We're having just the opposite. I've been able to get four tomatoes so far that were ripe. I've got a lot of green, small tomatoes. Our corn stalks never got higher than waist high, but put out tiny ears. Peppers are puny...all our plants are small. None of my squash has set fruit.

We've just been too cold & wet. They predict this will be the last week for raspberries, if you can believe it's gone so late! Unless we get some serious heat soon, we'll just have to settle with picking small, unripe tomatoes.

We had this problem last year too. I spoke with a farmer who told me that his personal garden was not getting so big, and his commercial crop was a struggle but due to the black plastic for heating the soil, he's getting some growth. Crazy how it's so different across the country.

Burned and blasted beyond help.

Watering keeps a few alive -- mostly the larger herb plants in the ground.

Hoping for rain here in DFW.

Jan

pesky, same for us a little further north in the PNW. It's so strange. NO tomatoes yet--many are on the vine, though...I have never liked green tomatoes :(. Peppers? Circling the wagons, have several little tiny not-even-protruding-from-the-flower kind of beginning plants, refusing to progress from there. Corn hasn't tasseled at all, even though it's almost as tall as I am (it's supposed to be a smaller version, too).

On the bright side, we're also still getting blueberries, which are usually over for us mid-late July. Have had several wonderful cucumbers, many more flowers taxiing, waiting to develop. *Snow peas* are still producing!

We've also had rebloomings of a few spring-blooming plants, e.g. columbine and the weigela, which is later spring, but is keeping producing the odd flower here and there. Seeing a rebloom of columbines, though, is when we knew things were really strange. Not as many bees this year, either, on the sedum flowers--last year it was a virtual buzzing *ocean*.

We've used up the back two water barrels and the overflow one in the front. We're ready for it to rain again, please, even though we need the sun too!

My garden is late due to late seasonal storms but finally looking great! That said, we water, water, water and mulch everything in dry California. If we depended on rain, nothing would ever survive.

When I travel to other parts of the US, I am most amazed at the lack of outside water sources. Where's the garden hoses? Everything stays sooo green without sprinkler systems! Makes me so jealous!

I remember my grandparents just planting a garden and the weather would take care of it. Wow!! A garden is so much more work here.

We are always watering, trying to keep the lawns greenish and the gardens going! We must water all of our trees. There is always water going outside somewhere. $$$$

Golddust, I don't know where you're traveling, but I've never known that to be the case. Even here where our annual rainfall exceeds 60" I have to water on a regular basis when the rain doesn't fall where I need it.

Me too, here in south - watering is a must. However, my tomatoes HATE this chlorinated water. Makes me wish we'd kept a well - if only for outside use.

Too much lawn here to water that tho . . .

tina

tina, if you let water stand for about an hour in an open container, the chlorine will disperse...OR there are chlorine-neutralizing chemicals you can put into water which you can buy at aquarium supply stores. I know our plants always used to love the water from aquarium water change time, although that of course had other 'goodies' as well.

We're having a banner year here in the Northeast with most of our crops. Last year we had the tomato blight and our gardens suffered for it, but this year...holy cow! Many folks were afraid to plant tomatoes this year due to the problems last year, but those of us that have planted gardens are reaping the benefits. We planted over 30 tomato plants at the end of May (6-8" high) and all our tomato plants are currently over 6' high and set with hundreds of fruit. DH and I still can't believe it. And our eggplant plants are humongous. In all my years of gardening our eggplant plants have never gotten this big and laden with eggplants. Our largest eggplant plant is almost 4' high and about as wide with at least a dozen little eggplants just rolling along LOL. We've been picking beans and lettuce (almost gone), and our potatoes have started producing (the early reds). Our red pepper plants have peppers that are a bit on the small size but are very tasty. Our banana and jalapeno peppers are a good size and we've been picking. We've been enjoying our Jet Star tomatoes since last week and our Roma's are coming in. DH said I better get the canning equipment ready because they're going to start ripening one-two-three.
We did set up a soaker hose system this year and I am convinced that's the reason the tomato plants are doing so well. Because you water from the ground down the water goes directly to the roots. Another positive about soaker systems is that the water doesn't splash up and hit the leaves like it does from an overhead sprinkler system. Overhead watering (except for your occasional rain) creates the perfect storm for bacteria and blight to settle on the plants. And we water, water, water at least every other day if not every day (depending on the heat index), regardless of whether or not it's going to rain. It's been unseasonably hot all summer long, which I know the tomato, eggplant and bean plants love.
I feel your pain, but our garden is doing mahvelous, dahlings ;o) I'll post pics later.

