Harvest Monday and vegetable update

Thinned out lettuce continues to be my Harvest Monday story. On Saturday midday, I checked in on my Minton Stable Garden plot as I waited to receive a walking tour that a BNAN volunteer was leading. We were one of the final stops of the handful of featured Jamaica Plain community gardens, and by that point, only a few people had stuck with it (my theory: the tour shrank as it passed Doyle's), but they were impressed with the attention many people have been giving to their plots. After hearing me ramble on about the history of the garden and showing them the John Carroll memorial and wildflower area, they were interested in what I was growing. So I showed them the lettuces, snap peas (some about 8 inches high), the Chinese cabbage and broccoli raab I had planted from seed about a week ago that were germinating, the strawberries (with small white fruits budding), and the mound of black-eyed Susans (now the circumference of a large hula hoop and in sore need of thinning). As you can probably guess, I was without my camera, so you'll need to rely on older photos and your imagination.Lunch was calling, so before I left, I thinned out the Summertime Iceberg and Forellenschluss Romaine lettuces. To understand why they need to be grown in the sun, one needs only to compare this harvest (above) to the thinner, wimpier leaves picked earlier this evening (below) from the shady backyard garden my daughter and I planted. The MSG crops seem to have more bones to them, and if we continue to enjoy daytime temperature ranges in the 50s-70s, I'll be posting photos of full, crunchy heads by the beginning of June. If you want to compare these lettuces to others across the country and beyond, visit the Harvest Monday posts listed at Daphne's Dandelions.But I don't want to jinx the situation. Anything can go wrong; today I encountered a familiar-looking scourge on my Tyee spinach. Already. I'm beginning to wonder that the only way to avoid leaf miners is to grow spinach in the fall.At home, I've been hardening off my tomato and brassica seedlings. Last week I transplanted my Black Prince and Rose de Berne tomatoes into larger containers and practiced more vigilance in giving them some time on the sunny front porch, and my efforts are paying off. They are catching up to where they probably should be at this time, and I may be able to plant them out this weekend.I can't seem to achieve the same momentum for my broccoli and cauliflower. One year ago today, my Fiesta organic broccoli was not only twice the size as this year's, but already in the ground. This year, I'll be lucky if I can plant out all six of these: two Charming Snow cauliflower, three Fiesta organic broccoli, and the most advanced, the Piricicaba broccoli. I had started four times as many seeds; if I had had more time I would have moved more into larger pots, but I doubt the results would have been different. Now I'm wondering if I can still plant them out this weekend or if I need to wait for them to fatten up a little more. That, along with the arrival of the community garden compost delivery from BNAN and the purchase of a new camera (I've narrowed it down to a particular Canon model) will hopefully happen soon.

Observing some traditions, forsaking others

Armed with my dysfunctional digital camera, I set out on this last sunny March weekend day to keep up with my growing traditions as well as experience how others respond to plant life. In the late morning I headed over to my plot at the Minton Stable Garden and turned over some of the soil for the first time in 2010. With a few breaks to chat with others passing through, I managed to dig up about a third of the plot, exhume the skeletons of last fall's broccoli, and sow the following: Forellenshluss Romaine Lettuce (a success from last year that I hope to repeat), Summertime Iceberg (for the younger taste buds), and Tyee Spinach (which Fedco sent as a substitute for the Space I had ordered). I repeated the same planting later in the afternoon in my backyard raised bed.Around 2:00 I was back in JP, to pick up my friend Kim and head down to to Mobius, an experimental arts organization in Boston's South End, for an event that had intrigued us, the Alternative Experimental Flower Show. We had attended the traditional flower show on and off for years, but despite the change in venue (Boston's World Trade Center) and main sponsor (formerly Massachusetts Horticultural Society, now Paragon Group), we could already envision the types of exhibits we'd encounter for the $20 we'd end up spending (although I do regret missing a display that Asa, a fellow Steering Committee member, had some involvement in assembling). We were looking forward to spending only $5 to support a great non-profit and not knowing what to expect.

