Gamine's Garden

Seedy

2012-01-24T23:13:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that I got most of my seed starting area all cleaned up - woo! I even managed to get some wee seeds poked into some dirt. Life is good. I still need to tuck in some onions but I need a better container for that since they like to all hang out next to one another and not be separated into their own little compartments. Someone needs to finish off the sour cream so I can have the plastic tub. ;^)

Sadly, however I didn't manage to take any other pictures. I also finished planning out the 2012 garden and it looks like I will have to buy a few see packs but nothing I need to worry about currently.

I was thinking about planting horseradish this year. Anyone have experience with that? I heard that they help with warding off pests that bother potatoes. I thought I might try them as a companion planting this year.

I would've tried to get out and prune the fruit trees and blueberry bushes this past week but we've been getting deluged with icy-cold winter rain. I have no desire to go out there in goggles and flippers and turn blue. I'll wait a while till things dry out and warm up - even marginally before I make the attempt.

Happy Gardening!

To Do this Week in Zone 8a:
Prune apple trees
Prune blueberry bushes
Sew seeds indoors: Broccoli, Cabbage (head), Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce (head), Onion, and Parsley.

A New Year

2012-01-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and a new lease on life... once again I will try to chuck my bad lazy habits and actually post gardeny-goodess here for you! Of course right now there's not much to talk about and nary a thing to show (unless you want to see the green tips of some garlic I planted last fall or a few haggardly looking collard greens).

Yay collard greens!

I will apologize for dropping off last summer but we accidentally planted a seed of a different type 'round here. I'm expecting a baby boy in mid April! I also wound up having the most debilitating morning sickness to the point of pretty much being bed ridden for four months right at the end of the growing season and never even harvested half my crops. It was a real shame. Happily, that's all water under the bridge now.

The witch hazel is always so pretty in January.

This afternoon it's trying to snow and I've pulled out my garden binder and have started contemplating where I shall plant what, when the time comes. It's nearly time to start seeds (next week!) so this needs to be done.

A rough draft.

I'm making a list of what seeds need to be purchased and while I'm dreading it (because it's a complete mess) I need to also clean up the seed starting area in my house this week too. Of course some of this is complicated by my big belly. 0.o I'm still wondering how I'm going to actually get things planted outside with a big ol' baby bump in the way but I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it. Perhaps I can coerce my sister into helping?

See? Here I am being brave and just showing you *some* of the disaster that is my seed starting area. I still need to wash all the trays and lids which are stacked rather precariously by the utility sink and go through all the messy pile of seed packs I left out last fall. Shame on me! (Not the best seed storage method - lol!) I also need to dump out the old batches of fert I made up last year and look into the bottles of "magic plant potions" that I have laying around to see what needs to be replaced or replenished.

To Do this Week in Zone 8a:
Prune apple trees
Prune blueberry bushes

How does your garden grow?

2011-06-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

It took me a while but as promised - the new apple ~~stick~~ tree! (Spitzenburg) Or as I more affectionately refer to it, the fluffy apple stick.

In a few more years it'll look more like other fluffily apple stick. ;^) (Honey Crisp)

Overall the garden is doing well this year despite the cool wet weather. We had a great fiery sunset the other night.

Our pea pods have formed but alas, no peas as of yet. ::le sigh::

Chives are still blooming. I love their happy little bobby heads!

Strawberries are green too.

Our first tomato! I hope they're not all nearly greenies like last year. That was pretty disappointing.

In years past I've had a lot of trouble with everything under the sun eating my artichokes. I finally wised up a bit and moved them. So far the only the slugs have found them and I took care of it quick with Sluggo Plus. That was that. Now if I can just keep the aphids from locating them when the weather warms up I'll be good and might even get an artichoke or two this year! If they do show up, I've got a new trick up my sleeve. Ha!

With most of my attention going to the back yard my poor front yard has been entirely neglected. My sis came over to help me weed and brought her nice calm happy daughter. My kid on the other hand... well, I can say it's never dull around here! (and yes, she dressed herself)

Rain, rain, go away...

2011-06-02T23:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. Really, there hasn't been much to talk about in the garden. Even worse then the last couple of years we've had a lot of cold and wet and cold and wet. Of course we're not as bad off as some of the midwest states with tornados and now the hurricane season is upon us. Nope, just cold and wet up here in the PNW. Still, it makes for frustratingly slow gardening. We're about a month + behind our usual timeline and we can't seem to warm up enough to get anything to grow with any sort of expediency. I think we've had maybe three days this whole year so far that have gotten up above 70*. You can imagine how excited I'll be this weekend then when we should see some 80* temps. Yes, I'm holding my breath.

OH, one thing that did happen. I replaced the dead peach tree. I picked up a Spitzenberg Apple ~~stick~~ tree. Scrawny little thing. I know in about five years it'll actually look like a tree but right now it looks a bit like a fluffy stick. I'll have to remember to take a picture and share with everyone soon. It's rather not exciting to look at now, ah but I see potential!

Of course nice cool weather crops are loving it, radishes abound!

The grape arbor that hubby hacked together for me is workin' just fine. The grapes even have wee little grapes on them! Yay! First time since I planted it two years ago... that'll be exciting. I hope they ripen enough so we can try them later this summer.

Our very green blueberries.

I love it when the chives bloom, they're so pretty.

The spinach may have refused to grow but at least this year the beets are happy!

...a bit of an overview with lettuce and peas and brassicas, etc. We've been eating a lot of salads lately... I say that like it's a good thing, cause it is.

Mmmm! Salad!

Sweet little ladybug hangin' out on the sage plant.

Baby broccoli. I'm looking forward to my summer stir-fry!

The Italian flat leafed parsley (shown here) and the cilantro are both also loving this wet weather. Perfect for leafy herbs.... this batch went into some dressing I made for the salad shown above. Delish.

Two days in a row!

2011-05-01T20:39:00.001-07:00

It was another productive day in the garden. I got a late start since I went to church this morning then hung out in the back yard where I finished reading a book while drinking coffee in the warm sunshine. Yeah, tough life, I know. Around 1:30 pm I got my lazy sack together to actually start *working* on things. One of the major jobs I've been *dreading* is dealing with the asparagus bed.

You might remember it from earlier this spring? The cheap straw I laid down sprouted and was just causing a total mess. That was the first issue with this bed this year... digging all the unwanted sprouts out.

The main issue has been that I just can't really get the majority of the asparagus to grow and be happy. I've had a lot of root rot issues. So I did a bit more research and I felt like the biggest issue has been moisture. The soil is very loamy and rich but because this bed wasn't filled with compost when it was originally built I don't think that the drainage has been ideal. However because it was intended to be a perennial bed I never added more compost in, as perennials (chives and asparagus) were already planted. There comes a time however, when you've got to just face the music. I didn't want to move the perennials but the only way to rectify the situation was to deal head on with the soil. So even though all the asparagus has well sprouted by now and the chives are about to bloom, I dug them all out. I heeled them in one of my finished compost piles and tried to leave as much dirt around the roots as possible so the shock of being dug up all afternoon wouldn't be too much. This is the bed with all the plants removed. (And yes I know I need to desperately weed the gravel paths around the beds - it's on my TO DO list still)

My main goal was to increase the elevation of the soil to get better drainage. I shoveled in another cubic yard of compost. In the 12 sq. ft. of bed that has now been reserved for asparagus (down from 28 sq. ft.) I added in small pumice stones to open up the soil a bit and help with drainage.

After a lot of shoveling (on the bright side - green gym!) I replanted the chives in the same spot there were previously in and then brought all the asparagus together in one area just north of that.

Now that this bed isn't all asparagus any longer I was able to use the other end of the bed for new plants. Not sure how well they go together but I planted 12 sq. ft. of corn north of the asparagus. Since I've pretty much run out of time to stagger my plantings, I went with planting three different varieties that all harvest at different times 90 days, 82 days and 80 days. Hopefully that way we won't be eating nothing but corn one week come summer... not that that's necessarily a bad thing! At the very north end of the bed I added in some color with giant sunflowers and a few sprouting nasturtiums that I rescued out of the compost I need to turn. See? That compost is good for more then just soil! I have a few more spots to fill in here and I'm thinking I need some dill but I need to read up - something is tickling the back of my brain that dill likes to be planted off by itself. I'll have to research it before I commit to anything.

I also dragged my poor hubby into the garden fray (it's so not his thing, he'd MUCH rather be working on rebuilding vintage motorcycles) but I did convince him to build me a little arbor for the grape vine. He promised me last year that if I planted a grape he'd make a support for it. Well, I planted it and last year came and went and the poor little vine just flopped over with nothing to grow up or on. So yesterday I made THE most pathetic attempt at building one myself (I hammered a 5" board into the top of fence and flopped the vine over it - ha!) My ploy worked because hubby took one look at that and rolled his eyes and ripped it out. Since we're kinda broke we just made do with the lumber we had stashed in the garage... still for a "freebie" it came out pretty good!

Another view

THINGS I GOT DONE:
Transplant marigold starts
Plant sunflowers - direct sown
Transfer nasturtiums
Corn - Sew Seeds Direct
Chamomile - Transplant
Dig up asparagus and chives (heel in while working in bed)
Fill end bed w/ a yard of compost and mix in pumice for better aeration and drainage for asparagus
Replant asparaus and chives

TO DO STILL:
Basil - Transplant
add bark mulch to blue berry bed
Summer Squash - direct sew
weed blueberry bed
Blueberries - Feed
Fertilize: 0.8 oz of N per plant using 21-0-0
turn and water compost
buy peppers and basil
weed gravel paths
feed lawn: sift older compost with food and worm castings
edge lawn
Melons - Sew Seeds Direct
Dill - Harden Off / Transplant

A long over due day of gardening

2011-04-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day to spend outside. Intermittently cloudy and a high of maybe 70? I had no other plans besides just gardening today and it was lovely. I didn't feel terrible (finally getting over being sick), it was lovely weather, I got to hang out with my daughter, get some sunshine and work out a little in the green gym.

TO DO:
Basil - Transplant
Chamomile - Transplant (one down, one to go)
edge lawn
weed gravel paths
Summer Squash - direct sew
feed lawn: sift older compost with food and worm castings (Did the back lawn, need to do the front still)
Dill - Harden Off / Transplant
turn and water compost
Dig up asparagus and chives
weed blueberry bed
add bark mulch to blue berry bed
Fill end bed w/ more compost and sand
Corn - Sew Seeds Direct
Replant asparaus and chives
Blueberries - Fertilize: 0.8 oz of N per plant using 21-0-0
buy peppers and basil starts
Melons - Sew Seeds Direct

TO DID:
Apple Tree - feed
Fertilize first two years (2010/2011) top of ground w/ calcium nitrate. Then not again till leaves are pale or growth abates to 4"-6" a year. Work lime (calcium carbonate) in yearly till soil PH is 6.4 to 6.7. In 2nd/3rd years tie down branches at an angle of no more then 45* to help induce early fruiting (does not apply to columnar apples).
Onions - Fertilize Lightly
plant more radishes (new to me variety, French breakfast radishes - sounds interesting!)
Tomatoes - Transplant & use cloche (Fertilize + small amounts of lime & ground egg shell)
dig out old dirt in pots and refresh with potting soil and compost
transplant marigold starts (still have a few left to get in the ground but I need to clear out a bed to do it)
Leeks - Transplant
take out peach tree
Cilantro - Transplant
Parsley - Fertilize
plant potatoes
Flowers - Sew all seeds direct outdoors
Peas - Fertilize
Collard Greens - Sew Seeds Direct
Flowers - till bed
Spinach - fertilize

Potato pots with little starts in them. As they grow up I'll add more compost/potting soil to cover till the pots are full.

Those red cones? They're water wells and help keep plants warm until the weather cooperates. Right now they're sheltering tomatoes and artichokes. I've still got one more tomato to plant but it's a baby still and can wait another week or two before going outside. Otherwise the garlic and onions are doing well. I got cilantro transplanted out today in this bed too. The parsley is coming along and even though it's *really* late, I put the leeks out. Maybe they'll be okay. This bed still needs peppers and basil but it's still too cold at night for them so we're on hold there.

I think I've given up trying to grow spinach. What's up? Only ONE year have I ever gotten it to sprout and grow and for the life of me I can't remember what I did get it to "go". So that back right corner? It should be spinach but now it's a marigold and another square foot of radish. Radish variety is new to me, French Breakfast Radish. I am intrigued! Maybe in the last square foot I'll try the spinach again. Tips? Tricks? Anyone... Also planted the last little bit in the front left - collared greens. It's a little late but should be fine with the extra cool weather we've been having.

This is the so sad peach tree. It should be green and leafed out by now but it's a mess. I cut it down a moment or two after taking this picture.

I felt bad about doing it and then my daughter says to me, "Mama, it's like stabbing a baby tree!" Yeah, thanks kid. That makes this SO much easier! X^P Ah well. Having a peach tree was not meant to be. I'll stick to what does well in the PNW, apples. I'll replace this soon with a Spitzenburg. So here is the tree-free garden bed. Hopefully before spring has come and gone I'll get the apple in and try to get its roots established before the heat of summer. Otherwise I'll have to wait till fall.

Death Day - Good Bye Sweet Peach

2011-04-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a Death Day in a while and boy, this one is a doozy. I'm very, very sorry to report that the peach tree is pretty well in done for. Normally I'm a vigorous researcher when it comes to what kinds of plants go in the garden especially long term things like trees. However, several years ago I was at Home Depot of all places and saw this sweet little peach tree with the name "sugar princess" and just couldn't resist. Guess I should have! It already had evidence of peach leaf curl but I ignored that with the promise of sweet peaches in my near future.

