Dang, I am still going with some turning and some still green. My part will slow, but her part of making sauce will go for awhile.
2026 Gardening Growing Thread
- Thread starter Salmon123
- Start date
If the weather holds, you'll be fine, with some good looking fruit right there.
October 6th a few years ago we got a good pick.
Every year is different, but the next 3 weeks is a good bet for excellent quality vine ripened tomatoes.
Still plenty of time
October 6th a few years ago we got a good pick.
Every year is different, but the next 3 weeks is a good bet for excellent quality vine ripened tomatoes.
Still plenty of time
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Am starting the process of putting the garden to bed. As always there has been both winners and losers of my various "crops. Disappointments included raspberries, blueberries, carrots, and butternut squash with the asparagus, kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, beets, green beans, corn, white and Yukon gold potatoes, Hubbard squash, various lettuces, various onions, various peppers, strawberries, and Marion berries all producing as expected. My wife has laid in 20 pints of various berry jams.
The experiment of growing zucchini vertically was a success and will be repeated. My Walla Walla sweet onions were amazing with many weighing a pound or more (largest 2#). Best crop of bell peppers best in 20+ years. The tomatoes are late this year (started from seed and was late in getting them started) with sun golds starting to ripen in late July and all the others about a month late so lots to ripen through at least the end of September. That said to date my wife has put up 20 pints of various salsas and sauces, and I have picked and shared with neighbors and family more than 80 various "slicers" (with many of a pound or more). Added a yellow Brandywine, a black Brandywine, and a pineapple to normal line up. The Yellow Brandywine was a clear winner with everyone and will join my regular red Brandywine and Momotaro slicers. The pineapple was an amazing producer with lots of fruit of good size with an unique taste but everyone ranked that taste below the Brandywines and Momotatos. The black Brandywine had disappointing sized fruit. Will not be planting neither the pineapple nor black Brandywine next year.
Another fun year of playing in the dirt!
curt
The experiment of growing zucchini vertically was a success and will be repeated. My Walla Walla sweet onions were amazing with many weighing a pound or more (largest 2#). Best crop of bell peppers best in 20+ years. The tomatoes are late this year (started from seed and was late in getting them started) with sun golds starting to ripen in late July and all the others about a month late so lots to ripen through at least the end of September. That said to date my wife has put up 20 pints of various salsas and sauces, and I have picked and shared with neighbors and family more than 80 various "slicers" (with many of a pound or more). Added a yellow Brandywine, a black Brandywine, and a pineapple to normal line up. The Yellow Brandywine was a clear winner with everyone and will join my regular red Brandywine and Momotaro slicers. The pineapple was an amazing producer with lots of fruit of good size with an unique taste but everyone ranked that taste below the Brandywines and Momotatos. The black Brandywine had disappointing sized fruit. Will not be planting neither the pineapple nor black Brandywine next year.
Another fun year of playing in the dirt!
curt
Anyone here growing artichokes? We planted one last year as an afterthought after the growing season, so nothing to harvest. This year we have harvested at least 20 artichokes from the one plant. I grew up as a kid in California and our family had artichokes for dinner all the time, but I don't remember them being for sale all summer long. Not complaining mind you as I like them, but maybe happy we didn't plant a bunch of plants last year.
I killed mine. Not on purpose tho. I need to research them as she likes them but I don’t like them.
I picked my shelling beans this morning, bingo variety from Territorial. Mine are paler in color than their website shows or I recall when planting. I find the handful of dark beans funny. I got about 2 pounds of shelled beans.
The description said the plants could get to 6' tall, but mine longest stalks climbed 7' up the trellis then 3' across twine to the pea trellis and then back to the tripods. This pic was from a month ago.
The description said the plants could get to 6' tall, but mine longest stalks climbed 7' up the trellis then 3' across twine to the pea trellis and then back to the tripods. This pic was from a month ago.
Gary
When did you plant if harvesting now.
Just curious as last year I planted fava beans in the fall like my garlic and the took a long time and tied up my beds for 9 months.
Thinking of trying different beans for fun.
Thanks
Mark
I can't remember exact date but I think early April. I grew a crop of radishes in this bed before the beans went in
I’m planning to install a couple more raised beds this winter. My experience with establishing new raised beds is that it takes several seasons for the soil to get productive.
