Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Beginning of the End


With August winding down so too is the rooftop garden. The Serenade melon plants were retired, On Deck corn plants were removed and I think the pepper plants will be next. The tomato plants are hanging on, I think a couple will last till frost.


Planet F1 peppers.


Once this one turns completely red I'll remove the plants. I don't see any smaller fruits that will have enough time to develop into something worthwhile before it gets cold.


Minnesota Midget melon plant looking more dead than alive. I should remove this plant, but yet I don't.



The Serenade F1 melon plants were taken down earlier this week. I'm going to miss those plants, the melons were awesome. It's a shame the seeds can't be saved.


Jasper F1 cherry tomato. Yellow leaves have reappeared. It's too late in the season to fret over it though so I'm just going to let it go.



Japanese Black Trifele tomato.


New fruits have appeared.


Massive moth chilling in the container. Can anyone identify it? Is it harmful to the garden?



Beaver Lodge tomato. The plant still looks surprisingly perky for so late in the year.


The second wave of fruit is pretty substantial, the last count was 30+. If nothing goes wrong with the fruits Beaver Lodge will probably be the most productive tomato plant I've ever grown.


Giant Aconcagua peppers.




Butterbean soybeans.


I've been harvesting a handful every few days and boiling them up to eat as edamame, wonderful!


I gave up on the corn. The tassels were completely exhausted of pollen so it seemed pointless to keep the plants alive for corn ears that would never develop. Out of curiosity I plucked 2 ears to see what was going on inside.


The first one opened was the one where only a few silks appeared from the top of the ear. The most of silks were very short, much too short to reach the opening, it's no surprise so few kernels were pollinated.


The pollination rate on this ear was very good, however all the kernels look like they were growing down, instead of out and away from the cob. Very strange.


Fungus has finally reached the Cosmonaut Volkov plant. I'm glad most of the fruits will be ready to pick in a few days.


August 15-21:

Cherry Tomato (Jasper F1): 2.0 ounces

Melon (Serenade F1): 3 pounds, 8.75 ounces

Soybean (Butterbean): 5.75 ounces

Sweet Pepper (Giant Aconcagua): 1 pound, 6.75 ounces

Sweet Pepper (Planet F1): 3.5 ounces

Tomato (Beaver Lodge): 3.875 ounces

Tomato (Cosmonaut Volkov): 7.875 ounces

Tomato (Japanese Black Trifele): 6.375 ounces

Total Harvest: 6 pounds, 12.875 ounces

Running Weight Total 2013: 42 pounds, 15.5 ounces

I'm taking one more vacation before September arrives so there will be no updates next week. I'll be back in September to let you know what's left in the garden and to begin garden cleanup.

Visit bucolicbushwick.com to read more about rooftop vegetable gardening.

2 comments:

  1. Not really sure what to make of your corn experiment. I feel like germination was kind of hit or miss, and these final two ears aren't exactly inspiring to want to plant into containers.

    I'd love to know your final thoughts when you come back from vaca :)

    Safe travels!

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    Replies
    1. I think germination was so poor because so few tassels appeared. I planted 8 seeds and only 3 grew tassels. I've read you need at least 4 tassels to get a good crop so when only 3 appeared I had my doubts. Direct sowing is iffy. I wish could start them indoors.

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