I planted it two years ago. Last year it struggled though the peach leaf curl. I helped by covering it from rain, picking off the infected bits and doing what I could. I really needed to pick up all the leaves in the fall when they dropped but we were on vacation for over two weeks when it happened. I tried to rake up what I could when we got back but there wasn't much left. I sprayed the tree this spring but was either too late or I didn't apply enough spray and when it leafed out every single leaf was infected. All of them. I also noticed evidence of borer activity. I could try to hang on one more year but honestly I don't think there would be any improvement. I'm sad but the reality is, I think this one is done. Since there will now be a lot of peach leaf curl infecting the soil below I won't be able to replace it with another peach. I'm planning on replacing with an apple tree which is more more appropriate to our climate anyway.

Weedy Wednesday

2011-04-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's not all just watering and planting and enjoying the sunshine. Oh no! This here is a five gallon bucket of dandelion whine. Ha!

Somedays it's about pulling a LOT of weeds

Spring Bed

2011-04-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

After my last post you'd think it was all doom and gloom around here - not so! See? Healthy happy plants! (And a few replacements for those starts that went south). We have had another cold wet spring so I've been slow to put too many things out yet, lest they freeze to death. However, the brassica's are in, along with the lettuce, peas, radish, spinach, etc.

Happy little cauliflower

Lettuce is doing very well

Keeping the "tenders" (cilantro, tomatoes, basil, etc) in the cold frame until our nights warm up a bit. Even though we're after our average last frost date (4/15) we've had two nights of hard freezes so I'm playing cautious this year and might even wait till May to put anything temperamental out.

Can't win 'em all

2011-04-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

Normally plants do pretty well around here... especially when I pay attention to them. However, for the past month (yes 30 days) I've had a house full of company and my attention has been rather divided. Sadly, my seedlings were on the very bottom of the priority list. Poor, poor tomatoes! Not only did I not cull, but I never up potted and barely watered, never mind fed. It's shameful really.

Sad to say that many of my other starts look in much the same condition. Peppers, basil, cilantro, etc. So today I went to the nursery where they're nice to baby plants and bought some new one's to take home with me. I promise to be much kinder to them! (It will be much easier to do now that things are back to normal around here)

Not to say that I've killed everything - hardly! All the plants outside that were already in the ground look lovely and healthy and happy.... I will have to make a post here soon about the veg garden in general. In the meantime how about some pretty pictures of all the spring flowers? That should cheer you up after seeing my half dead baby plants.

Parrot Tulip

Chocolate Mint just starting to come up

Cowslip

Chives

More tulips, not sure the variety

Azalea

Jack Frost in front of Yellow Tulips

Pink tulip and spirea

Parrot Tulip about to bloom

Mother Nature's got plans for me

2011-03-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

The problem with seasons are that they sort of just march on steadily whether you're ready for them or not. I just checked my gardening "Honey-do" list and whoa! am I behind.

Start Seeds Indoors:
Loose Leaf Lettuce
Summer Squash
Black-eyed Susans
Sunflowers
Melons

Sew Outdoors:
Carrots (after tilling to create fineness and adding compost to the soil)

Harden Off:
Onions

Fertilize:
Blueberries
Parsley
Peach
Spinach

Up-Pot:
Peppers
Artichokes
Tomatoes

Prune:
Peach Tree

Lawns:
Add compost and worm castings

Now. When in the world am I going to get this all done?! lol

Let Me Catch You Up

2011-03-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been nearly a month and a half since I last posted. So much for New Year's resolutions! At least I'm good about taking pictures. I always mean to get over here and make a post, it just doesn't always happen. Anyway!

SNOW
I know the rest of the country has been buried under a ton of snow all winter but we somehow managed to escape relatively unharmed. Toward the end of Feb. we got a few inches if that.

It all melted a few days later...

SPRING PLANTING
At this point I've been able to get a few things out and planted in the garden. Last fall when I pulled all my onions I had a few that didn't quite bulb properly. I kept them in a nice cool dry place all winter and instead of planting the seedlings I started I just used my bulb sets. I also managed to plunk in some spinach and radish seeds too. I checked in the garden today and a few of them have actually sprouted - yay!

You probably don't remember but three years ago I was out planting my pea seeds in a nice downpour (if you wait for it to stop raining here your garden won't get planted till July 5th.) This year however there was a break in our usual rainy dreariness. I took advantage of it to get my peas planted. I couldn't believe what a difference it was! It was sunny and pleasant that day. Ah, to always have such nice spring weather to plant in... if only.

I did have a flat of seedlings I started inside and hardened off. About a week or so ago I managed to get outside and get them planted. So far they've stood up to frost and a few small hail storms.

TROUBLE
I might have mentioned earlier that I've been having a bit of trouble in the asparagus bed. I threw some cheap straw on it last fall thinking that it would protect the crowns from snow. Well, yeah, it was cheap for a reason - it was full of seeds that sprouted. Erps. In any other bed it would've made brilliant green manure but with perennial asparagus crowns just below the surface it wasn't like I could till it under.

Instead I had to rake it all up and try to get out as much of the grass as possible. I came up pretty easily and I even found a few cut worms which I promptly kicked out of my garden. But overall I don't think I did this bed any favors. While the straw did keep the wee bit of snow off the crowns it also acted like a sponge and held a TON of water. I only noticed three crowns shooting after clearing away all the straw. That's not to say that with the straw gone the soil won't warm up a bit more and a few other crowns might come up but I did find a crown or two that were completely rotten from being soaked all winter. The soil is too dense here for asparagus I think. If I want this bed to succeed I need to get the mix right. I'd have to add some sand to loosen it up. On the bright side I did chuck all that old straw and grass into my reworked compost pile and it was steaming hot when I went to check on it this afternoon.

However, the asparagus is mostly for my husband and two days ago the doctor told him he shouldn't be eating that or mushrooms. So now what? I'm thinking I just pull all the crowns and see which ones are salvageable and pull the chives at the end of the bed too, add in a bunch more compost to get the ground level up for better drainage, add some sand into the mix and replant them in much smaller quantities. If they die next year it's a sign from above I shouldn't be trying to grow asparagus!

CRITTERS & COMPOST
I might have mentioned I got a bird feeder? It was so full of birds on the first day of spring it really made me so happy! I love the little yellow finch on the right. There are a lot of different kinds of birds that come to visit and I've been slowly trying to figure out what they all are.

Also, one should always turn the compost frequently! One of the days I spent planting out the in garden I also took some time to deal with my long neglected compost pile. This really could be a whole post unto itself but since this one is a bit long winded already I'll spare you the details. At any rate I jabbed my pitch fork into the pile, fliped a big hunk of compost into the next bin and lo and behold a whole family of mice go swarming out of it! lol... Of course my five year old daughter was delighted and wanted to know if we could catch and keep them. They were admittedly cute but yeah, NO. One of them was determined to get back "home" a while later when I was cleaning up and I managed to get a picture of just it's little nose sticking out of a crack behind the bin. (Look right where the two boards of the fence meet and you can make out his/her little nose)

OVERALL
This was the garden a few days ago... still not much to look at.

JUST PEACHY
The peach tree is in bloom but I'm bummed that I might have waited a bit too long to spay it as it leafed out with more peach leaf curl. Ug. Oh and I also found what might be evidence of borer activity. I really hope I won't have to ditch this poor little tree. It's so not healthy. Note to self: do NOT impulse shop in the plant dept. of Home Depot again... especially when picking out trees! Meh.

...and that is all! I'm going to try to get back to a weekly posting here so hopefully the next entry won't be quite so long. Thanks for stickin' with me though this one. Happy Spring Everyone!

The Nursery

2011-02-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

It's only February, how can I be so busy already? Sorry I missed posting last Wednesday! There's not a whole lot going on here in plant-land which is good since my time is full of so many other things like, finding a good school for my daughter's who's about to go into kindergarten, my birthday (ack, the big 4-0!), finishing up the quarterly newsletter for our local GIG (gluten intolerance group) branch, taxes, my Moms BD, preschool parties, quilt guild meetings, etc. I am happy to report that I'm never bored! (Though sometimes exhausted, and then there's coffee for that - heee!)

Wee baby onions - variety, Long Red Onion of Florence

My cool weather sprouts are doing well. After they put out their first true set of leaves I made sure to give them a feeding of diluted liquid seaweed, most of them look very happy at the moment. I also started pepper plants, though they've yet to germinate. It's only been four days so I'm not worried yet. I probably should check on the soil temp though. It should be 70-80*F. If it's not warm enough I'll get out the heating pad.

Baby butterhead lettuce.

Otherwise I'm waiting for a clear day to get out in the garden and start top dressing my beds with a fresh load of compost. I still have to prune my blueberries too - it's getting really late for that! Zoinks.

Baby broccoli.

THINGS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK FOR ZONE 8:

START SEEDS: Asparagus, cabbage (chinese), mint (seeds), hot and sweet peppers.
SOIL: Top dress garden beds with a layer of fresh compost.
PRUNE: Apple trees and blueberry bushes.
SPRAY: Peach trees for fungal diseases like peach leaf curl. I use a fixed copper spray safe for an organic garden.

All the Loves

2011-02-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

AN ODD MARRIAGE
I finally got to combine two things I love, quilting and gardening. This is a wee bit sick but I actually made a quilt for my plant babies. I know you all get it! Most everyone else thinks I'm a nutter. Heh. I used to work at a major sports apparel company (my DH still works there) and they frequently go though samples and get rid of them when they're done. So one day Guy Gamine came home with a roll of reflective material - like the kind they put on back packs and such when you're biking so cars won't squish you flat for not being able to see you. Anyway, it's been floating around my sewing room for a few years now and I never really knew what to do with it. UNTIL! I finally connected the dots that I needed to put something up around the plants because there's a draft in our basement and they get a wee bit cold down there. Purple plants are stressed out plants. I don't want any more purple plants this year! So *obviously* I needed a seedling quilt!

With all that in mind I rummaged through my fabric and found a nice "earthy" fabric for the back that no one is really going to see anyway. Though I suppose I could use it as a table runner in the fall.

Truth be told it'll probably never make it off the nursery rack once it goes on.

The "front" of the plant quilt. The silver is reflective and should help bounce light around and is softer and prettier then tin foil. I'm such a girl. Ha!

Here's the whole thing in place and just waiting for plants!

BABIES
Which brings me to why I was about a week late in starting my seeds this year. I was busy making the quilt as I didn't what to be messing with seedlings while trying to install it. So far so good! I managed to get artichoke, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce (head), onion (seeds) and parsley all in starter trays. I even have had a few beginning to germinate. Oh yay, little spring in my basement!

The broccoli - came up after only 36 hours. It must be the power of the seed quilt!

PEACH TREE
It's time also to spray the tree. For those of you who have been around a while you know I did battle with peach leaf curl last year. Well this year I'm a little more on top of it. I finally got out in the garden and sprayed with a fixed copper spay. I hope that helps. I may try a second application. Though I'm not sure I got to it in time. I can see the leaf buds starting to form already. I really need to be more vigilant about the poor peach tree. I did get 10 peaches off it last year though - not bad considering the curl and it's only two or three years old! Hopefully I at least put a damper on things.

ONE FOR THE ROAD
I was at the nursery (buying spray for the peach tree!) and of course this means that I have to walk around and look at and drool on everything. They even provide little cups there for us droolers.;^) Anyway, they have a little display garden up in the far back and the corner posts for these beds are the prefab plastic kind. In each one of them was a swarm of ladybugs!

I thought this was pretty cool... now if they'd just come move into my garden in these numbers!

PS: Feeling much pressure as I still haven't pruned my blueberry bushes - it's getting late!

THINGS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK FOR ZONE 8:

START SEEDS: Artichoke, broccoli, cabbage (chinese), cabbage (head), cauliflower, kale, lettuce (head), mint (seeds), onion (seeds) and parsley.
PRUNE: Apple trees and blueberry bushes.
SPRAY: Peach trees for fungal diseases like peach leaf curl. I use a fixed copper spray safe for an organic garden.

Things that don't belong in my dirty laundry

2011-01-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

Seeds
How did your seed orders go? I just got mine in. Woo!

This was the order I placed with my sister. I wish I had room this year to grow pumpkins!

Garden Clean Up
Last Saturday we had our nicest day so far this year. It was near balmy in the sun at 46*F/8*C and a bit cooler in the shade but a t-shirt and hoody were fine for being outside in. Since the garden experienced a bit of neglect last fall I thought I'd take advantage of the warmish weather and clean up a bit.

A load of dead nasturtiums and weeds to be removed

All done!

I'm pretty sure I'll never have to buy another pack of nasturtium seeds again. Holy cow there were so many seeds in that bed I could open my own seed company. Ha! Glad I like them otherwise they're certainly a vigorous pest.

I also got a chance to clean out the bed that had all the tomatoes in it last year.

It too was a disaster but had some fun surprises in store for us!

For one, an anatomically correct carrot. This would be our second "boy" carrot to date. lol

I forgot to take a picture but I also pulled all the overwintering leeks and we roasted them Saturday night with a pork tenderloin for dinner. Delish! Another surprise came in the form of garlic.

I'd completely forgotten I'd planted a row in-between the tomatoes and lo - they were sheltered so nicely that they've popped up already.

I haven't entirely finished my garden planning, so it's likely I'll "plan" the existing garlic into whatever eventually goes around it. I can't finish planning until I decide what to do with the asparagus bed. I'm dreading dealing with it due to hay that's seeded itself. I can't till it in for green manure due to the asparagus crowns just below the surface. Plus a hubby who's being obstinate and cranky about even the *thought* of me pulling his asparagus out of the garden, never mind it's not done well to date - more on that later... ::La! La! La! I can't hear you!:: covers ears and runs away*

See how nice and pretty it is all cleaned up?
Oh! I guess I'd better do something with those dead starts from last summer still sitting in the cold frame, eh? Whoops!

