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What’s your crop report?

Posted on July 16th, 2009 – 7:58 AM
By Robyn Dochterman

Have you checked a weather report recently? Who ever heard of a high of 70 in mid-July? That makes me laugh, but I might not be laughing later in the summer when my tomatoes and squash are stuck in neutral.

On the other hand, we had a yummy stir-fry at my house tonight with pea pods, broccoli, green peppers, onions and my first-of-the-year garlic. All of which came right out of the garden. The shrimp (which I did not grow, thanks for asking) weren’t bad either.

What’s the report from your place? Or, from your plate?

Are you eating what you’re growing? Ripened a tomato yet? Reveling in flowers?

Or is everything behind and you wish it would warm up to get those plants back on track?

At mid-season, what’s your assessment of the year — in terms of whatever you’re growing?

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 7:58 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

20 Responses to "What’s your crop report?"

Michelle S. says:

July 16th, 2009 at 8:53 am

My tomatoes are still small and green, and I only have one small pepper so far. I will be having zucchini for supper tonight, though, and perhaps a few carrots. Nothing seems to be moving very quickly for me. I’m jealous of all the veggies you got to eat last night!

cola says:

July 16th, 2009 at 8:54 am

Sheesh, it is a slow year, but…
I have had the most delightful salads from my garden goods- yummy broccoli, peppers and cucumbers! And the neighborhood kids cannot eat enough mint leaves… But the tomatoes and corn are just hanging out waiting. And my zucchini has bit the dust (squash borer beetle).
Seems that all my plants are smaller this year- brussel sprouts, peppers and watermelon are just inching along..
Where is that midwestern heat?

Laura C says:

July 16th, 2009 at 8:59 am

I’ve had a great harvest of weeds so far this year! No, but really, I don’t grow much that’s edible except rhubarb and I made my husband a birthday pie from our rhubarb this week. The plant isn’t quite trucking along as fast as usual though, and I had to supplement my pie with lots of strawberries (from the store).

Robyn Dochterman says:

July 16th, 2009 at 9:16 am

I’ll be very curious to see what kind of weather August and the fall bring. An early frost would do a lot of us in if we don’t see typical warmth soon (not that I’m asking for it. I kind of like it cool).

Anneesha says:

July 16th, 2009 at 9:38 am

I planted some rainbow kale in the flowerbed for color (and eating) and just made an awesome stir-fry with some of the larger leaves. But peppers and tomato are pretty far behind.

Margaret says:

July 16th, 2009 at 9:40 am

Yellow squash, carrots and (english)peas. Herbs are doing great. The peas are done, I harvested the last ones yesterday and pulled the vines. I had pepper plants ready to go in their place. (Tiny urban garden!) Tomatoes and peppers both have tiny fruits on them. For some reason my zucchini have lots of flowers but no fruit.

Geoff says:

July 16th, 2009 at 10:16 am

I got validation last night for all the time I’ve spent digging in the garden. Wife and I decided to just pick up a salad at Kowalskis and half-way through it she said “This sucks. The fresh food is so much better.” And it really wasn’t that *bad*, it’s just that nothing compares to pulling it right out of the ground. The bar has been set though.

Going to have some sweet corn soon. Tomatoes and peppers are in progress. I would guess another month maybe. I’m a bit worried about the pumpkins…not that they are going slow, but rather they are getting a bit out of control. It’s been a good season, but I’m really looking forward to next season. Plus maybe doing a little hydroponic stuff over the winter.

Judybusy says:

July 16th, 2009 at 10:20 am

I’ve been using herbs since the sorrel and chives came up in late April. My biggest tomatoes (Cherokee Purple) are nearly tennis-ball-sized. Jimmy Nardello peppers seem on track, but I will be really suprprised to see any eggplant.

Most of my garden is in flowers, so it’s been a GREAT year for them. Blooms last so much longer when it’s not 93 degrees!