It's a banner year for home gardens here in greater Chicago. We have had so so much rain (8inches of it in our basement:)), we have heat and when it's not raining, it's hot, sunny and humid. It's been a perfect combination for the worst crop of mosquitoes I've seen in years.

That said, I started with cherry tomatoes - 100s of them, moved on to Romas which I've been canning as sauce, salsa and juice, and brandywines are coming in now - have 4 by our sink and we'll have tons more.

Peppers, celery and beans have been great as well. In about 10 days, I'll have brussel sprouts.

This has been a great year to be a water liking plant in greater Chicago. My asters, however, look like garbage!

Here's our garden about a month ago...

And today...ta da! You can spy our beautiful eggplant plant in the back middle, surrounded by the 3 tall bamboo stakes. Isn't she a beauty?

tinam61,
2 words...rain barrels! The plants will still be getting rain water.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to make a rain barrel

The 3 cuke plants and 1 zuke plant have more than kept up with our demand this summer, but seem to be on the way out. The tomatoes (6 beefteak plants and 1 heirloom) were just starting to ripen while we were on vacation this week, I had picked some green but the heirloom ones rotted and the beefsteak didn't taste like much after ripening on the counter. have to see how the vine-ripened beefsteaks my dad picked last night taste. No vine-ripe heirlooms yet (or the rest of my family got them). Honeydews are getting bigger.

Corn silk is turning brown but ears are small - will try those for dinner tonight, don't think they are ripe. Not enough rain, though I asked cousin to water them this week. Bell peppers haven't done much, the red and orange ones never turned color.

Mrsmarv, that's quite a garden! Is the fence for deer or rabbits or both? What are the two circular pot-holder lookin' things on the posts?

Thanks, natal ;o) The fence is for deer, woodchuck, rabbits, chipmunks and any other wildlife that might get the hankering for a tasty treat. We filled in an old in-ground pool. so even if the woodchucks or chipmunk wanted to burrow from the outside in, they really don't stand a chance because the cement goes 6' down. DH and I figured the filled in pool was the most logical place for a garden. The fence prevents them from getting in from ground level most of the time, although some are very celever and determined. Plus, because of the location, it gets 8+ hours of sun a day.
As for the circular pot-holder looking things, that's exactly what they are, except that this year I didn't put them out. In previous years I've filled clay pots with flowers but somehow this year I got deterred, focusing mostly on the garden's bounty than on the flora ;o)
I'm waiting to pick another 3-4 pounds of Roma tomatoes so I can make and can Roasted Roma tomato sauce. Our grill will be working overtime, but the extra work is so worth it. I use the Roasted Roma tomato sauce as a base for a lovely sauce made with spinach in a light cream sauce over linguine. TDF!

I use the Roasted Roma tomato sauce as a base for a lovely sauce made with spinach in a light cream sauce over linguine. TDF!

It sounds heavenly! I still have one container of sauce from last year's harvest in the freezer. It's made with roasted tomatoes. I'm hoping it's as good as I think it will be.

Tell me more about the specifics of your spinach sauce. After you have the roasted tomatoes then what? My harvest is done, but I roast Romas year round.

That was a stroke of genius turning the old pool into a garden!

Linguine with Roasted Roma Sauec and Spinach

3 TBS. extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart jar Roasted Roma Tomatoes (you can use your own roasted Roma tomatoes...I use the ones I've canned according to the Ball recipe)
5 ounces baby spinach
1/4 tsp. salt (kosher, please)
1/8 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream (not whipping)
8 ounces linguine
1 cup freshly shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese

Heat 2 TBS. olive oil over medium heat in a 10-inch saute pan.
Stir in garlic and cook until tender but not browned.
Add tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat until heated through.
Layer spinach over tomatoes, cover pan and continue cooking about 5 minutes.
Add salt and pepper.
Stir in cream, reduce heat and gently simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes.
Cook pasta according to package directions while tomatoes and spinach cook.
Drain pasta and after draining return to pot and then toss with remaining olive oil.
Ladle tomato and spinach mixture into serving bowl first, and then put pasta on top of sauce (see *Note)
Sprinkle with cheese and gently toss.
Serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

*Note: I ladle the sauce into the pasta bowl first and then add the linguine on top of the sauce, then toss. I learned this way eons ago from my mom who was very specific with her pasta and sauces. She swore that this is the way it should be done and I'm in agreement. I do believe Lidia Bastianich does it this way, as well. Don't ask me the scientific "whys and what fors", just know that it always tastes better this way.

