Wow, much going on in the garden

[ottawagardener]

I am deep in dirt so I haven't had much time to write on this forum but I have observed a few things - more on the way:

1. I need a very short season salad cuke - suggestions?
2. Two sowings of wax beans
3. Purple Peacock broccoli is excellent!!
4. Nutribud broccoli tastes good for you... it is also productive
5. Keeper/drying tomatoes do just fine when direct sown around here. And looking for true red currant tomatoes - the teeny ones.
6. Must grow more purple/brown tomatoes - love them - suggestions?
7. Will I ever plant enough peas?
8. Don't like asparagus peas
9. Suggestions for a rust resistant parsley?
10. Must grow corn
11. Don't start peanuts too far ahead of time
12. Chickpeas possibly need innoculant or more organic matter in soil
13. Need early zuke
14. I love the way milk thistle looks and can see it being an excellent barrier to plant around tasty plants. It's lethal. Nice seeds.
15. Grow more cover crops
16. Melons are doing excellent this year!!
17. Don't plant potatoes where once there was sod if you have lots of Japanese beetle grubs.
18. Tall orange Cosmos sulfures (sp?) looks beautiful combined with purple cabbage.
19. Lilliput mixed color Zinnas look fabulous with sunflowers and tutti frutti coloured gladiolas
20. You can't have too much arugla
21. Don't mow your newly planted baby shrubs twice. They only survive it once.

That's all for now.

Anyone else?

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Aug 1, 2011 13:13:15 GMT -5 ottawagardener said:

1. I need a very short season salad cuke - suggestions?

I haven't trialled a lot of cucumbers, but in my garden the Wisconsin SMR cucumbers are the earliest to produce fruit.

[steev]

My cukes were set out late, but it was a dead heat between Tasty Green hybrid, Hmong Red, and Sooyow Nishiki. One week later, Jaune Dickfleishe and Kyoto 3 Feet came in.

You may enjoy milkthistle ribs prepared like cardoon, but the spines are MUCH more deadly. Oh, yes, they will self-seed given the opportunity.

[ottawagardener]

Thanks for the suggestion Joseph and yes Steev: I am growing Cardoon too - I concur that milk thistle is much more deadly. I'll put on my bear wrestling chain mail gloves and try some.

[steev]

Chain mail is good against bears, sharks, and drunken butchering, but pretty useless against milk thistle and its evil cousin, star thistle. I've been looking for years to find a glove that can stand up to mature star thistle.

[12540dumont]

Purple Peacock Broccoli, preferred 100 to 1 by the vile voles. A flat of some ridiculous number went in...enough for a 50 foot row, 3 ft. bed. 2 came out alive....

You gotta try the violetto cauliflower. If you like cauliflower, you will love this one.

I just harvested a great parsley that I got from Solstice Seed. Everything that Sylvia grows is good. PM, and I'll send you some.

What brown tomatoes are you growing?

Glad to hear of great gardens. Holly

[steev]

Voles loved my flatleaf parsley 100%.

[ottawagardener]

I <3 the fact I don't have voles in the garden (hopefully ever). The ground hogs were scared away by the previous owners. After that press for Milk Thistle, I'm offering up seeds I think I have some violetto in the garden right now. We'll see.

12540dumont: I've grown chocolate cherry, purple prince and one other named after a guy (helpful I know) but it appears that there are none this year. Any suggestions? As for the Solstice Seeds, pming.

[ottawagardener]

Paul Robertson??? Tomato?

[bunkie]

we gre that last year and liked it very much. this year we're trying Black Elephant, Black Ethiopian, Black Mystery (grew this last year...HUGE toms and delish!). so far all loaded with fruit, but nothing turning yet. very healthy growth.

we're growing seeds saved from the very large OSU Blue toms last year and so far all the fruit is really big onm the plant. were the earliest, but no blush on their bottoms yet.

we grew De Bourne Cukes this year. very fast growing and extremely early and very productive.

we also love the Violetto Cauliflower and the Purple Peacock.

second year we've grown Early African Dwarf Cayenne and it beats all the other Cayenne vaarieties we have by a long shot. small plants loaded with fruits.

[grunt]

Paul Robeson

[ottawagardener]

That's the one Dan, thanks. It was a good tomato. I really need to try more though as they tend to produce the toms I like the best. I'll ahve to try Early African Dwarf Cayenne. My hot peppers this year are struggling in the sand pit that is the old garden. They are getting adequate heat and sun but not moisture or nutrients. I should really enrich their water with tinkles...

[12540dumont]

I'm with you Bunkie, Love Love that Violetto Cauliflower. Busiest time of the year, harvesting with one hand and planting with the other. Top shelf brassicas. I'm desperately short of broccoli. I forgot to order it. It's coming but not in yet.

The bottom shelves are the first trays of the onion trial. I'm off to pick green beans and plant leeks.

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[12540dumont]

I haven't harvested the leeks yet! The onions are all out of the field. By the time the leeks are ready to go in. It will be September. And garlic season. It all goes by so fast.

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[olddog]

I am just taking in all this information, it is so much, and love all the pics, and gardens, thanks. Am just starting out again with veggies, and flowers, from a many-year break from gardening, have yet to find a good spot, that does not freeze all out in even July, now just planting in pots.
If this helps, did figure out how to pick Yellow start thistle: thick plastic gloves (those dark blue ones, with cloth inside) covered with very thick leather ones. You dont have much dexterity, but after weeding, you dont end up with bloody, painful hands.
Milk thistle, is edible? will try, thanks. It is true what they say, about one gardeners weed, is another gardener's treasure. Did not even know I had a treasure. Will collect seeds to share, if anyone wants them, if they show up again this year.