How is everyones gardens doing?

[Space Cowboy]

I have 2 gardens out back, one on each side of the pond....that morning mist off the pond has helped alot this year.
Corn- Started out slow, but has really come on as of late....small ears, but tender and good taste plus very few corn worms this year.
Zucchini- Has been growing like gang busters
Tomatos- Its been a good year for the maters so far
Green beans- Some plants did well, others- not so good...its been about 50/50
Cucumbers- What actually grew did decent, but only 25% grew
Cabbage- Excellent year!
Watermelon- Actually having a reasonably decent crop, considering the lack of rain
Potatos- Were a waste
Cantelope- decent so far, but not holding my breath.
Gourds- Dippers are just now coming out but the ornamentals started early

[abuck76]

Gourds...........Are they hard to grow?...We have tought about growing some and makings crafts from them.........Any special advice that would help.....type of seeds, fertilizer, etc...... :12224

[noreply66]

Most i have come across seem to be doing okay

[Runner]

Green Beans - 4 rows 20 foot long - I canned 80 pints and sold 2 bushels. Still loaded with tiny beans and new blossoms.
Tomatoes - 24 plants - Canned 14 quarts and 9 pints so far. Sold a 1 1/2 bushel
Cucumbers - 5 hills - Best year I have ever had. Running out of people to give them to
Watermelons - 9 hills - Picked 35 so far. Sold 22. Lost 15 others due to blossom end rot.
Cantaloupe - 6 hills - Nice vines but nothing over the size of my fist as of yet.
Green Peppers - 11 plants - Can't keep up with them. diced and froze some. Selling over half bushel a week.
Green Onions (Yellow) - Had tops over 3 foot tall. Heads were the size of baseballs. All picked and hanging in shed drying out.

I did not plant potatoes as the ground here is not right for them. But everyone that I no that has them has said their tops died very early this year like a blight hit them. However the potatoes themselves are still growing in the ground without a problem.

[Burg_Grad_77]

Tomatos - Did pretty good. We got quite a few nice ones off them and they are still loaded down.
Cherry tomatos - Also did really well.
Green Peppers - These did great. we got some huge ones and lots of them.
Yellow and Red Peppers - Didn't do worth a darn. Didn't get one good one off off any of the plants.
Jalapenos - These also did very well and were very hot
Raddishes - Did awesome. Some of the biggest raddishes I have ever seen and very tasty.
Cucumbers - What grew did well, but only got about 25% as well.
Green Beans - tons of blooms and not one bean.
Watermelons - Did exceptionally well. I have more of these than I know what to do with.
Cantalopes - What grew did well, but we only got about 4 or 5 melons.
Honeydew Melons - lots of blooms, but no melons.

[Space Cowboy]

Gourds...........Are they hard to grow?...We have tought about growing some and makings crafts from them.........Any special advice that would help.....type of seeds, fertilizer, etc...... :12224

Actually, Im still learnin about gourds. Easy enough to grow, but it helps to trellis them so they hang to get proper shape. Ive had some decent dippers the past couple of years and Ive made some pretty decent things with some of the smaller ornamentals. There is tons of info online of some of the crafts you can make out of them. You really dont get much joy until the 2nd season, cause your previous season growth needs all fall and winter to dry.
Dont pick them until the vine is visibly dead. Ive only been using a slight dusting of lime and manure for fertilizer.

[abuck76]

Thanks a bunch space :122245 :122245 :122245 .......Old lady buck76 will appreciate the info......... ............ :12224

[caglewis]

I'm ashamed to say that I planted no garden at all this year. I just can't handle the physical exertion required any more. We definitely need more rain - but my neighbors' gardens and yards here Ironton look much better than what I observed on my travels barely west and what my Cincinnati/Chicago/Indianapolis kids tell me what their yards look like.
I do go up to the Farmers' Market here in Ironton every Saturday - and the produce looks good and I bring home/enjoy from there what I should be producing for myself in my own garden

[abuck76]

Buying local like that cage is great......If one does not grow a big garden, you are helping the world and yourself by still eating fresh and helping local farmers maintain their lifestyles............We support the local markets also.............My two daughters live in and around C-bus, and they have joined a farmers co-op......For a relatively small yearly fee, they get fresh food for many months during the year............They also, have joined a meat co-op, that produces beef without all the steroids and anti-biotics used in corporate farms......Keeps them and the kids healthier.......... :12224

[Der_Kommissar1968]

Tomatoes have been a huge disappointment. They're a lot punier than in previous years, and the skin at the top of the maters near the stem has cracked or split on about half of them. Not sure what accounts for that.

[Runner]

Tomatoes have been a huge disappointment. They're a lot punier than in previous years, and the skin at the top of the maters near the stem has cracked or split on about half of them. Not sure what accounts for that.

The reason the skin cracks and splits is because of lack of enough water when needed early on. The skin becomes tough during this time and the tomato itself can not expand correctly. Then when you have a bunch of rain all at once like we had with the storms, the tomato has no other option than to split open because it is then trying to grow to fast and cracks the toughened skin in the process.

[Focused]

This is one of the worst gardens I've ever had.. Still have had enough to supply my family and friends with produce, but not the quality I usually have...

[Der_Kommissar1968]

Tomatoes have been a huge disappointment. They're a lot punier than in previous years, and the skin at the top of the maters near the stem has cracked or split on about half of them. Not sure what accounts for that.

The reason the skin cracks and splits is because of lack of enough water when needed early on. The skin becomes tough during this time and the tomato itself can not expand correctly. Then when you have a bunch of rain all at once like we had with the storms, the tomato has no other option than to split open because it is then trying to grow to fast and cracks the toughened skin in the process.

Thanks for the input. That makes perfect sense. I was pretty neglectful at first. Lesson learned.

[noreply66]

The rain over the last couple of weeks have been a late help

[NYBuckeye96]

I think the recent rain is too late for a lot of crops like corn, unfortunately.