The irony isn’t lost on me that summer signifies when fruits are thickest on the vine, but human’s are thinnest on their time. The clashing of two desires:
- 1) I want to spend time learning how to garden and blog about it
- 2) I want to take advantage of Portland summers and do alllll the activities
The average person would try to figure out how to balance both priorities, with hopes to moderately succeed at both. Me on the other hand … well … ok, I’m average. So, I’m trying to figure out how to balance both priorities, with hopes to moderately succeed at both. Go figure.
The reality is, I’m experiencing first hand the power of what happens to new gardeners when they becomes overzealous with particular crop goals. I knew this moment would come. We grow up so fast 😢
Since my post last month summing up my trellising, two months have now passed since I last updated anything about the contents of 63P. Two months is a long time in the world of growing. This post is especially intimidating to jot down, becuase it’s not just the jungle of foliage above that begs explanation, but also the jungle of photos that require sifting through to convey everything that’s happened. Two months worth of crop pictures start to blur together like the leaves in a jungle of foliage. Nonetheless, I will attempt to catch you up to speed since the last blog post about crops titled Culture Shock that I posted in mid-June.
Since a considerable amount of time has passed, the format I’m choosing to update you, dear reader, is going to be through a very thorough, scientific and proprietary grading process. A process I’m calling; I Was Being Sarcastic These Are Arbitrary Grades Process. Buckle in, because some of these updates … may shock you. puts on dark glasses
Cabbage: B+
A few crops so far this season have endured a roller coaster on the physical (and likely emotional if they have emotions) spectrum. Cabbage was one of them. The seedlings started off like the strong healthy adolescents that they were expected to become. Then, they simultaneously underwent a period of paused growth, and a period of greater general sickly-ness, followed by a catapult of growth after fertilizer amendments helped resuscitate them.
The green Primax variety matured first, but the purple Amarant variety grew the largest clocking in around 5 ounces more than the Primax head. Both heads ended up near 2 lbs. I’m knocking them from an A grade for how long they took to grow (likely the soils fault) but bumping them to a B+ for their resiliency. I’ll be growing additional heads this fall to compare sow-to-harvest times and head size later on this year.
I gave the purple head the job to garnish fish tacos. It was a hit!
Carrots: C+
I’ve grown carrots for two years now, and both times I’ve been … whelmed. It’s hard to ignore the healthy-looking lush and leafy greens as an indicator of how things are doing under the soil surface. These are your basic Danver variety carrots, and while the size is ok, many of the larger ones unfortunately split.
My research indicates that splitting is often due to fluctuating moisture levels, so next time carrots are grown, the plan is to do a little A/B test to experiment with different watering amounts & cadences between two groups.
The carrots receive a C+ due to their ‘meh’ size and their splitting, but the plus was given for flavor. We ended up roasting these carrots, and Morgan and I both agreed that they were super flavorful which is not something we usually think about when eating carrots. Carrots are usually an afterthought when roasted with other hardy veggies, but these stole the show for a couple meals.
Lettuces: A-
It’s hard for lettuce to really go wrong. Best case scenario lettuce is harvested for a long time before it bolts. Worst case scenario lettuce is harvested for a shorter time before it bolts. Either way, lettuce arrives. Pictured here are the romaines, butter and red leaf lettuces. This was the first crop I’ve grown partially via my own harvested seeds from last year. That felt rewarding to complete a full self-contained lifecycle of growing, seed-harvesting and growing again. The best lettuce performer goes to the Parris Island romaine variety which grew the fastest, thickest and was the last to start bolting.
The greens gets a grade of A for producing a large amount and enduring some of the early summer heat waves while resisting the urge to bolt. The minus is because I can’t simply just hand out As and A+s willy-nilly unless I’m BLOWN AWAY ok? Rest assured, an A+ is coming. Lettuce continue.
Summer Squash: A
If I’ve learned one thing, two squash plants is more than plenty for a household of two people. The Goldini 2 variety bred by Carol Deppe has been a heavy producer with vigorous and early growth, and continues to produce. What struck me about this variety is that it’s good for drying which is something I plan on doing with the remaining fruits it produces. The Black Beauty zucchini is also a great producer, but Goldini 2 even puts it to shame.
