Wow, what a great fall harvest I had this year. I was able to harvest the very last of the cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi on Thanksgiving morning, November 28th, before the really cold weather set in (see pic below). The nice thing about cabbage and kohlrabi is that it will keep for about 2 months in the refrigerator. In fact, I still have about four heads of cabbage and five heads of kohlrabi still in the refrigerator today. I started harvesting the first of the fall carrots on December 10th (see pic below). I still have about half of the carrots still in the ground (under a plastic covered hoop). They should keep for another month or so, unless the temperatures get below zero and the ground freezes. Overall, I have been really impressed with this year’s fall garden. Now I will be focusing on taking inventory of all of my existing seeds and placing new seed orders for 2025.
I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and productive 2025 New Year!!
The late November garden is still producing, but it is definitely getting colder now. Central Indiana had its first measurable snow of the fall season on November 21st, about 2.5 inches of wet snow, after having been near 70 degrees two days before that!! I had the cabbage, kohlrabi, and the two last remaining cauliflower plants covered with row covers, and they did fine (see pics below). The carrots and lettuce continue to be covered with plastic covered hoops. Despite the weather, I have continued to harvest cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower. I have probably harvested the last of the lettuce for this year. I will let most of the smaller lettuce seedlings that self-seeded this fall continue to grow all winter under the hoop (although some will probably not make it to spring). The carrots are probably ready to harvest, but I will not start harvesting them for another few weeks. I harvested all of the brussels sprouts that I could over the last few days. The crop this year was very poor, due to all of the insect pressure. Despite the cold, aphids continue to be a major issue on the brussels sprouts this fall. I have never seen aphids this bad in the garden before. They have even started to spread to the remaining cabbage, kohlrabi, and cauliflower plants. All of The broccoli has been harvested and I opened up that part of the bed to let my chickens feast on the remaining plants (see pic below). Right before the snow, on November 20th, I picked the last of the jalapeno and banana peppers, which is the latest I have ever picked peppers! I was even able to harvest some Red Norland potatoes yesterday (see pic below). These were left over volunteer potatoes that came up from the spring cop. The top-setting onions I planted in late October have now started to shoot up green shoots. The weather forecast for the next two weeks is for cold temperatures (with lows under 20 degrees). With all of that cold predicted, I will be harvesting all of the remaining cabbage, kohlrabi, and cauliflower in the next few days, so my refrigerators should be packed full of produce. Time to make some coleslaw and sauerkraut. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Cabbage Under the Snow Covered Row Cover, Picture Taken 11-21-24Snow Covered Garden With Cabbage and Kohlrabi (Foreground) Under Row Covers, Picture Taken 11-21-24Two Cauliflower Plants Under Snow Covered Row Covers, Picture Taken 11-21-24One Jalapeno and One Banana Pepper Plant Covered With Snow, Picture Taken 11-21-24Volunteer Red Norland Potatoes Harvest, Picture Taken 11-26-24Chickens Feasting on the Leftover Broccoli Plants, Picture Taken 11-13-24
Wow, the mid-November garden continues to produce like crazy! Yesterday, 11/10, I think I harvested the biggest head of cauliflower I have ever raised. It was about 10 inches in diameter and probably weighed at least five pounds (see two pictures below). This was the first cauliflower harvested this fall. The variety of cauliflower I am growing is a hybrid called “Snow Crown.” I have five more cauliflower plants still in the garden, most of these are at or reaching maturity, but none will be that big (at least I think). I will probably harvest at least one more head today. On the few cold mornings we have had, I had all of these cauliflower plants covered with row covers. I might have to cover them again over the next few mornings as the lows are predicted to get into the low to mid 30’s. I will also cover the cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce and carrots. The Scarlet Nantes carrots are doing really well (see picture below). I will probably not harvest any carrots for another month or so. The fall broccoli has really grown well and all of the main heads have now been harvested, with a fair amount of side shoots still growing. The fall cabbage and kohlrabi have also grown very well and harvest continues on them as well. The weather has been mostly warmer than normal over the past two weeks or so with some decent rain over the last week. I will probably not have to do any more watering this year. About 10 days ago, I was able to plant the top-setting onions, but the ground then was very hard and dry, which made planting a struggle. After planting, I watered them in real good and covered them with shredded tree leaves and a small row cover (to keep the squirrels from digging them up). The August planted lettuce continues to grow nicely and the lettuce I let go to seed finally sprouted on the other end of the bed (see picture below). Fall is a great time to garden, but I have had a hard time convincing some gardeners of this fact. Happy late fall gardening!!
