Backyard Farming the Natural Way

Archive for the ‘Growing Vegetables and Herbs’ Category

We have had quite a heat spell here in the Southeast and my summer squash and zucchini seem to be producing, but many seem stunted and/or fall off the vine (as illustrated in pic).  The plants are very healthy otherwise, and though there are many possible factors like excessive heat, the most likely suspect is the lack of the bee pollinators.  Read the rest of this entry »

You can see here that my heirloom bell peppers that were planted in one gallon containers have clearly outgrown them. It’s actually quite amazing that they reached this current height of 2′ and were quite productive in such a small pot. However, the pots were transpiring too much water and the roots had pushed to the edge of the pots. Read the rest of this entry »

I just had to brag a little bit on these wonderful cherry tomatoes. These guys consistently rank at the top in many tomato taste tests and I concur as to their taste. Currently I have two 5′ plants that are loaded with these tomatoes and I eat them like candy. They are certainly about the best tasting hybrids that I have found, and because the seeds are hard to find, I have snipped the growing shoots off a couple of these and transplanted a couple more plants. Read the rest of this entry »

My small garden is now thriving with cucumber, squash, zucchini, okra, tomatoes, peppers, and more. Of course, this does not count the many varieties of cooler weather greens, broccoli, artichoke etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some of my Anaheim peppers that have reached 2.5′ tall - and have peppers about 6″ long. These are the peppers commonly used to make chile reinos and can be used for other chile pepper recipes. They are medium heat, and will get hotter if allowed to redden.  I have these and other pepper varieties scattered throughout my property, and I am particularly found of the idea of growing plants in nursery pots and then burying them in various places around my yard. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a shot of some of my tomato plants, and as you can see, they are getting full of tomatoes. Pictured here are black krim heirlooms and a bloody butcher in the background.  Not pictured here in the same plot are the Isis Candy, Sungold, and Kellogg’s Breakfast.  I am already harvesting the tasty sungolds. Read the rest of this entry »