Outside the entrance, we encountered the bouquets of flowers that we assumed that people had brought the past few nights as part of the admission fee to the dances and other live performances. Inside, Kim took advantage of a rare opportunity--she became a plant, potted by one of the artists, Cathy Nolan Vincevic. She removed her shoes, stepped into a pot, then Cathy added some potting soil and greenery. Feet buried in the dirt, Kim sensed what it was like to have a strong root system. She asked how she should behave, a little surprising given her extensive knowledge as a gardener, and her friend Marlo and I suggested that she face the sun. Other works in the exhibit included bananas and banana peels arranged like flowers (by Ursula Ziegler) and Bill Evertson's "Thorns in the Garden," where the visitor watches a looping video of various scenes of environmental destruction through a telescope and has the opportunity to buy fake seed packets with colorful images of mushroom clouds over fields of flowers and maps of chemical weapons storage sites. Deborah Bohnert, who has been giving away much of her art over the course of her career, made sure we didn't leave without one of her elegant pyramid-shaped potpourri pieces.

The installations provided a much-needed contrast to the traditional flower show exhibits. Instead of cordoning plant life off from human contact, we were encouraged to mingle with it in some cases, witness how it must hold up in the face of other forces, whether they be environmental or cultural (such as how they are portrayed in origami and other mediums), and see floral features in other objects.Later at home, as the skies began to cloud foreshadowing a soggy week ahead, I decided to be proactive and start some snap peas indoors. Reading a post from Dan's blog last week, I was reminded how the seeds that had germinated under the grow lights last season fared much better than those that I had sown directly into my backyard garden. I did plant some last weekend but it's still too early to tell how they'll do. I brought my peat pots indoors and added them to the other occupants under the grow lights, including my Black Prince tomatoes (above) and Piricicaba broccoli (below). So far, I feel I should have taken my delphinium seed money and bought a nice cup of coffee instead, but at least most my vegetables are progressing normally.

Did the season start without me?

Everyone has a different determinant for the beginning of the gardening season. For some, it's as soon as the ground can be worked, which for us in New England is a week or two away (given the temperatures in the 40s and 50s this past week it might be able to be worked now, but I haven't checked). For others, it's around the time of the Blooms! flower show (formally the New England Flower Show), starting on March 24; they need to see some advanced display to get in the mood. For Minton Stable Gardeners, the season might start when they attend the annual meeting, where they sign their rules and pay their dues. But for those of us around here starting seeds, the season should have begun by now.

According to the Farmer's Almanac, I have arrived late to the party. This past Tuesday, I started five varieties from my Fedco order: Black Prince and Rose de Berne organic tomatoes, Fiesta organic and Piracicaba broccoli, and Charming Snow Cauliflower. According to the Almanac's chart I should have had them under the grow light by February 23. Oh well...At least the cauliflower has decided to help me catch up.Are you on schedule?

Things learned while ordering seeds

I am finally getting around to ordering seeds, once again, through Fedco. I'm aware of the existence of other reputable companies, but have decided to stick with Fedco because of 1) convenience--this was the only catalog I have received and I have been too busy to explore alternatives, 2) success I've had with most of the varieties I've purchased, and 3) their cool catalog, minimalist in style with its black-and-white newsprint, but full of commentary and interesting factoids. Yesterday, while anticipating the Boston snowstorm that wasn't, I tore out the form and began painstakingly transcribing the correct codes for my upcoming crops. I ended up with a few of last year's successes, a few that have worked well for other gardeners in the area, and other vegetables/herbs and varieties I haven't yet grown. I'm still compiling my list, but for this post I thought I'd share some information, new to me.

Black Prince Tomato: Fedco had not offered this variety for thirteen years because when it was first sold, the company "could not find a market for it." Now Google "black prince tomato" and most of the links up front are from other seed merchants, probably due to the popularity of heirlooms nowadays, and for the variety's rich flavor. According to one online source, this Siberian tomato originated in Irkutsk, Russia, and is known for its health benefits due to its abundance of the antioxidant lypocene. Though other reports indicate that the plant has grown successfully in western and southern regions of the US, I'm going to give the Black Prince a chance here in New England. Since it also grows well in cold climates in Russia, maybe if I try growing it, Murphy's Law will take effect and we'll end up having a warmer summer.Catnip: The fact that our cat (above, one of my daughter's many photos) goes crazy for catnip is enough reason to order it, but the Fedco catalog states that this herb can calm mild stomach disorders, aid sleep, and lower fevers if added to tea. Rats hate it, and crushing and rubbing it on the skin can repel mosquitoes better than DEET (according to an Iowa State University study).

