Monday, June 1, 2015

Harvest Monday 1 Jun 2015


The last week of May and I finally have something to show. Above are Zlata and Red Dragon radishes. The leaves had some flea beetle damage but those nasties were controlled pretty well with some Spinosad sprays, so I am getting a good radish harvest. And no maggot damage!


I finally made a cutting of Tyee spinach. The plants look good and there was no sign of bolting. I know it is all about day length, but maybe the cooler weather and rain we are getting will prolong the harvest. I didn’t have a chance to cut some chard, but that is ready to start clipping soon. The leaf miners got under the cover so I need to start removing and destroying the affected foliage before I lose it all.


The kohlrabies are starting to size up, and this may be my best harvest of them yet. Above is Azur Star and below is Winner. Just ignore the weeds, they are on the list but I have higher priority tasks right now.


Saturday was a work day in the community garden so I did not have time to do anything to my own garden except water the bean seedlings, which are starting to come up. Sunday I did get to the garden despite the threats of rain. The plan was to plant the tomatoes in the in-ground plot. When I arrived, of course it started sprinkling. I almost left but decided to sit in the car awhile and it stopped within a few minutes. So I went ahead and planted 14 tomatoes in tropical steaminess, with occasional sprinkles, muddy hands and huge mosquitoes buzzing my head so I dare not swat. A hot shower never felt so good.

I did prevail and half my tomatoes are planted. Hopefully this rain is enough to wet the raised beds where the rest of the tomatoes go. The raised beds were dry all the way to the bottom and water just beaded up on top. What I really need is a slow, soaking rain and it looks like we will get it. Once the rain stops, next step is to get the rest of the tomatoes and some of the peppers planted, so we can get on with the gardening season.

That is what happened in my garden last week. To see what other gardeners are harvesting, visit Daphne’s Dandelions, our host for Harvest Monday.

14 comments:

  1. I love those light brown radishes. They look gorgeous. Mine often have a little nibble on them, but are mostly good. And I always get a leaf or two with leaf miners even with the row covers. But not much. And I take the leaves off as soon as I see them so they don't reproduce under my covers. If I didn't use a cover though the whole crop would be spoiled. I leave the overwintered spinach uncovered and about the same time that it bolts the leaf miners hit. The number of eggs they lay on the back of the leaves is astounding.

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    1. The Zlata radish is really a great one. They are very early, smooth skinned, juicy and sweet with a little spice, hold well. A great radish I will grow again. I haven't had an enormous problem with leaf miners, but then I don't grow spinach and chard in the volumes you do. Key is to get the first leaves and destroy them.

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  2. What pretty spinach! I have thusfar been unsuccessful growing spinach, so I'm always envious of others' harvests. And your weeds pale in comparison to mine... gardening sometimes seems like 90% weeding.

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    1. I started the spinach inside in 3/4" soil blocks and transplanted them as soon as they got a set of true leaves. It was so hot and dry this spring I doubt I would have any luck if I direct seeded. By the way, I tried leaving a comment on your blog with no success. You have one of those Wordpress blogs that hates me.

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    2. Lord, I have that same problem with wordpress because I had an old account that I don't use anymore. I just switched my wordpress account to an old email I no longer use and I can now leave comments on other wordpress blogs. But a super hassle!

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    3. And I wanted to comment on the spinach too! I grew tyee last year and loved it. For some reason I decided to try Bloomfield - OK, but I think I'll switch back to tyee next year.

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  3. Beautiful radishes - like Daphne I'm loving the light brown ones.

    I was also out this past Saturday planting my tomatoes in between (and during) some heavy showers. Initially, I kept coming inside when it rained but it just got ridiculous as it would rain for 10 minutes, then be dry for 2 or 3 minutes, then rain again. So I just decided to get it done, rain or no rain. At least it was warm - I sowed some beans in the rain on Sunday and I practically got frostbite...not fun. The rain was much needed, however, as we were bone dry here as well, so I am very glad we had a wet weekend.

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    1. We had a hot Saturday workday and the rain moved in overnight. Wasn't supposed to start raining until noon so I set off to the garden just to have it start raining when I arrived. Glad I stuck it out because I got 14 plants into the ground before it turned into muck. And now the raised beds should be wet enough to plant the rest.

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  4. Those Zlata radishes look a lot like the Helios I'm growing. I need to get some spinosad if it's effective for the flea beetles. I can use it on the eggplant, which is usually a beetle magnet here!

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    1. Helios and Zlata could be the same plant from different sources. Both came from eastern Europe and Zlata means something like "gold" in Czech. Spinosad is /was not yet listed for flea beetles but it definitely does work. To avoid building up resistance, you should alternate with another spray like pyrethrin and use each no more than 6 times in a season. For eggplants, this year I will dunk them in Surround clay slurry, then cover them until they start flowering. Hopefully they will put on enough size before that to tolerate some beetle damage, but I will also be spraying.

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  5. One good thing about having no rain in the summer is that the weeds don't get out of hand. It sounds like flea beetles are a big problem for you. I see them occasionally, but they tend not to get out of hand either. Every garden has a different set of challenges. Today I had to treat the leeks and garlic for rust, again. I am so envious of the blemish free garlic that I keep seeing on other blogs.

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    1. True, I can celebrate no aphids and no rust (looked it up and garlic rust seems to be a west coast exclusive) and no rats nor vegan birds. But I do have flea beetles, cabbage moths, squash bugs and borers, cucumber beetles and bacterial wilt, and tons of powdery mildew. I'm all ready to do battle for another year.

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  6. Your radishes are gorgeous, they look like interesting varieties. I love seeing your kohlrabi bulb up. Ah planting in the hot steamy rain. Not fun. Although, it's great getting tomatoes in the ground.

    Thank you for your help with my flea beetle problem. I think the eggplants are on the uptick.

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  7. I too must do battle with flea beetles, had rain finally - yesterday and today and more predicted for tomorrow, with all this rain the slugs are growing fat and multiplying at an alarming rate.

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