Our 2016 Vegetable Garden

[farmer steve]

@chuckwood. have you ever grown the burgandy okra?

 

[chuckwood]

@chuckwood. have you ever grown the burgandy okra?

Yes, there are a few of them in my current okra patch. The burgundy okra pods seem to be thinner and longer than the green varieties. Next year I'm trying some of the Burmese okra variety.

 

[amberg]

Late snaps anyone. Here's some we planted after the potatoes were dug, turning out pretty good so far. We picked 2 buckets yesterday, and the helper picked 4 more today and there should be about 6 more to pick.

 

[farmer steve]

Late snaps anyone. Here's some we planted after the potatoes were dug, turning out pretty good so far. We picked 2 buckets yesterday, and the helper picked 4 more today and there should be about 6 more to pick.

lookin good Charlie. what variety? been pickin some here too. gonna have to put row cover on them tonite as they are calling for frost. fall beans are the best.

 

[amberg]

Slender, And tender, So far, Plus brown beans, Which come in quick. but are not on my list of good beans. I think he had some top crop and Kentucky wonders in my planter. I do know that the first row on the left is slenderettes. The other brown beans I am not sure what he planted.

 

[amberg]

Steve, did you notice the turnip patch? Not as big as yours but it looks good so far, What you think?

 

[farmer steve]

Steve, did you notice the turnip patch? Not as big as yours but it looks good so far, What you think?

i thought they were turnips but i couldn't enlarge the pic to tell for sure. mine are growing so fast that i can hardly keep after picking them before they get to big.

 

[farmer steve]

here's a pic of some of the things i took to produce auction yesterday and a pic of my market basket i entered in the local fair last weekend.

 

[amberg]

here's a pic of some of the things i took to produce auction yesterday and a pic of my market basket i entered in the local fair last weekend.
View attachment 532318 View attachment 532319

Wow, looking good! That basket is definitely a winner!

 

[Del_]

Awesome Steve!

 

[amberg]

Got another batch picked and snapped today. Need to pick a couple more buckets tomorrow. Also having some for supper.

 

[amberg]

Still doing beans, last of 5 buckets on one row, My row, There are 2 more rows yet unpicked, Apx. 10 to 12 more buckets per row left to pick as of yet.

 

[amberg]

Two more buckets today, Think I am going to quit. Getting tired.

 

[Del_]

Picked a half bushel of 'Big Mama' lima beans today. Seed from Burpee Seed. The coin in the photo is a quarter. Been saving Dr. Martin for seed only and should have a few to spare for next year.

 

[chuckwood]

Picked a half bushel of 'Big Mama' lima beans today. Seed from Burpee Seed. The coin in the photo is a quarter. Been saving Dr. Martin for seed only and should have a few to spare for next year.

View attachment 536799

The Big Mamas are huge. We had a hard freeze last night that caught me by surprise, and I was up till 4 am picking limas. I figure I've got 6 bushels. I'm getting ready to go out and get the rest of the tomatoes, assuming they're not ruined by the freeze last night, but the vines are already dead. I've got friends that use green tomatoes for frying and making salsa.

What is left now that's still going strong is broccoli, some cabbage, and a lot of brussels sprouts. The sprouts seem to be the most freeze resistant of all the plants in the cabbage family. I usually wait until January to pick them. Here's a few pics of what's left of garden '16. We had a hot summer with no rain, and are currently experiencing a lot of forest fires here in the Smokies area. Worst drought since '54 they say. But I had the best okra crop ever and gave over half of it away. It seems that okra loves heat, and doesn't need much in the way of water. I mulched my okra patch very heavy with last year's leaves, up to around a foot deep, and that kept the moisture in the soil despite the drought. I've also included a pic of what's left of my okra patch.

 

[amberg]

The Big Mamas are huge. We had a hard freeze last night that caught me by surprise, and I was up till 4 am picking limas. I figure I've got 6 bushels. I'm getting ready to go out and get the rest of the tomatoes, assuming they're not ruined by the freeze last night, but the vines are already dead. I've got friends that use green tomatoes for frying and making salsa. View attachment 538391 View attachment 538392 View attachment 538393 View attachment 538394 What is left now that's still going strong is broccoli, some cabbage, and a lot of brussels sprouts. The sprouts seem to be the most freeze resistant of all the plants in the cabbage family. I usually wait until January to pick them. Here's a few pics of what's left of garden '16. We had a hot summer with no rain, and are currently experiencing a lot of forest fires here in the Smokies area. Worst drought since '54 they say. But I had the best okra crop ever and gave over half of it away. It seems that okra loves heat, and doesn't need much in the way of water. I mulched my okra patch very heavy with last year's leaves, up to around a foot deep, and that kept the moisture in the soil despite the drought. I've also included a pic of what's left of my okra patch.

Nice, A lot of bean shelling there. We got that frost also. Do I see a golden in the pictures?

 

[chuckwood]

Nice, A lot of bean shelling there. We got that frost also. Do I see a golden in the pictures?

Yeah, she's my garden helper - she kills groundhogs! Got six hogs this year.

 

[amberg]

Yeah, she's my garden helper - she kills groundhogs! Got six hogs this year.

I know, bet she don't like cats either!!

 

[amberg]

Picked a half bushel of 'Big Mama' lima beans today. Seed from Burpee Seed. The coin in the photo is a quarter. Been saving Dr. Martin for seed only and should have a few to spare for next year.

View attachment 536799

PM. me if you have about 18 left to spare.

Thanks, Charlie

 

[Del_]

PM. me if you have about 18 left to spare.

Thanks, Charlie

I'll let you know after my final seed collection. I have created a bottle neck in my Dr. Martin seed supply. I planted about 60 seeds and only one survived to maturity so all of my seed stock if from that one plant. That's not very good plant breeding and my not be representative of what Dr Martin really is. It does look just like Dr Martin and my even be superior in some ways but I have no way of knowing. It is true Dr Martin though and it is what I will be growing from now on. Maybe in a couple of years I'll buy some Dr Martin and plant a small plot and do some comparisons, maybe not. At the present time I have about 60 perfect Dr. Martin seed. These seed are hard to get to come up as the seed is so big that it is not lifted out of the ground on it's own power. I plant Dr. Martin so the eye is down and the back of the seed is at 1/4 inch below ground level. Went the start to come up I can seed the soil crack and then I 'birth' them by pushing some soil away from the seed so it is exposed entirely with the radicle growing firmly in the ground and the seed halves (cotyledons) exposed. On may the seed coat (testa) must be pealed off by hand or the cotyledons never separate from each other. Then I put chicken wire cages over the new plants so rabbits etc. don't get to them. Sometimes I start indoor is styrofoam cups. This is a more sure fire method.

https://www.boundless.com/biology/t...zation-190/development-of-the-seed-725-11954/