Sugar Ann Snap Pea: I had mixed results growing it last season but it could have been worse. Fedco's crop was blown away by a hurricane. As a result, it's not available in 2010, so I'm ordering Cascadia instead.

The year in gardening 2009/Resolutions for 2010

My plot back in early September

The past year may go down in history as one of the worst years in gardening, at least in the past decade. Above-average rainfall and below-average temperatures during the crucial months of the growing season resulted in a below-average yield, especially with tomatoes. In November, I abandoned my experiment of determining how much I benefited monetarily from planting and harvesting edibles, reporting a negative balance. And on some days, I spent more time clearing out infected fruits and vegetables than harvesting healthy ones.

The Minton Stable Garden in bloom, August

However, I still find gardening to be a satisfying act, providing physical and emotional benefits to those who participate in it. Another year at the Minton Stable Community Garden led to more friendships with gardeners and other Steering Committee members. A community of bloggers provided advice and ideas for improving my garden practices as well. And the rain had some advantages, including a lower water bill for the community garden (only $141.82, down from last year's $203.40). As long as I have my 140 square feet in JP and land at home, and Massachusetts hasn't yet disappeared under rising sea levels, I'll continue gardening. Here is my second annual set of lists, with items not in any particular order.

Top 5 successful plants:
1. Kentucky Wonder pole beans
2. Fiesta organic broccoli
3. Forellenschluss Romaine lettuce (grown in Minton Stable Garden)
4. June-bearing strawberries (before the botrytis set in)
5. Volunteer raspberries--they liked the fall conditions

Top 5 failures:
1. All tomato varieties (except volunteer cherry tomatoes)--due to below-average temps and late blight
2. Anything I tried to grow in my backyard--too shady
3. Spinach after the invasion of leaf miners
4. Irises I tried to transplant to a sunnier location in front yard--maybe they'll bloom next year
5. Zinnias--planted late and not given enough room

Resolutions for 2010:
1. Continue growing the same volume of tomatoes, trying some different varieties, but make a point of pruning them to strengthen plants and ensure that they get more light.
2. Grow more varieties of broccoli, like Piricicaba and broccoli raab, and other plants, including kale and other greens, coriander, parsley, and other herbs, carrots, and cauliflower.
3. Reduce the size of the strawberry bed to make room for the raspberries.
4. Keep trying to achieve that fall crop of greens, perhaps by planting better varieties sooner, starting some indoors in August so they can grow out back under row covers, or by some other means.
5. Be more aggressive in thinning out perennials, to avoid diseases like powdery mildew or to keep them from taking over my MSG plot. Black-eyed susans, anyone?
6. Take better photos, including sharper close-ups and documentation of the garden over time.

Happy New Year! I'd be curious to read the resolutions of other gardeners.

A slightly more scientific Monday harvest tally

Here we are again on Harvest Monday, and here are my photos of the usual suspects. Had I really thought through this harvest reporting business, I would have raided my friends' seed supplies (to save money) and grown a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. If you finding this bounty rather limited or just simply interested in seeing how other gardeners are doing, you can visit Daphne's post and the participating links. However, there are two new developments in my tally update. First, after weighing and buying more broccoli to supplement my dwindling yield, I reviewed the last several weeks of photos in an effort to make a reasonable estimate, which is a pound. More or less. Also, enough raspberries to fill one of those small containers you get at the supermarket.I had forgotten we had a scale until the other night, when I wanted to weigh some chicken bones to determine how much stock I could make. My husband uses one for his work (trust me, it's all legal), so yesterday I tried to weigh the few green beans I picked. Since the scale is designed for heavier items, the numbers didn't budge. However, two Rose de Berne tomatoes that had reached redness (yet still in a state of punyness) tipped the scale to a whopping .2 pounds. And no signs of blight! Considering the other times I weighed tomatoes at the farmers' market, this seemed about right. So with a little more accuracy I can update my tally as follows:Previous benefits total: $132.00
1 pound (estimated) organic broccoli at $2.50/lb.: $2.50
1 package (estimated) raspberries at $3.59/pkg.: $3.59
.2 pounds of organically grown tomatoes at $3/lb.: $0.60
New benefits total: $138.69

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$32.88

I don't know if I'll have enough basil to close the gap, or, given tonight's falling temperatures, any at all.

