Checking on My Vegetable Garden
Here in the Northeast, temperatures today are expected to hit the mid 80s - a little break following this week's humid heat wave.
Despite the uncomfortable summer weather, the growing vegetables at my farm are thriving. The artichokes, eggplants, peppers, onions, carrots, and beans, etc. are all doing so well. With a garden this large, it's important to check it every day and keep up with its care.
Here are the latest photos, enjoy.
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- My gardeners and I have been spending a lot of time in this large half-acre space. In order to have delicious, beautiful vegetables, it’s important to always check on what’s doing well and remove what is not and then replant when needed. This garden has been so productive and all the vegetables look fantastic.
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- My tomatoes are growing beautifully, and every single plant is well-supported.
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- I grow an abundance of tomatoes to share and to make all the delicious tomato sauce I enjoy through the year. It’s a good idea to grow a range of varieties, including at least one or two disease-resistant types.
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- I prefer to pick eggplants early when they are young and tender. Picking early will encourage the plant to grow more, and will help to extend the growing season. These eggplants will be harvested soon.
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- Sweet bell peppers are popular in the garden – all grassy in flavor and super-crunchy in texture. I love making stuffed peppers – so easy and so delicious. It won’t be long before I’ll have a bounty of green, red, and yellow peppers.
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- My crew loves hot peppers, and I grow many of them to share. If growing both sweet and hot peppers, be careful when picking – keep the hot ones separated from the sweet, so there is no surprise in the kitchen.
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- And look at my onions. I’ve picked a few already and they’re excellent this year. I plant a lot of white, yellow and red onions.
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- These red onions will be ready soon and can be harvested on a dry day. After picking, they’ll be placed in a warm, dry area where they can cure.
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- This bed was planted with bush beans. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, always keeps track of when to plant our crops and we always plant in succession, meaning we plant seeds every few weeks, so there is always something ready to harvest.
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- All the cucumbers are growing in the center of the garden along the fence-trellis. Cucumbers require a long growing season, and most are ready for harvest in 50 to 70 days from planting. The fruits ripen at different times on the vine, but it is essential to pick them when they are ready. If they are left on the vine too long, they tend to taste bitter.
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- Nearby is my bed of basil – both green and purple. Basil, also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae. Basil is native to tropical regions from central Africa to Southeast Asia. It is a tender plant, and is used in many cuisines. Since basil grows in tropical climates, it grows well in hot weather, and this season, we’ve had lots of it.
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- Globe artichokes, Cynara scolymus, are popular in both Europe and the United States. Artichokes are actually the flower buds, which emerge from the center of the plants.
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- The tomatillo, also known as the Mexican husk tomato, is a plant of the nightshade family bearing small, spherical, and green fruit.
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- These are birds beak peppers – they need a little more time. Birds beak peppers, also known as Pimenta Biquinho, are small, round peppers with a tapered tip that resembles a bird’s beak. They originated in Brazil and are known for their tangy, fruity flavor and mild heat level. Birds beak peppers can be eaten raw or used as a garnish – I like to pickle them.
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- This is sage. Salvia officinalis – a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region. It is popular in fall and winter cooking and baking.
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- Ryan occasionally picks a vegetable to see how it is doing. Here’s one of my carrots – looks really good! Most are familiar with the orange carrots, but they also grow in red, yellow, white, and purple.
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- In another bed – young Swiss chard. Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable often used in Mediterranean cooking. The leaf stalks are large and vary in color, usually white, yellow, or red. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color. Harvest Swiss chard when the leaves are tender and big enough to eat.
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- And remember my asparagus bed? After picking the last of the season’s stalks, it’s important to allow the fern-like foliage to grow through the remainder of the season. The foliage makes carbohydrates and sugars that get stored in the plant’s roots and crowns to help generate next year’s crop.
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- Everyone always asks what I do with all the vegetables I grow. I share them with my family, but I also share the bounties with friends, colleagues, and my hardworking crew here at the farm. I also provide fruits, vegetables, and eggs for photography and video shoots. And, of course, all my birds get vegetables too.
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