*Yes, I'm very mature. ;^)

Seed Starting Area
The other thing I began tackling in the cleaning and organizing department this week is the area where I start my seeds. Yes, it's sad but the only spot for this in the whole house is in the basement. So it's lit by shop lights. The thing I really need to do this year is make sure to get some tinfoil or other reflective surface up and around the shelf the seeds are started on. I think some of my past issues have been due to it not getting quite warm enough. Insulating and reflecting that area are on my personal to-do list.

Last year was a little nuts, so not only did the garden see some neglect so did the germination area. Things were tossed all willy-nilly back on the shelf without being cleaned or really put back in any sort of order.

Looking better but not quite there yet.

The top shelf is for paperwork, pens, scissors and some of the clean seed trays and domes. Right now almost all my trays are missing because they need to be washed and there's nothing I dislike more then washing dishes. Heh. The second shelf down is where the seeds are started and since I'm waiting for pay day this coming friday to buy some supplies, it's currently empty. ::pouts a wee bit:: Third shelf stores canning jars. By the end of summer this shelf is usually empty. You can see it's half full now which means we've gone though about half of our canned goods. Though somehow we've completely run out of strawberry freezer jam already. June is too far off! And the bottom shelf is the dehydrator, the liquid compost maker (must get back to that this year) and my new fancy dirt bin.

As you can see I'm trying something new here. Since setting up my seed starting station a few years back, I've always had bags and bags of starting medium laying around usually flumped over into the dirty laundry (the washer and dryer are just opposite the shelves) or half open bags that accidentally get knocked over and spill out on to the floor, etc. SO. To resolve this annoying problem, I went to Ikea and got a recycling bin and put what starting medium I had left over from last year inside. I plan on getting more soon and filling it up so I won't have to worry about it the rest of the year. My only real concern so far is that it might dry out too much since there are some gaps in the lid which allows air to get in. Of course this maybe preferable to the alternative of funky unwanted things growing in my starting medium.

Now all it needs is a scoop!

And one last image to leave off this post with... a beautiful mossy green fungus that's growing off the old apple tree stump in the back yard.

THINGS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK FOR ZONE 8:

START SEEDS: Artichoke, broccoli, cabbage (head), cauliflower, kale, lettuce (head), onion (seeds) and parsley.
PRUNE: Apple trees and blueberry bushes.

Wednesday Check-in

2011-01-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

Bird butts.

FOR THE BIRDS
So as you can see I received a lovely little bird feeder for Christmas. I'm glad it was gifted to me because it's not something I've been willing to spend money on but have wanted for quite a while, so yes, the perfect gift. Next year I hope I get a book on bird identification. It'd be nice to know who I'm looking at. It would also help me plan other areas of my yard to be more bird friendly by tucking in native plants that can provide shelter and food for common local species.

PEAS
I think I may have found a solution to the pea problem, there is a variety called Serge Peas that supposedly grows well unsupported.

Serge Peas
If you are looking for a top-of-the-line shelling pea for fresh eating and processing, Serge is the one! With unrivaled uniformity, color and disease resistance, this variety will provide a wave of sweet, tender peas in 3 1/2 inch pods. Afila, or semi-leafless vines reach a self-supporting, lacy 26-28 inches tall, and set an abundance of easy to spot pods. Shows disease resistance to enation, fusarium wilt races 1 & 2, and powdery mildew. 68 days.

My other option (and maybe better option?) would be to stake in posts and set up some trellis netting. It would be less likely to blow over in windy spring weather then the wooden trellis I've been using. It would also let more light through for the plants directly behind the peas. This would allow me to plant whatever variety of pea I'd like. What's your favorite variety of shelling pea?

Our Witch-hazel in bloom.

SEEDS
At this time of year there are so many seed catalogs stacked up it's hard to decide what to order from who. My general preference is to place an order for organic seeds from a local company. I personally feel that those varieties they grow for seed that do well for them, will do well for for me too. It's very difficult to resist some of the seed offers from East Coast or Mid West companies but I'm mildly wary of their performance here. This may not be rational but still my feelings are to support local and organic agriculture. Not to say that I never order from far flung companies but the bulk of my seeds comes from companies like Territorial Seed Co. because they are local and have a good offering of organic seed. I was reading an article from Motherearthnews.com in which Patrick Steiner ( from Stellar Seeds) sums up my feelings on the matter rather nicely, "We feel it’s important that organic seed production be part of local organic farming systems, so that local growers work to provide each other with organic seeds from their own region.” Nice, hu?

A Paperwhite that I forced, making our indoors a bit cheerier in that in-between time (between Christmas and spring) when it can seem so gloomy.

I placed my seed order this year on Saturday and I will have to say that I'm quite proud of myself for showing such restraint. It was a small and very reasonable amount of seed. Since I split half the seeds I already own with my sister for her new garden she's putting in this spring, she paid the shipping costs of the order (we went in on the seed order together). Plus there were a few varieties of veg that we'll split seed packs of so that'll be fun too. She ordered some interesting corn I'd like to try and I convinced her (it wasn't hard) to grow some Sweethearts grape tomatoes which are my all time favorite garden snack food.

RODENT WATCH
As you can see the squirrels have discovered the bird feeder but can't quite figure out how to get to the seed easily enough. They are too fat... maybe when they lean up in the late spring? So far they're not inhaling the seed like I thought they might. I did try to buy seed that was geared toward smaller birds - finches and such - to help discourage the squirrels, jays and crows.

Actually I think this is a Mama squirrel that's visited before. She found her way in the feeder once when she was pregnant but fell and has been a lot more cautious since.

THINGS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK FOR ZONE 8:

Now that you've got your garden all planned out don't forget to place your SEED ORDERS. With the exception of the harvest this has to be the most fun thing about gardening.
Organize and buy SUPPLIES. This is the week I assess my supply needs. The next few weeks are going to be busy with starts and seedlings and there's nothing worse then going to start seeds only to realize that you're out of potting soil or trays or the seeds themselves! It's also a good time to clean up the potting bench, dust off the dirt and cobwebs and organize the supplies you do have. There is nothing nicer then beginning the gardening season with a clean slate.
Speaking of which don't forget to give your old potting trays a good STERILIZATION by soaking them in a 10% bleach solution to kill off any disease pathogens that maybe lurking from last season before reusing them this year.
Like last week and the week before, it's time to PRUNE apple trees and blueberry bushes.

Planning for 2011

2011-01-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

It still feels very much like winter here. They keep threatening snow, but so far it's just cold and not much else.

PLANNING
So what's a gal to do while waiting for spring? Why plan her garden of course! I have a pretty small garden all things considered and so it might not do me much good but I do still try to rotate my crops from year to year. I've also forgotten just how poky slow I am when it comes to planning. I've got a rough draft made up but I still have a few blank spots I'm not sure what to do with. I think I might need to take a gander in some seed catalogs - oh noze! ;^)

THE BIG BED
I only have four beds to plan out as far as vegetables go. The largest of those I just think of as "The Big Bed", it's seven by eight feet, and have that one pretty well plotted out for 2011. It looks like three tomato plants this year (Mmmm! Sweetheart Grape Tomatoes can't get here fast enough!) Plus I'll be trying out Speckled Roman. San Marzano Gigante did well for me last year so I might give that one another go. I'm also moving the artichokes to this bed as well because every year I've had utter failure with where I've been trying to grow them. The black bean aphids *adore* my artichokes. ::insert grumbling here:: This year, they're gonna have to hunt for them though. So nah! I'm also going to up the number of basil plants too since my DH was so pouty about it last year. He loves basil. Then the standard sweet and hot peppers (Jalapeno, Paprika and Lady Bell), plus onions, carrots, garlic, leeks, parsley and cilantro.

Those shaded squares are stepping stones into the bed - the circles might be marigolds, I haven't decided yet. Also sorry for the cruddy picture but middle of the night garden planning in a darkish room doesn't make for the best photography. On the up side maybe you won't notice my bad spelling and wavy lines that should be straight. Yeah, I know you can do all that on a computer but it just doesn't feel... authentic to me. I like to think of it as a hand crafted garden. ;^)

BED A
And now my difficulties begin! I planned the whole thing out and then decided that I sure as heck needed more peas that what I'd allotted space for (we LURVE peas), except there really isn't more space to be had without some finagling. I've got to run trellis ten feet straight down the center of my bed (from North to South) and I'm wondering if I'm going to have problems with it falling over from wind and/or shading the plants behind it. So I've got two options for that, one where I run the trellis against the side of the raised bed for leverage (see left side of photo) and one where I go down the middle (see right side of photo). I think a test run of trying to pound a wooden trellis into the center of the bed here soon might be in order to see if it'll stay up on its own.... as soon as the ground isn't so cold. Maybe later this week.

Two options. LEFT: using the side of the raised bed as leverage to hold the trellis in place, which I know works because I've done it on the North side of the Big Bed but will make harvesting difficult for whole west half the bed. RIGHT: Harvesting will be much easier but will I have trouble with the trellis falling over and or shading the brassica's and greens to the east of it?

BEDS B & C
Next week maybe I'll have BEDS B and C all planned out and will be able to share that as well. In the meantime can I share how bed C is going to make me weep? I was *IN A HURRY* and bought cheap hay this past fall because I didn't have a lot of time to run around town and grabbed what I could where I could. I just wanted to cover the bare ground with something. Well, guess what? Yup, it sprouted. Big time! Ug. I'd till it in and call it green manure except it's the asparagus bed and there are sleepy little crowns just an inch or two under the soil surface so that's a definite no-go. I'm going to have to weed it which is half of what I was trying to avoid in the first place. Meh.

FEEDERS
I also got a ~~rodent~~ squirrel feeder for Christmas. Since they're in my yard anyway they might as well enjoy some corn. Maybe now they'll leave my "people food" alone. ;^) Ha! I also got a bird feeder which has been nice to look at from the kitchen window. I watched this FAT squirrel try and get to it much to my amusement... (pretty sure she was pregnant). Someday I might even get to see some birds eat there... maybe a picture of that next week.

FORCING SPRING
To end this post on a high note and to let you know in a vain effort to get a little spring in my life I indulged in a Paperwhite bulb from the nursery around Christmas. It will be blooming by this time next week. Yay!

THINGS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK FOR ZONE 8:

Like last week it's time to prune APPLE TREES and BLUEBERRY BUSHES.

Resolutions

2011-01-05T07:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not too big on annual resolutions (I like to make them year round as I see I need 'em) but I feel like I've really been neglecting this blog and I want to get back to it. I'll use the excuse of the new year to get started. I'm not promising daily posts but I would like to check in at least once a week even if there's nothing going on in the garden... really there's always something though. So today is a new day...

There was a beautiful wintery sunrise early this morning that begged to be captured.

So this week in zone 8a there are a few things to be done if you're feeling motivated and don't mind standing outside in the freezing weather trying to get your fingers to work all the while dreaming of a warm fire and a hot cup of coffee to wrap your hands around. Oh wait. One of them can be done with coffee in front of a nice warm fire. Mmmmm... But, I digress.

PLANNING
Now that the holidays are over and done, with nothing left to do but take down the tree and lights and pack it all away again till next year, it's time to start planning the garden.

This is best done on an over caffeinated brain.... just sayin'.

While I haven't actually started yet my brain has been in over drive thinking about it. I just need to get it all down on paper. I'm sure I'll have more to say about this next week...

Yes, paper, that archaic form information storage.

Not everything in my world is done on the lap top (though there would be those that might disagree!) the reality is: dirt and water don't really get along so famously with delicate electronics. Besides there is something extremely satisfying about writing with a pencil. I both chart out my garden for a good visual idea of what will go where and how it will all fit but also try to note what varieties I'm planting where so that I can keep track of them throughout the year. It'll give me a good idea of what varieties like my microclimate or what varieties had problems with pests or diseases. But like I said, I'll give this whole process more attention next post.

APPLES
So what can you do outside at this time of year? Well if you have apple trees, this is the earliest that you'd be able to prune older trees and winter hardy varieties but there is no rush, pruning can take place anytime between now and the end of February. I think it's pretty safe to say that my apple ~~stick~~ tree is still such a baby that I won't have to worry about this task for a long while yet.

See that little bit of green fluff in the center of the bed? Yeah, that's my apple "tree". It amuses me. *Someday* I might even get an apple from it.

BLUEBERRIES
After the third year, you need to prune blueberry plants every winter. The best time to prune is January to early March, when plants are dormant. The main objectives of pruning are to promote the growth of strong, new wood and to maintain good fruit production. If you prune too little, plants produce too many small berries and shoot growth is weak. Plants have weak, twiggy growth at the end of the season and fail to develop strong new wood for future production. Severe pruning produces fewer, larger berries and more new wood.
If you prune bushes correctly, you’ll have a good balance between fruit production and growth of vigorous new shoots. Experience is the best guide on how hard to prune.

For more information on cultivating blueberries in your home garden check this link.

Dusting of white

2010-12-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that we'd gotten a dusting of snow at the end of November? The nasturtiums were holding their own until then but they really couldn't deal with the cold snap. You can see them all flopped over in front of the bed.

Nature's Own Gardens

2010-12-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've been rather MIA around here but I can explain away at least three weeks worth of absenteeism with a wonderful (and much needed) vacation that we took at the end of October. We did a marathon road trip of 2,400 miles from Portland Oregon down to San Diego California and back. There was much to see and do and we saw and did and had a great time!

There is nothing so sharp as the breeze that comes off the ocean at the end of summer... We'd stopped at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and it was a joy to soak up the sun and smell the salty air.

Of course the best "garden" in California is undoubtedly Yosemite. I could spend days and days there - I wish we had.

I love to see the unique cloud formations around Mt. Shasta...

Anyway, back at home I've decidedly missed my window of "fall clean up" opportunity. Alas. We got home to some very wet weather. I guess I'm going to have to leave it for spring. Though for a few days it was beautiful until the rain washed it all away.