The silver lining

Rain again. This has been the weather word, the takeaway from this growing season. A few years from now we'll be saying to each other, "Remember that awful summer of 2009?" Hopefully, we won't be saying, "Remember when it all started to go downhill?"

The awful effects of the rainy, cold summer, which seems to have transitioned to a rainy fall, have been numerous. Below-average harvests. Late blight, botrytis, powdery mildew, and other infestations. Plants failing to thrive. A breeding climate for mosquitoes. Lingering seasonal affective disorder. Ruined plans, and the list goes on. As a heavy downpour kept me indoors on Tuesday morning, I decided I had enough doom and gloom, so I considered the positive and started this list, easier now that most of my problems have been cleared away. And today I took some pretty photos of rain on some of my plants outside. I know many of you out there may find this a cruel joke, but there are reasons to like the rain:

1. The rain extended my lettuce harvest. What has been in past seasons a 2-week spell of round-the-clock salads and giveaways lasted about twice as long. I was able to keep some of it in the ground and harvest it as needed, and when it was all over, only a few heads had bolted.
2. Fewer weeds. No invasions of pigweed to slave away over. Not that the gardens were invasive-free--they just didn't take over as much.
3. I wasn't inundated with too many tomatoes that I had to foist upon my friends and family, who would in turn foist theirs upon me.
4. Less sun meant that a slowdown of my skin's aging process. Also money saved on sunscreen and beach parking.
5. With few weeds to pull and vegetables to haul, I had fewer back problems, thus spending less on ibuprofen and reducing my risk of needing physical therapy.
6. How could I almost forget this one? Lower water bills! Not to mention fewer times driving over to the Minton Stable Garden to water, so I reduced my carbon footprint.
7. A chance to see if the waterproof camping equipment lived up to its promise. For the most part, it did.Feel free to add to this list or throw a few blighted tomatoes at me for even suggesting it.

Monday harvest/plot update - The cleanup continues

As expected, my harvest is dwindling in a few areas, particularly my stunted snap peas and my Kentucky Wonder pole beans. The latter aren't crazy about the advance of fall and nighttime temperatures in the 40s; the only beans that didn't turn limp in protest were buried under the plants' leaves. My raspberry plants are still new and few, and that was reflected in the amount of fruit I picked. The amount of broccoli side shoots remains constant, and although I pick only a few every few days, the combination of those and the pole beans have been a sufficient contribution to my small family's balanced diet. To see how other garden bloggers are doing with their harvests, check out the list at the bottom of Daphne's post.

I spent an hour and half at my Minton Stable Garden plot today, primarily pulling out my blighted and finished tomato plants (as you can see in the before and after photos below). Although I've read and heard reports that spores of diseased plants can travel through the air and infect other plants, the plant matter can be composted. Only blighted potato tubers should be disposed of separately, and since I'm not growing any potatoes in the MSG, I'm not concerned. Nevertheless, I bagged up the plants and weeds I pulled today to put out with yard waste at home, since the MSG bins are over capacity and won't be cleared and taken away for several weeks. Other chores I completed included weeding, harvesting, cutting back more of my spent perennials, tying up my raspberry plants to keep them upright and safe from being choked by my pole beans, and clearing strawberry runners from my raspberry patch and other areas of the garden.I still need to figure out how much broccoli I have harvested since my last tally, so I'll just add in the beans:

Previous benefits total: $131.80
1/5 pound (estimated) pole beans: $0.20
New benefits total: $132.00

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$39.57

Short on time this evening. More totals to come in a future post.