One of the interesting things about Goldini 2 is that it’s actually preferable to pick it when it’s larger. I also love the ribbed texture and bright yellow color which is a lot easier to spot in the garden. The Black Beauty fruit is more camouflaged and as a result I missed a couple that grew way too large for consumption. I may keep this in mind when growing summer squash again.
Summer squash get’s a solid A for great output and because it did just fine in the bad soil with no stunted growth periods.
Onions: F+
And the Razzy award goes to …. Onions. Cue a sad trombone. It pains me to even write about these with how high my hopes were originally. The onions & shallots were the big losers this year (so far). It will be hard for another crop to out-loser these mega losers. This is especially unfortunate after spending most of late winter and early spring coddling 60+ onion starts in the garage from February well into April.
If you add up all the onion harvest and combined every tiny little onion together, you might … just might end up with a full mid-sized onion, and that’s being generous. There are a few things I will do differently next time. First off, I will space them slightly further apart. Secondly, I will do perform another A/B test with different watering cadences similar to next year’s carrot experiment. The soil will be amended further this fall and next spring with compost and special fertilizers (dedicated blog post on that later), so fingers crossed results will be different.
I was especially hopeful for an onion harvest because it’s another vegetable that, when properly cured, can last a long time into fall and winter for consumption. Oh well. I guess onions will be added to the grocery list for the foreseeable future. I gave it an F PLUS because at least they didn’t die and we got to make a couple shish kabobs with them. Thanks little guys!
Cucumbers: A-
Cucumbers are the only crop I’ve grown all three years I’ve been gardening, so I like to think of them as my ‘elder’ crop. Every year they produce, but this year dare I say they’ve been prolific! Similar to the squash, they are currently still producing so it’s not fair to say they are done doing their thing.
This variety, Morden’s Early Pickling cucumber was planted just for that reason. Pickling. Safe to say I’m having fun iterating on making pickles like I did last year.
Some interesting insights into the pickles. The leaves tend to yellow and give into blight more than other foliage, but it hasn’t seemed to affect cucumber output much at all. I will give a minus grade just for the disGUSTING brown and yellow coloration I HAVE to DEAL with LOOKing at which SCARS my EYES.
Outside of that, I’ve enjoyed making jars of pickles and sharing them with friends and family. That’s mainly why I continue to grow cucumbers, and this Canadian variety does very well serving that purpose. I’ll probably grow them next year, but in a more vertical manner rather than the sprawl they’ve been accustomed to enjoying this season.
Potatoes: C-
Potatoes were another one of the crops I was most excited for, but unfortunately they didn’t do very well, clocking in with my only grade in the C. Remember, these grades aren’t entirely tied to crop performance. They’re also grades for me and how I was able to care for them.
I thought potatoes were not very picky, and judging from the foliage I thought they were thriving. However, similar to the Danver carrots, I’m reminded that green tops mean nothing as to what’s happening underground.
All three varieties; Rasberry, Yukon Gold and Red Norland DID produce, just not nearly as much as was envisioned. Since all three produced lackluster harvests, ultimately that signifies that the finger should be pointed … at me the grower. I’m left to ponder what could have happened differently; watering cadence, soil fertility and/or harvesting too early pop to mind. What really drops the grade on the potatoes is most of them aren’t even storable, which was my grand plan.
As you can see above, many of the potatoes, Yukon Gold in particular, have started to sprout already. This was not the plaaaan maaaan. Still edible after cutting off the bad bits, but I had high hopes of storing these to eat long into autumn.
Next year I’ll probably experiment with growing potatoes similar to carrots in order to hone in watering techniques. Hopefully that, combined with better soil fertility will yield better results. All in all, I give potatoes a grade below “C” level (see what I did there?). Or maybe I should say below soil level. Keep your eyes peeled for more cheesy quips. Ok these jokes are getting too deep.
