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Monday, October 7, 2013

Monday October 7

There was only one harvest this week.  I should have picked some beans earlier in the week, but there was rain, and back spasms, and a general malaise.  The back spasms were the result of the continuing work on the levee, work that involves lots of dirt moving.  They weren't the kind of back spasms that leave you immobile, they were just bad enough to let me know that I'd better not attempt anything like work or pay a heavy price. 

There was rain last week, lots of it. Saturday it started raining in the morning and continued throughout the day and that night.  The rain stopped midday Sunday and I went out to check the rain guage:  3 1/2 inches in 24 hours!  The wheelbarrow collected most of the week's rain:

Right now some plants are growing a lot but producing very little.  Once the acorn squash plant was pulled up the summer squash plant grew quickly to occupy the space.  Not many squash though, they are slow to mature and some rot before they are ready.  I might get a few more squash before the frost.

Same with the Silver Queen okra.  The plants are now eight feet tall, but are producing only a few okra in the cooler weather.  I have to use the small ladder to reach them now.

The Millionaire okra in the self-watering containers has been finished for about a month.  I find it amazing that the plants flowered and made a few okra even after all the leaves had died.  I don't think I'll grow okra in SWC's again, they are too tall.  Next year I think I'll try brussell sprouts or peppers.  I'm going to try to reuse the potting mix after it dries.

I've been hoping to get just one of the fabled Cherokee purple tomatoes to try.  Early in the summer the plant got Fusarium Wilt bad and it lost the first set of tomatoes.  Then it recovered, grew more foliage and set more tomatoes.  Then a tomato hornworm ate about half the foliage.  Now the recent rains have caused the tomatoes that had a chance of ripening to split.  More like exploding than splitting.

The Kentucky Wonder beans just continue to produce, and the beans are larger than ever.  On Sunday I picked two pounds of them, along with a tomato, a squash and some peppers.

Then I realized I had forgotten to pick the okra:





For the week:  squash 12 oz, tomato 8 oz, peppers 4 oz, okra 3 oz, beans 2 lb, 3.7 lbs total.  For the year 259 lbs.  To see what other people are growing visit http://daphnesdandelions.blogspot.com/

3 comments:

Mark Willis said...

It's a shame about your Cherokee Purple tomatoes. Call it Beginner's luck if you like, but mine produced a fabulous crop of really handsome fruit. I shall certainly grow this type again. However, I do note that it was the first of my varieties to succumb to blight...

nutmeg gardener said...

Your beans, pepper and squash look great! Hope your back is better soon, I've had back spasms in the past, so I feel your pain. Surgery fixed it, but I'm very cautious now.

Unknown said...

Amazing that the okra grew so tall that you need a step stool. Love the pile of beans surrounded with peppers, zucchini, and a tomato. Oh your poor tomatoes have had such a rough year. I hope next year is much better.

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