Last year (or was it the year before--time goes by so fast...) I learned from here about roasting roma tomato halves in oil with salt & pepper...they got eaten fast before I could actually store any, though (how would I have stored them--just in a jar? They wouldn't mold?). I'm thinking we'll have even more this year (if the heat holds to ripen them)--what are some of folks' most favorite ways to deal with tomatoes besides canning them wet? I would want them dry in some way. I have a friend who just dries them in a NESCO dryer, which we have too, but they seem less interesting. TIA for any great ideas :)

Thanks Mrsmarv! It sounds delicious! Bet it would work with Swiss chard too.

Flyleft, I store roasted tomatoes for up to a week in the fridge. For longer storage you'd have to either freeze them or process for canning like Mrsmarv does. I put whole romas in the freezer. To use them I run them under cold water to slip off the skins then chop for whatever recipe I'm making.

Thanks, natal. The Roasted Roma tomatoes (before turning into sauce), could I freeze them in jars, do you think? I have never canned (I should turn in my Oregonian Card LOL) and I just am scared to do it. I'm a wuss. I even have one of those big pots I got at Goodwill with very good intentions when we moved here almost a decade ago.

And tina, the water isn't open -- it's completely covered except where the pipe goes in, which is covered with a screen to keep bugs out. We also have put (a *miniscule* amount of) chlorine in it when it started to smell bad (only one set did, not the other). Let it sit for a while and it was just fine, no smell even of chlorine. We just finished using the last of the 220 gallons today, sniff sniff..so it's free to rain again any day now :)

sorry fly - i misundersood. You said let the water stand in an open container - and that was what I was referring to. I missed where you said you used barrels - I didn't think anything about smell. We have thought about rain barrels but you need a good bit of water here to regularly water a garden and with our droughts, I'm not sure how long we'd benefit from the barrels. We have a long gardening season here and need to supplement the rain for several months.

I'll have to look into rain barrels more. Thanks for the info!

tina

Yummm! That sauce sounds really good, I have to get spinach (and the kids won't eat it). I have a quart of plum (Roma?) tomatoes from my dad, not enough to make sauce but I'd like to roast them and toss them with grilled zukes and onions, etc. to eat as ratatouille or over pasta. How do you roast them?

Ah, glad I could clarify. You know, I look at our rain barrels, only 220 gallons altogether, and sigh, "that's not nearly enough for a full season", and indeed I'm on my way out to water my plants in a few minutes with our hose, but then again it's saved us 220 gallons of water, so it's better than nothing. We have a small lot so 4 55-gal barrels (which we bought for $20 each on craigslist-they're blue food grade, sterilized; I need to paint them at some point, but that job keeps getting put off--I see pretty ones at HD for $95, if you don't want the extra job and would prefer the setup all done for you) are all we can fit here; some folks have either above ground or below-ground cisterns of harvested rainwater. You'd be surprised how little rain it takes to fill up containers.

And now a question for the excellent gardeners on the forum: WHY is my spoiled, indulged corn not tasseling?! It's driving me crazy. I thought it was just too early in the season, so I've been watering it and fertilized twice as instructed with appropriate fertilizer (same as last year)--the stalks are tall, beautiful green, lush, full, have enough space from each other, but not too much, are in a place where they get more sun than they did last year when they produced, etc...and when I saw my friend's scraggly little excuses for cornstalks already growing ears, I wanted to pull my hair out! Are these stalks too happy to reproduce or something? How can I get them going? I can't find anything on the web; seems that corn just naturally tassels and makes ears. Except my narcissistic corn--just wants to look beautiful. TIA for any information or leads I missed...

The Roasted Roma tomatoes (before turning into sauce), could I freeze them in jars, do you think?

I froze roasted tomatoes last year, but I think I ran them through a food mill before freezing. If I remember right, the previous year I froze them without doing anything and the peels turned into unappetizing little pieces of 'cellophane' that I had to pick out of the sauce. So, pureeing or running through a mill seemed like a good idea. The container is still in the freezer and I'll probably be using it later this week or next. I'll let you know.

How do you roast them?

Cut in half and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the cut side with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Roast at 350° for 2 hours. You can roast at a lower temp for a longer period if you like.

