Cohutt builds a garden, Chapter 2

[cohutt]

These guys are doing the job for me this year.   I've only seen one honey bee this whole season but am covered up with bumbles and they are definitely getting it done: squash, gourds, beans, tomatoes, everything.....

[OKGranny]

Gorgeous garden. It just gets better and better. I've really enjoyed keeping up with your fantastic gardening.

[cohutt]

Thank you okgranny.

I'm sipping coffee looking at several hundred Romas that have to be sauced today.   I was afraid I'd get tired of it but it hasn't happened yet.

[jawjaboy]

These guys are doing the job for me this year.   I've only seen one honey bee this whole season but am covered up with bumbles and they are definitely getting it done: squash, gourds, beans, tomatoes, everything.....

I would be happy to send you a FRB full of happy pollinators from the honey hole if I had a suit Cohutt. Honey included.

[fritz_monroe]

We have tons of bumblebees in the area.  It's funny, but just about any evening, I can stroll around the yard and find a bumblebee sitting on a plant for the night.  I know they nest underground, but maybe the males (do they have drones?) sleep where they can find a protected place.

As for honey bees, we still have them in this area.  I see them all the time on the clover.  There should be more next year, I'm planning on starting a hive.

[cohutt]

Jawja, post a picture of the "honey hole" for everyone- it is the coolest thing I've ever seen when it comes to bees

[jawjaboy]

Jawja, post a picture of the "honey hole" for everyone- it is the coolest thing I've ever seen when it comes to bees

Well, since you insist......

[fritz_monroe]

Very cool.  Thanks for sharing the honey hole.

[jawjaboy]

No problem Fritz.  

I wish somebody would come get them, I'm tired of getting stung.

[Roamer]

Cohutt,
     All I saw was Bumble Bees on my eggplants also.

     A friend at church has bee hives and has been asking me to get one because I think he has an extra queen or something like that. But I am hesitant and do not know why.

[cohutt]

Today's tomatoes 110

Brandywine 13
Roma VF 54
Martino's Roma 28
Tommie Toe 15

The total is now 1037 for the season. 
(A lot of sauce has been put up so far.)

[fritz_monroe]

I'm envious.  I always have trouble with tomatoes.  This year was no different.  My tomatoes that we started from seed didn't do well at all.  Then when planted in the garden, they were mostly eaten by the rabbits and the others didn't take off.  The only ones that we are getting tomatoes off of are the 6 that we bought, 3 grape, 3 mortgage lifters.

[cohutt]

My wife is in heaven- this is more than I've grown cumulatively in the other 49 summers of my life.  Of course I worked my arse off all winter to be able to do it (and likewise have had quite a bit  good luck so far ).  The rest of the garden is "OK" but not bang up;  I think i put too much emphasis on the tomatoes this year to the detriment of some other things.

[cohutt]

"Sheepnose Pimento"

(and fresh rain, hallelujah)

[cohutt]

Waiting waiting waiting

The cell that is parked over us right now is a doozy

the gourd tower is down.

damnit

[fritz_monroe]

Bummer.  Hopefully it is strictly the tower that is damaged and the gourds are still doing fine.

[cohutt]

Worked out OK-

this was what i found after the rains stopped- the 550 cord line kept it from falling straight back, instead it rolled to the left:



It took two extra lines to hoist it back up, or at least off the trellis and fence lol





The reason (besides poor engineering) for the topple-

I wasn't able to see what was under the foliage up top, but afterward I found some monster gourds.  There were  lot of gourds up there, at least 40 or 50 lbs and the light colored ones in the insert have to weight over 10 lbs each.  The heavier they got, the more it leaned and then a little wind was all it took.  Over the weekend, the top of the tall bamboo has bent and broken under the weight- amazing actually.  I never thought i would actually get anywhere close to this many. 

[tamo42]

Maybe a squatter pyramid next time

[cohutt]

tamo,

I've got all winter to come up with some odd yet sturdy structures; cattle panels are among the potential components

[Roswell]

You should do a sphinx.  LOL


However, you may have enough gourds for a while after that crop.

[cohutt]

I haven't been posting as much 'cuz I'm toiling both before and after work these days taking care of the garden as it is producing.  When you put in almost 30 tomato plants and they all mostly thrive, well, you have to do something with a lot of tomatoes.

As of this morning the tomato harvest is over 1400 excluding Tommie Toes, which are raining on us to the tune of 25-40/day. 
I've been freezing the Romas whole lately after skinning and removing the stem scar - it the mast week I've put up 10 or 11 quart bags like these



Also, peppers have been floating in- here is a tasty little Sheepnose pimento and a Napoleoin Sweet Bell pepper that came in last night:



My wife says I get stranger as the season goes on.  Maybe she is right- I felt like pulling some tiny antique toy doll glasses out and taking some shots of this tomato.  Why?  Who knows, it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

[KYdoomer]

Definitely the right thing to do...

J

[fritz_monroe]

Never thought about freezing romas whole.  Hopefully the next time I try to grow Romas, they will thrive like yours.  Keep us posted.

[cohutt]

Never thought about freezing romas whole.  Hopefully the next time I try to grow Romas, they will thrive like yours.  Keep us posted.

My mother and grandmother say it works well.  From what I have read, expectations should be that they will be suitable to be cooked but not thawed to eat "fresh" from the freezer.  This being said, i know a couple of folks who say they put them on a salad thawed (which probably would taste like crap in July and August but the same thing might be delicious in the dead of winter.)

They say they can be frozen with or without the skins; the skins supposedly fall off when thawed.

The skinned, cored romas compress into freezer bags nicely. I partially seal them then suck the last of the air out then finish. (poor man vacuum sealer)

Ask me again in January

[johngalt]

If you have a dehydrator, try drying some of the tomatoes.  You can do a few trays at a time, and less prep work than canning.  They are good rehydrated, but even better when made into tomato powder (you can add spices to make "instant" tomato sauce.  We also added it to some tomato sauce/barbeque sauce to help thicken the sauce without cooking it forever. 

Glad to see the gardens survived the thunderstorm.  Everything's looking awesome.

[Roswell]

+1 for the tomatohead because it made me laugh 

That is interesting to know about the process of freezing tomatoes. I am going to get an outdoor cat in about 3 weeks or so. Hopefully, it will scare the bunnies away and I'll actually get tomatoes next year. It would be awesome to have your dilemma of too many and what to do with them.

[Rosesandtea]

Things look so lovely Chez Cohutt.   I'm amazed at your tomato production.   

I really have to try harder, for my dd's sake (who has been wanting them for a couple of years now) to find some room for some sunflowers.

[cohutt]

Thanks rosie, you reminded me that I have one gimeganormous Arikara that needs measuring tonight. 
I'm estimating it is close to 10 feet tall right now as it is towering over the 6 ft fence it is next to-

Results to follow

[cohutt]

A 128" (+/-) Arikara sunflower (nearing dusk - sorry for dark photo)



Another patch of "Mammoth" that has been battered by storms lately.  These only get a half day of sun -

[fritz_monroe]

Pretty cool.  About how big of a head of seeds do those mammoth sunflowers get?  I have some of those that are up in the 8' range.