The Vegtable Garden Thread

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I've tried to grow cukes here, always bitter. I've even had zukes become bitter.:crybaby: Heat is pretty rough on them.
 
Trunk Monkey said:
Yeah, we've had a record number of days over 100* in Utah, so it sounds like the heat got to them. Darn.
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More water cures a lot of ills. Cukes have a high water content. If deprived of water, the flavor intensifies, including the bitter part. There's no helping the existing fruit, but if you bump up the water, new fruit may be just fine.

If you have a way to hang it, shade cloth will also do wonders.:cool:
 
BrotherRob said:
More water cures a lot of ills. Cukes have a high water content. If deprived of water, the flavor intensifies, including the bitter part. There's no helping the existing fruit, but if you bump up the water, new fruit may be just fine.

If you have a way to hang it, shade cloth will also do wonders.:cool:
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Or a greenhouse, the armenians seem to hold up better for an exposed cuke. One of our favorites.
 
splitshot said:
Or a greenhouse, the armenians seem to hold up better for an exposed cuke. One of our favorites.
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I was big on that idea but around here, it would require cooling much of the year. An open air structure to attach shade cloth and frost protection works pretty well and is much more low tech.

Garden 4.webp
 
I think I'm going to have to hand water the cukes and tomatoes for a while. If i set the drip to run often enough for them the other stuff will get to wet.

good news is I get a couple of Japanese eggplants every night for dinner, the heat doesn't seem to bother them. Also the weathers has cooled down a lot. No more 100+ days for a while.
 
Birds and june bugs are early.:frown:

Plan on stocking up on paper bags and putting the kids to work tomorrow.

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101_1252.webp
 
Sumbitch, you're lucky they didn't bite your fingers off.:eek:


Try putting a bird feeder on the opposite side of the yard. The distraction seems to help.:hhmm:

The thing that always pisses me off is; they'll leave the green ones alone, they leave the ripe ones alone, but the ones that are a day away from harvest get obliterated.:mad:
 
All it takes is one one small bird peck (and why they they don't concentrate on just one peach) is beyond me. Then the hord of June beatles show up.

Good news, the kids loaded over 100 5x10 brown bags last night of unmolested ones and we have more to go.:cool: This is all off one tree.
 
And Walla Walla Sweet onions the size of softballs

onions the size of canteloupes.webp
 
A panoramic shot of my garden area...damn...what a crappy pic...

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I like it Doug.:clap:
We have very similar taste in landscaping.:cool:
 
I need to go get some large inexpensive planter pots...going to get some herbs growing in the new (to me) clime. The place we're renting actually has a nice sized greenhouse too. So lots of new learning projects to come on raising veggies at home.
 
spressomon said:
I need to go get some large inexpensive planter pots...going to get some herbs growing in the new (to me) clime. The place we're renting actually has a nice sized greenhouse too. So lots of new learning projects to come on raising veggies at home.
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Half whiskey barrels work great. You can usually get them for ~$20 and you can grow pretty much anything in them.:cool: The only downside is, once you have them full, there's no moving them.:o
 
^ good idea! Pretty much moving any large container full of soil is an insurmountable task...without a fork lift that is :)

I'll look around for the 1/2 wine/whiskey barrels...I like the size and I certainly like the price!

Thanks!
 
spressomon said:
^ good idea! Pretty much moving any large container full of soil is an insurmountable task...without a fork lift that is :)

I'll look around for the 1/2 wine/whiskey barrels...I like the size and I certainly like the price!

Thanks!
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That's gonna be tough to find...there are like...no wineries in your neck of the woods... ;)
 
I'd skip the wine barrels, they are a hassle. Find some of the foam/plastic pots at a home store, a lot of them are hard to tell apart from pottery. Fill the lower third with some kind of light filler, you can use anything that is hollow and light to fill the space, juice jugs would do. You only need 12 to 18 inches of soil for the roots of most herbs. Make sure there are a lot of drain holes in whatever container you use.

You want the pots to look nice. When you do pots follow this rule; pillar, filler, spiller. So maybe a basil in the middle, some thyme around that and rosemary on the edge. Theme pots are also nice, cilantro, peppers and tomatoes make a salsa pot.
 
Ok...good ideas! I knew I could count on you for good 411. Keep them coming :)
 
spressomon said:
^ good idea! Pretty much moving any large container full of soil is an insurmountable task...without a fork lift that is :)

I'll look around for the 1/2 wine/whiskey barrels...I like the size and I certainly like the price!

Thanks!
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Haven't looked in a while, but Walmart usually has them. If you're doing containers, bigger is better. Small containers dry out quickly and don't control soil temps as well.
 
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