{{gwi:91160}}

roasted tomatoes behind bread...

OK, and just peel them after they cool off, right? Thanks for the instructions, I did see some similar on the Web but wanted to know how *you* did it.

fly - not sure what you mean by "tasseling" - do you mean the tassels at the top of the stalk aren't forming, or those have formed but the ears (and silk) aren't forming? When did you plant them? How tall are they? Did you plant them all in a row or in more of a square? Could be a problem with pollination (esp. if it's been hot and dry, planted in rows). Or it could just be too early if you planted late.

If I'm serving the roasted tomatoes on crostini or just as a snack I don't peel. I think the skin became an issue when I froze them.

Ajsmama, just got an email from Fine Cooking. Lots of tomato recipes, but this ratatouille reminded me of you. I think I would appreciate the roasted version much more than the stovetop. Bet the flavors are much more intense.

Here is a link that might be useful: roasted ratatouille

ajs, yes, I mean the tassels themselves aren't forming! I planted in three rows of four (did two rows of 6 last year in a less sunny place and had no problem). I'm just baffled. And now the hot weather is going away so it will slow down *again*. They're all at least 5' tall at this point, and they're the Japanese hull-less popcorn--supposedly they're full height by now.

Japanese Hulless Popcorn
(Tom Thumb, Australian Hulless, Dwarf Baby Rice)
85 days A very old variety of pop corn that has not lost its appeal to home gardeners. It is quite dwarf in habit, plants reaching only about five feet in height. Each plant produces two to three ears per stalk. The ears are short and thick, about four inches in length and two inches in diameter. Kernels are arranged irregularly on cob and are unusually tender, sweet, and pure white when popped.

Fly, my dad grew popcorn. For years I kept whole baby cobs in a jar in my kitchen. Hope you get a harvest! Have you tried any of the hulless popcorn from Amish Country?

Here is a link that might be useful: Amish Country Popcorn

Sorry, I'm stumped, if they've reached maturity they should be tasseling (was just checking to make sure that's what you meant). I've never grown popcorn.

Can you contact the place you bought the seed from and ask?

Oh, so far as our garden, the corn isn't doing well, the silk is drying up and turning brown but the tops of the husks are empty b/c the cobs/ears are so small. And the kernels on the top aren't developed either. Just planted too late, and too hot/dry. The few ears we've picked tasted great though (Silver Queen).

The zucchini is done for - squash borers got it. But the tomatoes have survived the hornworm attack, I'm still waiting for a vine-ripened heirloom but the beefsteaks are coming in hot and heavy. I think I'm going to make salsa this weekend. Cukes are almost over, I picked 3 more this AM, even though they're not pickling cukes I was so overwhelmed that I've canned 7 pints of dill pickles, made probably 4-5 pints of refrigerator dills, and today tried 2 quarts of (refrigerator) sweet pickles. The sweet bell peppers are finally starting to come in, will use green ones for salsa but red and orange have a ways to go - hope we don't get an early frost.

Not in the "garden" but we had a bumper crop of wild blackberries last month and I made 2 pints and (lost count but looking at how many empty half-pints I have, of course some of those have been eaten and washed, new lids put on) 32 or so half-pints of jam. I'd have to count the lids left in the replacement box, subtract what I used on pickle jars to figure it exactly. And I still have 6 quarts or so of frozen berries (and enough shredded zucchini to make 5 loaves of bread) in the freezer.

Oh, I wish I had the courage to can. Can one of you all just come over and guide me through it the first time? :) My friends don't even can anymore-they dry or just freeze raw. I wish I could can, though. Oh, and what can one do with a huge crop of long European cucumbers?

natal, that's a good link, thanks...I may need it. And ajs, popcorn is just like corn, no different besides just smaller kernels/ears. Maybe I'll call that garden center tomorrow. Not sure they'll be able to help. I know they're heirloom seeds, so it's not a GMO issue...

I've been pickling the slicing cukes (sorry, don't know what seeds DH planted) hoping they won't get mushy. We'll probably have them all eaten in the next couple of months anyway. But English cukes probably would mush pretty soon.

Does the seed corn packet have any contact info on it? I'd call/email them before trying the garden center. Then again, you could find someone really knowledgable at the center, if they sell lots of veggie seeds. I wouldn't ask at a HW store, but GC seems likely.

