Garden Adjustments

The garden is finally producing.  Have picked a few tomatoes, onions, and peppers.  The strawberries don't do much, one or two here and there.

The riper tomatoes above are the Mortgage Lifters.  They have that indented area where the stem attaches.  It's awkward for slicing to put on a sandwich but they are so flavorful and juicy.  The others are the Florida somethings.  I still don't remember the entire name.  They are more solid and not very juicy at all, very meaty, but not as flavorful.  They would probably be better for a sandwich, they won't get the bread all soggy.  Then there are two of my onions in there.  They are very mild and are very good, surprisingly so.

So two of the three strains of tomatoes are producing.  The other strain, Striped German are not setting much fruit at all.  The bush is huge but not much else.  I can see where there have been blooms and they are now gone.  Maybe bugs, but they aren't touching the others.  I am pretty sure they didn't produce much last year either.  If they don't get busy in the next week or two, they are gone.  They take up too much space and block sunlight from the others.  Either way, they will be a no go next year.  While I love the Mortgage Lifters, they didn't produce as many as I hoped last year.  While they are good, if they don't produce better they will be gone too.  They are really tall and bushy, much more so than the others.  They take up more room than all the others combined.

Bell Peppers have been a flop.  Lots of blooms, not fruit.  I see evidence of some sort of bug on the leaves.  Something damages the leaves and probably does the same to the peppers.  I don't even have a small pepper to show for it.  Those won't be replanted.  We use Bell Peppers in a lot of our cooking, so this is a big disappointment.  Maybe I will research them some before I surrender, I would really like some for our use.  The Jalapenos are doing OK.  I bought two, but it turns out they mixed up labels and I got some green banana type pepper with one of them.  Will try those again, maybe replace the Bell Peppers with them.

The Strawberries. This is the second year I have tried them.  Most lived all year long and produced into the early winter.  However, just one or two strawberries every few days from six plants just won't cut it.  I found out unless you are planting a huge amount of Strawberry plants you won't harvest enough for your pie. A small backyard garden is no place for Strawberries unless you just want them for the beauty of the plant. 

I will plant onions again.  That will happen this fall.  I may increase the amount.  I haven't had to harvest them all at once.  They can stay in the ground until I need one to cook or give away.  I will have to think about what else I will plant in limited space.  Squash takes up a lot of room, melons even more.  Beans or some sort, probably not since I am the only one that eats them.  Time to research.

Happy Trails