I did manage to get some garlic planted very late. Covered it in straw even! As soon as Christmas is past I'll start working on next year's garden plan... of course by then it's nearly too late, heh. I can't believe how incredibly swift this year went by - how does it happen? I can't believe it's already December.

Where does the time go?

2010-10-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

I really need to get my garlic planted pronto! Don't know it's going to happen till after the first of November. What was the latest you ever planted garlic and had it do okay? I might have to wait till spring now...

Also, I didn't plant any morning glories this year but happily one day I looked out my window and LO! I had a lovely little bloom. Looks like it reseeded itself. Everything was so late this year I was surprised to see it. I planted a grape vine there and didn't notice it growing up and around the grape. (Yeah, that's how MIA I've been this year). Even the daliah's that normally bloom in late August have waited till October to bloom. It's been a nutty gardening year.

My little brown eyed susan vines that went NUTS last year were barely 12" this year... planted at the same time, same soil, with the same general conditions other then the weather.

Of course nothing slows down crook neck squash! This beauty was about a foot long before I even noticed it. Wha? When did that happen?!

And what post from me would be complete without me complaining about some garden pest or other? ;^) I had another bad year of black bean aphids. They started at the artichokes and have steadily moved on to other plants now. Just as the corn finished ripening this summer all the stocks were attacked by aphids. I really don't know what to do about them. I might forego the artichokes next year just to see if that'll keep them out of the garden (they always congregate there first). Spraying them with soapy water has had little effect and while I have noticed a lot of ladybugs and ladybug larva loitering about, they aren't quite able to keep up with the aphid Vegas style buffet.

Fall clean up in the garden

2010-10-16T22:10:00.001-07:00

Today was the most perfect beautiful fall day. It was amazing. The air was crisp and sharp and smelled wonderful like wood smoke, freshly cut grass and crinkly dry leaves. I spent the majority of the day outside in the warm sunshine working on the garden fall clean up. I can't believe how badly I ignored the garden this year!

My poor tomato bed was (and sadly still is) a total mess. I never got around to clipping anything back and it became such a jungle that I wound up with very few toms because of A.) bad weather and B.) not enough air circulation. Things rotted on the vine before I could get to them and half of them I couldn't reach in the tangle. Plus the big icky spiders kinda scare me. Heh. (and yes I pulled those big ol weeds in my gravel path today!)

I did manage to clear out the "sisters" bed (corn, beans and squash) which were all long done.

After clearing out the bed I wound up with about a dozen of the sugar squash (off three vines). I'm pretty excited to try these! This was the first year growing them and since I'm pretty much the only one who eats squash in our house these little one size servings should be just perfect for me. I'm looking forward to roasting a few - I'll try to remember to report back in and let you know how they turned out.

I'm also excited that I finally got ONE of the mini chocolate peppers to ripen. Last year was a total bust. I'm planning on noshing it for lunch tomorrow in a fresh spinach salad.

Miss S is also getting to big enough that she's able to entertain herself while I work in the garden. Sometimes she tries to help...

...and other times she gets up to mischief! (... like "stealing" tools out of my bucket!)

She helped me collect a few things from around the garden today... a few good tomatoes, some jalapenos and a couple of carrots.

I didn't quite realize just how out of hand things were till I got to really looking at the back corner by the compost and discovered a blackberry vine that had started to take over. I know they're quite tasty and yeah, we ate all the berries we could find today (!) but that doesn't mean I didn't rip that sucker out. They're so invasive here that if I let it go our whole back yard would be a berry bramble in six months. lol

As I was digging out the blackberry root a giant earthworm slowly made it's escape. That baby was huge!

I only wish that I hadn't run of room to put stuff. I managed to FILL three cubic feet of compost bin and two really large city yard waste bins today. I'd have kept going if I'd had a place to put the plant debris. But at least it made me stop and just enjoy the outdoors and my sweet little family this evening. (DH was loitering around in between working on the car in the garage... those berries didn't eat themselves ya know!)

Yay for an eatable landscape

2010-09-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

Even though it was in general a crappy year for gardening I'll have to say I'm still so oh very relieved to have one. I haven't been to the grocery store in a while now and yet we'll still have a lovely meal tonight. One of the things I was so annoyed by all season were the potatoes which took over everything! However I was ever so grateful to grab a few handfuls of the french fingerling's to roast with the pork loin this evening. I'd also made some red onion marmalade from the garden onions early in the season and mixed that with chopped walnuts (I always have these on hand since I'm so addicted to them) as well as dried cranberries with a splash of balsamic vinegar and stuffed the pork with this. In a wee bit I'll run out and dodge the big ol dreary rain drops (yes they're back) to pluck some summer squash that I'll sautee with a bit of honey, butter and fresh thyme to round out the meal.

Onions and such

2010-09-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I might be a little bit dead. ;^) Our company has all gone home now and soon school will start in ernest. That means I'll get a few minutes to myself each week to update you on the garden goodness.

I will have to say that this year has been a difficult one in the garden and I'll try to tackle each issue shortly. Can you say cold wet weather? Infestations of worms, aphids and ants? Green tomatoes? It's all rather pathetic really.

And just because what fun is a post without a picture... the onions are all harvested now. They're so very pretty and tasty even if they were quite small this year.

I'm not dead!

2010-08-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

I swear! I've been taking pictures but this month has been the craziest of them all.... we've had house guests since early Aug. and it shall continue until the very end. Hopefully in September when it quiets down again and school starts and I have time to myself for a few days each week I'll be able to update ya'll. I haven't forgotten about you!

We've had some beautiful produce come out of the garden this summer. Here are two different bush beans (Dragon's Tongue and some that Granny sent me...Burgundies?) Plus our classic Kentucky Pole Green Beans. All wonderful and slightly varied. We steamed them up and with a bit of butter and salt they hardly needed they were delish!

We're growing anatomically correct carrots this year

2010-08-06T09:15:00.001-07:00

2010-07-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why but gosh I've just been busy this year. I haven't even really had time to be in the garden. In the spring it was uncomfortably wet and cool and now we're busy with all the things summer brings. I need to weed in the worst way. Of course that's not stopping all the wonderful things from blooming and fruiting. I pulled out a big fluffy white cauliflower head out of the garden the other day. So delish! Also pulled a few beets (they were almost ready, I ate them anyway, heh.) My garlic also did beautifully this year, much better then last year when they were just runty little things. This year I would up with door knob sized bulbs. Woo!

We still have a few pests looming about but they haven't caused any real destruction this year. Last year they tried to make swiss cheese of the broccoli. I was constantly picking off little yellow eggs and tiny green caterpillars. This year I'm enjoying watching my kid catch the moths in her net. Heh.

The bees are loving all the flowers I've planted. Next year I might try to intermingle them more with the veggies.

Dragonflies are also taking time to visit the garden as well. This lovely little fellow held still long enough to let me take his picture.

Just the first glimmer of summer squash is coming into view... I've got my sauce pan ready and waiting.

We're still getting strawberries and the blueberries are also starting to ripen. It's a nice time of year when they over lap... there's also much snacking going on in the garden.

Annie's Granny sent me some bean seeds last year and they're just now starting to make yummy looking little pods. It won't be long before I'll be throwing my magic beans in a pot! (They lose their purple color when blanched and turn bright green - that's how you know when they're done. Cool! I can hardly wait.)

The first round of corn is also starting to tassel. I'm looking forward to corn and tomato salad or just throwing a cob on the BBQ. How can anyone not love summer?

Harvest

2010-07-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

Seems like I haven't made too many posts about the garden this year, let alone the harvests. I did get around to picking quite a few peas today and a small head of broccoli. I steamed it for my lunch, yum!

The peas went into a new red potato side dish that also involved bacon, garlic and a little bit of lemon juice. It was also super delish but I didn't get a picture (I was too busy noshing), Here they are freshly shelled. I can't believe we're getting peas into July already, that's so late. It was such a long cold spring we're really behind it seems. It rained today too but hopefully we'll get some warmer weather next week...

Quick Update

2010-06-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Heeellloooo! Long time no talky.
Well we FINALLY got some lovely weather and I'll admit I haven't been indoors on the computer much. Oh it's lovely and warm and sunny and lovely and well just plain wonderful and I hope you'll forgive me for my absenteeism. I've got some stuff I want to talk about but I'm short on time this morning so I'll leave you with some pictures and the thought that I haven't forgotten about ya'll.

Gonna start building an Ark here soon...

2010-06-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the wettest springs on record for the PNW. I mean, we're pretty used to a lot of cool days and wet weather and I'm okay with that but this is getting ridiculous. I've really not been in the garden at all because the rain just *never* lets up. There's stuff to do, I need to weed badly for example, but don't really want to get soaked doing it. Everything is struggling (except the potatoes which are still going nuts) under all the water. This was not the year to attempt melons for example - so I'm just going to let them go and try again next year (fingers crossed for hotter and dryer in 2011). By this time last year my peas were done and they're barely just forming now. The corn's gone back to being all yellow. We really need a few warm sunny days to dry everything out. We're supposed to get that this weekend but I'm holding my breath. This weather feels so perpetual and is completely depressing. Every forecasted day of warmth and sunshine disappears into a rain cloud as of late. I think I need a sunny Southern vacation before I lose my mind....

"According to KGW Meteorologist Rod Hill, by the time the latest storm system pushed through Thursday, Portland could see enough rain to push past its all-time record rain total for June, after only ten days in the month.
The all-time record rainfall for June is 4.08 inches. On Sunday, 1.48 inches of rain fell in Portland, nearly as much as the city typically received in the entire month of June. Sunday's deluge brought Portland's monthly rain total to 3.09 inches.
Wet weather records have been falling like the rain since April, and another one fell Wednesday. June 9 is the latest into the calendar year that Portland has failed to reach 80 degrees for the high temperature at least once.
With Sunday's deluge, Portland also surpassed the record for most rain for May and June combined, with 7.83 inches since May 1.
Many Oregon cities, including Astoria, Salem, Eugene and Portland, had already reached their June monthly rainfall by June 4.
Rain records have been falling for three months. The wet start to June follows a May that was the third-wettest ever recorded at 4.75 inches of rain. April set a new record with 25 measurable days of rain. Hill noted that, since April 1, 52 out of the 67 days have had measurable rain."

Death Day

2010-05-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a Death Day post in a long time (happily enough!) but all this cool wet weather we're having is just wreaking some havoc on those warm weather loving plants like my Moon and Stars melon. ::cries a little bit::

It's fungualed, nibbled, has a split stem and in general looks like it's about to croak. I think I'll have to start a new one from seed and hope it isn't too late to get a harvest.

Wet and wet

2010-05-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

(Complain Train comin' through!) Oh, oh, oh I am getting so very sick of this cool wet weather. Sick, I say, sick! ::shakes fist at sky:: My garden doesn't like it much either. Everything is too wet. It took a break for a few hours today, long enough to get out and poke around for a minute or two but not much more then that.

The corn, peppers and basil are overwatered at this point. See the lovely yellow that says, Okay enough rain already!

Plus with all the wet I didn't get a chance to mow the lawn for the past couple of weeks, till today anyway. It's gotten a bit out of hand, though not quite as bad as before. I'd rather use the push mower but with the grass so wet it won't push through it. So yay for the gas mower in this case.

Then there are the fungal issues that are starting to crop up too. The cilantro is getting some sort of weird subtle bumpy texture to it but it's not the worst of it. Tomorrow for Death Day I have a real treasure to share. ::sigh:: I wish I didn't. I haven't killed anything in a long time!

The poor tarragon is looking pretty shabby too. The weather is rather conducive to happy slugs, snails and rolly-pollies.

On the other hand the bee's were out today pollenating the thyme.

The sage is also in bloom and dealing okay with the rain.

My lettuce is somehow managing to be slug free and looking good.

The potatoes (giant pile of plant on the right) are still going nuts.

And of course all the natives are going nuts on the north side of the house.

Summer now please?

2010-05-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

This the coldest wettest spring we've had in a long time... bleh. Weather records we've broken this month:

...UNSEASONABLE COOL WEATHER BLANKETS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST...

AN UNSEASONABLY COLD UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE AREA RESULTED IN A
A FEW RECORD COLD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES ACROSS NORTHWEST OREGON AND
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SO FAR TODAY.
 
                                       NEW       OLD
LOCATION                                  RECORD       RECORD
--------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTLAND AIRPORT         50            52               1950

...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM RAINFALL SET AT SALEM OR...

 A RECORD RAINFALL OF 0.96 INCH(ES) WAS SET AT SALEM OR YESTERDAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 0.81 SET IN 1996.
(This is just south of where we live)
Oh Summer where are you?!

Come again some other day

2010-05-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain. rain.

GO AWAY.

Nothing to talk about lately, it's just one big giant wet puddle out there. I've done no gardening for a couple of weeks. I feel really bad because there are things that desperately need to be transplanted at this point. My beautiful pepper plants have all turned yellow and are finding it too cold. The basil is lagging and my sunflowers (started indoors) are needing to be transplanted - which I'd rather do then up-pot. The peach leaf curl on the other hand is quite happy as are the weeds. ::grumble, grumble::

Come on sunshine and warmer weather! Where are you?!

Haitian Farmers Commit to Burning Monsanto's Hybrid Seeds

2010-05-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Best thing I've heard all day. Kudo's to the Haitian farmers!

