Season long garden log for 2009!(w/pics & videos)!

[flyawa]

Flyawa,

Would you mind sharing the recipe for pickled okra? We have tried and have not got it down right to my liking.

Billy

Glad to do it.

Check it out and enjoy

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=45168

[Billy Fussell]

Thanks for the recipe. My wife will try it. I love pickled okra. And fried okra and boiled okra.

Billy

[SONNY]

Greenbean sample of the "snakes" that we had!



Had a good harvest of them after they re-grew from the damage.---also have good amount of saved seed for next year. (These are Contender)
After the pressure cooker

The Fava beans that went into the freezer,--plus the saved seed picking for next year

[SONNY]

At this point, we have spuds, onions,carrots, beans,(except for the soys,--workin on them now, green and black kinds), cabbage, eggplant, etc. all taken care of and headin for the SQUASH garden!---lol!
Jumbo pink banana

Boston Marrow

Shi Shigatani bottle gourd/squash

True buttercup

green stripe cushaw

Jarhadale

nother Jarhadale

King of Mammouth


This is one batch of pics taken yesterday, ( 9-10)

[SONNY]

More kinds!!
Mystery squash,---no-one knows what kind these are!

Queensland Blue

nother Blue,--This one has more of the mature color to it

Red Warty Thing

Small Sugar Pie pumpkins

An Ugly Alien Creature!

Green Stripe Cuahaw that forgot to grow a seed bowl!( we named him "the neck dude")


The squash garden is 1/2 acre and the vines are going in all directions,--including, but not limited to the neighbors corn field!
The Kings have vines going 35 feet in all directions from the base, making for 70 foot runs tip to tip.
Frank over on Antique Farming. net sent me some seed and this is some of the strange kinds that came from them!---I had banana and jarhadale seed saved from last year!
Fred from over there sent us some of his seed for the red beans that we grew this year too!---These beans were from saved seed since 1840's and started oun in the midwest! ---they have been planted ever since by his family and now this year returned back to the midwest to be grown by us!---He has only 4 families left that grow them in WA. right now so maybe we can help carry on his family tradition a few more years!---The bean variety is not known, so we call them FRED BEANS!
Sorry for the long posts, dudes, but just thought you might find something of interest in them! lol!---enjoy! thanks; sonny

[KETCHAM]

Sonny my squash does that too!!! Straight neck and crooked.I think they cross pollinate with zuccini.Taste good,I eat them and people buy them.My garden is on its last legs.Peppers and enjoying the cool weather.I never did a fall crop of peas,to many in the freezer.I made out real well selling at the farmers market.I"m in the red making a good[but not great] profit this year.I have lots of green beans and peas froze.Next year I'm hoping my corn does better.3rd year garden is when they start producing good.I'm very happy the way the garden is progressing. I hope to get some winter wheat in to boost the soil.It is bad soil needs a big boost!!! Kevin

[flyawa]

The Turnips are starting to really get going. We've had 5 inches of rain in the last couple of weeks and now warm sun. If you listen carefully you can hear them growing.



The okra is still blooming and setting on strong. Some of the okra plants are over 7 feet tall.



Still getting squash, tomatoes, peppers, and a few cucumbers from the small garden.

Getting tired of canning

[SONNY]

Lookin great, guys!!!!------We have been getting a few green beans from the July planting. The late "test planting" of spuds made around 400 pounds of decent spuds from 2 rows a hundred feet long
We harvested some of the blackeye peas for seed, some of the Blue Hopi flour corn for seed, several different kinds of the squash seed, and greenbean seed,--so far!!
40 pound Boston Marrow with seeds

the half with seeds removed

Finished product in the test,---PIE!!!

Jaharadale half and one quarter,---this guy was 38 pounds.


These are all seed squash and judged by Virginia with a rating for fine dry flesh that is sweet and cooks up/bakes up nice.
We have tested several kinds so far and have a few more to go!---The yellow pear shaped ones didnt get far in the test, so they wont be planted next year. thanks; sonny

[SONNY]

Here are a couple random dug parsnips.



Hope the rest of the row is as good as these two guys were!---Have to dig over a foot deep to get them out of the ground!---Was thinking about using the backhoe, but dont think it will go under the power line that is in front of this garden!----anyhoo, they look good this year.

here is one of the salsify roots!



Not sure WHAT these things taste like,--but I dont think I care much for them! have about 3/4 row of them next to the parsnips! thanks; sonny

[SONNY]

Got our first killin frost here a couple of nights ago and now its just cold, wet, and miserable here, rain again this morning, temps in 30's and 40's here!---feels like SNOW!!!----Still need to get some of the gardens plowed!----Anybody want to do a plow day in my gardens?----I have most of them mowed and shredded, ready for turning under!

Still have lots of squash in the shed free for the taking!--also lots of nice onions, free of course! ---dont have the winter storage space or the need for all of them!
Parsnips will be dug after they freeze good to improve the flavor!---Not sure what I will do as to digging the peanuts, as they didnt do well this year!! (too wet and cold all during the growing season!)
Did get 1 nice watermelon! thanks; sonny

[vdeal]

Sonny,

You need to leave those parsnips and salsify in the ground through the winter and dig them when needed or in the early spring. The process of freezing converts some of the starch in them to sugar and they taste much better. We never touch them before mid winter. Salsify is also called oyster plant and if you skin it and cut the flesh into cubes you can make an faux oyster stew that I personally have a hard time telling from the real thing. Again they need to be frozen to taste right.

[SONNY]

Here is one strange parsnip!




27" of white,--plus the top! --dont know where it was headed to!---A few inches broke off the bottom, so it probably was at least 30" long.

The ONLY watermelon that made it!



The melon was excellent ! thanks; sonny

[SONNY]

Harvested another seed batch,--this time the round red warty thing!---LOTS of nice seeds in this dude!


Japanese bottle squash, the only one that matured!---they are green when mature but turn brown in storage!---IT DID!


The red warty thing had to be cut open with the sawzall!---not joking!--VERY hard shell about a quarter inch thick!---got a test piece in the oven baking right now!--looks/smells good! thanks; sonny

[SONNY]

Red warty thing test went well!---This is one super squash!--sweet, fine grained , deep orange flesh! pie or just bake scoop out add brown sugar butter a dash of salt mix together and enjoy while hot! also got probably a half pound of nice plump seeds for next year to plant/share!

Queensland test next! thanks; sonny

[SONNY]

Anybody saving seeds this year?



Here is the Round Red Warty Thing seeds we dried and saved from this years crop,---have lots more to go! thanks; sonny