Winter Squash: A
Pro tip: When encouraging other new gardeners, suggest that they grow winter squash. They are fairly easy crops to grow, they produce a LOT of fruit, often in big and exciting shapes, they can be cured and stored for a long time and they’re fun to spelunck for when rummaging about the jungle of foliage. I guess looking back on this paragraph, DON’T recommend winter squash to new gardeners if they don’t have a lot of space …
Pictured above are but a few of the fruiting Kobasha (Blue Kuri), Acorn (Golden Pippin), and Butternut (Early Remix). Thus far there are approximately 3 Kobasha growing, 15-20 Acorn and 15-20 Butternut, some of which are already absolutely massive.
Nothing has been harvested yet, but expect a dedicated squash post with me posing above a litany of massive squashes, like cops looming over a large drug bust.
As freely as these red-blooded American squash have grown about the premises, they don’t come entirely free of cost. They come with the expense of needing a map and compass to navigate through plot 63P any time I visit, as the foliage has completely overtaken anything that used to resemble garden beds. I have no choice now but to leave them be as they’ve entangled themselves everywhere and engulfed on any square footage of their choosing. My only hope at this point is that they start to ripen soon so I can start harvesting the dang things.
Every vining plant I’ve planted in the plot is yet another reminder that the time I spent remodeling the plot in the early spring will be time I dedicate in next year’s early spring to thoughtfully building proper vertical trellis systems. The jungle these plants have created (and have earned the title of this post) have knocked them down from an A+ to an A grade. That elusive A+ remains … you’ll have to read on to find out who won that prize 👀
Tomatoes: TBD-
I know I know. It’s a cop out to not give an actual grade, but I feel bad giving a grade to a crop’s journey that’s just begun the fruiting process. The above ‘how it’s going’ was actually taken a couple weeks ago, so here are some more recent pictures:
Tomatoes are just coming into their prime. Morgan and I have snuck a few off the vines for snacking, but it’s looking like tons of new ones are ready to start popping off. The variety that’s lingering (not shown) is the Chocolate Cherries, which I grew last year. I seem to remember from last year that they were late to the ripening game, so perhaps that’s just how they work. In any case, the Sweeties (pole) and Glaciers (bush) are new to the garden this year.
Morgan loves the Sun Gold cherry tomatoes and grew them in our yard last year. I also grew them in my plot last year, so it’s safe to say they will probably remain a staple of the household unless a “Sun Gold 2: Electric Bugaloo” variety becomes popular enough to upend their spot on the food chain.
One final note about the tomatoes – I initially thought it would be clever to grow basil in-between the tomato varieties. HA! There was quickly no room. Basil did grow here (I spy in the ‘how it’s going’ picture above), but not well and was choked out pretty quickly. The lesson I’m learning with companion planting is that it matters less to me whether two types of plants complement each other if there’s not enough room for them to coexist in the first place!
If you look closely, the grade for tomatoes isn’t quite “TBD”, it’s “TBD-“. That’s right. I’ve already marked them down for nothing other than their own strength, Let me portray what I mean in pictures:
If you remember my last post, it was all about trellising. Well, that post has aged … poorly. That’s fine. It’s all about the information gained along the way, right? In this example, I’ve learned that bamboo (in the manner architected here) is not indestructible and has thresholds like anything else. That gave me an opportunity to bring in the BIG GUN! Enter: the SUNFLOWER of POWER. Pictured on the right is a culled and cured sunflower stalk from a volunteer sunflower that grew in my plot last year. I’m pretty sure this thing would survive a nuclear blast without bending whatsoever. This nature-created I-beam will be staying in my collection for a long time. Take that, tomato trellis.
Beans: TBD–
Gotcha again! With another non-grade, I wouldn’t blame you for heavily rolling your eyes, yelling some expletives, throwing your digital device at a wall and shaking your fists at the sky yelling “WHY AARON, WHY WOULD YOU GIVE A NON-GRADE TWICE IN A ROW!”. Short answer – because I can and it’s a free country. Nanner nanner naaaaanner.
