Here’s a quick update on the garden. I’m very excited to report that as of today, my cumulative harvest exceeds 50 pounds! That’s on a total investment of $15.05. So assuming I don’t spend any more money, which I don’t plan on doing, my current cost per pound is about thirty cents. Assuming I reach or exceed my goal for the summer of 100 pounds of harvested veggies, I’ll be looking at a cost per pound of fifteen cents! Now that’s my kind of price! Not to mention the unbeatable taste of organic food, fresh from the garden.
On the downside, my cukes are starting to show signs of decline. The cucumber beetles have done their damage, causing bacterial wilt on some of my plants. At this point, I don’t plant on trying to save them because once the plant is infected, there is little else to do. But on the upside, I have lots of tomatoes forming on six of my eight plants. The other two are a new variety and the flowers develop but then nothing comes of them. Oh well, that’s part of why I love gardening so much. Nothing is predictable!
I know I’m due for another video so I promise to have that out by the end of the weekend. Frankly, there hasn’t been much new going on so I haven’t felt the compulsion to crank out a video that isn’t telling you anything you haven’t already heard. But I am going to update you on how the garden looks now and let you know about my fertilization and show you how I’m securing my massive tomato plants.
That’s all for now. Thanks for checking in!
JL
p.s. Pictured: 'lemon' cucumbers in foreground, 'green finger' cukes on left, tomatoes, squash and pole beans. Dinner was excellent!
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
Hey Jeph, thanks for the totally great update on your garden. I feel like you just took me on a personal tour of your trials and tribulations. And speaking of that, I hate to hear about your mystery bite. Anyone ever figure out what it was? Wonder if it was a “wheel bug” like the one I posted on my blog recently. I read that they can pack a nasty punch and cause symptoms similar to what you experienced. They’re common but not often seen.
Sorry to hear about your tomatoes! It does sound like late blight, especially with it hitting the NE so quickly. What a bummer!!! I agree, I would have thought they drowned with all the rain but more likely you’ve called it correctly. Hopefully the rest of your garden will thrive and you’ll have lots of pumpkins to share by halloween.
The peppers you sent me are thriving and the squash was delicious. I got great reviews from every one that was lucky enough to have some. I think you sent the Black Krim tomato seeds too. Just harvested our first two yesterday and they were beauties! Thanks again for contributing so much to my garden.
Keep me posted on the recovery of you and your garden. It was great hearing from you and the update.
Joe & Co,
It’s either excitement or disappointment here in NE Ohio.
My tomato plants still haven’t started cranking out lots of ripe tomatoes this year – just a handful of cherry/pears, and only a couple standard sized tomatoes. Half or more of my plants wilted last week and are now dying – I thought it was the heavy rains at first, but it seems to be the late blight has found it’s way to my garden.
I got bit on the right calf by something while picking green beans this past Saturday, and have had two dr’s visits, a tetanus shot, steroids and antibiotics since. The highest my fever hit was 102.1 Saturday nite, when I also had uncontrollable chills/shivers. There were a few days where it HUUUURT to walk/stand on it, but now most of the swelling/redness is down. Remember – these healthy gardens can be dangerous! 😉
My pumpkins have been LOOOOVING the damp weather – they seem to be swelling up with all the water.
Green beans are doing great, even though I’m still finding japanese beetles everywhere.
Cucumbers are mostly dead already thanks to whatever cuke beetles I didn’t manage to kill. I’m wondering if it’s worth trying to start again, or if it’s too late. Oh, and I see baby squash bugs in my pumpkins and squash – I THOUGHT I got every adult and egg, but some slipped past. I’m ready to dig out the old container of Sevin!!
Most of my peppers are doing GREAT this year – better than any previous year. They’re not ripening yet, and some of the scorching hot tropical ones haven’t even set fruit, but the more common sweet and hot ones are LOADED with fruit.
And after this year, I’ll definitely be growing leeks again – they’re wonderful!
My corn stalks may be few (lost most of them to spring floods), but wow, those that I do still have are taller than me, loaded with tassles, and are forming ears – VERY exciting!
I have to remind myself that this being a total loss of a year for tomatoes DOESN’T mean the whole garden is a failure…
Wow! 15 cents a pound! That’s incredible. And your crops look beautiful.
Per my psycho tracking (http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AmMXdbTFn9BGcC1NbzB0Rk4wdU9pOUVYSmd2YVU1ZHc&hl=en) this year, I’ve only gotten it down to $1.32/lb. But that’s OK – I didn’t limit myself on spending, just wanted to see what my average yearly garden would reap and make sure that I got more out of it (dollar wise) than I put in. Which I most certainly do.
