Gardeners: how's it looking?

[San Joaquin]

The first raft of tomatoes is slowing down and the second planting is blooming.  Had a few cukes, some delightful pepperoncinis, kale, lots of herbs.  Nasturtiums, lavender and peas putting on an encore performance.  Not my year for squashes.  Planted a few more beans for dry/overwinter use, and some lettuce to see if I can get it to sprout in the week's cool spell. Radishes, beets & well-I'm-not-entirely-sure all doing well.  And it has all been quite effective essential sanity maintenance.

[Harlow2]

The first raft of tomatoes is slowing down and the second planting is blooming.  Had a few cukes, some delightful pepperoncinis, kale, lots of herbs.  Nasturtiums, lavender and peas putting on an encore performance.  Not my year for squashes.  Planted a few more beans for dry/overwinter use, and some lettuce to see if I can get it to sprout in the week's cool spell. Radishes, beets & well-I'm-not-entirely-sure all doing well.  And it has all been quite effective essential sanity maintenance.

My radishes have done nothing in the past 3 years, and neither have the beets. I get greens but nothing else. I may try again if it cools down a bit. What kind of soil/mix do you use? 

[AmLitHist]

Picked a big yellow pepper and a red one yesterday, and also four cantaloupes. 

The heat has gotten most of the garden. Most of August has been 100 degree plus heat index days, with stretches of no rain for a week alternated with 2-3 inch downpours. My garden (and everyone's in the neighborhood) looks like hell.  It's OK.  Being back to work means I have plenty else to do.  I'll start slowly pulling things up if/when it cools off next week.

The local fall forecast calls for a cold October and wet and cold November, so at least I'll (plan to) have everything cleaned up early, rather than getting behind and trying to beat the first frost/freeze as has sometimes happened in the past.

[Parasaurolophus]

Today I dug the last of the kale out from under the ice, and we ate it.

[Cheerful]

Today I dug the last of the kale out from under the ice, and we ate it.

Kale snow cone? 🍧

[Stockmann]

Maybe this is a pretty dumb question, but bear with me as I have limited, self-taught gardening experience and am no botanist - are the shoots of asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri') edible? What I've been able online is vague and contradictory - yes, the leaves can cause dermatitis and the fruits are mildly toxic, but that doesn't really tell me much about the shoots (esp. when it seems to be true of oficinalis, too).

We have asparagus fern in the garden, planted long before we moved here - my wife recently recognized the shoots as asparagus, and after some sleuthing online I'm sure it's densiflorus sprengeri. Having realized it's not asparagus oficinalis, the variety that is unambiguously edible, I've not been able to find clear-cut information on the safety or lack thereof of the shoots.

[mamselle]

No idea, but it runs in my mind it's decorative, not edible.

When in doubt, of course, err on the side of caution...

Is there a gardening club in your area?

They might either have a 'consultant' of the official variety, or "someone who knows every plant for miles around here," of the un-official variety.

State agriculture websites often have similar information as well.

(Or, on the negative side, you could always look up the Poison Control website in your area....)

Stay safe!

M.

[Harlow2]

State agriculture websites often have similar information as well.


M.

Master gardeners in your state  are another place. Also could ask on gardenwen.com. Some there have considerable expertise. My check of my hefty gardening encyclopedia is mute on its suitability for eating. 

[Parasaurolophus]

Everything is dead. Except my kale (variety unknown), which survived the freezing weather despite the fact that the landlords' kale (lacinato and Russian red) didn't.

[mamselle]

Oops.

Do Parasaurolophuses make peace offerings?

;--}

M.

[Stockmann]

@mamselle: I won't try them until and unless I get clear info on them, but if they are edible it would be a shame to waste completely fresh, pesticide-free asparagus. Thanks for the suggestion on checking for local poisonous plants, I've checked for advice on local dangerous plants but it's not on the list. On the other hand, it may not be all that common to the area (this is a suburb). Unfortunately I'm not aware of any local gardening clubs and I strongly get the impression (we're newish to the area) that there isn't a local culture of growing food in your garden or even of doing gardening yourself instead of hiring someone.

@Harlowe2: Thanks for the suggestion, I've now posted the question and hopefully will get clarity on it.

Sorry about your plants, Parasaurolophus.

I've planted rosemary, oregano, spearmint, mint and coriander. Not from seed as I've failed to grow anything from seed. So far at least none of them have died.

[Puget]

@mamselle: I won't try them until and unless I get clear info on them, but if they are edible it would be a shame to waste completely fresh, pesticide-free asparagus. Thanks for the suggestion on checking for local poisonous plants, I've checked for advice on local dangerous plants but it's not on the list. On the other hand, it may not be all that common to the area (this is a suburb). Unfortunately I'm not aware of any local gardening clubs and I strongly get the impression (we're newish to the area) that there isn't a local culture of growing food in your garden or even of doing gardening yourself instead of hiring someone.

@Harlowe2: Thanks for the suggestion, I've now posted the question and hopefully will get clarity on it.

Sorry about your plants, Parasaurolophus.

I've planted rosemary, oregano, spearmint, mint and coriander. Not from seed as I've failed to grow anything from seed. So far at least none of them have died.

Be aware there is a lot of territory between "edible" and "poisonous" occupied by things that won't make you deathly ill but won't  agree with you either. Your state extension office would be a good place to check. I would be cautious unless you have a very clear ID.

[Thursday's_Child]

Maybe this is a pretty dumb question, but bear with me as I have limited, self-taught gardening experience and am no botanist - are the shoots of asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri') edible? What I've been able online is vague and contradictory - yes, the leaves can cause dermatitis and the fruits are mildly toxic, but that doesn't really tell me much about the shoots (esp. when it seems to be true of oficinalis, too).

We have asparagus fern in the garden, planted long before we moved here - my wife recently recognized the shoots as asparagus, and after some sleuthing online I'm sure it's densiflorus sprengeri. Having realized it's not asparagus oficinalis, the variety that is unambiguously edible, I've not been able to find clear-cut information on the safety or lack thereof of the shoots.

Chiming in to add to the "be very cautious" theme.  Just b/c one plant is edible does not mean that it's relatives are.  If you're super-curious, cook one shoot, take a tiny bite, and chew but don't swallow.  If it tastes at all "off", also rinse your mouth well after spitting it all out.  I'm betting that it won't taste good.

That said, edible asparagus is reasonably easy to grow - you just need enough room and a tolerance for having a rather untidy-looking area all summer long.

[Stockmann]

Yes, I'll be cautious - what feedback I've gotten is that the shoots are edible. All the info I've found is that even the berries will give you an upset stomach (even those of the unambiguously edible asparagus) rather than anything worse, but of course won't try the shoots if the same goes for them. I'm asking if they're any good, because conceivably they could be edible but not very tasty, kind of like lettuce. If I were planting it, I'd plant the normal edible asparagus, but these were already there. Kind of short of space for everything we'd like to plant, especially my wife, who semi-seriously mentioned avocado...

I jinxed it about the other plants, as the cats in the neighborhood have now eaten the coriander.

[Harlow2]

During the winter I plant micro tomatoes and lettuce under grow lights in the kitchen. The lettuce, planted at the beginning of the month, is producing nicely and the tomato plants are in their first pots. Nothing like casually reaching over and picking a delicious red cherry tomato when it's still cold out; I hope to have fruit in late March.