First Head of Cauliflower Awaiting Harvest, Picture Taken 11-10-24Ginormous Head of Cauliflower Harvested, Picture Taken 11-10-24Scarlet Nantes Carrots Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 11-10-24August Planted Sierra Lettuce (Bottom) and Self Seeded Sierra Lettuce Finally Starting to Grow (Top), Picture Taken 11-10-24
The fall garden is still producing lots of good home grown produce. The garden experienced its first frost and freeze on October 17th, which, in my opinion, is about the normal date for Central Indiana. The temperatures dropped below freezing for several hours, but no major damage was observed in the garden, with the exception of the bush green beans, which were not covered. That was okay, because I had harvested all the beans from the plants prior to that. I did cover all of the cole crops with row covers prior to the frost/freeze, and they did just fine. I also covered the lettuce and carrots with plastic covered hoops. There were several more frosty mornings that followed the first one, so I kept them all covered until it warmed up again. I harvested the first kohlrabi on October 23rd, with many more to come. I will be harvesting the first of the cabbage very soon. The peppers made it through the cold, and I have recently harvested what I think is the last of them as the plants have just about stopped growing. Harvest continues on the broccoli, with just a few more heads to harvest, although there are many side shoots starting to grow. The cauliflower heads are just starting to get some size, but they are not quite ready to harvest as of yet. Harvest has slowed considerably on the late planted lettuce, but I was able to harvest enough for a small bag. The brussels spouts continue to get bigger, but harvest on them won’t start up for another few weeks. The weather continues to be very dry, so I had to water a few of the plots with still actively growing plants in them. Over the past week I have removed my bush and pole green beans. Over the next week, I will be removing most of the remaining pepper and tomato plants.
Four Heads of Broccoli Awaiting Harvest, Picture Taken 10/15/24Cabbage, Broccoli (already harvested), and one Cauliflower Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 10/23/24. Note Volunteer Potato Vines GrowingCabbage, Kohlrabi, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Growing Nicely in the Spring Planted Corn Plot, Picture Taken 10/23/24Another View of the Old Corn Plot with Fall Crops Growing, Picture Taken 10/23/24The First Fall Kohlrabi Harvested, Picture Taken 10/23/24
The fall garden continues to grow well, but it is still very dry. The garden did receive about 1.7 inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Helene about 10 days ago, but it has since turned very dry and the garden had to be watered again yesterday. The first harvest of fall broccoli took place on October 5th. The two heads were a little bit smaller than I would like to see, but they were still very tasty. There are many more heads of broccoli in the garden that should be maturing over the next 2 to 4 weeks. Harvest continues on the late planted bush green beans, but this planting looks like to be about finished out. There are still some pole green beans that are getting to harvestable size. The peppers continue to produce, although the cooler temperatures have slowed their growth. Lettuce has also been harvested several times over the last few weeks. The kohlrabi, cabbage, and cauliflower plants continue to grow well.
Harlequin bugs have become an issue, mainly on the brussels sprouts, but they are starting to move to my nearby broccoli and cauliflower plants. This is the first time I have seen these bugs since I have been gardening in Indianapolis (about 30 years now). They are quite the nuisance bug, which attack mostly cruciferous crops. Apparently, they have been gradually spreading north over the years and now have found their way to Central Indiana The best way to control these bugs, at least for me, has been to hand pick them off the plants. They have done some moderate damage to my brussels sprouts, but mostly on the leaves and not to the forming sprouts, as far as I can tell. Here are some interesting links about the harlequin bug: https://extension.psu.edu/invasive-insect-harlequin-bug, https://www.gardenia.net/pest/harlequin-bug
Two Broccoli Heads Awaiting Harvest, Picture Taken 10-5-24Cabbage (Lower) and Broccoli and Cauliflower (Top), Picture Taken 10-5-24More Cauliflower Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 10-5-24Brussels Sprouts (Left) and Broccoli (Right). Notice the Brown Leaves on the Sprouts, Which is Damage From the Harlequin Bugs, Picture Taken 10-5-24Nice Overall Picture of Half of the Garden, Picture Taken 10-5-24
My fall garden continues to grow well despite the desert dryness and the above normal temperatures. Central Indiana is now in moderate drought, with not much relief in sight for the foreseeable future. As long as the garden gets watered once a week, I think it will continue to do well. The August planted broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi plants continue to get bigger and they appear to be on schedule for a mid-October through November harvest window. The mid-July sown carrots continue to grow nicely. Over the past few weeks I have been harvesting green beans, lettuce, hot banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, poblano peppers, and just a few tomatoes. The last of the celery was harvested yesterday. This is the first time I have grown Tabasco pepper, which is just now starting to produce little red mature peppers. The plants are really tall (about 4 foot high) with many green peppers still on the plant (see pic below). I probably will not grow this pepper again next year. It is an open pollinated pepper, so I will save some of the seeds in case I decide to grow it again in the future. I really like the Super Chili hybrid pepper, but the seeds have gotten really expensive, and I decided to try Tabasco this year. I think I found a non-hybrid open pollinated replacement for Super Chili called Matchbox, which I will definitely be growing next year.