Haitian Farmers Commit to Burning Monsanto's Hybrid Seeds

"A new earthquake" is what peasant farmer leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) called the news that Monsanto will be donating 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid corn seeds and vegetable seeds, some of them treated with highly toxic pesticides. The MPP has committed to burning Monsanto's seeds, and has called for a march to protest the corporation's presence in Haiti on June 4, for World Environment Day.
In an open letter sent of May 14, Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, the Executive Director of MPP and the spokesperson for the National Peasant Movement of the Congress of Papay (MPNKP), called the entry of Monsanto seeds into Haiti, "...a very strong attack on small agriculture, on farmers, on biodiversity, on Creole seeds , and on what is left our environment in Haiti." Haitian social movements have been vocal in their opposition to agribusiness imports of seeds and food, which undermines local production with local seed stocks. They have expressed special concern about the import of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
For now, without a law regulating the use of GMOs in Haiti, the Ministry of Agriculture rejected Monsanto's offer of Roundup Ready GMO seeds. In an email exchange, a Monsanto representative assured the Ministry of Agriculture that the seeds being donated are not GMO.
Elizabeth Vancil, Monsanto's Director of Development Initiatives, called the news that the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture approved the donation "a fabulous Easter gift" in an April email. Monsanto is known for aggressively pushing seeds, especially GMO seeds, in both the global North and South, including through highly restrictive technology agreements with farmers who are not always made fully aware of what they are signing. According to interviews by this writer with representatives of Mexican small farmer organizations, they then find themselves forced to buy Monsanto seeds each year, under conditions they find onerous and at costs they sometimes cannot afford.
The hybrid corn seeds Monsanto has donated to Haiti are treated with the fungicide Maxim XO, and the calypso tomato seeds are treated with thiram. Thiram belongs to a highly toxic class of chemicals called ethylene bisdithiocarbamates (EBDCs). Results of tests of EBDCs on mice and rats caused concern to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which then ordered a special review. The EPA determined that EBDC-treated plants are so dangerous to agricultural workers that they must wear special protective clothing when handling them. Pesticides containing thiram must contain a special warning label, the EPA ruled. The EPA also barred marketing of the chemicals for many home garden products, because it assumes that most gardeners do not have adequately protective clothing. Monsanto's passing mention of thiram to Ministry of Agriculture officials in an email contained no explanation of the dangers, nor any offer of special clothing or training for those who will be farming with the toxic seeds.

Shoo fly don't bother me

2010-05-17T09:21:00.001-07:00

Yeah, that cute little "bee" from a post ago? Not so cute. Apparently it's a...

Greater bulb fly - Merodon equestris - Family: Syrphidae

Greater bulb fly - Merodon equestris
© Roger Key/English Nature

This widespread and common hoverfly is a bumblebee mimic, taking on different colour forms to match various bumble bees. It is characterised by the strong projection on the hind femur, which gives it a thickened appearance.

In spring, the males are seen flying low and hovering over short grass looking for a female. She lays eggs near bulbs, especially wild bluebells and daffodils, and larvae then enter and feed on the bulb. The adults may be seen in a greenhouse from February and outdoors from April to August.

Food

The adults feed on pollen and nectar of spring flowers, especially dandelion. The larvae burrow into bulbs of bluebells and other plants.

I found the pupae emerging right beneath a stand of bluebells. This does not make me happy as at least half the plants in my front yard are some form of bulb or other.

First tomato blossom!

2010-05-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

Some show and tell...
We got our first tomato blossom today!

Also the very first few blueberry blossoms are starting to plump into blueberries... they have a long way to go yet. Most of them are still flowers that the big ol fat bumble bees love.

The mint, thyme and sage are all going a little bonkers right now. It was nice to grab some thyme and sage to marinate a pork tenderloin in that we grilled up tonight.

...and there's my kid trying to be stealthy while rootin' around in the alpine strawberry plant. Yeah, no berry is safe with her around! She worse then the bugs. ;^)

I also managed to get at least another row of corn planted but didn't quite get around to the carrots. I really should've as we're supposed to be pretty rainy for the next week. Guess I'll just have to attempt some more underwater gardening that's so typical to this region. ;^)

I also managed to get pictures of all the beds today. If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the blog you can see I've taken pictures of each raised bed at one month intervals. If you hover over an image it will tell you what month it was taken. Kinda fun to see the progress! I really can't believe how big the potato plants got in a month!

Bees Knees

2010-05-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

Not sure if it's some sort of mason bee or a bee-mimicking-fly but it was cool to watch it wriggle out of it's pupae. Anyone know what it is? It was the most fun I've had while weeding a long while!

Nylon Footies: Excellent Insect Barrier

2010-05-15T20:40:00.001-07:00

A lovely friend has passed this tidbit of info my way and I'm putting it here for future reference since I just planted the Honey Crisp apple tree this spring. It won't be long, undoubtedly before the wormies show up. I think this would be effective if you have one or two trees but I can't imagine anyone with a small orchard to go around putting footies over all their budding apples!

The results are in; Nylon Footies are 100% effective against apple maggots & 96-98% effective against coddling moths. The environmentally effective way to protect your fruit without spraying is easy to apply. The key to the effective barrier is time of application. Nylon Footies must be applied BEFORE the codling moth emerges in early spring. Apple maggot fruit fly emerges after the codling moth.

Easy to Apply

I was an advocate of paper bagging fruit. I now advocate use of nylon footies because they are just as effective but much easier to apply. I apply the footie when fruit thinning for apples within 40 days of petal fall to help eliminate alternate bearing by sliding the footie over my little finger and bunching the nylon so that at least half of the length of the footie slides up the fruit. I make sure the top of the nylon covers the stem. That's it, no tying the nylon to the fruit stem or branch. Footies also work well on short fruit stemmed varieties, whereas, paper bags do not.

When thinning fruit, it is the general rule not to have two fruits on one spur because they will touch each other. If two fruits touch each other most of the time the coddling moth larva will enter where they touch. I placed nylon footies on 6 pairs of fruit that touched each other to see if they would become wormy. Results: not one of the six pairs of fruit had coddling moth or apple maggot.

Re-useable?

Nylon Footies stretch as the fruit grows. When removed from the fruit it is still stretched. One HOS member has washed stretched nylon footies and said they shrunk to their original size. I have hand washed about 200 used nylon footies and dried them is a dryer and all shrunk but a few (>5%) still had a slightly larger opening than non-used nylon Footies. It appears and we will know next season if they will stay on the fruit.

Cost

HOS is now selling them on this website. See the Fruit Footies page for details.

Source

Bits and Bobs

2010-05-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

Not much going on in the garden... just letting things grow. I've got some corn to plant as I'm trying to stagger the harvest. It's so hard to not want to plant it all right now! Also hardly any of my carrots came up this year which is disappointing. I'm not sure why. My only guess is I didn't have a board to lay down over the carrots after seeding. I wonder if they just got too dried out? Anyway, I'll try to reseed this weekend to see if I can't a few more to sprout.

Otherwise I have a very healthy crop of weeds coming up in the front yard. It's actually rather embarrassing. I've tried to get out there and pull up weeds for at least a few minutes every day but I'm totally out numbered. Heh.

For Granny, may we all look this sexy in the garden!

2010-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

Attack of the killer potato plants!

2010-05-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

My potatoes apparently LOVE where they're at. They're taking over everything. I actually had to corral them yesterday to keep them from getting any more crazy ideas. They've already shaded out all my spinach, which I got three leaves from. Foo! (I finally get it to grow and then don't get to eat any of it. ::sigh::) They pushed over two broccoli plants and are crowding out the peas now too. Dang it! I wish I had a separate spot for potatoes that didn't involve the garden beds. I might have to really do something about that next year. Of course with the new "potato collar" it sure does make hilling up a lot easier! I was thinking they'd be a bit more slow growing and the peas would've had a chance to get a little taller then the spuds. With the collar in place I don't know what'll happen with the peas and broccoli behind it... probably they won't get enough sun. Shoot. I like potatoes and all but not sure I like them at the expense of my peas and broccoli. ::grumble, grumble:: At least I have potato leek soup to look forward to later in the summer... mmmmm. =)

On the bright side the thyme is in bloom and the bees are loving it...

Also all the bush and pole beans have sprouted so that's lovely too.

The allure of the garden

2010-05-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today I should've been in bed recuperating. Alas, I found myself sitting in the garden reading a book and drinking coffee. It was such a lovely day reaching just to 80*F/26.6*C and how could I stay inside after a long wet cool spring? So there I found myself again in the garden. I thought to myself, well, planting just *one* row of corn wouldn't be too strenuous. Oh, and I've been meaning to put my cilantro starts in the ground too and well the next thing you know I'm doing all sorts of things I really shouldn't be doing because I'm sick you see. However the allure of the garden was too strong to over come. I did totally crash late in the afternoon for a three hour nap though. Perhaps I over did it?

Being the studious gardener that I am, I took copious notes.

Soon to be a tasty strawberry

Happy sunny marigolds

The last of the pasque flowers

Bleeding Heart

Baby peaches *Squeeee*!

Chive flowers - I love how pretty these are.

And the uninvited guest, the ever present dandelion, beautiful in its own right.

April sure flew by in a hurry!

2010-05-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Really? I haven't posted here in almost three weeks?! Whoa. Sorry all! Life was busy and then it came to a screeching halt. (I've had the stomach flu for the past week) but hey! Now I've got time to sit down and talk about dirt! (and the lovely plants that grow it in)

So, I finally got to harvest something - woo! Mostly I grow the radishes for DH who loves them. I'm not a big fan but I do like them on fish tacos. I hope I don't miss my window of opportunity here... (stomach flu + fish taco = bad idea). Maybe once these are gone I'll plant another round in the same spot.

The sacs of orb weavers have been hatching all around the property this spring. I love it when they're so teeny tiny (size of a pin head each in this picture). The kiddlet refers to them as Halloween Spiders because of their yellow and black coloring.

Speaking of the kiddlet, she's started her very own little garden in a pot on the front porch. It's not much yet but I hope it does well for her. She picked out the seed pack herself in late winter.

The large iris are just coming into bloom in the front. They're so pretty.

We had our last average frost date pass a few weeks back so I was able to plant out quite a bit. I'm a little more cautious this year however as the temps have been on the cool side. So for the first time ever I used water cloches. It was interesting setting them up.

You can see the wee little melon plant to the left of the bucket? That's what I'll be protecting.

I put the bucket over the plant and set the plastic cloche around the bucket which offers both support and temporary protection for the plant.

Here I fill the little compartments with water.

Then I remove the bucket.

There's the little melon all tucked in!

Tomatoes shouldn't be put out in the garden with temps lower then 55* at night unless they're cloched. They shouldn't be put out at all if the night time temps are lower then 45* (or so I've been told) as it stunts their growth. So being the impatient tomato lover I am - I put them in the garden with their fancy new little red hats. It's still hovering around 45* here at night so they'll keep their covers on for a good while yet.

The tomatoes don't seem to mind the water cloches at all. I also put them over the melons but they don't seem nearly as happy. I know it's because it's too cold for them even with the protection. Also I've got some gnawing little critters that have trapped themselves in with the melons. I put out some Sluggo in the hopes it'll take care of it. I haven't been able to check in a while on them since I've been stuck in bed. The one day I did sneak out side to check on the babies I got scolded for being outside and chased back into bed. I'm hoping to sneak back out there again this afternoon. Heh.

What else is going on in the garden? Oh yes, the dreaded Cabbage Worm Moth is back. I've been out checking the broccoli and squishing the little eggs off the undersides of the leaves. I was pretty vigilant about it, hope none of them have hatched while I've been stuck inside.

Apparently I was also half asleep in March when I planted the potatoes.. they accidentally went in under where I'd planned on planting spinach. Now it's just a big mish-mash and I know the spinach will suffer for it. I finally get the spinach to grow and now this! Bah! It makes me so! ::grumble-grumble-grumble:::

Since the taters are doing really well already I've hilled up around the russet which came up first. I'll hill up the other varieties as soon as they're a little bigger.

Waiting for the lettuce to get a bit bigger too. I can hardly wait for the first spring salad...

This n' that

2010-04-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

For a little bit of color I splurged and bought a bit of garden art. Normally I like the flowers to have that roll but this was just so lovely I couldn't resist. Plus technically it's functional so... yeah.

Also the best thing about the garden is sharing it with my kiddo. Leg hug! (aka, "Mommy! Pay attention to me and not your plants!")

I did let her pick out a pot for an empty little spot and I got the hosta to add to it.

The pepper flat is looking much happier then last year! Made it a bit warmer and watered it less. Oh, I've also been feeding all the seedlings a liquid kelp "drink" once a week. Seems to have helped overall. I'll definitely keep that up.

Next year I just need to remember to up-pot most of the plants sooner. When do you up-pot?

Average last frost day is finally past!

2010-04-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

Lovely, lovely day. Lots and lots of gardening. I'd share but I completely dorked and didn't take a single picture. So wrong, I know! But it was warm (got up to 81*F/27*C today!) I put corn, beans, asparagus, collared greens, winter squash, annual flowers etc. in the garden. It's still too cold at night for tomatoes, summer squash, melons, peppers, etc to go in the ground so those will have to wait. (Needs to be 45*F/7*C at night consistently to put them out with a cloche or 55*F/13*C without protection. I saw that we're dipping into the mid 30's (1.5*C) this coming week so I thought I'd wait another week or so for the night time temps to warm up a bit).

Did a bit of visiting with the neighbor which was nice as we always seem to chat about gardening, crochet or sewing of some kind or another.

I also got out my very pointy yet super cool Grandpa Jack pitch fork and turned the compost in search of my compost thermometer that I accidentally buried last year. I found it after pissing off the ant colony that'd moved in and a lot of red wigglers. Hope I didn't empale too many of them! (It's a myth, they don't grow back if you cut them in half) But the compost looks good, nice and damp, not too wet and very earthy smelling which is a relief as I was thinking I needed more browns for sure. I still might add some as I've been chucking in loads of kitchen scraps lately and not much else. It's running warm but not hot. I'm sure that's because I haven't turned it at all since I started the thing last fall.

