Spring Broccoli Is Now Fall Broccoli

This Broccoli was planted way back in the spring as soon as the ground was thawed. We let it go through the summer because when a brassica plant flowers it bring in all kinds of beneficial insects. When we checked it the other day we were surprised to see nice full heads of broccoli waiting for the dinner table.

This cabbage was planted early spring as well. The heads did not tighten up and get big enough for harvest in the spring so we let it go through the summer. In our experience, cabbage will put on a good tight head at the end of summer into fall.

This Eucalyptus is a new addition to our garden. Eucalyptus cinerea is very hardy for a Eucalyptus plant. One source says this variety is hardy down to -4 degrees F. Zone 6a, where we are, has a average temperature low of -10 to -5 degrees F. I hope this perennial tree will establish itself. The lady in the booth at the plant show where I bought the plant seemed to think it was completely fine in our climate. After doing some research on it, I think it may die back over the winter and come up again in the spring. It may be to cold for this plant to establish as a tree in our climate. But the tag it came with says it is hardy down to USDA zone 6. So we will just have to chalk this up to a experiment.  I will let you know how it goes.

I got this fig tree from my friend Mike B. Not sure what variety it is. It is suppose to be cold hardy in our climate. He is growing figs in Newport KY and they went crazy this year. He had so many figs on every branch, I was truly amazed. We tend to be just a little bit colder over the winter here in SW Ohio. I hope this tree gets established and I get as many figs as my friend did this year. 

Garden Update 10-01-12

So this is weird. I planted a hundred or so winter peas and this one came up yellow. It is not over watered or sick, it is very healthy and looks just like all the others except, its bright yellow. I hope I get a harvest before the hard frost comes. I may make row covers over this area if I can do it cheap.

Our first brussel sprouts ever. I have tried to grow them before and have not had any luck. I started these in February indoors. I can't wait to have some sauteed sprouts!

This is our second year wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). This is a beautiful plant that can help deter insects around the garden. It can also be used in doors to repel fleas and moths.

Here is another cabbage. We are having a great year for cabbage. We just need to make sure to eat them when they are ready. I kept letting one get bigger and bigger and then it rotted before I remembered to pick it. 

We are still getting broccoli. In fact, the plants only stopped producing during the heat of the summer when it went to flower. As soon as it cooled off again it started putting on broccoli. I consider broccoli plants a garden staple from early spring to early winter.

Here is the garlic bed I planted a couple weeks ago. I threw hundreds of lettuce seeds in the box after I planted the garlic. I plan on making a cover for this bed so we can harvest the lettuce through early winter.

Harvest 09/18/12

Here is what I picked in the garden after work.

The Amish paste tomatoes are still producing heavily. Our bell pepper plants are full of peppers. I only picked a few because I want to give the rest a chance to change color. I know we have some red, yellow and orange bell peppers I just don't know which plant is which. =) The jalapeno peppers are going nuts. I picked a few and will get the rest in a week or so when they are big enough. We are still getting broccoli heads. I plan on making some salsa with the big tomatoes on the left, the black (red) hungarian peppers and some ground cherries when they come in.

The garden keeps giving

We are getting some monster tomatoes. Its almost impossible to pick them all before they are over ripe. 

These are black Hungarian peppers. They are usually a dark purple / black but if you let them go to long they turn red. They are still good they just get a little bit hotter. 

We are still getting broccoli in September!

This is the first year trying to grow celery. It is doing very well. I think we will plant a lot more next spring.

Here we have beets in the foreground, red chard on the left and yellow chard in the back. The chard is going crazy this time of year. 

This kale was planted the spring before this past spring. It over-wintered, went to seed and is still  producing greens. You can see the dried out top from when it bolted. 

These spaghetti squash will keep for up to 6 months in the right conditions. I don't think they will make it that far. We will be planting a dozen or so vines next year.