Thanks for the comments. My cucumber plant was an impulse buy a few weeks ago at a good sale. There’s no crisis if it does not survive. For now I took it a bit off the ground using garage items (a shallow wire basket and a flower pot), in its alley between tomato plants. We’ll see how that goes.
What type(s) of tomatoes are shown? They appear to be a potato-leaf variety – Brandywines, perhaps?
I do a cucumber teepee. Take 5 or 6 tall garden stakes or long sticks, form a teepee, put a thick rubber band at the top to hold the sticks together tight. I have also at times added twine wrapped up the teepee for climbing but it’s usually not necessary if you by-hand train them up the teepee.
This one is not mine but you get the picture.
3 Likes
I am experimenting with a variety of veggies. For tomatoes, the rear right plant in green cage is an Early Girl. In front right is Roma… with tons of tomatoes (but mostly near that ground - not sure how that will work out. The left red cage has a TBD variety - can’t seem to find the label tag.
That cage also includes one of my pepper plants (oops) and a sun gold cherry tomato plant. I have another sun gold in a shadier area, originally in a pot but changed my mind. A friend told me this weekend that I will really like the sun golds. Many gardeners around here only do cherry tomatoes, but I thought I’d try some bigger ones too - it brings back childhood memories and is something we do purchase often at farmers market.
2 Likes
Sun Golds are tasty and sweet (for a tomato). I often grow a cherry tomato called Purple Bumble Bee, which is fairly resistant to splitting after excessive rain; I have had a decent crop of them so far this year, from a single plant.
Is there a trick to help those little tomatoes like grape, to not split?
Not that I know of; it’s just a question of finding a variety that has a slightly thicker skin, perhaps, that does not tend to split.
1 Like
With most tomatoes the trick is even watering. What usually does them in is a large amount of rain all at once which swells them up. If you can give them water at other intervals so it’s more even it should help.
2 Likes
Our peach tree (Frost Peach, planted 2 springs ago) produced first peaches! Now it is a race humans vs squirrels, lol! While I’m almost positive that the neighborhood squirrels have never seen peaches on a tree, and it might take them a while to figure out that these are edible, I still took some off the tree to ripen on the kitchen counter just in case.
5 Likes
We ate purple Yardlong beans for the first time the other day. Interesting taste and most of us liked them raw better than cooked - perhaps a great salad topping in the future.
Note the link is just to show the beans. I’m pretty sure he said it was the Thai version. I know they were purple and long. I’m not sure where my permaculture lad got his from.
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/thai-varieties/thai-purple-podded-yard-long
2 Likes
Awesome looking beans. 
We just ate the peach shown in the middle of the photo I posted. Sweet and so flavorful but not the dripping with juice kind. Just what we like. 
2 Likes
These beans may be the same species as field peas a/k/a cow peas and black-eyed peas, but obviously in much longer pods.
1 Like
I’m not sure about that TBH. I know we ate the whole thing, just broken up into bite-size bits. We didn’t just eat the beans inside the pod like with limas.
He did confirm those are what we ate - and where he got his seeds from too. Way to go Google!
1 Like
Fun to read about garden harvests.
After doing an experiment last season, I know our zucchini and squash would be doing well… and they are! I may need to ask suggestions for recipes in a few weeks. (Fun story from a friends that grew up in midwest - “It’s a small town. Nobody locks their car doors. Except during zucchini season”. )
I have a variety of other veggies planted. So far the pleasant surprise is the plum tomato plant, with tasty red tomatoes ahead of the other tomato plants.
1 Like
I have 15 medium to large zucchinis (we went away for a week) sitting on my kitchen island. I can’t wait for August 8th- Leave a zucchini on your neighbor’s porch day.
2 Likes
Tonight we had steamed zucchini and yellow squash topped with basil and oregano… all from garden 
4 Likes
When we were first married a hot dinner item amongst our friends was vegetarian spaghetti sauce - obviously no meat, but zucchini, mushrooms, onions, garlic sautéed and then added to a tomato based sauce. I loved it! You could definitely do this and top any pasta, ravioli, tortellini, etc.
I also love stuffed zucchini a la stuffed peppers or cabbage. Like a zucchini boat.
Returned from vacation last night and a neighbor kind of kept an eye on my houseplants and small at-home garden. Winds apparently nipped a jalapeno plant. He was nice enough to at least pick all the peppers off and keep them for me!
Speaking of flower gardens, I returned from vacation and told myself to plan a trip to a plant store to refresh a few of my pots. First of August and it’s too early to give up on the potted plants that make me so happy BUT a few are really struggling either due to so much rain we had a couple weeks ago and/or just sort of grown out and given up. But my seeded zinnias are now looking great!
1 Like
It looks awesome… I love this gardening styles too…
1 Like
Anyone have ideas for using Vietnamese corriander? It’s growing like crazy in my herb garden and I need to do something with it. Sign at the farm stand said to use it like regular cilantro. That’s fine, but I’ve got a huge amount? I bought it because it was a beautiful color. Has anyone tried to preserve it? From what I read on the internet, it’s not really an herb that you can preserve long term. Also–does anyone know a way to preserve chives?
I’ve been cutting and bundling herbs for drying (thyme, summer savory, oregano) and freezing basil pesto (recipe I have says if you want to freeze, process pine nuts, basil, garlic and EVOO and then freeze. You add the butter/parm. right before serving.
I have herbs in large deck containers. I planted less this year and focused on herbs, tomatoes, eggplant, and a few peppers (ghost, habanero, jalapeño, and cherry peppers).
1 Like