Also considering how poorly both my spinach and beets did last year, I'm quite thrilled that they're doing most excellent this year and I think I figured out what I was doing wrong that they didn't come up last year. So yay! I wasn't feeding my spinach enough, easily remedied this year. The beets? I wasn't beating them up enough! Turns out they have very hard little seed shells (can't think of the technical term just at the moment and am feeling too lazy to look it up) BUT I soaked them for a few hours and then planted them. They also need FIRM contact with the soil so I tamped them down but good after planting. Nearly all of them sprouted this year. (I think three of them came up last year then didn't do much more but keel over and die.) I also saw a neat trick that someone used where they lined the inside of a jar with fine grade sandpaper and gave their seeds a swirl to knick the coat to allow moisture into the inner part of the seed so it'd germinate. Anyway I'm very happy I'm going to get to eat spinach and beets from the garden this year!

I also figured out what I was doing that was stunting my poor peppers last year. (Too cold and too much water) This year they look really green and healthy and happy - more woo! Now if I could just nail the basil and get the tomatoes a little bigger I'd be golden. I think it's just too cold in the basement for them. I've really got to rig the shelf to be a little warmer... must do that soon!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

A Garden Book Review

2010-04-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Thoughts: It took me a while to plough though this book but overall it was a good read. It covers a lot of the basics and places emphasis where it should be, on healthy soil. It was also more then I ever wanted to know about grass! I didn't think there was quite so much TO know, but apparently there is. And now I know it. Or at least I'll know where to go (and look stuff up) when I run into lawn care woes. In the meantime since I've been transitioning the lawn care to all organic this was a great resource and I'll be sure to work in these methods to my own garden maintenance calendar. A worthy read.

A bouquet from the garden

2010-04-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

It was nice to have flowers on the table for Easter that I didn't have to go out and buy...

Now if only the veggie garden were producing already! Oh how I long for fresh peas.

I haven't been writing too much about the garden but I've certainly been busy! Next week this list will double as our average last frost date is about to pass (April 16th) and I can really get going with putting plants in their beds.

TO DO:
Update PC (perpetual calendar) with info on lilacs, grapes, annual flowers, lawns and bulbs.
Mulch under fruit trees
Plant asparagus root crowns
Buy four more to replace that one's that didn't overwinter
Sew icicle radishes in squash bed
Prune peach tree
Seed more head lettuce indoors

DONE
Up-pot peppers
Up-pot toms
Seed beets outdoors
Seed carrots outdoors
Harden off and transplant brussels sprouts
Harden off and transplant loose leaf lettuce
Seed melons indoors
Seed summer squash indoors
Fertilize peach tree
Side dress peas with bone meal and complete fertilizer
Side dress broccoli with blood meal
Ran out of dirt! Go get more and some blood meal to boot.

Baby, it's cold outside

2010-04-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

So now that we've eaten through most of last year's harvest and my poor empty mason jars are making a big cluttery mess of themselves I've had to find useful chores for them. One is holding dry goods in the pantry (like beans and hot cereal mixes)... another is protecting the newest garden plants from cold snaps. We were supposed to get down into the low 30's earlier this week at night. Can't have any of the green babies freezing to death! So I plunked mason jars upside down over them. Everyone came through fine. =) And while they're not nearly as lovely as the glass cloches you see in the fancy garden catalogs they perform the same task at a fraction of the cost! Plus they can be used for a multitude of other things. (Candle holder, drink cup, change jar, fly trap, etc... Though I prefer to use them for canning.)

Slow Food and Fast Grass

2010-03-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

The smaller Farmer's Markets open in May all across our city, right now only the largest one by the college is open so of course it was a freakin' zoo but we went this morning anyway. I have a feeling we won't go again till the one by our house opens up.

I love going there. DH on the other hand, perhaps not so much but he humored me today and we had a bit of a family outing. We picked up some leeks and grass finished beef and arugula to make BBQ Burgers with for dinner. We split and grilled the leeks with the patties. It was the best freakin' burger I've had all year. OH I adore spring. I'm only sad I didn't get some of the gorgeous looking potatoes to make leek and potato soup. Ah well... next week perhaps.

After we got back DH made lunch for himself and the kiddlet then took her to the park and the grocery store. I worked in the garden... kinda. Actually I worked on our lawn. Well, it needs some TLC too ya know! Plus it was sunny and in the mid-high 60's. Just perfect for being outside!

So last month I put down corn gluten which inhibits weed seeds from germinating. Today I pulled out all the dandelions I could find. Whew~ There was a whole mess of them!* Since they hadn't gone to seed yet I chucked them in the compost (also good because they pull up a lot of calcium from deep down so that'll go back into the garden soil at some point). Anywhoodle. Then I mowed and sifted compost all across the lawn. (Feed the soil not the plants!) I also put down patches of compost where there was no grass growing either due to having pulled a dandelion from there or moss or what have you. Then I busted out the bag of black gold - worm castings! Yup. Worm poop. Awesome possum stuff. Sprinkled that everywhere. Then got out the bag of grass seed and seeded the areas where I'd laid down compost earlier. I kinda looks like a patchy mess at the moment but it's supposed to rain all next week. Perfect! Once the grass seed sprouts look really lovely.

There's a local company around here called Chem-Lawn. They always leave a sign up on lawns they service. Anyway the lawns are always this amazing deep green poison field but they sure do look pretty. I really thought that the only way I'd ever have a lawn like that was if I sprayed it with chemicals every three weeks. But I was looking at our grass today and it was a deep stunning green. I'm just pleased as punch that it's so healthy AND non-toxic. Wonderful! Plus I don't think I have to do anything else now for the rest of the year except mow. Nice. =)

*BTW DH and I had a good laugh because one of the venders was selling dandelion greens for crazy amounts of $$ at the farmer's market this morning. We could make a killing! Ours are organic even. Bwahahaha!

And just so this post isn't so wordy.. a few pictures perhaps?

More tulips in bloom

Baby broccoli is doing great

Peas have sprouted too though they're little...

Kids eye view of newly planted onions, leeks and shallots and me at the compost pile chuckin' something in. Gotta keep the monster fed!

I also found another great use for my cold frames - prop up my garden notebook! Perfect for keeping track of everything. Please ignore the soda (though if you like Mango you really should try these - they're divine! - This from someone who rarely if ever, drinks pop)

BTW This is another kiddlet picture. I love letting her have the camera in the garden because she sees things I don't or wouldn't think to take a picture of. It's kinda neat.

TGIF!

2010-03-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

Pests and Companion Planting

2010-03-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

I always thought companion planting was a good idea... but this does cast a seed of doubt.
I wish I could do some controlled experiments myself with various touted companions, especially the one's I've been using in my garden. Sadly, I do not have the room; fortunately neither have I come across the colorado potato beetle! (Knock on wood)

Questionable Companions
Mainstay of Organic Pest Control Won't Deter Colorado Potato Beetles
by Tara Moreau

I just completed my Master's degree at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, where I devoted two years of research to one troublesome agricultural pest: the Colorado potato beetle. Working with the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC), I evaluated organic controls for this insect on potatoes. The results, which came as a shock to me, will perhaps be a disappointment to gardeners who place a lot of faith in companion planting.

I realized early on that the 10-striped, leaf-eating Colorado potato beetle (CPB) is no ordinary insect. Its ability to develop resistance to nearly all pesticides used against it, and its global distribution, make it one of the most notorious agriculture pests in the world - and therefore one of the most popular pest species in scientific literature.

My particular interest was in the commonly prescribed technique of companion planting. Many publications devoted to home gardening and organic crop production recommend planting non-host plants or aromatic herbs as a means of reducing insect attack. I was intrigued with the concept. Could the presence of a non-host plant actually work to repel the beetle from potato plants nearby? Is there an unseen level of communication between plants and insects that can be used by growers for a more natural means of pest control?

One of the greatest challenges I encountered in testing companion plants was the lack of information about which companion plant varieties worked best, how many companion plants were required to have an effect, and how to arrange the companion plants within the potatoes. These were the questions I sought to answer.

Delving into the available literature, I realized that companion planting was a controversial subject, with various scientific data supporting and refuting its effectiveness. One study with the CPB reported that adult beetles were less attracted to the odors of potato plants in intercropped systems than in monocropped systems. The researchers speculated that potato plant odors were masked by the odors of non-host plants, and that the CPB's host-plant searching behavior was reduced in the presence of non-host plants. Other researchers demonstrated that CPB populations were lower in high- diversity plots than in lower-diversity plots.

In order to determine which companion plants to evaluate, I reviewed magazines, books, and internet sources, choosing plants that were most commonly recommended and that could be grown in Atlantic Canada. In the end I selected five: Bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Provider), flax (Linum usitatissimum cv. Natasja), horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), marigold (Tagetes patula cv. Bolero) and tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), shown at the right. I started the companion plants in a greenhouse in the early spring, in order to grow large plants to transplant into the potato plots.

The next stage of the project was to learn how to grow potatoes. I had no previous experience, and was unaware of the work required, but I managed to get research plots set up. I compared beetle densities between companion planted potato plots and potato plots with no companion plants.

The results from the 2-year study were not what I expected. Analysis of the CPB populations revealed that there were more beetles in plots with flax, marigold, and horseradish than in plots with no companion plants. I couldn't believe it. Not only did these companion plants not decrease CPB densities - their presence near potatoes actually increased the number of beetles. (The plots with Bush beans and tansy showed no difference from the control plots.)

I was surprised to learn that my results were not unprecedented in this field of study. In trials evaluating companion planting for roses, researchers demonstrated that the companion plants increased the incidence of Japanese beetle attack on roses.

While doing this research I had the opportunity to speak with many people who had success with companion planting and believed strongly in its effectiveness. However, my overall conclusion was that successful companion planting depends largely on the insect pest and the companion plants selected. Using Bush beans, flax, horseradish, marigold, and tansy as organic pest controls for the Colorado potato beetle would not be recommended, and I think this study does raise concerns about using companion plants without first verifying their effect on target pests.

Tara Moreau would welcome comments or questions on this subject by email at t@lenouveaupauvre.net.

This article was first published in Rural Delivery, Volume 29 #2, July/August 2004

Jumpin' the gun

2010-03-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself when I was at mega-mart-grocery-store-that-has-everything-including-a-garden-center; they were starting to put out their spring plants. I'd read that garlic planted at the base of a peach tree helps to ward of some pesky insect or other and so I figured what the heck. Besides, half the garlic I planted last fall didn't come up and we go through the stuff like water so a dozen extra bulbs couldn't hurt, right? AND they had strawberries. I cannot begin to tell you the love both DH and the kiddlet have for this little berry. It's like crack. They cannot get enough. Our berry pot had very old plants in it... meaning they produce a smaller harvest and more bitter fruit as they age. So I ripped them all out and put in all new soil and plants. The ant colony living in the pot was decidedly *not* happy. Neither was I when they started swarming up my arms. ::shivers:: But we came to an understanding... they were behind on rent so I evicted them to the compost pile. They can set up their shanty town with the ant colony currently living there.

The thing with the strawberries though was I bought too many (well, it's never too many according to the fam) but what to do with them? I tucked them around the peach tree as well. Nothing like easily accessible fruit in june and a nice ground cover the rest of the time. It's nice to see green in that bed... It'll be even nicer when the riot of flowers goes in behind the peach tree in a month or so.

Speaking of peach trees... I failed at spraying at the right time and now (already!) I have peach leaf curl. Anyone have any organic suggestions on how to go about taking care of this fungal disease? I dearly love the PNW except for the fungus issues the garden has to endure. ::sigh::

Oh and this was an interesting article, Black Soldier Fly, White Magic about a guy who breads black soldier flies and uses them in his compost like worms... so I guess I can let the one's living there stay. =)

Sunny Seedy Saturday

2010-03-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

Today was beautiful! In the 50's and sunny. I was able to get outside and plant peas. It was such a nice change from last year when I was planting them in the cold, cold rain. I also got my broccoli, kale, cabbage and cauliflower transplants in the dirt as well. Radishes and spinach were direct sewn too. Oh and a few potatoes that were pre-sprouted. My favorite way to plant them? Bulb transplanter. It makes the perfect sized hole to chuck a tater in. I'm still chitting* the three other types (French Fingerling, Yukon Gold and Red Pontiac) - hope they'll be ready by St. Patty's Day since I'm a romantic gardener like that. ;^)

*How to "green" potatoes (aka chitting): Cut potatoes so they have at least two "eyes" on each chunk. Put in a dark warm place. Damp is okay. Do not let them shrivel as it weakens the seed piece. They should sprout short stubby greens that won't break off easily. Once they do you can plant them in the garden no deeper then 2"-4". If you have trouble with scab you can coat them with a light dusting of sulfer powder first to help ward it off. This can also reduce the threat of infection by bacteria and fungus as well.

I really hope the spinach does better this time around too. I couldn't get it to come up fer nothin' last year. I wonder if it's a pH issue? Maybe if it doesn't come up I'll try planting it earlier next year. It should germinate anywhere from 25° to 75° so I'm not sure what it's problem is. ::shakes fist at spinach:: Grow you!

Heh.

I also dorked pretty hard last year and accidentally buried my compost thermometer in the compost pile. I thought I'd poke the pile today with a pitch fork and turn it over to see if I could find it. I had no luck in turning it (too wet and nowhere to toss it except on itself) but what I did discover is that it is FULL of worms. Woo! (Though by the time I grabbed the camera most of them had slithered away - still, there were loads.)

It was also full of grubs. I'm not sure what they are though. Anyone have any ideas? Friend or foe?

And finally, some of the asparagus is getting bigger. I'd love to have just enough even for one meal at Easter.

I'm a little worried because I didn't cover the bed with anything over the winter. (No hay, straw or cold frame). We get cold and maybe even a little bit of snow but last winter we had record breaking cold. Of the 20 asparagus plants we have, so far only seven have come back. I bought five more crowns (variety Mary Washington) in the hopes that if the Jersey Knight don't all come back up at least I'll be able to replace them. I heeled them in some compost this afternoon while we play wait and see with the plants in the garden. I'll definitely be getting ahold of some protective bedding next winter for the perennial bed. I lost both the artichoke plants in that bed too so I'll need to be a little more vigilant next fall when I'm doing my clean up.

