As I harvested and weighted this week's harvest, it dawned on me that much of the harvest reflected the fiery colors of Summer: yellows, oranges and reds. So I begin this week's recap with a bowl of yellow "Galina" cherry tomatoes. This is the third week I have harvested them and the biggest picking yet; 1 lb. 1.4 oz. They are such a reliable producer for me and their taste is a favorite of many of my co-workers.
My only other tomato harvest this week is one lonely "Wapsipinicon Peach". But it deserves some kudos becasue as I was harvesting, I noticed than many of my other tomato plants are suffering from blossom end rot. I have never has a problem with this disease before, with the rare exception of a single variety here or there. So I simply didn't grow that variety in future years. But today I discovered blossom end rot on four different plants. I know my watering has been steady so it must be a calcium deficiency in the soil. I will have to really amend the soil next year. So with that in mind, even though it isn't a super producer for me, "Wapsipinicon Peach" gets major point from me for being blossom end rot free. This guy came in at .9 oz.
And speaking of things that don't really grow well for me, its time to talk peppers! Each year I am seduced by the amazing selection of pepper plants being sold at the Farmer's Market and nurseries. And each year I purchase 3-4 plants, knowing that I never have much luck growing them but hope springs eternal each May. In my rational mind I know we just don't have the hot days and warm that peppers adore but I keep trying just the same. Not surprisingly, this year's results were no different. Four plants, each producing 2-4 peppers. Sigh. On the bright side, I did have a few little gems to harvest today. Left to right:
- (1) "Padron" pepper ; 1.0 oz
- (2) "Yellow Sparkler" peppers; 1.6 oz
- (2) "Cute Stuff Gold" peppers; 1.7 oz
And to round out my yellow theme, I was able to pick 3 more "Lemon" cucumbers yesterday, weighing in a total of 1 lb 2.9 oz. It is suppose to be another very warm week here in the Willamette Valley, so ripening should continue at a good pace in both gardens.
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4 comments:
Too bad about the peppers. I guess they don't get enough heat, which is one reason they do well here. I hope you get some warm ripening weather for your veggies!
Seduced by peppers, I feel that way about vegetables that are challenging. Wapsipinicon Peach are definitely an oddity with their fuzzy skin and lack of tomato gel.
I feel your pain with the blossom end rot as I lost quite a few tomatoes to it last year, but in my case I think it had everything to do with sporadic watering. This year, I've only had it appear on one tomato, even though I'm growing most of the same varieties.
And I would check out the pepper varieties that Michelle grows as I think her climate is somewhat similar to yours in that it doesn't get that hot.
Do you have a greenhouse? Seems like a lot of NW gardeners have to grow things like peppers in a greenhouse because of the cool weather (nothing wrong with cool weather, however). And I wouldn't beat yourself up about the BER, although it is disappointing. From what I read it has to do with calcium ion flow within the fruit and there is little you can do about it.
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