Today is Yesterday was Harvest Monday, hosted by Daphne at Daphne’s Dandelions. Drop by, link up, show your stuff.
My enthusiasm is waning. With the kiddies (don’t let them hear me calling them that since they’re all over the age of consent) being back in school mama’s got to buy a few pairs of shoes, so mama’s got to get her butt into gear and get a lot more work done.
Anywho, I was pretty busy with work last week and didn’t spend a lot of time in the garden. I harvested the last few melons and gave one to my neighbor whose fence they grew up on and one to my mother. As obsessive as I am about weighing my produce, it didn’t even occur to me to weigh them.
Saturday I spent a long day working in the yard. I pruned and tidied up the blackberry canes and gave them a different support.
In the new bed I took out the three cherry tomato plants (I still have three) and the vines from the volunteer melon. I reconfigured the trellis so I can throw plastic over it just in case I decide to grow greens when it’s cold outside ( I sprinkled a few lettuce seeds in the bed while I was at it). The trellis is actually two trellis that I got when the store was going out of business. It sat around for over four years unopened. Best 20 bucks (or less) that I ever spent.
I cut all the new growth from the tree trunks and filled up my lawn bag composter after I transferred the material that was in it already so it can sit and mellow.
Today Yesterday I got all the melon vines off the fence, removed the Armenian cukes and yard long beans off the stairs, took out all the cucumber and bush bean plants from the north bed. I’m slowly getting the garden ready for winter. I’ve still got bell peppers, swiss chard, Russian and dwarf kale and three more tomato plants.
The jalapeno pepper in the container did its thing again
I just discovered watermarks!!
35 peppers were on the plant this time, just six weeks after the last major harvest. Got to find out from Granny who gave me the seeds if these were hybrid or OP. These will be made into jalapeno poppers to go into the freezer.
I’m actually picking a few raspberries, a second harvest. Last year the frost got them before they could mature. And speaking of round two, my rhododendron is flowering.
Not sure if that’s good or bad because the flowers for next year, according to everything I’ve read, form on the tips of the leaves this year. Once the plant blooms now will it still grow flowers on the leaf tips? Will the plant have time to even develop flower buds for next year? Curious minds want to know.
So, here’s what I harvested this last week.
The picture on the right is from today yesterday. I won’t include in the harvest tally the huge overgrown cucumber that I discovered when I took the plants out or
the little bitty ones that I dropped in my pickle jar in the fridge. Those were the last of the Armenian cukes too. Both of the brandywine tomatoes were over a pound each, and there are only a couple more on the plant.
It’s getting close to midnight so I’m signing off, otherwise I’ll have to change my title.
p.s. I fell asleep and didn’t hit the send button in time. I guess old age is catching up to me. Time for me to run like hell.
Happy Gardening!!
Cheryl's Garden Goodies 
Annie's Granny said,
September 7, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Those jalapenos are OP. Why, since I grow the same seeds, do yours bear more and earlier than mine? When I treated mine well, they had lots of peppers with no heat. Now I’m giving these the cold shoulder and they are hot, but not very many peppers on the plants. Teach me, oh wise one 😉
gardengoodies said,
September 8, 2010 at 10:21 am
Possibly being in a container helped. I had one in the ground and it was way behind this one. I dug it up and gave it to my cousin who didn’t have any hot peppers at all. I think I’ll call her and ask her how hers did. Glad to know they’re OP. I’ll let the next round of peppers mature on the plant, even if I have to bring it in when the weather gets cold. Then there will be lots of seeds to share.
That was the most productive plant in the whole garden. Thank you again for the seeds.
Wise One. I like that.
Annie's Granny said,
September 8, 2010 at 11:07 am
Try again, Oh Wise One. Mine are all in pots. I had them set where the lawn sprinklers didn’t hit, so they only got watered by hand when needed. At least they got hot, I think. My son won’t bite into another one for me 😉
gardengoodies said,
September 8, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I just went and took a bite out of two of the peppers. Zero heat. It didn’t even occur to me that batch number two would be different than batch number one. I super pamper every plant, so the jalapeno got lots of water both times.
Sadly, holding my head down in shame, I must reluctantly remove the crown of The Wise One…I’m still doing the poppers, though, heat or no heat..
Annie's Granny said,
September 8, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Oh Unwise One, I’m sorry. But let them get red, and they are the sweetest of sweet red peppers! I’m tempted to grow them back in the garden next year, just for their delicious sweetness! I moved my jalapeno pots back into the garden yesterday, where they can get more sunshine. But there they also get more water, so I may not have hot peppers this year at all. The seeds and membrane in my Hungarian wax are hot, but the peppers themselves are sweet.
Try withholding water from yours until the leaves begin to droop. They might heat up.
gardengoodies said,
September 8, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Okay, I’ll give the withholding water a try. And I still want to try to save some of the seeds because, if nothing else, there must be a be-fruitful-and-multiply gene in the plant that I can hopefully tap into next year.
Kathi said,
September 8, 2010 at 1:44 am
Seriously, this jalapeno pepper is crazy!!! Look at that! There are more peppers than leaves! I like the way you present your harvest – funny and beautiful. I’m not sure about the rhododendron – my parents got a patch in their garden with different varieties and some flower in autumn again, you know, just a little… but there were always enough buds remaining for the next year, as far as I remember.
gardengoodies said,
September 8, 2010 at 10:55 am
The pot that pepper is growing in is only about 8 inches wide and deep. I feel really lucky.
Glad you like the presentation.
I got the rhodi last year marked down and transplanted it into a pot that’s about no more than 18 inches. It bloomed for all of two days earlier this year with just a few flowers. Now there are so many little buds on the plant. If they all open the plant will be gorgeous. I’ll just have to wait and see and hope it does all right next spring.
Angela Moll said,
September 8, 2010 at 2:21 am
Your harvest art is awesome! Your jalapeno plant reminds me I need to go and check mine, see how many peppers it has. I don’t think as much as yours, though 🙂
gardengoodies said,
September 8, 2010 at 10:56 am
Thank you, ma’am. They’re not huge peppers, but there are a lot. Looking forward to making the poppers.
Daphne said,
September 8, 2010 at 10:17 am
I know how you feel. This is the second time this summer I’ve forgotten to put a flash card in my camera for my harvest photos. I’m putting on my running shoes too.
I love your jalapeno plant. Mine usually isn’t that prolific. I get peppers, but the plant is covered in them.
gardengoodies said,
September 8, 2010 at 11:08 am
I’m hoping that the few little peppers left will mature and I’ll have seeds to pass on. It’s Karma. I got seeds from somebody, now I need to pass some on.