Reader Question: Our garden is exploding this year. I think your’s is too from your updates. We can’t eat or can and freeze all our garden produce and need to know what to do wiuth it all.
Other than our tomatoes, our garden is an absolute jungle with production. It is WAY more than I expected when I planted. I think I put in 4 or 5 green bean plants and we can’t eat enough to keep up with them. And let’s not talk cucumbers. My wife went away for a week and I got distracted on two projects to have done before she returned. Ah, well, I picked them the day after she got back…there were 6 fruit that were the size of large zucchini. Oooopppppssssss!
Back to your question…we aren’t canning anything out of the garden this year. What we don’t eat right away we are giving away. Well, we will freeze the green chili.
Example #1: a couple weeks ago there was a family at church who talked about how nice it would be if someone would just drop by and say “Hi” with a loaf of bread. They feel a bit left out. A few days ago I stopped by with a loaf of fresh baked Italian bread (my own recipe) and a dozen Anaheim Green Chilies. They were thrilled.
Example #2: Our big “go to” this year is the same as last year…the local senior center. They do the local Meals on Wheels project, provide food boxes to senior citizens (food bank), and cook meals daily (M – F) for seniors. A couple days ago we took them two huge bags of cherry tomatoes, a large bag of cucumbers, and a mammoth bag of green beans.
One of the clearest signs of financial stress isn’t found on Wall Street. It’s found at local food banks, where organizations across the country are reporting serving substantially more families than they were just a few years ago.
When food banks begin serving more retirees on fixed incomes, it’s a clear sign that something has changed in the economy…not just for the poorest Americans, but also for senior citizens. And social security just isn’t keeping up with the cost increases for food. A grocery cart that cost about $100 just a few years ago now costs roughly $130 for the same food.
Senior citizens are one of the most vulnerable groups in the US, we want to do what we can to help out.
For your situation…you can figure it out…look for folks in your area, groups or individuals, and just take them a bag of fresh food from your garden. They’ll appreciate it.
Reader Question: Have you transplanted your strawberry plants yet?
No. I think it has only been about 3 weeks since I worked those runners. I believe the count was 25 into plastic starter cups and another 10 or so direct starts into soil. I will be checking the cups early next week and I think I will find sufficient root balls to cut the runner and move them to their final spots.
As for the direct sowing…they are probably good to go as well. I will also check them next week. I am pretty sure they will be ready to have their runners cut, but I am in no hurry to do so…that situation would take care of itself if I didn’t do anything.
Here’s the great part…I probably have at least another 25 runners/daughters ready for new planter cups and at least 15 or more for direct sowing. Yea!!! That alone (with the earlier starts) will fill my beds just fine…with some leftover.
I have had another change of mind for my strawberry beds since the plants are now in solid production. The Albion plants are doing better than the Eversweet plants…probably double or triple the production. And they are large sweet flavorful berries.
I currently have 5 beds each roughly 12’ long and 3’ wide. Yup, 180sq’ of berry patch!!!! Eversweets currently occupy 3 beds, albeit a bit sparse. The Albion have 2 beds and are jammed with plants and runners. My plan now is to move 1 bed of the Eversweet plants into the remaining 2 other Eversweet beds. And fill those two beds up properly.
Then with all the new plants and starts I will fill up the vacant bed with Albion along with filling out the other two Albion beds. By the time I am done those 3 beds should be full…and I mean full. The Albion plants are going crazy producing runners with daughter plants. That will give me more berries over the long haul.
And if I have it figure right…about the first of September I will probably have another round of plants started that will far exceed my beds’ capacity. So those starter plants will go to friends and neighbors for them to plant this fall and enjoy eating next year.
Now, let’s talk about your question…I get the idea there are two potential thoughts behind your question:
1 – You have starter plants working, or want to have, and you want to know when to transplant. The answer is…when your clear plastic plant starter cup is full of roots but not “packed”, then they are ready to transplant. And make sure that the soil in the cups is similar to “seedling soil”. And when you transplant them make sure you are putting them in really good soil…even an “up-potting soil” is a good idea. Think worm castings. Then make sure you keep them well watered for 10 days or so more than you normally would.
You can do direct sowing of runners’ daughter plants anytime. Again, make sure you are starting them in good soil.
2 – There is a second possible reason for your question…you want some of my “transplants” maybe…hummmm? The answer is “of course”. If you live near-by I would be happy to share them, even a few of the starters I’ve got going now if you are ready for them. Just contact me and we can talk about the logistics of it.
Thought for the day…
Preparedness isn’t just about taking care of yourself. It’s also about being in a position to help others.
One of the best parts of gardening is learning from one another.
If you have a question about vegetables, fruit trees, irrigation, composting, pests, soil, or just gardening in general, send it along. I may answer it privately, or it may become a future Garden Q&A article that helps other readers as well.
