I have 10 different melons (mostly musk melons) planted, none are too bountiful, but all have baby melons which grow larger every day.

I'd be very interested in some of the Creole seeds if you are 'saving' - I have lots of Heirlooms to swap. My garden is 'organic' too.

[bvar22]

38. 13 different varities !

OK....which was you favorite? :shrug:
LOL.

We like to try different varieties....always looking for that perfect tomato.
This year's Creole came close, but I could never commit to just one flavor.
They ALL have their strong points.
We are happy with the very mellow Cherokee Purples. They will always have a spot in the garden.
Arkansas Travelers and Rutgers also light up my taste buds, each in its own way.
Tart Cherry Tomatoes are great in a green salad.
And, of course, meaty Romas for sauces and canning.

So many different tomatoes....so little time.

Seed Sharing is cool.
Creoles are an heirloom developed in South Louisiana.
Fruit production per plant was lower than some of the others, but still OK.
The lower fruit production could have been caused by our strange weather this year, or the fact that the Creoles are not localized to our area. They come from the steamy wet Louisiana Swamp Country, and we are about 300 miles north, much drier, and 1000 feet higher in elevation. We had to order the seeds from New Orleans.
No one else grows them around here.

I grew up in South Louisiana, and Creole Tomatoes were the tomato of my youth. In fact, "Creoles" is another word for "tomato" in South Louisiana.
The taste was as good as I remembered.

[jannyk]

40. I actually planted 17 varieties!!

I'm still waiting for the last 4 to ripen off. I also have 6 other varieties that I didn't plant this year (ran out of room).

I'm in the SFBay Area, so our weather is totally different, and my toms (and all my neighbors) have only started ripening off in the past couple of weeks.

Pics of 13 types here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xK5sOCHGUV6Wyg0ZA53gtg?authkey=Gv1sRgCKSG-fP-zIef1gE&feat=directlink

These are what I planted this year:

Vintage Wine
Brandywine
Stupice
Debarao (was supposed to be the black but it is bright red!)
Black Trifele
Green Sausage (tastes like 'soap' yeuch!)
Green Grape
Snow White Cherry
Black Cherry
Brown Berry
Wapsipinicon Peach
Vilma
Lemon Plum
Black Krim
Sun Gold
and two whose names I don't know - they were given to me.

So far Sungold & Black Cherry (as always) plus Vintage Wine & Black Krim are my favs.

[samsingh]

19. i was expecting porn in a garden

[ThomCat]

20. Wow! Excellent!

:)

I'm glad everything is going so well. I hope next year is even better.

[JDPriestly]

21. Arkansas. Fantastic.

Here in Los Angeles, my tiny garden is suffering from lack of water. We are once again in a drought, and water is severely rationed. We may use our sprinklers only on Monday and Thurs. between 4:00 P.M. and 9:00 a.m. And we may sprinkle only for 15 minutes in one spot. I save the (non-soapy) water from washing vegetables and the like in buckets in my kitchen and water plants that I grow in pots. My tomatoes are really suffering.

You have no idea how jealous I am of your garden. It is just beautiful.

Of course, I hope to have fresh lettuce all winter this year. But here we can not even dream of the kind of lush plantation that you are enjoying.

Good luck with your garden.

[lillypaddle]

22. OMG

I am soooo jealous! How fantastic, good for you.

[lumberjack_jeff]

24. Excellent, very nice photographs and very nice garden! n/t

[LWolf]

31. Beautiful; thanks for sharing! nt

[byronius]

Beautiful. PS: Major Okra Lover, here. It's a Southern thing.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[babylonsister]

34. The fruits of the earth (and your efforts)-gorgeous! And it has to be pretty

hot there; your tomatoes are impressive!

I need a lesson on how to combat weeds. :(

[femrap]

37. You have a fabulous garden....

I did zucchini, peppers, butternut, yellow squash, and tomatoes. I have made zucchini everything. We blanched and froze quite a bit. Next will be the squash. I canned some zucchini salsa....my first attempt at canning and it worked!!!!

[ravishing ruby]

39. This is so inspiring to me! I came to this forum because I dream of what you are living!

May I ask how many acres you live on? I am just curious how much land one needs for a mini farm...Also, do you have mild winters or is growing limited to spring/summer? Oh, and I am so happy to see bees alive and well! I had heard so much about the disappearance of them in the last few years. Man, all that honey is worth mucho dinero!

