Container Garden Update — September 20, 2015

by A.J. Coltrane

Previous post here.  September 21, 2014 post here.  September 22, 2013 post here.

The forecast calls for more 50-or-60-degree days, clouds, and rain. I’m guessing that’s as good as it’s going to get until May. This weekend became “clean up and harvest everything that’s at least mostly ripe.”

17.1 pounds for the day. 22.8 pounds for the week. 269.3 pounds for the year (counting only the EarthBoxes). We’ve now surpassed last year’s EarthBox total of ~260 pounds.

Yesterday’s harvest (with boy cat):

We harvested all of the tomatoes that were showing signs of color.

Closeup 1.  (L-R:  Iko Iko peppers, NuMex peppers) The Iko Iko have been a pleasant surprise — they ripened well, and the yield was good.

Closeup 2.  (Top Left – Bullnose Bell. Top Right – Lipstick & Yellow Bell peppers. Bottom Left – Anaheim. Bottom Right – Jalapeno.)

I thought the “finish” on this Jalapeno sort of reminded me of a race car or a rocket:

Closeup 3.  (Top Left – Oregon Spring & not-ripe Taxi. Bottom Left – Cosmonaut Volkov. Top Right – Black Krim & Roma. Bottom Right – Tomatillos.)

Closeup 4. (L-R:  King of the North, Carmen)

The boy cat trying out a sheet tray (prior to the harvest photo):

The Tuesday harvest:

Friday (Cosmonaut Volkov, Taxi, & cherry tomatoes):

We haven’t had the time to really maintain the tomato plants. (Or anything in the garden for that matter.) Yesterday the tomatoes finally got a giant haircut. The pepper and tomatillos plants were removed:

For reference, here’s last week:

Our “Final Summer Harvest” date in 2013 was on October 7. In 2014 it was September 28. I’d guess we’ll pull the remaining summer veg when the forecast indicates a spate of 40-degree nights on the horizon.

The garlic and radishes:

We trimmed the salad table today. It’s on casters, so we can tuck it in the corner next to the door, then roll it out for access. This picture is after the trim. (top L-R – Little Gem romaine, dill, spinach, Jericho romaine, frilly cilantro, arugula):

The 2nd tier houses spinach, romaine, and miner’s lettuce. The bottom has mache and miner’s lettuce. I think I over-planted. On the bright side, seeds aren’t expensive, and nothing bolted when it was warm.

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2013 total weight to date:  157.5 pounds

2014 total weight to date:  211.4 pounds

2015 total weight to date:  269.3 pounds

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Visit Daphne’s Dandelions, host of Harvest Monday.