Monday harvest post - last tomatoes

It's Monday again, time for another report about the past week's harvest. You can also check out the yields of other garden bloggers who have added their links to the bottom of Daphne's post. It seems that as I write this, there are only a few of us diehards participating this week. Hopefully, for the sake of the other gardeners, it's because they are simply too busy and not because they have nothing to report.In my case, I think I'll be counting the number of upcoming harvest posts on one hand. On Saturday, I picked what I believe to be my last standard-size tomato, from one of my front-porch containers. As you can see by the photo below, calling it standard in size is a bit of a stretch. The others, in the first photo, came out of my Minton Stable Garden plot, and as usual, I'm showing their unblighted sides. You may also notice that I'm getting a few snap peas from my fall plants that have only grown about 8 inches high. I probably have a few more but I have been so unimpressed that when I visited the MSG today, I had forgotten to check.The best news of the past week is the arrival of more raspberries on my new plants; I may actually accumulate enough to fill one of those small containers. I'll do another not-so-scientific estimate of their value after I pick a few more. I found out that organic broccoli was going for $2 a pound at the farmer's market, and since I don't have any idea how much I have picked in weight since I last included them in my tally, I'll postpone my estimate another week until I weigh and buy some and use that information to make another estimate. No science fair awards for me!So, just tomatoes and pole beans in my tally this week:

Previous benefits total: $127.05
1/4 pound (estimated) of green beans at $0.99/lb.: $0.25
1 1/2 pounds (estimated) of organically grown tomatoes at $3/lb.: $4.50
New benefits total: $131.80

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$39.77

As I have said before, I am tallying my harvest out of curiosity and do not pursue gardening to save money on food expenses. But I can still look on the bright side: I haven't spent any money on the vegetable garden in weeks.

Monday harvest post - vegetable medley for one

This is going to be one of the shortest harvest posts of the season. We are dealing with illness at home and I'm ready to pass out from fatigue. But everything will turn out okay. Plus, I still have a harvest to report, with a new addition--one of the raspberry plants that had self-seeded from one of Asa's in the next plot is now bearing fruit. Just a few berries, but it's a start.The first thing I did upon arrival at my MSG plot last Tuesday was dispose of around ten blighted tomatoes, including these two that had degenerated into ooze when I handled them with some old newspaper. One of the other gardeners had read somewhere that a cold winter would kill off any remaining blighted plant matter, but I'd like to investigate that more.I felt like I had hit the jackpot when I discovered two blight-free tomatoes, including one that had fallen to the ground. And I continue to harvest a few pole beans, broccoli side shoots, and cherry tomatoes, though only enough for a vegetable medley for one. The term "vegetable medley" reminds me of airline meals; my serving wasn't much larger.Back in the garden on Thursday, I had a similar yield. One of my broccoli plants is growing a new head, though it will probably be a third of the size of the original. Using a camera to document, I plan to hold off on estimating the value of my broccoli and raspberries until I get some more. But I will continue with tomatoes and beans, using the same prices from my last tally.Previous benefits total: $123.72
1/3 pound (estimated) of green beans at $0.99/lb.: $0.33
1 pound of organically grown tomatoes at $3/lb.: $3.00
New benefits total: $127.05

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: - $44.52

It's been hard to believe given the last week or so of really pleasant, seasonable weather that I wouldn't have a tomato harvest that would put me in the black. Sigh...

Barbecue and blogging milestone

The skies cleared up enough yesterday that the MSG/SNA barbecue could go on as scheduled. The event was attended not only by gardeners but members of the Stonybrook Neighborhood Association; many people were affiliated with both. When my daughter and I arrived at 6:00 my priority was nourishment. Until my plate was filled with corn, potato, and pasta salads along with a burger off the grill I could not go about the business with catching up with some of my fellow gardeners, including a few I hadn't seen since the barbecue we had in June because many of us have such different schedules. We all had different reports about our vacations, the start of school, and creative projects, but when it came to gardening everyone complained about their tomatoes.As usual, I forgot to take photos until dark, which seemed to arrive too early. As I took out my camera drops from a brief light shower fell on my display, so it went back into my pocket until the main performance by Brian, who had been providing nice background music the whole time, and Joe, who added special lyrics to "The Garden Song." Some of his parody described the realities of gardening, from slugs eating the harvest and emergency runs to the A&P, but I was particularly amused by his lines about being a Steering Committee member that were inspired by his partner's complaints, I mean reports of her activities. Unfortunately, I don't have a decent photo that includes Curtis, who performed the essential task of holding up the sheet of lyrics.

