A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Victory Garden Harvest

I'm beginning to get a harvest out of my puny ( :ding:but much loved :ding:) very first garden ever!!! It's not gonna end world hunger or anything but I'm pretty stoked to get anything at all on my first try!

I failed miserably on tomatoes (still lots of flowers and no maters), and my cucumbers and zuchini are slow going (none harvested yet). I'm not giving up on them but I'm also not holding my breath! Potatos are doing well but not ready for harvest yet.

However I'm very proud to report that I have almost a dozen watermelons (two kinds)some of which will be ready to pick anyday!!! I've been getting handful after handful of jalapenos and that little plant just keeps going to town!! I used up all my cilantro so I planted a second crop of that and it's pickable now too! Also some awesome leaf lettuce that's finally useable (after two failed atempts to grow head lettuce). So happy harvest everyone!!

In honor of the 4th I'm calling my little veggie patch an old fashioned Victory Garden!

What are you harvesting right now???

Congrats Fairy!!! Mom and Dad always said your hard work would pay off!! Send me up one of those melons!!

I am still waiting the big harvest..... So far one pepper, some early spuds and a scallion and onion to go with them. I have eaten some peas off the vine (a baby bunny has eaten most of my crop) I have a lot coming in some tomatoes and cukes almost ready to harvest. I am practacing patience but it is not easy.

I am calling mine a victory garden as well.

We had an early spring in January and February, then the weather turned to a cold nasty fall in April and lasting until July when the temperature from the fifties up to the mid nineties overnight.

The poor plants around here don't know what they are supposed to be doing
The Strawberries, Huckleberries and Salmon Berries are about the only thing to pick in this valley so far...

Congratulations on your first harvest!

Guess who FINALLY found a tomato growing??? MEEEE!

I'd almost given up on any tomatos this year and then wa la!!! Little baby tomatolet came out of nowhere! He's all alone on a plant as tall as me, but I'm so darn pround of the little guy!

PS I've named him BOB!

The weather has been crazy wierd around here too. Summery and hot hot hot by mid March then lots of dry heat in April (usually rainy) followed by downpour upon downpour and steamy rainforesty weather. I'm happy to have ANYTHING from my garden at all! I'm still rooting for your valley harvest Wild Willy!

Happy Victory Garden Harvesting to you WB!!! I'm hearing you on the patience. That's one thing I have a super hard time harvesting

Mine is coming in too. I've been harvesting squash zuchini for the past two weeks and I see no end to it. I already pulled all my broccolli, bibb and romane lettuce....mmmmmm. My tomato plants struggled after an attack by a mean rabbit but now that the rabbit thing is under control, I side dressed the tomatoes with fertilizer and have tomatoes popping out all over the vines. Now for a little sun to turn them red and I'm cookin with crisco. My potato plants have dropped their budds (or the budds were eaten by my mean rabbit) about two weeks ago...so I'm going to let the plants die off before I pull them. can't wait for that.

Next up is egg plant, radishes, carrots, and hopefully get some green peppers.

Next year I need to switch my garden around and put the cold loving plants in the shade and the warming loving plants in the sun....oh well live and learn.

Oh and my daughter planted some sun flowers...they are now 8 feet tall and have large blossoms that have not opened yet. Can't wait for those.

I shall name my garden....Excalibur the rabbit slayer.

HAHAHA! Excalibur sounds like a great garden! Lots of yummy zuchini, broccolli and even sunflowers! Cool!

How hard was the broccoli to grow? Thinking about trying it next time.

You should try broccoli in the fall, Crystal. They are very easy cool weather crops. Plant a seed and watch it grow. When it has a cluster on top cut it off. You will have side shoots develop some new clusters in a few days or so. If your winter is very mild you can keep some growing all season. If it is too hot they will bolt straight to seed. Parts of California grow them all winter. I am sure Florida does as well.

Alright! Thank you Tina! I'm adding broccoli to my list of fall planting along with onions, potatos and possibly head lettuce???

Who knows what else I'll come up with by then! Any other suggestions for fall veggies would be much appreciated!

Cool weather crops (and ones you may be able to grow all winter in Florida and California)
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Chard
Garlic
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Onions
Parsley
Peas
Radishes
Rutabaga
Spinach
Turnips
Winter Squash
There may be others

Oooooo! Look at all those possibilities! Lots to think about. With that list I may have a bigger cool season harvest than I'm getting from my summer plants! Thanks Tina!

People in our zones often can. There are no guarantees. We can have unusual cold snaps or heat waves flow through and ruin crops. But part of the fun is trying. And plant seeds so if you do have issues, you can replant after one of these if you keep back some spares. If you know you are going to have a hard freeze you can blanket your plants overnight to protect them.

what is kohlrabi?

Kohlrabi is an easy to grow vegetable in the cabbage family. It has a bulb type base (above ground) with the texture between a potato and apple with a nice mild flavor. It can be eaten raw or cooked and I'm not sure why it isn't more widely used here. The leaves and stems are also edible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlrabi

I am in MI if I plant broccoli in a couple weeks is that enough time for to grow before OCT?? Any late summer crop ideas for us Norhtherns?

Excalibur I love it!! I had rabbits also eating my peas. Reminds me of Monty Python. My peas are saying "Stems who needs stems!" I asked the guy at the farm about rabbit repellent he said they did not sell shot guns

Sounds like your going to town Fairy!! Congrats

I had my first cherry tomato last night - just waiting on the rest

That same list works for eastern gardens as well. And we all take our chances on weather related issues. Just watch for 'days to harvest' and that into consideration.

Thanks Tina one last question. I plan on sowing some hay as winter cover and later use as compost. How much time should I allow for that to grow before winter sets in (dont even want to think about winter yet its 93 degrees out)

I am not sure of that answer. Please ask your local extension office. They will have a much better idea in your area. And it is not something I would do here, ever.