Month: September 2021

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Corn Harvest

ears of corn
Perfect little ears of corn!

I’m thrilled with my corn harvest. Now, they were on the small side (about 7 ounces each), but as you can see from the above picture, they were absolutely beautiful! And delicious! I picked 25 ears out of my little corn patch.

Since I planted them at the same time, I had to harvest them at the same time, so the two of us ate corn every night for two weeks. I didn’t want to leave the ripe ears on the plants, for fear that the bugs might get to them, so some of them spent some time in the refrigerator. They held up very well.

But a fortnight of mandatory corn consumption gives one a new appreciation for succession planting.

Actually, I’ve always appreciated and understood the value of succession planting, and I do it with lettuce and beets and carrots almost every year. But corn, I was always told, needs to be planted in a “good-sized block” to ensure good pollination. Since succession planting in a small garden means planting a little at a time, planting a “good-sized block” every two weeks is out of the question. Pollinating by hand is the solution. As soon as the silks started to show I broke off a tassel and dusted them with pollen. I did this for about a week or so, till all of the silks turned dark in color. I don’t think the ears would have been as full if I hadn’t helped them along.

Next year I’m going to start ten plants every two weeks, from the middle of May till the end of June. I think as long as I plan to help with pollination, the results will be fabulous!

corn stalks

Bonus! I have a head start on my Halloween decorations!

Variety: “On Deck” from Burpee, Harvested from August 16 through 29. Yield: 10.03 pounds

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2021: Plenty of Peppers

This year I grew bell and poblano peppers. The poblanos have been producing for a while now, but I just started picking the bells. I don’t pick the bell peppers when they’re green (even though it would improve my yield!). I wait till I see a little red, then pick them, and let them ripen on the counter.

They seem to have survived the early season drama of tardy transplantation and cabbage crowding. In fact, all the plants are doing very well.

The bell pepper variety is called California Wonder TMR, and the poblano variety is Baron F1, from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. I’ll update at the end of the season with yield information.

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Peppers are Perennials?

I had no idea. According to info on the internet, if I could protect my pepper plants from frigid temperatures over the winter, I could use the same plants next year and get fruit much earlier than I usually do. That’s a smashing idea! I’ve got three poblanos and three bells out there now, and I’m definitely going to try it.

I potted up two poblanos and 1 bell and they’re in the basement near the grow lights.

I can’t wait to see what happens!

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No Good At Fruit!

Stunted blueberries, disfigured figs and rotten apples

I’ve been trying to grow blueberries, figs and apples for three years now, to no avail. The truth is, I don’t know much about them. I’ve read and researched and come up with suitable solutions for most vegetable pests and diseases, but I’m a novice at fruit. Also, I don’t have much room. I’m not allowed to plant just anywhere. I get dirty looks if I exceed my allotted space.

The solution, of course, is containers. I think if I make a nice container display on the deck or in a sunny corner of the front yard, I might not incur the wrath of garden-hating family members. Containers, and the soil to fill them, are expensive, as are the plants themselves. But I think they would be a worthwhile investment. And I could still plant them in the ground once my garden-hating family member buys his own house and moves out. I’ve decided to make that my priority for next year: 2022 will be the year I figure out fruit.

Picking the right variety is probably most important. Something productive and resistant to as much bad stuff as possible. Something suited to the weather conditions in zone 7A. Something with a compact growth habit that I can easily control.

I’m going to concentrate on the figs and blueberries first, because I know there are varieties of each which are well suited to container growing. Looks like I’ve got a lot of reading to do.

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Enough Cucumbers, Eggplants and Beans for Now

I think 40 pounds of cucumbers is enough. I’ve marinated them, tossed them in salads, stuffed them with herbed goat cheese and pickled them, and I confess, I don’t know what else to do. I did see online that they’re good grilled, which I may try this weekend (with the ten that I still have in my crisper drawer). The plants are still loaded with flowers and baby cukes, but it’s time to be done. I said this last year, but this time I really mean it: Next year I’m only growing one cucumber plant. Even two is too much to keep up with.

Variety: Homemade Pickles. Two plants, direct seeded in the garden the first week of June, Final Yield: 39.99 lbs. (though it could have been much more)

  • baby cucumbers
These plants show no signs of slowing down!

I think I’ve had enough eggplant too. Ten pounds is more than we usually eat in a year, and I’ve harvested that in the last month. This year I planted three, next year I think one will suffice.

Variety: Black Beauty. Three plants, started indoors, under grow lights in mid-March, and transplanted into the garden the first week of June. Final Yield: 10.38 lbs. (though it could have been more).

While I’m not tired of the beans, the plants do seem to be slowing down. I don’t think I gave them enough room. They grew up the trellis, then down the trellis, then up the trellis again. They’re looking a little scraggly, so I’m going to take those out too, and give the sweet potatoes room to grow. Next year I’d like to plant twice as many beans, so I have plenty to freeze. This year I only had one 8 foot row, and a sparse one at that.

Variety: Seychelles. One 8′ row direct seeded in the garden the first week of June. Final Yield: 11.31 lbs. (though it could have been more).