Huge Tabasco Pepper Plants, Picture Taken 9-17-24Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Broccoli. Picture Taken 9-17-24Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Cauliflower, and Broccoli (Bottom Bed) Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts (Top Bed). Picture Taken 9-17-24
Sorry for not posting recently, I have been very busy over the last month. The garden has been growing pretty well, despite the very dry conditions. The garden did receive some much needed rain over the last few days. Before that, the garden was being watered well about every week. The early August planted seedlings of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, and lettuce are growing nicely now. The mid-spring planted brussels sprouts (variety Jade Cross) suffered badly from lack of water (due to gardener neglect), but they have now rebounded nicely, with many medium sized sprouts observed on most of the plants. They also had a pretty severe infestation of white flies and aphids, which, I think, has been rectified with a few applications of insecticidal soap. I sowed a few small rows of lettuce seeds in mid-July and they have grown well. I did have to keep them well watered and covered with shade netting during the real hot days, which helped them quit a bit. I have been harvesting some lettuce from this planting over the last few weeks now. The July sown green beans are doing well and harvest will begin on one of the plots today. The other bean plot is a few weeks behind the other, but the beans are starting to flower now, so it will not be long before harvest begins on those. I am hopeful to have enough green beans to pressure can another 5 or 6 quarts. Despite the early blight on the Roma tomatoes, the plants produced enough for me to can 6 quarts of tomatoes and make some salsa. I still have a few tomatoes on the plants to enjoy fresh on salads. The celery is still producing a small harvest, despite the celery plants experiencing celery anthracnose disease. The jalapeno and the hot banana peppers are still producing nicely. I have also been able to harvest a decent amount of ancho poblano peppers over the last month. The July sown Scarlet Nantes carrots are staring to get bigger. Since the weather has cooled a bit, I might sow some radish seeds within the next few days. It is hard to believe, but the average first frost for Central Indiana is only about 5 or 6 weeks away.
August Planted Broccoli (right) and Brussels Sprouts (left), Picture Taken 9-2-24Mid August Planted Seedlings of Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Growing Nicely in Bed That Had Spring Planted Corn, Picture Taken 9-2-24Early August Planted Seedlings of Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Growing in Bed That Had Spring Planted Potatoes, Picture Taken 9-2-24Two Early August Planted Cauliflower Seedlings Growing in Bed That Had Spring Planted Potatoes, Picture Taken 9-2-24July Sown Carrots Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 9-2-24
The first harvest of the white Silver Queen corn took place yesterday (very tasty!!), with many more ears to harvest over the next few weeks. Harvest continues on the pole beans and broccoli side shoots. The last of the spring planted cabbage and kohlrabi was also harvested over the last week. The first few early jalapeno peppers were also harvested with many more continuing to ripen up on the plants. The cucumber harvest continues and I was able to put up ten jars of refrigerator pickles recently. The Scarlet Nantes carrot seeds were sown on July 23rd and most of them have germinated within the last day or so. Derby bush green beans were sown around the middle of July where the spring peas were growing and another planting of these beans were sown on July 25th where the spring onions were growing. About a week ago the dried and cured yellow Candy onions were placed in mesh bags and moved to the basement for long term storage. The harvest from these were pretty good, but maybe not as good as last year. The Roma tomatoes started out this spring looking pretty good, but the early blight has taken hold and they now look awful (see pic below). In the end, the very wet spring was there undoing. The last several years I have had really good tomato harvests, but not this year. I am currently researching determinate plum tomato varieties that have good disease resistance. I will not be planting Roma tomatoes going forward, as they have little to no early blight disease resistance. I am also battling disease on my celery (variety Tango). I have now come to the conclusion that my issue has not been “black heart” disease (which I thought I have had over the past few years now), but rather Celery Anthracnose or Leaf Curl Disease (see pic below). See the following good description of this from Cornell University: https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/celery-anthracnose-leaf-curl-disease/ Even though I have been practicing a four-year crop rotation, I still have been having this issue. My guess is that I need to make sure to discard all parts of the plants, including leaves, and not let them get into my compost bins. I am currently researching some “least susceptible varieties” of celery. Some might say why bother, but if you never had truly fresh celery right from your garden, then you are missing out. I plan on getting some lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seedlings planted out into the garden in about another week or so. I still need to harvest the rest of potatoes in the two 4ft-4ft raised beds, which I will do within the next week.