Here's a good link to start canning - note that for veggies you really need a pressure canner, but jams and pickles are easy - just a deep stockpot, preferably with a wire rack in the bottom (though I haven't had a jar break yet, and I'm still looking for a rack to fit in my 10" pot). The people on the Harvest forum are very helpful, but start with the NCHFP first.

Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation

Fly, how about freezer cucumbers?

Here is a link that might be useful: freezer cucumbers

With the vinegar, that's basically a pickle. As far as freezing, you know what a cuke tastes/feels like when the fridge gets too cold. So I don't know about "freezer pickles". Worth a try if you've got some that will go to waste otherwise.

My slicing cukes (sliced rather thick, say 1/4" min) have kept their crunch as refrigerator pickles, but I haven't opened any jars of the canned ones yet - want to let the flavors develop a bit longer. Of course, the longer they're stored the mushier they'll get. The thinner you slice them the faster the liquid soaks in and they'll get soft too, not to mention the freezing rupturing the cells. English cukes have thinner skins and I think more water than slicing/salad cukes, so I don't think they'd do even as well as those and certainly not as well as pickling cukes.

How many do you have? Using a recipe like that and storing them in the fridge might work for a week or 2, rather than freezing.

This is one we like for garlic dills - don't need to can them, just put them in the fridge and wait a couple of days. I just made sweet pickles yesterday, didn't can those, did 1 quart for my uncle (who gave me quart jars that won't fit in my stockpot) and 1 quart for us, which is plenty since we don't really care for sweet pickles (though DD might if I get her to try them). I'll let you know this w/e how they turned out, and post my "recipe" (throwing things in, I'll have to try to remember measurements) if you like.

Kosher Dill (Heinz Recipe)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 lbs pickling cukes
14 cloves garlic, peeled & split
1/4 cup canning salt
3 cups distilled or apple cider vinegar, 5 % acidity
3 cups water
12-14 sprigs fresh dill weed
28 peppercorns

Wash cucumbers; cut in half lengthwise. Combine garlic and next 3 ingredients; heat to boiling.
Remove garlic and place 4 halves into each clean jar, then pack cucumbers, adding 2 sprigs of dill and 4 peppercorns.
Pour hot vinegar solution over cucumbers to within 1/2 inch of top. Immediately adjust covers as jar manufacturer directs.
Process 10 minutes in BWB. Makes 6-7 pints.

3-4 pint recipe (I make this size, sometimes make 4 cups of solution to make sure I have enough. My stockpot will only hold 4 pints)

2 lbs cukes
6-8 cloves of garlic (2 per jar)
1/8 C (2 Tbsp) canning salt (I haven't found it, so just use non-iodized, can use kosher but have to grind it fine to use same measure)
1.5-2C apple cider vinegar
same amount or slightly less filtered water (must be 50:50 or more vinegar)
6-8 sprigs dill or 2 or 3 tsp. of dried dill weed in each pint jar
12-16 peppercorns (4 per jar)

Soak cucumber slices in ice water for 2 hrs to overnight before making pickles, this will help crisp them up. If you can find it, you can also use Ball's Pickle Crisp, but I haven't tried that yet. I slice into rounds rather than spears since the cukes are so long, DH didn't plant pickling cukes this year. If you can pick them young (2-4" long) then you can pickle them whole and they'll be crunchier, but I was just trying to use up my mammoth cukes that got big and seedy.

It is a pickle. I was using the blogger's name.

Here is a link that might be useful: another version

Wow, I do *not* know what has happened to the last *two* posts I put on here--they've both not made it, or disappeared, or something. THANK YOU ajsmama and natal for all the great information. I'm already giving away cucumbers since I can't find what to do with these delicious things, but at least they're reaching appreciative audiences :)

And in other news: we have TASSELS! Not actually showing yet, but I peeked into the top curl of growth and found them waiting to emerge! I'm so thrilled. Just have to be patient, I guess, and have faith. Maybe the corn is what I was, elderly primagravida :)

Commercial operations don't count :)

judie, WOW. So much to learn from your pics. Approx. where in the country are you located? Do you sell at a farmer's market or something? Or just have a very very large family?

Judie, a lot of work = a lot of reward! Love that canning pantry! Do you can the peppers and eggplants too?

Definitely a family effort. Yes we have a large family, 6 daughters, 3 sons-in-law, 6 grands, all around. We do can the eggplant too. Those peppers are my DH's favorite, Italian Cornetta, sweet. We dehydrate them and store in zip-bags.