Just a few goings-on in the garden

2010-03-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

Peach tree is blossoming...

Bulbs are emerging...

And there are even a few things in full bloom now...

Otherwise I've been hardening off my brassicas but I think it might be too early this year. Most years I haven't had a problem with this week but 2010 has been cold, cold, cold for us. I was hardening off the parsley with them but I could see they were easily getting stressed with temperature changes. I've left them under the lights for now and will try again next week. The broccoli and etc are looking a wee bit stressed but I'm sort of trying to push them through anyway. This weekend should be beautiful and about 10-15° warmer...

The Seed Fairy!

2010-03-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

Holy Heck! My *AWESOME* x-neighbor (from my days of living in San Francisco) sent me 30 packets of seeds today.

::jaw drops::

She's the best. I wuv her! I also had kinda a crappy day and so it was so great to get a fun package in the mail. Woo! Of course I have *no idea* where I'm going to plant even half of these... my garden cannot contain all the love. Foo. Maybe I need a community plot too! Well at least for the melons.
::feigns innocent look::
What?

I really want to try to grow some of the Moon & Stars Watermelon that she sent me. They are sooo cool looking! I hope I can get it hot enough for it to produce. Then again I might be better off trying the Cream of Saskatchewan Watermelon which does better in cooler climates. Or the Charantais melon (like a sweet aromatic cantaloupe). OH, the pressure to decide. lol

Never mind all the other varieties of tomatoes, herbs, squash, peppers, onions, brassica, etc. etc... Bah! lol... It's a happy bah, really. =)

Get to work kid!

2010-02-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

So what's the point of having kids unless you can make them do stuff for you?

Heehee, I'm just kidding. She *wanted* to push the applicator around so I let her. Lucky me. ;^)

Organic Lawn Care

2010-02-22T22:57:00.000-08:00

And so ends our annual sunny week of February weather! Tomorrow it looks like the rain will be back with a vengeance. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted. I did get a chance to mow the lawn this afternoon with one of Grandpa Jack's old push mowers and add my corn gluten. Good. Now hopefully the weeds will forget about growing and I can forget about weeding. Ha!

February

2010-02-20T20:10:00.000-08:00

Well the garden is pretty quiet right now as we're coming to the end of winter, however we seem to always get a week of really beautiful weather in February. It's been great. I've been outside shoveling compost in to all the beds in preparation for planting in a few weeks. The only thing to come up so far, is a shoot of asparagus.

The Forsythia are all in bloom right now too and that bright yellow color is Mother Nature's warning sign that weeds are right around the corner! ;^) So I went to pick up my annual giant bag 'o corn gluten which is an organic seed inhibitor. So yeah, sprinkle liberally in spring and you'll have a lot less weeds to pull.
I also picked up some more leek seeds (I was out) and some german camomile. I hear it can be tricky to start the latter from seed but I thought I'd like to give it a go before I run out and buy starts in a few months.
I've also really wanted the Organic Lawn Care book for a year now and since it's not been posted to paperbackswap.com in all that time and no one gifted it to me, I bought it for myself with some of my birthday money. Now I just need to find the time to read it. Heh. But still - I'm very happy!

And now for the standard monthly garden pictures... I guess you could consider these "before" shots. ;^)

...and the last bed we built. You can see my kiddo there with her sidewalk chalk and the new peach tree. I'm planning on putting in a ton of annuals that will attract pollinators to the garden this summer behind the peach. I'm excited to see a riot of color over there. Yay!

5 Plants That Clean Your Home Air

2010-02-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

We spend up to 90 per cent of our time indoors, sealed tightly into our homes, trying to prevent costly energy loss and escape the chill of winter. But there’s a big looming cloud over the cozy picture. It’s inside air pollution.

The U.S. Environmental Agency labels indoor air one of the top five environmental health risks. Pollutants known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs are especially irritating to people with asthma or chemical sensitivities. And these gases are everywhere: they’re given off by new furniture, adhesives used in carpeting and cupboards, paint, drywall, a wide variety of personal-care products and dry cleaning.

But a whiff of good news on the home front: a study conducted by a University of Georgia team shows that at least five common houseplants cleanse the air of some nasty VOCs.

“I’m really excited,” said Dr. Stanley Kays, a professor in the department of horticulture and the lead author of the study. “I see a real potential positive health impact if we learn how to utilize plants to create a healthier environment,” he told Allergic Living.

The research team tested 28 common indoor plants for their ability to remove five toxic indoor pollutants: benzene (particularly found in drywall in Georgia), toluene, octane, trichloroethene (TCE) and alpha-pinene. “The VOCs tested in this study have a potential to seriously compromise the health of exposed individuals,” Kays said.

What floored him was the sheer volume of these compounds in the households. “When we started checking the air quality in some of the houses, it was shocking, unbelievable. We identified 179 VOCs in just two homes. It reiterated that we have a real problem here and most people have no idea about it.”

The Top 5
Of 28 plant species tested, five emerged as the best VOC eliminators.
Purple Waffle Plant (Hemigraphis alternata) This attractive plant has puckered, slightly curled leaves that show off a red underside. It’s professor Stanley Kays personal favourite, a VOC-eliminating powerhouse.

English Ivy (Hedera helix) The lush, fast-growing foliage makes for a nice hanging or climbing plant as ivy sucks up the UGA’s quintuplet of VOCs. Do keep out of reach of toddlers and pets, as the leaves are toxic if eaten.

Variegated Wax Plant (Hoya carnosa) This tropical develops beautiful blooms in the summer, and its exquisite two-tone foliage inhales your household pollutants all year long.

Asparagus Fern (Asparagus densiflorus) The plant’s abundant greenery scrubs toxins right out of the air. Meantime, the elegant spikes will perk up a room in the dead of winter. Don’t eat the berries, which can irritate the intestines; the plant can be toxic to pets.

Purple Heart Plant (Tradescantia pallida) A favourite from the spiderwort family, this plant with its elongated, purple leaves out fills out to a full, beautiful hanging pot. Researchers rated it as superior for its ability to remove four of five VOCs – benzene, toluene, TCE and alpha-pinene.

On the Horizon
While this study is preliminary research, Kays is optimistic about being able to offer plant “prescriptions” in future. “I think we can really increase the health of people by the precise use of plants in interior spaces,” he says. A few pretty plants for much better breathing? Sounds like an idea that will blossom.

By Erin Stevenson for http://www.allergicliving.com

A peak of spring!

2010-02-15T23:40:00.000-08:00

Compost

2010-02-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

Woo! Six yards of compost is here. Looks like I've got a lot of shoveling ahead of me. Heh. Thanks to Nature's Needs which makes organic compost. My daughter has dubbed the giant pile of "dirt", Mt. Kindergarden. She's been having a grand time climbing up to the top and "jumping" off.... or skittering down on her butt. Who ever said gardening wasn't fun?

And now for a photo of the newly planted apple tree...

2010-02-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

DH came in the house this morning and said, "Hey, there's no apples on your stick yet!" I lol'ed.

Blueberry Maintenance

2010-02-09T23:30:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful sunny (almost warm) day yesterday. Yes, we reached a high of 55*! It was the perfect day to prune the blueberry bushes. I was a little nervous about it having never done it before but after reading up and taking a whack at it, I think I did okay. Guess we'll see this summer...

Aaaand - we're off!

2010-01-26T21:06:00.000-08:00

I started some seeds indoors tonight for planting in out in a few weeks: Onions, leeks, shallots, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, head lettuce, parsley and artichokes.

Perpetual Calendar

2010-01-24T19:16:00.000-08:00

I really hope the world doesn't end in 2012 as I've been bustin' my hump ALL DAY creating a perpetual calendar for the garden. I feel like I'm back in school. Since sun up I've had my nose in a stack books (and on-line) pulling information and consolidating it into one excel spread sheet. It will be glorious and simplify my life considerably when it's all done but right now what a PITA to create. Still it's a good brush up on what will need to be done this year. I'm about 1/2 way through the herbs and 1/3 of the way though the fruits and veggies. It feels quite extensive however I know I'm missing things even as I go through them. I guess it'll just have to be a work in progress.

I also discovered that I need to prune my blueberry bushes this year. Zoinks, that makes me nervous!

Honey Crisp Apple

2010-01-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

Be among the first to enjoy this delicious, new, patented variety from the University of Minnesota! A large, round, scarlet red fruit with a yellow background, Honeycrisp™ is very crisp, juicy, and flavorful. Honeycrisp™ ripens in early September and can be stored for several months in cool storage. It grows and colors best in the Northwest and other northern regions of the U.S.

Latin Name: Malus pumila
Class: Apples
Size at Maturity: 8-12 ft.
Rootstock Description: M-26 is considered a dwarf rootstock. Apple trees on M-26 typically grow 8-12 ft. in height and are usually spaced 8-12 ft. apart. Crabapples, Columnars, Espaliers, and Combination Apples will likely be smaller. M-26 induces early bearing, usually in 2-3 years after planting. M-26 grows well in most soils, except very wet and poorly drained ones. On windy sites, trees grafted on M-26 may need staking.
Pollination: All apples need another variety for pollination. Neighboring trees often offer sufficient pollen for good fruit set.
Pests & Diseases: All apples, except those that are described as disease resistant, can be affected by Apple Scab. Apple Scab is especially a problem in regions with wet springs, like we have in the Pacific Northwest. While it doesn’t seriously affect the eating quality of the fruit, it can cause black spots on the apples and foliage. Apple Scab can be controlled by sulfur and other sprays. Pests such as Codling Moth and aphids can also damage apples or the foliage of apple trees. See our Sulfur and Codling Moth traps in the Supplies section.
Hardiness: Most apples are hardy to minus 30º F or below
Bearing Age: 2-3 years after planting.
Bloom Time: April
Ripening Time: Early September
Yield: 30-50 lbs.
USDA Zone: 4
Sunset Western Zone: 1-9, 14-16
Sunset Northeast Zone: All zones

As described by the nursery, One Green World where it was purchased.

HONEY CRISP
Formerly Minnesota #1711 (US plant patent #7197) by the University of Minnesota, a cross of Macoun x Honeygold. It is a large apple with at least 50% red color over yellow background. A reliable annual bearer that blooms in early to mid-season. This is a sleeper and had been acclaimed by testers across the nation, and not just from north of USDA zone 4.

Honey Crisp, like all Minnesota apples, was tested for many years and, as of this writing (1995) may be suggested for USDA zone 3 (northern Minnesota), at least for trial. I suggest testing in zones 4 - 8 and protected zone 3 on a cold hardy root stock in zones 3 or 4 (not the Malling series). Pick fruit around Sept. 10-15 in Minnesota.

Many nurseries have been granted the rights to propagate it; some known to me are Bailey Nurseries, Start Bros. Nurseries, and Burchell Nursery. Available in 1995/1996. In the "very good" class.

M.26 ROOT STOCK
(Suggested for USDA zones 4-8)
This rootstock was derived from a cross of M.9 and M.16. M.16 had been named the Ketziner Ideal in Germany and was known to be very cold hardy. This cold hardy trait persisted in M.26. M.26 is the only commonly grown Malling rootstock to survive the frequent severe test winters at the University of Minnesota, such as the one in 1983/84, but it does have its limits.

M.26 produces a tree that is 15-20% larger then those on M.9 in the same soils and climates. One must be careful with certain vigorous triploid cultivators on this root as they become shockingly large, especially Gravenstein, Mutsu, Baldwin and Holstein. On the other hand, when the heavily fruiting triploid Jonagold is grafted to M.26, the tree size is medium, but i use minimum nitrogen and bend the leader over to restrict size.

M.26 rootstock should not be free standing the first five to seven years, or too many trees fall over or lean badly, unless one is willing to defruit them for some years and keep them growing very straight. Because M.26 roots tend to make certain cultivars grow in a crooked configuration, it is difficult to keep them growing straight during any time frame. Most of the small commercial orchardists I work with prefer to us the trellis.

Disease resistance varies. In eastern North America M.26 is sensitive to tomato ring-spot virus, which is transmitted in soils infested with the dagger nematode. The virus affects the graft union, usually killing the tree, and is called brown-line decay or apple union necrosis. In poorly drained soils that occasionally puddle, it is susceptible to collar rot (Phytopthera cactorum) an other Phytopthera species. Although it does not sucker, the root is susceptible to fireblight. In those areas with this bacterial disease, M.26 rootstock should not be used, and M.7A is a better choice.

Cultivatars on M.26 rootstock are quite susceptible to drought and I would not use it in any areas depending on variable summer rainfall, unless supplementary irrigations has been supplied.

Here in the Willamette Valley we summer irrigate almost all apple rootstocks so M.26 has proven to be an outstanding performer, giving very high production. It seems easy to care for on a trellis as we do not have fireblight to worry about, and apple union necrosis has not been detected in this area. EMLA.26 is a virus-free clone.

Source: Apples for the 21st Century by Warren Manhart. pp189-190 pp220/221

Other apples to consider if I ever get room for more trees: Elstar, Spitzenberg, Braeburn and Newtown.

Siren Song of the Seed Catalogs!

2010-01-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

Well tonight sure has been fun! I'm trying not to go nuts with ordering seeds and plants but gosh it's *hard*!

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds:
Sweet Dumpling Winter Squash
Tigger Melon
I'm *really* proud of this short order as there are about a bazillion different varieties I wanted to order from this company!