Not to mention all the “free” labor I put in to it that I reap in general enjoyment, of course.
So, have you been out there trying to crush those cucumber beetles? I lost my mind a little a few years ago trying to eradicate the garden. That’s a fun sport, beetle-crushing.
Hi Margaret. Thanks a lot for you comments about my blog. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such a nice comment.
Hope to see you again soon.
Best,
Joe
Verab: I will definitely post pics and video of my fall garden progress. And now that everything is in place, cost will likely only be what I need for seeds.
Joe, please post videos and pictures of your Fall garden as well. I’ve really enjoyed seeing what you’re doing, seeing the progress and picking up tips and techniques. We won’t hold you to the $25 for the Fall. 🙂
Hi Kathi. Thanks for your encouraging words. Gardeners are good for that. We all need each other sometimes to keep going, especially when faced with all the challenges like you have had lately. Glad you’re enjoying the books too. I’m about to start seeds for my fall garden. Must-haves should include: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, and if you like leafy greens, turnips, kale and collards. All do well in cooler weather. Good luck and keep me posted on your success.
Joe, I SO enjoyed meeting you at the Blue Ridge seminar at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest last weekend. Your talks encouraged me out of the funk I was in about my garden because of loss due to crazy weather, squash bugs (I tried to keep them at bay, but…), mama and Bambi making a bed in the midst of my tomato plants — you name it! But I’ve been out there getting the soil composted in new areas and am preparing for some late crops. Any favorites to suggest? Love your books, too. I’m taking your advice on saving water. Thanks.
Sorry to hear about your cucumbers Joe. We had a bad crop last year due to the same pest that’s hit your plants. Luckily, we’re making up for the loss this year with a bountiful harvest. My wife has already made a dozen or more jars of pickles.
Thanks Amy. I think normally I would not be so anal about weighing my harvests but in this case, it’s paramount to demonstrating how much food value can really come from such a small budget and garden. It really will provide the justification for the efforts to keep cost down.
And regarding the cukes, we’ve had a bounty so far so I feel like even if we didn’t harvest another one, we were very successful with them this year.
Beautiful picture! I am happy that your garden is producing so well, and really impressed that you’ve kept up with weighing your veggies. I think every year that I am going to keep track of what the yard produces, but it never seems to happen.
Sorry about the cucumber wilt problem, but it is definitely the time of year for it. My neighbor up the street has already had to pull her plants up. I assume mine will be following along, soon.
Thanks for the update!
Amy, NW of Atlanta
Hi Deborah. Gosh, I know what you mean about the cucumbers! I can’t seem to give them away fast enough. Even though my daughter eats them like candy (nice!), every time I look in the refrigerator, I think those guys are up to no good since they appear to be multiplying in the veggie bin!
Stay on top of those bean beetles or maybe cucumber beetles and you may be having cucumber omelets!
Thanks for checking in.
JL
That’s an incredible return on your investment! Especially considering the cost of tomatoes this summer ($2.40/lb. at my local farm stand and likely to rise if late blight hits hard here in Maryland).
I’ve been picking and squishing Mexican Bean Beetles and their fuzzy yellow larvae off my cucumbers, and so far they are still producing nicely. I’m going to try to keep them going as long as possible, mainly for the pure challenge of it (since my family is quite sick of cucumber salad, cucumber sandwiches and tzatzki by now!) Usually at this point in the summer, my cucumber plants have already succumbed to wilt, so I’m ahead of the game.
Congratulations! How nice that after your early struggles, your garden is producing so nicely.
Rose, hang in there. We gardeners are forced to be patient optimists, aren’t we? I think that’s a lesson everyone could stand to learn.
Beautiful harvests! My garden is still struggling to catch up from the cool, damp spring … and is gaining ground! And I’m holding a good thought as I brew my green manure!
Thanks Verab. I wouldn’t worry about not having ripe heirlooms to share this weekend. I bet you won’t be the only one still waiting on their babies to turn red! But when they do, you can drive to Mount Airy and we can have our own little Tomatopalooza!
Joe, everything in the picture is so pretty!
Raleigh is having their annual Tomatopalooza this weekend. Everyone who attends is encouraged to bring a few heirloom tomatoes that they’ve grown. The tomatoes are cut up and everyone samples the tomatoes. I’ve never attended this event before, but I was hoping to attend this year. The only problem is: I doubt that I’ll have any ripe heirlooms by this weekend. All of my tomatoes are still green. 🙁