Roma Tomatoes With Early Leaf Blight, Picture Taken 7-28-24Celery Showing Signs of Celery Anthracnose Disease, Picture Taken 7-28-24Silver Queen Corn Looking Good, Picture Taken 7-28-24Close Up of the Silver Queen Corn, Picture Taken 7-28-24
The fall seeds of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and lettuce were started indoors in cell packs on June 30th. The seeds have since germinated and are now growing outside under my covered back porch. I pulled up the onions about a week ago and they are now curing on shelves on top of hardware cloth in my barn (see pics below). This is the second year I have cured my onions in the barn like this. I think it is great way to cure onions for long term storage. I harvested the first batch of bush green beans and pole beans on July 7th and have been harvesting a few potatoes, as needed, over about the last week. Also, the harvest has begun on the hot banana peppers, albeit limited at this time. The early jalapeno peppers are just starting to get some size to them, but are not quite ready to harvest. The potatoes in five of the grow bags will hopefully be harvested within the next week. Harvest continues on broccoli side shoots, but the growth on these seems to have slowed down a little. I might have harvested the last of the spring planted lettuce today, as the plants are starting to bolt (all good things must come to an end). I was able to pressure can five quarts of bush green beans on July 8th. I have not canned green beans in many years and it was good to be able to fine tune that skill. I am planning on canning tomatoes later on this summer. The Silver Queen white corn continues to grow like a weed and I even think I observed some very small ears already starting to form. The spring planted celery has finally started to grow, but I need to make sure to keep it well watered. Wow, the cucumbers have really started to vine like crazy and have already reached the top of my second cages. They are also loaded with flowers and I have even noticed a few small cucumbers on the vines. I have not pulled up my pea vines as of yet, but plan on doing that sometime over the next week. After they are pulled I will be seeding some bush green beans in their place. The weather has been very dry, but some much need rain is forecasted for the area today and tonight.
Onions Curing on Hardware Cloth in Barn, Picture Taken 7-8-24More Onions Curing on Hardware Cloth in Barn, Picture Taken 7-8-24Silver Queen White Corn Pic 1, Picture Taken 7-8-24Silver Queen White Corn Pic 2, Picture Taken 7-8-24Five Grow Bags with Potatoes Ready for Harvesting, Picture Taken 7-8-24
The temperatures have really heated up over the last few weeks, with many days with temperatures in the lower to mid 90’s. The garden did receive at least some rain, but it still remains very dry. Despite the dry and hot conditions, the garden is doing well. Most of the onion tops have now flopped over and I plan on getting them pulled up and starting the curing process within the next week. It looks like the onion crop will be good this year. I have just finished harvesting the rest of the peas. Broccoli harvesting continues, with all of the main heads now harvested. Now the abundant broccoli side shoots will continue to be harvested for about another month. With all of the warm to hot weather, the peppers and tomatoes are really starting to grow. A few of the hot banana pepper plants have some harvestable sized peppers on them already. Harvest continues on the lettuce, but I need to keep the plants shaded with all of the heat, to keep the plants from bolting. The bush green beans are now starting to flower and the rattlesnake pole beans are starting to work their way up the bean towers. The Diva cucumbers are also starting to vine their way up the cages, but no sign of flowers as of yet. The potatoes in five of the grow bags are nearing maturity, so harvest will begin on those within the next few weeks. The corn is now about four foot tall and tassels are just starting to push out of the tops.
Wow, can you believe it is already late June!! Now is the time to start planning the fall crop. I will be starting seeds of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and lettuce, in cell packs, within the next week, inside. After germination, I will move these seedlings onto the covered back porch until they are transplanted out into the garden as early as the first week in August.
Onions (Candy and Red Candy Apple) With Tops Falling Over and Ready for Harvest, Picture Taken 6-24-24 Sierra Lettuce Still Producing, Picture Taken 6-24-24Lettuce With Shade Cloth Covering, Picture Taken 6-24-24
