let's see your veggie garden {pics} 2021-25

[deluxestogie]

This is a fully grown Boston Pickling Cuke.

These are perfect for making whole pickles in a crock or barrel. I usually pick them at about 2/3 that size, for salad slicers.

Bob

 

[Homegrowngoodnes]

A pint of everglades tomatoes harvested today (7/8)! 5 plants. Probably 2 to 3 times that growing. The plants are not only taller than I am but also have branches extending nearly back to the ground and are still growing! Estimated total current height, 9 ft. They will continue to grow and produce until frost killed!

 

[deluxestogie]

This evening, I made a salad of lettuce, chunked cucumber and chunked crookneck squash, swimming in chunky blue cheese dressing. [Any summer squash can be eaten raw and not peeled.]

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

I am caught up on assigning some suitable disposition to my bounty of cucumbers, crookneck squash and green beans.

The cukes (with a layer of sliced crookneck at the top) are starting a salt-only, lactate fermentation. I go with 1 Tbsp salt to each 1 cup water. As soon as the cuke slices start to look translucent (after 3-5 days), this will go into the fridge. The jar has about 1 inch of headway, with the veggies held beneath the liquid by a section of polyethylene grid (usually sold in fabric stores, for needlework), and a Ziploc of water on top.

The green beans were blanched whole, for 4 minutes, then rinsed to cool, and bagged in quart-size freezer Ziploc bags. Crookneck squash was simply sliced, put into their own bags, and all placed into the freezer. While blanching keeps the green beans firm, there is no preservation method I know of, other than pickling, that will keep squash crispy. Frozen squash is perfect for use in soups and stews, etc.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I took my buddy to drop his truck off at the mechanic shop. He loaded me up with squash, zuchini, peppers, and okra.

 

[deluxestogie]

I am caught up...

That is so 90 minutes ago. I need to ask some neighbors for favors, so I can give away some of my green beans and squash.

This just in...

Note the twin-freak squash.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Lactate pickles ready to go into fridge:

72 hours

It's difficult to capture the color difference in flash photos, but the cuke slices in the lower jar are clearly altered uniformly. Bubbles appear when the side of the jar is tapped. Opening the lid, the aroma is "pickles".

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Somehow, it always surprises me when greenbeanmageddon suddenly ends. The same with tomatoes, cukes and summer squash. It's been 3 days since I last picked and blanched and froze green beans. Today, I gathered hardly a quart of new beans. Still not a single ripe tomato.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

The Climbing Career of a Single Porch Cucumber: a photo essay

I have watched this (yellow arrow) cucumber inch its way up my porch railing for nearly 2 months, always marveling at its attachment solutions.

Each photo is a different tendril.

Bob

 

[Laredo]

The Climbing Career of a Single Porch Cucumber: a photo essay

I have watched this (yellow arrow) cucumber inch its way up my porch railing for nearly 2 months, always marveling at its attachment solutions.

Each photo is a different tendril.

Bob

I always find it amazing how nature works.

 

[aaroncherryred]

My tomato plant :]

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob

 

[cincydave]

That is so 90 minutes ago. I need to ask some neighbors for favors, so I can give away some of my green beans and squash.

This just in...

Note the twin-freak squash.

Bob

I got your squash's brother (or sister)

 

[deluxestogie]

That "twinning" is called fasciation. Some stressor causes the growth tip of a stalk or blossom to duplicate itself, and partially split.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

Growing potatoes under plastic this yr. I will backfill them once with year old wood chipping mulch.

Yanked the red potatoes under the plastic and they impressed me. A little early but the dirt is mud and it is the lowest row like 20 plants or less.
They started dying off a few weeks ago.
I ain’t no potato farmer either.
I pulled the plant out pulled back the wood mulch and they were right there, I did have to carefully dig around with my fingers to find some deeper ones but never used the potato fork I brought down with me.
Average about 10+ potatoes per plant.
I will continue to plant potatoes this way.

 

[GreenDragon]

SOS!!! Send help! There’s only so much squash a man can eat, and the neighbors set the dogs on me when I tried to “gift” them some on their porch!

 

[cincydave]

And only so many pickles one can make!

 

[deluxestogie]

Creamy Cucumber Dressing

This creamy cucumber salad dressing is reminiscent of delicious tzatziki, made with yogurt, cucumber, and lemon juice — it's only missing the herbs!

www.allrecipes.com

 

[Brown Thumb]

Creamy Cucumber Dressing

This creamy cucumber salad dressing is reminiscent of delicious tzatziki, made with yogurt, cucumber, and lemon juice — it's only missing the herbs!

www.allrecipes.com

I just chuck them in ranch dressing. Less work. Zucchini is good in ranch also.