Microclimates
Between the sunroom and the slightly warmer climate, I'm having more success with certain veggies. Where we moved to is not far from where we were. About an half hour by car. But this area is full of micro-climates created by hills and valleys, harbours and bays, variations in altitude and distance from the ocean. What I've noticed here is that on any given day it's a few degrees warmer in the daytime, colder at night, and overall less windy.
The sunroom capsicum are producing beautiful bright orange fruit, despite my deep neglect of the aphid problem. It turns out they can withstand a lot of aphids. I had those aphids under control until I ran out of garlic spray about a month ago. I am just today getting around to making more. Next year I'll be more prepared. Make up a whole lot at the beginning of the season. All the same, this is the most success I've had with capsicum yet. We've already eaten two of them and they were juicy and sweet:
I've read that capsicum are perennials in warmer climates, and I'm curious if they will persist into Winter if I leave them in the sunroom. More experiements.
In other news, the watermelon I planted in the new front garden bed is exceeding my wildest expectations. Its bright, healthy vines are wandering far and wide. Up until a few days ago, it was growing exactly one beautiful little fruit. Three weeks ago, my son was excited to discover this fruit among the vines:
This is the same watermelon, two weeks ago:
And here it is today, looking just about ready to pick:
This variety is called sugar baby, named for its small but sweet fruit. We just barely have a long enough growing season for watermelon. I selected these for their slightly faster growing time. I expect we will pick this one this weekend, a much anticipated event. This is growing in the front garden, and so we have a little look at its progress every time we pass by.
Earlier this week we discovered that the plant had finally started to set more frut. I have discovered four more tiny but growing fruit. There may be more hiding in among the vines. As it is nearing the end of Summer, time will tell whether they have time to ripen. Either way, I consider the watermelons to be a phenomenal success as compared with the past two years of trying and failing to produce a single fruit.
A third success has been mostly accidental. I gave up on growing full sized tomatoes years ago. (Though I was starting to harbour hopes of trying some in the sunroom net year). They start out good, but their longer growing time means the weather is turning cold by the time they start to ripen. As a result, the tomatoes come out squishy and mealy. I love tomatoes, and I like to grow a few cherry and other small varieties. This year I must have grabbed a large tomato variety by mistake. I got a surprise when the tomatoes started coming in large, and a second surprise when they turned out to be bright orange. The far bigger surprise, though, was the taste. They are sweet, juicy, and a beautiful texture. They are fantastic on toast, and I'm not imagining a lot more full sized tomatoes in my future.
The sunroom capsicum are producing beautiful bright orange fruit, despite my deep neglect of the aphid problem. It turns out they can withstand a lot of aphids. I had those aphids under control until I ran out of garlic spray about a month ago. I am just today getting around to making more. Next year I'll be more prepared. Make up a whole lot at the beginning of the season. All the same, this is the most success I've had with capsicum yet. We've already eaten two of them and they were juicy and sweet:
I've read that capsicum are perennials in warmer climates, and I'm curious if they will persist into Winter if I leave them in the sunroom. More experiements.
In other news, the watermelon I planted in the new front garden bed is exceeding my wildest expectations. Its bright, healthy vines are wandering far and wide. Up until a few days ago, it was growing exactly one beautiful little fruit. Three weeks ago, my son was excited to discover this fruit among the vines:
This is the same watermelon, two weeks ago:
And here it is today, looking just about ready to pick:
This variety is called sugar baby, named for its small but sweet fruit. We just barely have a long enough growing season for watermelon. I selected these for their slightly faster growing time. I expect we will pick this one this weekend, a much anticipated event. This is growing in the front garden, and so we have a little look at its progress every time we pass by.
Earlier this week we discovered that the plant had finally started to set more frut. I have discovered four more tiny but growing fruit. There may be more hiding in among the vines. As it is nearing the end of Summer, time will tell whether they have time to ripen. Either way, I consider the watermelons to be a phenomenal success as compared with the past two years of trying and failing to produce a single fruit.
A third success has been mostly accidental. I gave up on growing full sized tomatoes years ago. (Though I was starting to harbour hopes of trying some in the sunroom net year). They start out good, but their longer growing time means the weather is turning cold by the time they start to ripen. As a result, the tomatoes come out squishy and mealy. I love tomatoes, and I like to grow a few cherry and other small varieties. This year I must have grabbed a large tomato variety by mistake. I got a surprise when the tomatoes started coming in large, and a second surprise when they turned out to be bright orange. The far bigger surprise, though, was the taste. They are sweet, juicy, and a beautiful texture. They are fantastic on toast, and I'm not imagining a lot more full sized tomatoes in my future.
Comments
Post a Comment