My daughter's best friend in the garden was unavailable and it was too dark to read, so she amused herself with my camera. Her candids of people having a good time came out much better than mine, although the flash was blinding.

And so I've come to the end of this, my 100th post. After all of my dismal reports of rotted tomatoes and rained-out weekends, I found it a happy coincidence to have something positive to cover. I know that a few of my readers have passed this milestone already, given the length and frequency of their blogging, but I'm feeling rather pleased with this accomplishment. There were times in the past fifteen months that I wanted to quit, due to lack of topics, lack of comments, lack of desire to write about lackluster results, and lack of gardening activity in the off-season. But then I look back on how the act of blogging has forced me to get off my butt to really notice the progress of my gardens and learn more about improving my practices and it all seems worthwhile. I don't know if I have another 100 posts in my future, but I appreciate the attention, the comments, and the camaraderie among other gardening bloggers. Thanks for visiting.

Early/Late Benefits of Gardening update

Another rainy Saturday in Boston. The potluck barbecue that the Minton Stable Garden and Stonybrook Neighborhood Association were planning to hold today has been postponed until tomorrow. The JP World's Fair, which was supposed to happen rain or shine, ended up being canceled. So here I am at home hosting a playdate indoors, seems like a good time to get caught up on the blog. Since Monday's post will probably cover the barbecue, I'll break from tradition and tally my harvest today, so this post in one way is early. However, since I had no update last Monday of money saved this post is late.

My harvest seems to be winding down. The cooler temperatures of fall are already here, yet my vegetables still need summer to progress. As a result, many of my pole beans seem to be stuck in an infant state, tomatoes are ripening more slowly, and broccoli side-shoot production is down from last week. My fall snap peas are around 8 inches high and already flowering (actually, that may be due to the warmer temperatures of late August/early September). Temps should be returning to the 70s starting tomorrow, so I haven't lost hope.Earlier this past week one of the neighbors had spotted and reported a garden thief who was helping herself to whatever produce she could grab. When I visited the garden the next day, I couldn't find any tomatoes in my plot ripe enough to harvest, but I doubt the thief was attracted to my plot as there are many redder and more reachable fruits in other plots. On Friday, I found one of these tomatoes in the above photo (excuse the silliness) on the ground, and the other had some rot on the other side. Because the plants had been healthy for most of the summer, I had ruled out late blight, but now I'm starting to notice that the rotted sections on the fruit that look more and more like this fungus. Since I haven't had this problem in other years and the epidemic is so widespread, I now suspect that tomatoes have fallen victim to it as well.

As for tallying the value of last week's and this week's harvest, I took a blighted tomato out of the equation, and the amount of broccoli and cherry tomatoes is negligible. The price of organically-grown tomatoes has come down a little, but green beans remain constant at 99 cents a pound, though in one place they were $1.59.

Previous benefits total: $110.73
1 pound (estimated) of green beans at $0.99/lb.: $0.99
4 pounds (estimated) of tomatoes at $3/lb.: $12.00
New benefits total: $123.72

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$47.85

With less harvesting to do, I have more time to deadhead, as you see below. Fewer flowers hanging over the path, and a little space for the zinnias, which are finally blooming.

The benefits of gardening: Monday harvest tally

The encouraging news of the past week is that two of my tomato varieties, Cosmonaut Volkov and Rose de Berne, have grown with little or no rot or other issues. Some of the fruits are now the size of tennis balls; given the challenges presented by the rainy and unseasonable weather that's no small feat. However, they are still a shade of light green that would be perfectly appropriate if I were growing Granny Smith apples instead.Now to my Cherokee Purples: As you can see from the above photo of Saturday's soggy harvest I had decided not to wait until they reddened some more. I am showing you the more flattering side of these tomatoes. Turn them around or over and you would find soft rot, holes that may have been bored by some unidentified pest, or cracks. Actually, once I cut into one of them I discovered that the damage was not as extensive as I had thought. Hopefully these will stay fresh for another day or two and I can pick a few others to make salsa.

