Apple Trees - Garden 2014

After trying some of the apples at the local orchard, I've decided on a few I'd like for my orchard. I did tear out the pathetic peach tree this fall. It had no chance of standing on it's own and was not growing. It had no center branch and only one side branch.

I still have to figure out where I want the orchard to go. I need to leave space open for if I ever get horses again or my husband lets me get goats. Although they don't need the entire pasture. We now have a fire pit behind the chicken coop, so can't go there. I could put them along the tree line, then they won't block the view of the farm field. We like open spaces...

Ok, so I'd like to do:

September Wonder Fuji, aka Jubilee Fuji
Ripens mid-September, can get dwarf (8-10 ft)

Shizuka, Shizuka
Ripens early October, can get semi-dwarf (10-15 ft)
pollinated by September Wonder, cannot pollinate others
Golden Delicious cross. "Perfect for apple salad. Fruit is juicy, large and firm with low acidity--and it’s slow to brown when cut. Stores well into early spring after fall harvest."

Sweet Sixteen
Ripens mid-September
pollinated by and pollinator for September Wonder
"Rosy red, crisp, juicy and sweet. Perfect fresh or baked into pies, crisps and cobblers. Fans say it has a hint of vanilla flavor. Apples are medium-to-large and store well. Withstands subzero temperatures yet very vigorous and bears heavily."

Various Garden Pics

Green Beans (these were trimmed, tossed with olive oil/kosher salt/pepper, roasted at 400 for 20 minutes, tossed with shredded parmesan and baked for another 10 minutes. Yum!)

My wild pumpkin... 

And now we have a wild tomato growing in the burn pile.

Fairytale eggplant

baby watermelon

Black Krim tomato

More Black Krims

Orange bell pepper that isn't orange yet.

watermelon tendril

Watermelon is taking over the squash plot

Plot 1

Master Canning List 2013

Master Canning List 2013

Jams
Low Sugar Vanilla Peach Jam - 4 half pints
Summer Solstice Jam - 10 half pints (3 given away)

Fruits
Peaches in light syrup - 2 pints

Garden Update 7/1/13

As always, click on the picture to make it bigger.

The monster acorn squash is seriously starting to take over everything in plot 1. 

I took some welded wire and created a barrier. I hope it stands. The welded wire came with the house, so no cost there. The poles are bamboo sticks that I purchased last year. I think they were around $5?

Now you can see the mini bell pepper and eggplant! 

Had to create a path for it. I'll be mowing around it soon.

Let me out!! 

Had to protect the rhubarb too!

The watermelon is finally getting bigger.

The poor, pathetic peach tree has a name.

Charlie.

I posted pics of it to a gardening group on Facebook and someone commented that it looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. 

Charlie just got a new support. Poor tree looks like she's in bondage.

Tomatoes

First  chocolate bell pepper!

Garden Update 6-24-13

As always, you can click on a picture to make it larger.

First icicle radishes

The acorn squash is spreading out and getting huge!

Something is eating my fairytale eggplant, but the flowers are lovely.

First Melrose peppers

Flowers on icicle radish that is going to seed.

Supposedly, if you let icicle radishes go to seed near zucchini, squash bugs will stay away. 

We'll see!

Baby zucchini

Tomato row

First of many (Rutgers)

The Heinz is huge! 

My poor, pathetic Red Haven peach tree.

Peaches

Watermelon isn't doing much yet.

Beautiful nasturtiums 

French marigolds

Garden 2013

Bought Another Pepper...

I was at Walmart earlier and of course, went to look at vegetable plants.

I ended up picking up a "yummy snacking pepper". According to the picture on the tag, they should be like the ones in the bags in the produce section. Small, sweet and very easy to eat.

Pepper overload coming...

4 orange bell peppers
2 chocolate bell peppers
2 Melrose peppers
4 jalapenos

and now this one...

Garden Update: June 3rd

We added three bales of straw to the garden beds (except for the bean bed).

Preen was also spread before the straw was added.

First tomato blossoms (Box Car Willie)

Baby acorn squash! 

However... I discovered that I am still very allergic to straw.

I did an internship at a horse breeding farm in 2001 and could not be in the barns when they were cleaning the stalls. I would start wheezing, could feel my airways closing, got itchy, etc. It was bad enough that it was diagnosed "straw-induced asthma". I had to take allergy pills and use an inhaler.

Yeah, happened this time too, even with an allergy pill. Just shaking flakes out into the beds.

When I came in, I showered and just left  my clothes in the laundry basket.

Mistake!

The next morning, I could barely breathe. I threw the clothes in the wash and vacuumed the bedroom. I started feeling better almost immediately. 

Ugh.

Garden 2013 is in!

Plot 1

1 Rhubarb

1 Acorn Squash

1 Fairytale Eggplant (not planted yet in this picture)

Inside row r-l: 2 Melrose peppers, 2 chocolate bell peppers

Outside row r-l: 4 jalapeno

Sage

Shallots

Close up of peppers

Crimson Rhubarb!!

Acorn Squash

Plot 2

4 zucchini

1 nasturtium

1 bee balm (lemon balm?, forgot)

Icicle radish

not shown: watermelon

The watermelon is in the open area, not planted here yet.

New tomato plot

Outside (fence side) row, front to back:

Rutgers

lemon thyme

Black Krim

carrots

Italian Giant Beefsteak

Box Car Willie

Inside row, front to back:

Rutgers

Black Krim

basil

Heinz

thyme

Giant Italian Beefsteak

Plot next to the tomato plot is a new bush bean plot.

Garden 2013! 

Oh, and I should have peaches this year! 

There are little peaches started!