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Monday, June 27, 2016

Monday June 27

The great weather continues.   I planned to water the garden this morning but last night storms moved through and dropped about an inch of rain.  Today it's sunny, although a little hot, about 90 F.   There is little rain in the forecast for the next ten days, with lots of sunshine and cooler temperatures, perfect summer weather really, and I expect I'll be setting up the water pump to the pond and giving everything a good soaking in a few days.

There's more diversity to the harvest now.  Okra is trickling in from the Millionaire and Jambalaya plants.  The Jambalaya is quite a bit smaller and should be the right size for pickles.  I'll have to learn to judge the size when it is ready for harvest.
 I also picked two small beets that were crowded in the row, and some broccoli.  Broccoli has been small this year, this head was only 4 ounces.

I also picked a few Tropea onions for cooking.

And the first slicing cucumber, Diva.  Nothing like a fresh cucumber, and the Diva's, a Beit Alpha cucumber are delicious.  This one came in at just under a pound.  I planted one Diva and three Calypso pickling cucumbers.  I've been removing the small cucumbers that start on the Calypso plants until the plants establish enough vegetative structure to produce well.   It looks like the plants are large enough that removing the fruits is no longer necessary, so I expect to have pickling cukes in a few weeks.

Not shown are another broccoli head and a kohlrabi, about three and a half pounds total.  To see what other people are growing head over to http://www.ourhappyacres.com/    

8 comments:

David Velten said...

Nice that you got some rain. It's bone dry in the NE. I will be interested in seeing how your Calypso cukes do this year (did you ever eat all those pickles?). Your success last year inspired me to try growing them this year, so hope I get at least a few cucumbers.

Dave @ HappyAcres said...

I'm not growing okra this year but waiting a day can sure make a difference in the size and tenderness. Those pods look good from here, at least for frying, but I guess pickling is another thing. We got nice rain here today and I can postpone watering for another week.

Mark Willis said...

I've got Diva cucumbers on the go too, so it will be interesting to compare results. We don't see much Okra grown over here in the UK - I think our climate is nor warm enough for it.

Margaret said...

I'm growing Diva too, so looks like it will be a trio of comparisons. Mine is still tiny though - the first transplant I grew didn't make it so I had to reseed. Luckily, I have a few other varieties on the go too and those are quite further ahead.

Eight Gate Farm NH said...

Nice harvests, Mike. Count me among the Diva growers, at least in name. I've never had much success with them, and this year looks to be the same; germination was poor. I planted 3 hills and only one came up.

gardenvariety-hoosier said...

It seems like Diva is a hot weather cucumber. During the epic hot summer of 2012 with temperatures often exceeding 100 F the Diva plants seemed to thrive. Cooler weather may not work for them.

Phuong said...

Your okra and cucumber look really good. How do you fix your okra? People fry it around here but I use it in stir-fry.

gardenvariety-hoosier said...

Phuong - Mostly I stir-fry okra, often mixed with squash or whatever else is available. Some is pickled with hot peppers.

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