Say, has anyone grown malabar spinach? I bought some by accident and used it in a phyllo pastry. It was really good! (And yes, I know I could look this up, but let’s keep the art of conversation alive….)

Anneesha says:

July 16th, 2009 at 11:57 am

Judybusy, is malabar spinach a vine? I seem to recall seeing it on an unknown TV show recently (FoodNetwork/TravelChannel/PBS)and wondered about it. Or maybe I’m offbase from flipping the remote too often.

Mike says:

July 16th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

Just ate my first cucumber. Have been enjoying, pea pods, beans, radishes and lettuce for a while now.

Amelia Sprout says:

July 16th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

I’m pretty sure that if it just warmed up my tomatoes would ripen. Peas that I planted late around about to have fruit. I harvest at least one if not two summer squash every day.

I have an absurd number of jalapenos, but the green peppers are struggling.

I love cool weather, but we need some heat. I have a lot of green tomatoes and a little warmth is going to mean a bumper crop.

Judybusy says:

July 16th, 2009 at 1:29 pm

Aneesha, I haven’t any idea: I bought it at the farmer’s market because it was labeled “spinach.” Real spinach is done, and there was a lot of stuff labeled “malabar spinach” which I was hesitant to try–I know, the irony! But, as I said, it was great cooked. It seems a bit thick to eat as a salad green.

sparklegirl says:

July 16th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

By this time last year, I’d already over-watered my tomatoes and given them all blossom-end rot. This year, thanks to drip hoses, all eight plants are looking great!

kiwi9mm says:

July 16th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

Snow peas just came in. The yellow raspberries just also started to come in - I usually have enough to make Dad a rasp pie for his bday on July 3, but not this year - so very, very late! Tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, squash all struggling - although the potatoes LOVE this weather, think I’ll dig some again tonight. Cukes just started to flower, too. Where are those “dog days” of summer??

Anneesha says:

July 16th, 2009 at 4:38 pm

Judybusy - per Malabar spinach:
Had to google: Malabar is a vigorous climbing vine in warm climates. This vegetable is very popular in tropical and subtropical areas. Young leaves and tips are used like spinach in cooking and salad. Seeds are sown in spring and early summer. Seeds have hard coating and it is suggested to soak seeds in water overnight or the seed skin be scratched before planting, to improve the moisture absorbing process during the germination. The seed germination rate is relatively low and it is suggested to sow slightly more seeds for obtaining enough plants. The plant is almost insect-free and is very easy to grow. Harvest by cutting the young leaves and tips for begetable use, but keep 2-3 leaves on the branches for subsequent new branches to grow.

Judybusy says:

July 16th, 2009 at 8:15 pm

Thanks, Aneesha! It looks like it can be grown as an annual here—for now, it’s readily available at the farmer’s market.

Deanna says:

July 17th, 2009 at 10:34 am

Have lots of green tomatoes, fennel looks great, eggplant pretty and coming along, banana peppers great, potatoes doing well and ready to eat first cuke any day now. I think something ate the little tiny watermelons tho…

Peter Hoh says:

July 17th, 2009 at 2:29 pm

I’m eating beets, snow peas, raspberries, and a few beans from my garden.

gardenmum says:

July 19th, 2009 at 10:02 pm

First cucumbers, green pepper and cherry-grape tomatoes. Lots of full size tomatoes still green. Beans that came up (poor germination) are blooming. Also spotted a marble sized sugar baby watermelon among the leaves and blossoms. All my lovely flowers around my house are going to take a direct hit because of the siding project my spouse has begun. Already 5 casualties. luckily they’re mostly perennials so they’ll come back again next year.

Amanda says:

July 20th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

I’m still getting sugar snap peas which is great. I pick some to have with my lunch almost every day. Tomatoes look good but still greeen.

I just want you all to know that it’s my fault it is so cool. I decided to grow Peanuts this year. They are a species especially for Northern gardens but they still like temps in the 80s. *Sigh*, me too. However, one of them is bravely putting out tiny, yellow flowers so we’ll see. Still have the whole month of August.

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