Long answer – beans are just now starting to mature like the tomatoes. Ok that was also a pretty short answer.
The above pictures represent the two categories of beans I’m experimenting with; dry beans and snap beans. Beans have like a dozen names that all mean the same thing so I’m going with ‘dry’ (cure for dry storage to eat later) and ‘snap’ (pick and cook fairly quickly).
The only bean pictured here that I’ve grown before is the solid purple variety, which previously produced a dump truck load of beans. However, last year’s were planted in-ground while this year’s were planted in raised beds (with poor soil), so the verdict is out on how yields will compare.
The rest of the beans are coming into their crazy colorful forms. A refresher on what these beans are and how they differ can be found in my ‘No Vacancy’ post. I’m really not sure what pod contains what bean as I’ve forgotten which ones I planted where. Therefore we’ll find out together once they all dry out and are harvested later this season.
I’m giving this 2nd ‘TBD’ grade a DOUBLE-MINUS because, like the tomatoes, well … let me just portray through another set of pictures:
Yet another homemade bamboo trellis concoction succumbing to the weight of life. Only this time I didn’t have a spare sunflower stalk lying around. I had to travel to visit my old friend Mr. Home D Poe to pick up a metal rod. I wasn’t about to let it collapse again.
Except it did.
I didn’t take another picture because, well let’s just say I wasn’t in the healthiest headspace when I discovered all the beans on the ground again a couple weeks later. This was no fault of the metal rod, but rather it was the fault of the lashed twine on the bamboo tripod which had snapped under the weight, causing the tripod to break apart. Technically it’s all my fault, but I’d rather point blame at inanimate objects. I reinforced the lashing with heavier duty string instead of twine.
Just like the tomatoes, I’m choosing to focus on the good news. I’m discovering all the weak points in my first go at homemade trellising. It’s actually been pretty eye-opening as to what’s possible and what’s not (thus far anyway). There are probably better ways to support bamboo crossbeams, better ways to lash, etc. and I’m learning the limitations. Knowledge is power people.
Since the bean trellis collapsed twice, I’m giving it a double-minus.
Cantaloupe: A+
Huzzah! The beloved Charentais Super Précoce Du Roc Melon lives! Three cheers for cantaloupe! Hip-hip Précoce! Hip-hip Précoce! Hip-hip Précoce!
In the world’s largest turn of events, our melon plant came back from the dead. It was so dead in fact that I just left it to whither and die. One day, shockingly, I noticed the tiniest bit of new green growth, so I started watering and fertilizing it again. Lo and behold, it sprung to life. My best guess is that it needed a higher soil temperature, but more experience is necessary to support that claim.
This is still my personal flagship Crop of the Year, and now with a comeback story for the ages, there’s likely no unseating it from the throne. Granted, I’ve yet to actually TASTE the stuff yet, but the placebo effect of my rose-colored narration of it’s life will weigh heavily on my mind and likely convince me it’s the greatest thing I’ll have ever tasted.
There are over 10 melons fruiting on the vine which is well beyond what I had expected. None have been picked yet but I think they’re getting close. Harvesting Charentais varieties can be tricky because they don’t have the same signs of ripeness that larger melons do. For instance, the fruit doesn’t start separating from the vine and color changes are subtle. Signs like whithering tendrils, slight hue differences, etc. are all one has to go off of (aside from experience). It will probably require some trial and error to harvest at the proper time but hey, I’ve got 10ish attempts at it. The anxiety though is still palpable based on what I’ve read about how melons have a notoriously short harvest window between being under-ripe and over-ripe.
In any case, we end with our final score. An A+ with infinite gold stars. Who cares if the melons haven’t been harvested nor tasted. The A+ is for the storyline, and partially for me with the grand foresight to not snip it with scissors to plant something else in it’s place. pats self on back for existing
I leave you here, with a visual reminder of the first picture in this lengthy post, with me back in the jungle. In the jungle I anticipate remaining for a few more weeks at least.
Be well. Be strong. Be all you can be. We’ll meet again in the future.
-AA
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