This past Wednesday I harvested the broccoli side shoots that are pictured below. At the farmer's market on Saturday, an organic grower was charging $2.50 for one of those square cardboard containers often used to package cherry tomatoes or berries. I estimate that my yield could fill half of one of those boxes.The pole beans keep coming, more than I had expected. They are still fetching 99 cents a pound, which is about the sum of the two harvests from the past week. As for the price of organically grown tomatoes, I have seen $4.50 a pound and $3 a pound marked down from $5, but I have decided to use the price of $4 reported to me last week by Daphne. Based on the weight of a tomato I purchased on Saturday, I estimate that two of my tomatoes weigh a pound, minus the blighted bits. So, this week's totals are as follows:

Previous benefits total: $100.49
2 pounds of tomatoes (4), at $4/lb.: $8.00
1/2 box of broccoli at $2.50/box: $1.25
1 pound of green beans at $0.99/lb.: $0.99
New benefits total: $110.73

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$60.84

I hope the the Cosmonauts will land by next Monday so I can enjoy them and add them to the tally. Looking ahead, some of my basil, planted late, is now about 6 inches high, and my fall peas appear to have potential.

Monday harvest tally--a mixed bag

I wonder how many gardeners have asked themselves this: Why do our vegetables reach their peak ripeness while we're away? Right before I departed on a weeklong vacation to the land of kudzu and wild rhododendrons, I picked a little over a half pound of perfect pole beans, and since I knew I wouldn't be cooking for at least a few days (or for the entire trip, as it turned out) I left them in the food pantry donation cooler. Having not grown them for a few years, I had forgotten how quickly the harvest progresses once it begins and how one needs to stay on top of it. When I returned this morning with plastic baggies, my eager anticipation turned to disappointment when I parted the leaves and found so many overripe beans, tough pods lumpy with overgrown seeds. I picked them all anyway, though I knew that I'd only be cooking half of them. I added some to an earlier batch I picked about ten days earlier and oven-roasted them with some fingerling potatoes, in olive oil and minced garlic, and will probably stir-fry the remainder using sesame oil. The second method worked well with my bitter-tasting broccoli.Speaking of broccoli, I discovered a few new side shoots of my Fiesta organic variety. I left them on the plants but will definitely harvest them in the next day or so and include them in my next week's harvest tally.Even more distressing than the past-peak pole beans was the discovery of some rot on my Cherokee purple tomatoes, which I had thought were going to pull through with only a little catfacing on the bottoms. I picked these two and placed them on my kitchen windowsill in the hopes that they will finish ripening away from pests and that there may be some salvageable meat in the middle. Most of my other tomatoes are still green and I'm starting to wonder if many of them will stay that way. My volunteer cherries are as hardy as ever, and as you can see in the first photo with the beans, are beginning to turn red, though at this point I have too few to include in my total.

Today in the Harvest Coop I noted that green beans are selling for $0.99 a pound. My question is: if some of my harvest gets composted because it's overripe, can I count it in my total? Many of my strawberries ended up in the bin, so I guess I will include it. Using a not-so-scientific method of weighing a quarter pound of beans in the store and estimating that a sandwich bag full is around a half pound, I figure that I have picked about a pound and a half of pole beans so far.

Previous benefits total: $99.00
1 1/2 pounds of beans at $0.99/lb.: $1.49
New benefits total: $100.49

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$71.08

Okay, if you find this too depressing, keep in mind that the negative number includes a major purchase, and that there's more to come--broccoli, tomatoes I hope, maybe a few more beans, basil, and, quite possibly, a fall crop of snap peas. But if you want to read about some gardens in the black, visit Daphne's Dandelions and check out the other blogs participating in the Monday harvest tally.