[bvar22]

41. We have 8 acres, but most of it is in brush and young hardwwod timber.

We are pretty far from self sustaining, though our goal is to move as close to that as feasible.
We move closer every year. It is a process that takes some time. We are learning as we go.

We freeze, can, and preserve as much as possible, but Winter would be pretty grim if we couldn't go to the store for food.
We also keep free range chickens, and they have proved to be the most cost effective year round source of healthy, organic food (eggs). There are some things we will always have to buy...grain foods, coffee, etc.


We are on a rocky/hard clay hilltop (no downflow contaminants) that is not easily farmed. That is one of the main reasons for the raised boxes. We are working at developing topsoil on about an acre of our hilltop by mowing which provides a natural mulch.


Flat land in the bottoms would be easier to farm, but you don't really KNOW what is washed downhill in the rain, the views aren't as good, and the Summertime hilltop breezes don't reach the bottoms (hotter and muggier).
Winters are mild (we moved here from Minnesota), and we heat with a wood stove. We cut, haul, and split most of our own wood, Mostly Oak which is plentiful.

Our water is from an underground Spring. It is clean and plentiful, the same stuff you buy in the store. Springs are common here, but not everywhere. What we are doing would be impossible without this source of water for our hilltop.

We are still experimenting, but are making progress. Last Winter we planted 24 Rabbit Eye Blueberry Bushes. This is our first commitment to producing more than we can consume ourselves. Some of our other garden experiments have given us a good idea of what will work, what is easy to grow without chemicals, and what takes more time than it is worth.

We are going to add 24 grape vines this Winter.

One BIG area we will concentrate on this Winter is making our cabin more energy efficient.


We decided to move to The Woods and pursue a sustainable, organic, independent Lifestyle in 2004. We like the Pacific North West, but were priced out of that market. Anything west of Arkansas has water problems that are only going to get worse. After 2 years of research, we decided on the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas. The area is pristine and undeveloped, surrounded by extensive National Forest. Property is very inexpensive and property taxes LOW. Clean water is abundant with long growing seasons and mild Winter. Wild game is abundant. All the "coal mine canaries" flourish here (frogs, butterflies, hummingbirds, bees).

The downsides are rampant poverty and ignorance, few decent social services, no good jobs, and hot muggy Summers. We are happy with our choice. More people are finding out about this area, and are moving here for the same reasons we did. We have a lot of "organic" friends up in these hills.
Another DUer bought property down the road and moved here this Spring.

For more details and photos, see these threads:

Season One
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x5729

Season Two
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x7979

Season Three
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x11812


We realize we are very fortunate to be able to do this.
We are both very healthy and strong, have no dependent children, are deep introverts who love to read, and have a complimentary set of skills to cover just about everything we need to do.


Good luck with your dream.
It will cost twice as much, take 3 times as long, and require 5 times the amount of work than you expect.

[DevinKline]

42. Sweet Zombie Jesus I'm jealous...

I rarely post here, but I just had to say you are where I dream of being someday. Right now the only farm I have access to is a cubicle farm, and the only thing growing there is unease about job security.

Do you sell your excess at a farmer's market or anything?

[bvar22]

43. Farmers Market is too far away.

We couldn't make enough money to pay for the transportation.
We currently give away excess to neighbors, feed the chickens, or recycle through compost.
At our current stage of development, we try to not grow more than we can consume.

Ultimately, we would like to be able to generate some income by focusing on products that are easy to package, have long shelf lives, and can be marketed over the InterNet....like Bee products and dried fruits and herbs, but we are not counting on that for our survival. That is still several years in the future.

[murray hill farm]

44. HI Bob!

Being as it is my first year here...no garden! I am hopeful for next year. This will be the first year in my adult life that I have not canned tomatoes..in ever so many ways...Ha! I still plan to find enough tomatoes to do the old familiy recipe for chili sauce...it is a tradition I cannot stand to break. if you have tomatoes to sell...let me know. 870-387-3562. I will come and pick them up. Pat

[A R S]

47. I don't farm, but...

I'm a bit jealous.

[Noseyaboutpollution]

48. Very cool!

Jealous of your set-up. Nice work!

Neighbors ruined our garden, had to start a new plot a little distance away this year.