Wow, the weather we've been having!

[CHecker]

The round beauties are lemon cucumbers, and boy are they wonderful. The peel is a bit tougher but just peel it off and it's tastier and juicier than other cuc's. 

This is my first year of growing them and if it weren't for them my cucumber patch would be less than impressive. I planted 2 pickling and 2 english. Both are giving cuc's but not near as many as the lemon.

Farmer Tammi! Like that!

Yes on the variety of fruits and veg's, I went apple picking and they are naturally grown and are from older trees and are still a good fruit, but they're small and some are lumpy. I don't care and once peeled and sliced in a pie who's gonna care?? My veg usually turn out as seen in a store but fruit has changed considerably. As I was putting up pears last week I was remembering the pears we used to can when I was young. Those things were HUGE!! I mean it took 2 pears to fill a quart jar! Now I have to use about 5 to a jar, what happened???

Oh I should take a pic of the butternut squash, It's my first time growing it too and the baby squash are so cute!! They look just like the full size variety (duh!) but in baby doll size!  

[MzT]

Your laments about pears reminded me of my laments about peaches that no longer taste like peaches. Even the expensive local grown peaches are mealy and largely tasteless...just breaks my heart a little. I look forward to having my own fruit orchards in paradise.

More pictures please....I am living my gardening season through your well tended garden. :-)

[CHecker]

Oh reeeeeealy?? More pictures? well,,,,,,,,,OK!!

[CHecker]

Here are more just taken now. I tried to get one of the bee that stung me, he was so full of pollen he was moving slow, and the sting doesn't really hurt all that bad.

The first is my begonia. I've never been able to grow one before. This was a stump of a plant when I found it and isn't he pretty now??

Second is the lettuce after a day of rain, it's just went boom and poof and here's some leaves!

Third is the way the butt end of an onion looks when you throw it in some soil. It grows other onions!!

Fourth is the butternut squash baby, inn't he cute!!

Fifth is the bloom on the potato you can see in the cage on the left side side of the last pic. The blooms are so pretty. It means it's going to die now, the potato is done. I'll mark the spot and dig later this winter. It was a volunteer!

Sixth pic is of the HUGE spaghetti squash. He's really moving out into the back yard! I have the straw bal there cause when the garden is done I'm going to remove the wooden 2x12's on the end and allow my garden to get bigger out to the back, West. I'll bring in soil after the straw and seaweed in the spring.  

Edited September 9, 2014 by bagwell1987

[CHecker]

Just off to the left in the last pic is where my shed is being built. Lew has the frame done and it's squared up. I got the 2x6's and stringer brackets, that's what we're doing tomorrow night. (meeting tonight) And enjoying a good beer as we do it! HA! (beer thread, I saw it!!) So excited for my shed, that way all the stuff seen propped up on the back of the house will be neatly put away all year round! 

The plastic tubing you see is a framework for plastic sheeting to cover my lettuces when it get's too hot for them. Looks kinda hokey but it works.

Edited September 9, 2014 by bagwell1987

[MzT]

Woo, potatoes are pretty plants. The squash is soooo cute.

Forgot to mention the lemon cukes..you had tons! Can those get pickled? I miss the fresh tomato and cuke salads from last year. The tomatoes from the store are like pretty cardboard.

[CHecker]

Ya I didn't mention I have 3 lemon cuc's, all these are coming off 3 plants! I miscounted before so I'm correcting myself. 

I have a jar of refrigerator pickles made with those and they're good. One of the officers at the office is known for being 'the pickle man' and he made me pickles out of some of my cuc's. He's the one I gave my other HUGE spaghetti squash to. I know he and his family will eat it. 

 

I like tomato/cucumber/bacon sandwiches, ohh ummm!

Edited September 9, 2014 by bagwell1987

[CHecker]

Well, it's disappointing to see the squash start to die off. I just picked the last one. And the cuc's are still producing but are much slower. The Jack salmon are harvested and smoked. Lettuce is still doing well, picked a big bounty of it. But it's so sad to see the end of a season. It's still warm, the weather is unseasonably warm for late September. It's 7pm and the doors and windows are still wide open.

Thanks for letting me ramble on in this thread, it feels good to share what I love so much and hope to do more of in the coming new system.

 

We have a new month of activity, the publications for October are impressive. Time to leave the garden and spend that time in the service, what a memorable time we live in

.

 

 

[MzT]

What type of fish did you smoke?

Yum yum

[CHecker]

Hi Tammi,

I did Jack Salmon. They're caught  by the hatchery and are set aside. If not harvested they'd go to waste.  So I get as many as I can and share with friends after I smoke them. Want some?? Oh so delicious. 

[MzT]

I absolutely want some. I eat lots of smoked salmon and absolutely love it.

I'm sure you have access to plenty of salmon candy too.

[Life4u]

Cheryl, I have never seen cucumbers like that before.....lemon ones.  They are cute.

[CHecker]

They have given me in excess of 5 gallons of cuc's this year. Amazing! My favorite way of eating them is peeled and with aged balsamic vinegar but a sis I give them to just stands on her porch with the salt shaker and eats them like an apple!

 

Tammi, PM me and I'll send you some when I send to Charlotte. They're sealed in Saver Sealer bags.  

[CHecker]

Ok, last post here. I did a last picking and digging up all the plants. Got 26 spaghetti squash, all but 1 is from 1 plant! Amazing. The second round of spuds was less than impressive but it fills a gallon bag full. Tomatoes and cuc's are good, am going to miss seeing them out there. Sigh, moving on.