I typically order however many yards of organic garden soil I need from a local landscape supplier (Walrath), which is a much better deal and better soil quality than getting a bunch of dirtbags at a big box hardware store. I’ll add as much compost as I can from my worm boxes, but it still seems like the soil doesn’t have much oomph.
Any tips or tricks others use to start getting that initial dump of dirt in shape? I know Skip (RIP) mentioned adding stuff like bone meal. I do like to bury the occasional stocker trout where I know I’ll later plant tomatoes.
I typically order however many yards of organic garden soil I need from a local landscape supplier (Walrath), which is a much better deal and better soil quality than getting a bunch of dirtbags at a big box hardware store. I’ll add as much compost as I can from my worm boxes, but it still seems like the soil doesn’t have much oomph.
Any tips or tricks others use to start getting that initial dump of dirt in shape? I know Skip (RIP) mentioned adding stuff like bone meal. I do like to bury the occasional stocker trout where I know I’ll later plant tomatoes.
I used Bumper Crop Soil Conditioner and Dr Earth fertilizer.
Once the soil is in the beds, dig in a bunch, and i mean like 10-20% by volume of the Bumper Crop (or even more), adding the Dr Earth as you dig it in. Do it yearly, and every time you rotate in a new crop...after a few years youll be amazed at how good things grow.
Then add more fert when you plant in the Spring.
Organic material...this is the way to long term soil health and garden productivity.
I did this on all my beds, and those at clients homes for years, the soil is excellent, great texture and fertile.
Theres other approaches of course, but this has been successful for years on many different gardens, both veggie and flower.
Once the soil is in the beds, dig in a bunch, and i mean like 10-20% by volume of the Bumper Crop (or even more), adding the Dr Earth as you dig it in. Do it yearly, and every time you rotate in a new crop...after a few years youll be amazed at how good things grow.
Then add more fert when you plant in the Spring.
Organic material...this is the way to long term soil health and garden productivity.
I did this on all my beds, and those at clients homes for years, the soil is excellent, great texture and fertile.
Theres other approaches of course, but this has been successful for years on many different gardens, both veggie and flower.
I was really disappointed in the quality of stuff I got from Walrath, it had a lot of rock and course sand mixed in. I've been much happier with Tagro and it's cheaper to boot. That is delivered (or self pick up, not the bagged stuff). I amended with SeaCoast compost and steer gro twice yearly and had good results in my raised beds. I found depth of bed to be hugely important, with 18" twice as good as 12"
I’m not a great judge of soil but I did note that there was some gravel in the load I got last year too. Still seemed better than the bagged stuff available at the store though.
I’ve been a little leery of tagro in edible beds as I’m uncertain of what traces of pharmaceuticals etc. remain in it after the wastewater treatment process. But it does seem to make plants very happy. Unless what they deliver is distinct from the treated wastewater solids I associate with the bagged stuff…
Fair concerns, but I'm satisfied by current testing standards and results for heavy metals, PFAS, and pharmaceuticals. Purportedly they are the same, but I noticed a textural difference in them, with the bagged stuff really compacting and clumping. Switching to it did make my plants extremely happy.
Coarse sand and 'some' small rock is actually not a problem. When I used to order custom soil mixes for jobs the LA specified, or client asked for not of the shelf soils, almost always had both in it.
If you think it's a problem, or there's a lot of it, you can always run a sieve test, or the Mason Jar Test.
growitbuildit.com
All commercially manufactured topsoil are only as good as the base material they have, quality of the ' organics' blended in, and QC of the guy doing the mixing.
I've purchased hundreds of thousands of yards of soils over the years, gotten great stuff and shit from the same place in the same week...
So....caveat emptor
If you think it's a problem, or there's a lot of it, you can always run a sieve test, or the Mason Jar Test.
| Growit Buildit
Learn to find our your soil texture using this simple jar test! Determine the percent of clay, sand, and silt with our full-proof method.
growitbuildit.com
All commercially manufactured topsoil are only as good as the base material they have, quality of the ' organics' blended in, and QC of the guy doing the mixing.
I've purchased hundreds of thousands of yards of soils over the years, gotten great stuff and shit from the same place in the same week...
So....caveat emptor
BriGuy
Life of the Party
About three years ago, my son and his girlfriend bought me two raspberry plants. I’m not sure what variety they are, but they start producing a bit later than the local Spooners Family berries. And they are still going today (Sept. 18). Every couple of days, I get a handful, and they are tasty. If I were smart, I’d save some seeds for next year.
