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I'll try to post what new this year from last year, first up - artichokes. I'm not sure my climate is right for these but SWMBO requested that I try them.



This is the garlic from last fall, about 15. If I get heads from half of them it should meet my needs. This was grown in a space of about 1.5' X 3' or about 50 cm X 1 m. Even the very land challanged can find a little bit of space for garlic. BigGuy's garlic patch looks to be about 4' X 10' but he is after all the BigGuy.



My plum tree is showing some fruit



but is also dropping some of it. It could be birds or squirrels or weather or ? Should I be worried?



Finally this girl is off to a good start (one of two).

What is the last one?

Hint - she's related to a noble family.

Is it a semillon grape
waiting for Noble Rot to turn it into a Satuerne?

She's a bine not a vine.

A hop?

Right. I planted two Mt. Hood hops (related to the noble Hallertau). They should grow to about 14 feet (4 meters). I will get a small yield the first year but much better after that. Growing the hops then turning them into beer just seemed like a fun thing to do. Here is a picture of my brother with his Cascade hops from last year.

Hallertau? That was far-fetched on a meat forum. Anyway, nice!

That's the way you dress in NC now? I should move there. Her it's 40 F and windy...

(oops sorry picture from last year, missed that )

The picture of my brother was taken in late August in northern Mississippi. I'm sure he had a string of 90F (32C) days to dry out the hop cones. Here in NC, it's 72F (22C) and sunny; good for my garden.

Good luck with it. Hops are a horrendous price from home brew shops here these days.

I'd love to grow hops but we have 5 dogs, and hops can cause hyperthermia (massive overheating). Given that we live in New Orleans, we don't need to overheat the dogs anymore than our God-awful weather does on its own.

Once you start harvesting hops, any interest in selling some? I'd be willing to buy some off you!

EDIT: Hyperthermia, not hypo. Haha. Had 'em switched up!

Hops are doing well. In order to encourage strong root growth, I've limited one of them to a single bine and the other to just two. My outlook for the first year should only be an ounce once dried (or I would be glad to share some). New Orleans is too hot for hops I'm afraid. Also in the picture is a blueberry bush with only about 15 blueberries. Red potatoes, dill and some mint as well in the pots.

NCPaul wrote:Hops are doing well. In order to encourage strong root growth, I've limited one of them to a single bine and the other to just two. My outlook for the first year should only be an ounce once dried (or I would be glad to share some). New Orleans is too hot for hops I'm afraid. Also in the picture is a blueberry bush with only about 15 blueberries. Red potatoes, dill and some mint as well in the pots.

Glad to hear they're well! And no worries on the hops. Hopefully you have enough to make something tasty!

Whereabouts in NC are you? We're considering buying a small farm up in NC (been looking in the Piedmont area, I think) in the next year or so to raise some livestock. I'm a Yankee by birth (New Jersey) and after almost 12 years this heat is killing me. Haha.

I live in the Piedmont and you won't escape all of the the heat by moving here; July and August will be like New Orleans. You will however get about two snow falls in the Winter and have very nice Fall and Spring conditions. You can get, for some plants, a double season. Quite a few things, like herbs, spinach, and some lettuce, will winter over. Your planting zone will be 7 instead of 9.

Garlic harvest! Fifteen heads (about a hundred less than Big Guy) should meet my needs for a while. Easy to grow in a small space. If they last to fall, I should plant the large cloves on the outside of the head to make large heads next Spring. These are Lorz Italian. Plus a couple of yellow squash (the first of many I predict).