Around the Minton Stable Garden

It's been a while since I zoomed out of my own plot, so I spent a little time yesterday focusing on developments in other parts of the community garden. Most members have managed to keep out weeds and stay on top of their harvests. Echinacea, beebalm, phlox, and other perennials provide a variety of colors among all the green, and marigolds stand guard on the edges of many vegetable beds. A few tomatoes have reddened, while zucchini and squash are concealed under their leaves. The vines of pole beans have outgrown their trellises and in some cases begun to latch onto any nearby plants. The skeletal remains of spring peas still hang in some places, but all in all, plants are benefitting from the seasonal conditions that have often seemed the exception more than the rule.At times gardeners find that their yield is much larger than they can enjoy themselves, and if they can't give away the excess, some of it goes to waste. In response to this as well as the needs of many others in our community, the Boston Gardeners' Council has begun a food donation initiative. Once a week, participating gardens collect any unwanted produce, which gets picked up and delivered to the Roxbury Food Pantry. Our system at the MSG involves leaving a cooler out the day before, locking it in the shed overnight and bringing it back out for pickup the next morning. At first the Steering Committee thought that at this point in the season we would not collect enough to warrant a pickup but have found the cooler to be full or near-full of zuchhini, swiss chard, and other goodies that we hope have reached those who would benefit from them.The efforts from previous work days are now evident on the edges of the property. Sunflowers planted by the Dungarven Road fence conceal the chain link from anyone looking out from inside the garden, though as you can see in the above photo, they have lots of company. Meanwhile, along the back near the barbecue area, the raspberries divided and donated by a few members are on their way to a fruitful yield.But some of the most interesting developments lie ahead. At the last Steering Committee meeting, we approved taking steps to restore and redesign a wildflower area over where the Minton Stable barn had once stood, in the southeastern corner of the property. The "Habitat Paddock" would contain wildflowers and native plants that attract butterflies and birds that may also populate neighboring Franklin Park. Although this zone appears to be somewhat established already, with echinacea and flowering weeds that have been spared by the lawn mower, what it really needs is a healthy layer of compost, carefully chosen plantings, and landscaping that works for both the wildlife and the people who would like to safely enjoy and learn from it. A subcommittee and future work days devoted to this project are just the beginning.

An absence of red

One of the growers I encountered this morning at the Roslindale Farmers Market had prepared an informative display about late blight in an effort to explain why there would be no tomatoes or potatoes for sale this year. Perhaps they were getting tired of being asked about the absence of red at their vegetable stand. Although there were some tomatoes available from at least one of the 4-5 growers on hand, most of the vegetables on offer were mainly green, with some white, purple, and orange. The effects of our mostly rainy, dreary summer continue to plague us.Though relieved to have escaped late blight, after a week away, I approached my tomato plants with much trepidation. First I checked what I had growing in containers at home. At the first glance of the green fruit all seems normal. I have come to expect them to be leggier and more behind because of the lack of full sun. I could put the planters on wheels and move them around all day and they would still not benefit from as much light as the ones I have planted in the Minton Stable Garden. But the real test was yet to come.

Like many gardeners, I would feel the bottom of the fruit hoping for a smooth surface, but this year I have had to lower my expectations. In almost every case my fingers would catch something rough or soft, or a hole of some sort. My heart would sink a little as I bent my knees and craned my neck to get a visual assessment, dreading the common condition of blossom end rot. I had never thought I would be relieved to discover a case of catfacing; at least I can cut that part away and enjoy the rest of the tomato. That is, if it ever turns red.My MSG tomatoes are a bit larger, including this Cherokee purple at about four inches across. Normally at this time of year, I'd be harvesting red fruit already and bringing them on a mid-August vacation somewhere, while begging someone to pick whatever becomes ripe while I'm away. Not this season. I'll be lucky if I can make a batch of salsa.Not anticipating any harvest today, I left my bags and containers at home. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a few beans already, and even more broccoli, about a half pound, though it was on the verge of flowering. Unfortunately, there seems to be some rot on the stumps of where I had previously cut off crowns on the other plants. I haven't checked the plants more closely to figure out if it is being caused by mold or some pests; I'll be back tomorrow to have another look. Hopefully it doesn't affect the chances of edible side shoots.I'll end by returning to my not-so-scientific tally of how much I've been earning on my harvest. I won't include the two pole beans until I get more, but all of the broccoli I harvested. At the Farmers Market organic broccoli was selling for $2.50 a pound. Also, I'll have to add to my expenses by including the basil plants my husband picked up to make up for our lack of a fresh supply.

Previous benefits total: $92.75
2 1/2 lbs. of broccoli at $2.50/lb.: $6.25
New benefits total: $99.00

Previous costs total: $167.07
2 basil plants purchased at Farmers Market: $4.50
New costs total: $171.57
Current balance: -$72.57

I'm looking forward to enough pole beans for a side dish and to close the gap a little more. After I finish this post I'll check out some of the other blogs and experience some tomato envy.