What's growing on....

Ok... I started this earlier in the week but its been a busy with getting the kids ready for school but anyway... here it is. 

Asparagus- You can see the asparagus ferns peaking out of this wild overgrown area of my yard... I put them there because I had no where else to put them. I think I have found them a home. So hopefully I can move then soon.

Sunchokes- So I think the deer have been eating the tops off this plant. The plant does not seem to mind and is growing as vigorous as ever and since I am interested in the tubers underground I don't mind either. 

Okra- This millionaire (F1) okra has been doing great this year. I am not keeping on top of the pods as quickly as I should but luckily they don't get fibrous until they are really huge so its ok. I may grow this one side by side against Clemson spineless next year to see which one I like better.

Small sized tomatoes- My cherry and grape tomato plants did outstanding this year. They are so consistent and reliable even with the odd summer we had (with repeated nights down to 50 degrees). I think for this reason I may add back a dark cherry plant next year, I have my eye on this one. (This also means I need to drop one of my large tomato plants). 

Large Tomatoes- Its been an odd summer for these guys. They have been coming down with fungal diseases earlier than they should  likely because of the cooler nights. I have had to ripen them indoors (which my husband hates) but I've also had to toss quite a few as well. I think next year I need to have a more regimented antifungal regimen The Opalka in the picture below has not ripened yet (in all fairness it did have a rough start).

Cantaloupe- I made the mistake of trying to trellis this plant but ended up taking the whole thing down when the fruit came in. Anyway, these fruit should have ripened by now but are really taking their merry time about it. I am hoping the weather stays warm so these guys can ripen before the frost hits.

Cucumbers- These did great this year.... and are still growing strong. At one point I told my kids that we have to finish one cucumber a day to keep up with these plants.

 
Watermelon- I learned so much about this plant this year. First they need MASSIVE vines in order to fruit. I gave one plant about 3ft by 4 ft of space and boy was it not satisfied with that. It ended up growing UP and OUT of the fence. So now I have this one watermelon growing about 4 ft off the ground (in the picture below) and one growing outside the fence (in the picture to the right underneath the mass of  vines). I really didn't want to have to figure out how to support a watermelon on a trellis but I guess I am going to have to.  Lets hope that this one stays small. Next year I want to grow a more compact variety. I'd rather not grow them altogether but my kids LOVE watermelon so I need to figure this out. 

  

Nasturtiums- I have been eating these flowers all summer long... love them. Yes I am turning into my parents... when I was little I thought they were a bit nutty for eating these flowers. Now I love them :)

Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Pepper- Early in the summer my son picked the leaves off this plant thinking it was the stevia plant. It took a while for this guy to recover and is just now starting to  flower/fruit. A bit late, yes, I know but I am growing this one to keep year round so I am ok with that.

Stevia- Great year for this plant! May try making stevia extract this year.

Pumpkin- I pruned this one down to one vine which has 3 pumpkins on it, two of which are already ripened. I am wondering whether I should take them off or let them stay on till Halloween.

Curry Leaf Plant- This one is chugging right along. I am wondering how well it is going to take to being transplanted when the fall hits.

Golden Anne Raspberry- These guys are filled with fruit getting ready to ripen, just in time for school to start. Hoping that I can regularly send raspberries to school for snack or lunch. 

Mukunuwenna- This is one of two Sri Lankan "greens" that a friend of mine gave me. It was just transplanted so its leaves don't look very full but this one has been growing well and sending out runners like crazy.  

Gotu Kola- This is the other Sri Lankan "green", like the mukunuwenna it has also been growing well and sending out runners. I hope I don't kill them over the winter. I've given them nice big pots so lets see what happens.

Blueberries- I've moved all my young blueberry plants into this row with the mature ones. My focus now that they are finishing up is to strengthen the plants for next year. 

Turmeric- I am having fun growing this one. I am wondering how well it will do in the winter when I bring it in. I was hoping it would be a bit bigger and stronger but oh well.

Lemongrass- Do you remember the plant I talked about in this post? Well this is what it looks like today... need I say more!

Ginger- I was also hoping this one would be bigger by now... oh well the season isn't over yet. I am also hoping to keep part of this plant growing over the winter too.

What's growing on....

Second try at a lime plant... first one died over the winter... this one is a dwarf beers lime...

Blueberry bushes .. this year I have put up bird netting...

The hardy kiwi and golden ann raspberry plants have grown out of control...not sure if you can see the sage, oregano and chives that are fighting to get some light... I transplanted the chives out of here after this photo was taken. Oregano and sage are holding their own.

Slowly but surely I am getting the kiwis trellised properly....

Garlics started producing scapes... Chinese pinks were first to scape they should be ready soon. (Is scape a verb? Well now it is)

Spinach, arugula and cilantro in my square foot garden....

I let this volunteer pumpkin go... its not vining like I would have thought.. its massive though...

This is a pumpkin volunteer that I transplanted... its not growing as well but it is flowering!!

My chilli plant from last year is happy to be back in the ground.

I got this creeping thyme on clearance last year... its flowering :)

Sunchoke!! Found these tubers at Wegmans.

My crazy onion/leek garden.. onions are not flowering this year (thats a good thing)

My new garden space.. this is for those veggies that I want to keep away from the wildlife in my yard (okra, melons, cukes, tomatoes) My yard backs into a forrest so wildlife pressure is pretty high.

Of course the first tomato to fruit is my sungold!!

Bit of a late start to my cantelope...

My eggplant from last year is happy to be back in the ground and is flowering :)

Trying a different okra variety this year... "millionaire" from Johnny's select seed.

Trying my hand at leeks... instead of hilling these (to blanch the stalk) I buried these more than 6 inches underground.

Finally figured out how to grow cilantro from seed!

Mint

Nasturtium

Lemon grass is happy to be back in the ground:)

I am trying ginger this year... in my climate I should be growing this in a pot but I am bad with pots so I am going to try transplanting this to a pot in the fall.

Chamomile is chugging along... I need to figure out how to make this into tea.

My mystery raspberry plant is fruiting... I will know soon enough if it is a black jewel raspberry or red killarney raspberry.

One plant that is noticably missing are my cukes... they did not take to well to being transplanted this year... I am doctoring the first set of transplants and have reseeded a second set. Lets see how it goes.

Favorite Plant Friday: Lemon grass

This is a post from last year where I was rooting the lemon grass stalk in plain water.

Below is a picture from last August when it was in the ground and the two stalks now have been grown considerably and the plant leaves were 3-4 feet tall. It is a beautiful plant.  (I wish I had a pic of the full plant).

Inspiration for growing this plant: I use the stalks in my Sri Lankan recipes and Ivette Soler talks about using lemon grass as a "ornamental grass" in her book the Edible Front Yard which I talk about here.

What do I love about this plant: It is like the energizer bunny it just keeps going and going. I've cut down the leaves a few times for "chai" (i.e. Indian spiced tea) but they are still growing. I can't wait to plant this back into the ground and see if it will take off again.

Growing tips: 
There are two types of lemon grass one grows easily from seed (I don't know if it has much of a stalk). This is the other type which I propagated from the stalk.

 Don't throw out this plant at the end of the summer season. I dug up one stalk and replanted it inside and it may not look huge but its growing strong.  I can't wait to plant it outside this summer.


Source:  Lemon grass stalks purchased from Wegmans