Six on Saturday-Aug. 12

Can it be Saturday already?  Apparently it is, so here are my six selections for this week.  Having been away at the Garden Writers’ conference for a week, the garden was unsupervised, but behaved surprisingly well!  I was delighted to see that the “fall” planting of Wando peas have germinated well, forming a broad band on either side of the bed.    And, the brussel sprouts down the center have made considerable growth during my absence.  Even better, no weeds sprouted.  They wouldn’t dare!!!  Also spurting in growth were the Mad Hatter peppers which were recently transplanted as tiny babies but are beginning to get some size.    Having seen them full-sized and filled with fruit at the conference in the New Introductions Showcase however, I now know they have a long way to go to reach their 2-3′ height.  Will they make it before frost?  Crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes!  And the kohlrabi on the right is beginning to grow nicely.  Not so thrilling is the lack of whatever crop was seeded on the left.  I’ll need to check my direct seeded journal to see what failed to germinate.  I also need to investigate these peppers  which were supposed to be “Paprika” peppers but look nothing like the photograph in the Pinetree catalog from whence they came.  I’m not complaining, as they are quite large, extremely prolific, nicely flavored (sweet, not hot) and there are hundreds of them.  But, they don’t turn red before they spoil, and I’ve never seen yellow paprika.  I think I’d like to order them again next year, if I can figure out what variety they really are!   And speaking of peppers, this is just part of the harvest from 2 “Blight Buster” pepper plants!  I only picked about 1/3 of the peppers from each plant, becausing the weight was causing the plants to lean over. (Definitely not tidy, so we can’t have that!) The largest one weighed a hefty 8.3 oz!!  These were free seeds from Seeds ‘n Such for placing an early order, and they are outstanding. Thick, thick walls and blocky bottoms that will stand up to stuffing.  Will definitely order them again next year, as they are making my former favorite, “New Ace” look pitiful by comparison.  I was relieved to see that D did a fabulous job watering while I was away.  I really should have moved this “Aussie Sweetie” basil into a larger pot before I left.    It’s knee-high, and won’t be happy much longer in so small a pot.  If you haven’t grown “Aussie Sweetie,” give it a try.  It rarely, rarely flowers, so does not produce seed, which means no deadheading.  I’ve kept one in a pot for three years and it never did bolt.  Smaller leaves than Genovese, but a nice flavor and very productive.  Another potted plant, although Brent & Becky (from Brent & Becky’s Bulbs) assure me they should be hardy even here in Zone 5, if I can find a slightly protected site with good drainage, are these Eucomis, or Pineapple Lily bulbs.   It is easy to see how they got their name.  All the attendees at a recent Regional GWA meeting in Indianapolis received several free eucomis bulbs.  I wasn’t even sure I was interested, but I brought them home and planted them in pots in full sun.  Almost immediately the leaves pushed through and began to unfurl, showing interesting black freckles on the undersides.  I saw several eucomis in bloom in gardens we visited during the conference last week, some with deep purple flowers, and was hoping some of my new plants might be the same, but so far they’ve all been green.  Still pretty interesting though, and there are still some to bloom so hope remains.  So, that’s my Six for this Saturday.  Thanks to The Propagator for suggesting and hosting this meme.

Advertisement