DrB Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 I'm up by the lake so it keeps the frost off depending on the winds. Still picking fresh tomatoes. The vines are still green and growing. Unusual year here. Dave.. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.Cicero Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Do you have other stuff you are still harvesting, too? I picked the last of my outdoor tomatoes this week, mostly because I needed to tear up the straw bales that they were growing in, to get to the sweet potatoes that were growing under them (they weren't going to handle the frost we got Thursday night). Still have 9 mater plants growing and covered in green tomatoes in the hoop house. I think I have enough green tomatoes for another batch of green tomato chutney, and maybe a batch of green tomato relish. If I do it before they turn red on the counter, anyway. I don't think I've had tomatoes this late into October before. Definitely not outside. Of course, our first frost was after the 90% date this year, so that would be why. The weather has been bizarre all year long... -30 in the winter, breaking records. Way too much cold and rain in the spring, Not enough heat in the summer, and then no cold/frost into the fall. I have a second crop of peas outside that are blooming right now - this was just an experiment with some leftover seed because I was told it was theoretically possible to get a fall crop... I thought it more likely to get a fall crop in zone 6 rather than 5, but we will see. They'll probably ripen while I'm gone and the DH and the DD will eat them all without me. I'm harvesting the second crop of lettuce (we had some in Mandarin Chicken Salad last night). And the first crop of chard. I didn't try for a second crop of cabbage because I was out of seed and space when I should have planted that. All the radishes are harvested. No one likes them but me because they were so peppery this year. And they grew to the size of parsnips, which is bizarre. Maybe because I planted them in tires this year instead of in the ground. The cukes are done except for one plant in the hoop house that is still trying to produce, even though it has mildew? whatever turns the leaves gray late in the season. The snap and shell beans are done. The potatoes have all been harvested, ditto the sweet potatoes. I've harvested half the turnips, I might leave the rest in the ground with the parsnips for another month just because I have no good place to store them. (Someday, maybe next year or the year after, I'll get the root cellar dug and built). I have carrots up, about 4" high, but the roots are too small to bother with. I don't know if they'll get big enough to eat before the cold gets them or not. The cabbage worms got most of the first crop of kale inside the hoop house. The second crop is outside, about 8" high, and looks good so far... because the stupid worms decided that the turnips were tastier. That's ok, I did harvest the infested tire of turnips yesterday and fed the greens with the worms to the chickens, who loved me for it. And I still have 2 more tires worth that are fine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 (edited) I have one cherry-tomato plant that I just jammed into the cover and it spilled down all over the stone wall. I'd see dozens of green ones and think, "Those will be ready when I get home on friday." Nope. Since fatcat is gone, the chipmunks have gotten all cocky and tomato-hungry. I haven't gotten to eat even one, all this year. It's still covered with green ones. It's still growing flowers. Edited October 19, 2019 by Huaco Kid 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted October 19, 2019 Author Share Posted October 19, 2019 3 hours ago, Mrs.Cicero said: Do you have other stuff you are still harvesting, too? Just lettuce. Was a terrible season here. I got things planted then the flooding rains started and drowned out most everything. My farm fields did not get planted either. Just lucky to get what I did. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.Cicero Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 6 hours ago, DrB said: Just lettuce. Was a terrible season here. I got things planted then the flooding rains started and drowned out most everything. My farm fields did not get planted either. Just lucky to get what I did. Dave We've rented our lower fields out in the past - but not this year... and the farmer that rents the fields adjacent to ours didn't get them planted either, because of all that rain. It was a bad year for corn, and not much better for soybeans. I feel bad for the farmers around here, who actually farm for a living. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 5 hours ago, Mrs.Cicero said: We've rented our lower fields out in the past - but not this year... and the farmer that rents the fields adjacent to ours didn't get them planted either, because of all that rain. It was a bad year for corn, and not much better for soybeans. I feel bad for the farmers around here, who actually farm for a living. Where are you in the state? I have a friend in Nashville that farms about 1000 acres and said he lost his ass this year, but said a friend of his near Harrison did great this year. He sells seeds to the farmers in his area also and said that was not good this year I'm in the metro Detroit area so no farming here lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.Cicero Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 20 hours ago, Mike said: Where are you in the state? I have a friend in Nashville that farms about 1000 acres and said he lost his ass this year, but said a friend of his near Harrison did great this year. He sells seeds to the farmers in his area also and said that was not good this year I'm in the metro Detroit area so no farming here lol. I'm about halfway between Lansing and Jackson, in Tompkins Twp (which no one has heard of unless they are into steam-powered tractors and such). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 On 10/20/2019 at 8:12 PM, Mrs.Cicero said: I'm about halfway between Lansing and Jackson, in Tompkins Twp (which no one has heard of unless they are into steam-powered tractors and such). I've heard of that, an old roommate I hate 30+ years ago was from Rives junction so in his stories I remember that name being mentioned. I think you are about an hour away from my friend in Nashville so you probably had the same weather issues he did. Its weird how that works, like I mentioned before he said another guy he knows did great a few hours north. Well hopefully next year is better for you guys. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.Cicero Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) 19 hours ago, Mike said: I've heard of that, an old roommate I hate 30+ years ago was from Rives junction so in his stories I remember that name being mentioned. I think you are about an hour away from my friend in Nashville so you probably had the same weather issues he did. Its weird how that works, like I mentioned before he said another guy he knows did great a few hours north. Well hopefully next year is better for you guys. LOL - It's a small world - Rives Junction is right next door! Are they still trying to convert neighborhoods in Detroit back to farmland? There was talk about that a couple years ago... Edited October 22, 2019 by Mrs.Cicero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 4 hours ago, Mrs.Cicero said: LOL - It's a small world - Rives Junction is right next door! Are they still trying to convert neighborhoods in Detroit back to farmland? There was talk about that a couple years ago... They were trying to make urban gardens a few years ago, that sort of faded away, I have never heard about making neighborhoods into farm land though. Most of Detroit proper is so contaminated it would take a big clean up for anything to grow I think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 17 hours ago, Mrs.Cicero said: Are they still trying to convert neighborhoods in Detroit back to farmland? There was talk about that a couple years ago... Then someone figured out that would take effort and actual work. Much easier to just drive the Escalade to the food bank several times each week and have someone load up the back for you. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moshe Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Raised bed gardens are nice. I know how to build them effectively, I just can't build them these days which irritates,the absolute heck out of me. It is a lot of work, but it can be made safe from weeds, burrowing critters, and deer, and still be easy to use. I like raising my own food, catching or hunting it. My wife decided to purchase commercial chicken a week or so, which I didn't like. It made everyone sick. I have never got sick off my birds, and they taste a lot better. More and more I don't trust anything in the commercial market. It is about money, not safety. Yes, it costs more to grow your own food. However, it is better for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy tom Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 OP, today my wife picked some tomatoes. The end must be coming soon. tom. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 On 10/24/2019 at 2:42 PM, deputy tom said: OP, today my wife picked some tomatoes. The end must be coming soon. tom. Cool, I just picked 10 more here today, up by the Lake in OH.. If the weather stays warm here for a few more days, there will be more. Dave.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 I came home today, with no tomatoes and half the plants eaten off. Might be deer. /grinnies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 35 minutes ago, Huaco Kid said: I came home today, with no tomatoes and half the plants eaten off. Might be deer. /grinnies They will do that. I have a guy and his daughter hunting bambi and her friends right now. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 And I have two trinidad-scorpion plants (from five year-old seeds, which should have never grown) (and they didn't even flower this year), and something chewed them to nubs. ******* grinnies. Or the deer. I hope it takes them a week to ptew-ptew the hot out of their faces. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 15 minutes ago, Huaco Kid said: And I have two trinidad-scorpion plants (from five year-old seeds, which should have never grown) (and they didn't even flower this year), and something chewed them to nubs. ******* grinnies. Or the deer. I hope it takes them a week to ptew-ptew the hot out of their faces. I'm telling you Bambi and her friends are not your friends. Hire some hit men to end it all. Nuff said.. Dave.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.Cicero Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Well, we had a hard frost last night, so I decided not to let the maters in the hoop house go any longer (I'm skipping town in a week, and no one will want to work in the gardens while I'm gone (read that as "no one will work on the garden in cold weather if I'm not standing over them with a whip and a gun"). I brought in another kitty litter bucket full to the brim of green tomatoes, so now I really have no excuse not to can the green tomato chutney. I also harvested the day lily tubers (only enough for one meal), and all the rest of the Chile and Thai peppers. The fall crop of peas in the outside garden actually has a few peas, but if this is all I'm going to get, it isn't worth the effort. I'll pull the rest of the beets and turnips tomorrow if it doesn't rain again. I think I'll leave the parsnips in the ground until I get back. I need to dig up some horseradish before the ground freezes, too. The DH and a friend of his from work hunted the lower fields despite the rain this afternoon, but they gave up early when it started pouring, so I'm still waiting for my venison steak... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted October 27, 2019 Author Share Posted October 27, 2019 18 hours ago, Mrs.Cicero said: The DH and a friend of his from work hunted the lower fields despite the rain this afternoon, but they gave up early when it started pouring, so I'm still waiting for my venison steak... The folks who hunt here have been down several times. They have seen some but none close enough for bow.. Usually they get several.. Still picking a few tomatoes and my lettuce is looking good with the cooler weather. Sent tomatoes home with my mom when they came up today. 58 deg. here right now... Dave. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 On 10/25/2019 at 10:25 PM, DrB said: I'm telling you Bambi and her friends are not your friends. Hire some hit men to end it all. Nuff said.. Came home after dark on Friday. Pepper plants were chewed down to 1" stalks. One pot was knocked off the wall and stomped into pieces. The tomato plant, which had turned into a huge sprawling life-form had been smashed to pieces and no 'maters left, red or green. Might have been a giant violent chipmunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 November 2nd. frost hit them last night. Going to pick the green ones underneath and pull the plants. Lasted a long season though. Dave.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy tom Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 6 minutes ago, DrB said: November 2nd. frost hit them last night. Going to pick the green ones underneath and pull the plants. Lasted a long season though. Dave.. Me too. tom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramjet38 Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 I love fried green tomatos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 6 minutes ago, Ramjet38 said: I love fried green tomatos. I'm up for that, perhaps tomorrow night.. Dave.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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