One Green World:
Canadice Grape Vine
Honeycrisp Apple Tree
Yeah, after all that studying and tasting and wavering back and forth, I'm just gettin' the dang Honeycrisp. I would've bought an Elstar but I couldn't find anyone that had any in stock or would ship to Oregon. Foo! I'm also not eeeeentiiiiiirly sure where that grape vine is going either. ::blushes:: BUT, the kiddo and DH both love grapes so I'll be sure to just scooch something aside to make room for it. Heh. Next year I've got to figure out where a raspberry vine or two can be plunked in too.

Burpee
Annual Flower Garden Seed Collection
Cleome, Cornflower, Cosmos, Marigold, Nasturtium and Zinnia.
Normally I wouldn't order from this company but because it's a non-food item and I want the flowers mostly to attract pollinators I feel like it's okay. It was sold as a collection for less then it would've cost me to buy all the seeds separately at their or other company. I'm excited to plant this in the bed behind the peach tree - there was nothing there all last year so this riot of color should be wonderful in the summer! Also because they're annuals it won't crowd the peach tree as it gets older.

Territorial Seed Company
Canoe Shelling Peas
Early Jalapeño Pepper
Nova Tomato
Black Prince Tomato
San Marzano Gigante Tomato
I didn't have *nearly* enough tomato plants last year. What the heck was I thinking? So I'm going with these guys - again I'm not too sure where they're all going to go yet. Guess I should stop shopping and finish with the garden planning.

...and if you've never started plants from seeds before it's pretty dang easy: Seed Starting Video.

2009 Garden Recap

2010-01-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

I was asked recently, "I too have been drooling over the seed catalogs. So...out of everything you grew last year what will you not be growing this year?"

Like New Year resolutions it's good to look back at the garden and evaluate what worked and what didn't and why. Is it worth taking another stab with a variety of something or is it best to know when to fold 'em? I would say there's a few things that I will not be planting again. Out of the 45 or so varieties of fruits and veggies that I'm am growing these will not make it back into the garden.... this year at any rate.

LETTUCE
Any varieties of the bright green loose leaf lettuce in the spring. The buggies *adore* them. I can grow a freckled red and green lettuce that tastes just as sweet and the slugs and snails could give a poop less about it. Heh. Since I have the seeds, and it seems a waste to NOT try to plant them) I'll save them for the fall when the soft bellied beasts are scarce.

WINTER SQUASH
Fairytale squash and pumpkin. While these are two delightful varieties the bugs once again loved them. The pumpkin came out er, marbled with gnawed in little tracks. The squash has been good but I have way too much of it, far more then I'm eating and well, we're just not consuming enough to justify it's existence in the garden next year. Plus I'm "losing" a bed to the apple tree this year so I don't have the space even if I wanted to keep growing winter squashes.

CUCUMBERS
The only reason I even attempted to grow these is because Sophie love pickles. I was hoping that they'd come ripe all at once and I could make a big batch of pickles. However, despite three failed attempts to get them to grow in my garden I did get four plants to finally live and they were sparse indeterminate producers. Also, no one likes cucumbers! lol... So, fail.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE, THAT IS THE QUESTION

POTATOES
I may or may not grow potatoes. I do love the smell of the flowers but they take up a lot of room and I had trouble with some varieties. If I do find a spot for them I will most likely grow Russet and Yukon Golds. I made THE BEST potato leek soup with the ones from the garden last year. I'll also have to work a little harder at the taters since I kinda ignored them more then I would've liked. If I can figure out where to put a potato box I'd grow them for sure.

SUMMER SQUASH
Maybe, maybe not. This got hit really hard with powdery mildew last summer. It might be worth it if I can keep more on top of trimming it up and finding an organic solution to the mildew.

BEETS
I'm not sure, I had such trouble growing these... since I have seeds I might give them another try but for whatever reason I couldn't get them to get bigger then my pinky nail before they keeled over. Too much water? Sometimes I do like the watering can a bit too much!

WORTH THE TROUBLE
Other crops did give me some trouble but I like them enough to make it worth giving it another go.
Artichokes: bugs and fungal issues.
Garlic: fungal issues, but I also moved them around too much while still trying to build garden beds so they should stay really put this time around.
Roma Tomatoes: I had some blossom end rot but over all once the water schedule was tightened up this improved dramatically and I did get a good second round of lovely tomatoes.
Spinach: Is in the realm of beets (can't get it much beyond the sprout phase) but since we love to eat it I'm determined to get it to grow.
Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower: I only planted these in the fall and didn't have much success because I think the planting time was off. I need to figure it out better this year. The cold came too quick for them. I'm hoping that a spring planting will treat them better. I love brassicaceae veggies.
Onions: I think my problem with the onions was just getting a late start. I also need to check the seedling temps so they get the right start. They hardly bulbed at all. I had much better luck with blub sets but even then I had a few flower. Zoinks. I thought onions were supposed to be easy!
Hot peppers: I learned my lesson - less water for success!

OUTSTANDING CROPS
These will have a place in my garden for as long as I can stand to grow them. They were vigorous, resistant to disease and pests and were super tasty.
Sweet corn: Easy to grow, sweet and a good producer.
Peas: I don't think I could ever grow too many peas. These are wonderful for snacking on straight off the vine. Even Sophie was eager to pick 'em. (along with the blueberries and strawberries)
Green Beans: Also easy to grow and vigorous. We got a steady flow of beans, enough for fresh eating and canning.
Radishes: If anything these were too easy to grow! lol... we could barely eat them all.
Sweetheart Grape Tomatoes: Also a wonderful producer and fantastically sweet and perfect for snacking out of the garden, roasting, salads, etc. I think this was my favorite of all the plants I grew in 2009.

Garden Planning

2010-01-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's time to start planting my seedlings for early spring crops in about two weeks. Seems like I just wrapped up the garden! Better order the few seeds I'm missing this week. Also I miss fresh veggies. I'm surprised how much of a difference I've noticed in taste between what I pick and eat out of the garden and what I buy at the store. It's a lot more noticeable in some veggies then in other, peaches, peas and broccoli have a much better taste, (it's a huge difference to me) coming out of the garden where as something like carrots or bell pepper taste nearly the same as what I can get in the store. I still haven't finished planning out what's going where yet. I better get on that. Mother nature sure isn't going to wait around for little ol me!

What fruits and veggies do you find have an improved taste coming straight from the garden rather then what you can buy in the store.

BTW Hope everyone had lovely holidays and a Happy New Year!

Mom's Apple Pie in a Jar - aka Apple Jam

2009-12-10T19:20:00.000-08:00

For Ribbit. Is it the same recipe?

If you're a fan of apple pie - and who isn't? - you will love this luscious apple jam. Serve it on bread of use it more creatively in mini-tarts or as a dessert topping. You're certain to receive rave reviews for its good taste.

3/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries (I used dried cranberries)
6 cups chopped peeled Granny Smith or other tart apples (I used Jonathan)
Grated zest and juice of one lemon
1 (1.75oz) regular powdered fruit pectin
9 cups granulated sugar (yeah, that'd be NINE. *craaazy*)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Prepare canner, jars and lids
2. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse raisins until finely chopped. Set aside.
3. In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan combine apples and lemon zest and juice. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occionally, until apples begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in pectin until dissolved. Stir in raisins. Return to high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Skim off foam.
4. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Remove airbubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot jam. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight.
5. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Source: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving - 400 delicious and creative recipes for today.

The great apple hunt!

2009-12-10T16:41:00.000-08:00

I'm still in a quandary about which kind of apple tree to buy. I've been buying different kinds of apples and sampling them. See, it's not all that bad. ;^) Tonight I've been noshing on Winesap. I've decided that it'd make the *perfect* hard cider apple. So, yeah, won't work this time around. Oh well! Another concern for me is that it has a diploid chromosome number of 34; however because of very defective pollen, it acts like a triploid of 51 chromosomes and therefore shouldn't be relied on as a pollinizer. Which it needs to be! So out the window with that one.

Out of hand eating apples I snacked on yesterday: Honey Crisp and Ambrosia. I sooo love the Honey Crisp Apple, Ambrosia is a very close second. Both bright, crisp and sweet. Neither has a long storage life and aren't so good in baked goods so while they're quite delicious fresh I really need a better all around apple since I've got room for just one tree.

I'm leaning toward Elstar today. But tomorrow? Who knows? I still have till spring to decide.

Checkin' In

2009-12-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not dead! I swear! I've just been busy, busy and you know how things get when the holidays approach.
Thanksgiving was fantastic. We drove down to Yosemite for the holiday.
Here we are going past Mt. Shasta.

The bird in the smoker after brining all night. It was the most scrumptious thing ever.

We stayed with my SIL/BIL and their kids. They just bought a house outside of the National Park. I thought you all might get a kick out of the rose bush "trellis".

The previous owner was an 80 yo lady who spent all day every day outside in her garden. Her sister gave her the walker. Insulted (as she was still quite spry) she used it to her best advantage - in the garden to prop up the rose bush!

In other gardening news we finally got hit with our first hard frost last night. The nasturtiums and marigolds finally croaked because of it. It was really lovely having flowers for so long though!! I also managed to pull the last head of broccoli a few days ago too. But really we need to winterize now. We're supposed to get snow on Sunday. Bleh.

Well at least winter will give me time to think about next years garden. I've checked out a book on apples - I still can't decide which tree to get and it's too late to plant now so I'm giving myself a deadline of spring to figure it out. I've also been drooling at the seed catalogs. I got one that was all tomatoes. DANGEROUS! I realized that two was simply not enough. I'm thinking four to six next year. I can do a whole bed of toms and not feel guilty, right? Right?

The last little bit of gardening news? My sister surprised me by signing us up for a class on natives. It was pretty cool. She's got a lot of work ahead of her - they just bought an acre of land (to build a house on). It's virgin so there's a LOT of planning/landscaping to do. I think she's hoping I'll help her. =)

November Garden

2009-11-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

It's looking a bit dreary out these days. The season is coming to an end and now it's just a matter of waiting for everything to die back so I can chuck it in the compost. I think it was pretty much the height of summer the last time I took progression pictures.

Anyway here's the summer shot.

Now you can see the tomatoes have been pulled along with all the peppers. The fall season cabbage is peaking their little heads up over the side of the beds now. I don't think I planted the red cabbage soon enough as it still hasn't grown much or even attempted to form a good head.

Again the summer shot:

You can see the marigolds are even more vibrant now and aren't minding the cold one bit. The pole beans on the other hand are done. I need to pull them but just haven't gotten around to it. The kale and lettuce (to the left) are doing well. Actually the lettuce was much nicer this fall as I didn't have nearly the slug issues I did this spring.

The summer picture:

Now: Those towering parsley flowers are all gone now and the asparagus is turning a lovely golden color in preparation for a long winter's nap. I have a few weeds I need to pull out of that bed - grrr. On a happier note you can see where the little shoots of garlic are coming up on the front left. And tragedy has struck once again. When I was inside I heard a loud CRASH just out my window. I went to see what was going on and there were crows all over the back yard perched in various places all squawking as loud as they could. They'd somehow managed to break the glass on the cold frame. Bah! I still haven't replaced it. I wonder if I should use a clear plastic? At the rate we're going I can't afford to replace the glass twice a year.

The summer shot

Now: All the cucumbers, corn and squash are long done now. I didn't plant any fall or winter crops in this bed. The only thing left is the morning glory vine on the fence. Once it dies back I'll throw it into the compost too. The tomato cages are just hanging out there for the winter. Not sure where all of next years crops will go. I'll plan that out after the holidays.

The summer shot:

Now: The funny thing is, this got even crazier before it mostly died back. I'm going to have to prop up the daliahs better next year as they completely smothered out the sage and thyme.

The pretty fall colors of the blueberries

The compost heap that's heaped high! Next spring when it starts to warm up I'll move it all to the center bin, add some cottonseed meal, water and give it a good toss. (And look for my thermometer which I accidentally buried under all the foliage. Ooops!)

And a picture of the peach tree that I planted yesterday.

Fall clean up

2009-11-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

Ah, it's been too long (again). I really cannot believe how busy, busy, busy life is. I was also down for the count last week with the flu so now I'm just playing catch up. Annie's Granny did have *excellent* timing as I received some bean seeds from her in the mail while I was sick. That so cheered me up. (Thanks dear!)

Today I finally planted the peach tree*! I also managed to pull all the tomato plants, the last of the corn stalks, a few straggler onions, the pepper plants. My poor compost bin is bursting full. I still have my pole vines that need to go into the heap. When I'll get to that I'm not sure. I also cut back some of the daliahs and other bulb flowers. I lost one of my artichoke plants this year. Looks like I'll have to sprout another one next year. Speaking of, the garlic has sprouted and is about 3" tall now. Hope I don't get hit with fungal issues like I did last spring.

The highland blueberry bushes are starting to turn colors - a beautiful deep red. The geese were flying in V formation overhead in a cheerful honking parade. The sun was low but warm on my face. It was nice to be outside all day today. It's shameful I didn't take any pictures.

*This required me to move a cubic yard of dirt by hand. Good times.

Garlic and Basil

2009-10-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

Pulled all the basil out of the garden today to either make pesto or just to blend with oil and freeze... depends on how motivated I'm feeling.

Also planted two (new to me) different varieties of garlic, Inchelium Red and Spanish Roja. They went into a different spot then last year. Hopefully I won't have the same fungal issues I experienced last spring with these kinds. Still looking for the "perfect" variety.

Apples!

2009-10-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Foo. I thought I was going to get an apple tree today but I changed my mind on what kind I wanted and they didn't have what I was looking for. I'm so indecisive! I thought I wanted a Honey Crisp which is a beautiful fresh eating apple. They had loads of these trees. However it's not the best for baking. So I was thinking what would I do with a whole tree full of of apples? Why, I'd bake with them of course! I'd be ill trying to eat so many fresh apples at once. So perhaps the honey crisp is out. It's a sweet apple and not firm enough to hold its shape when baking. (Which is what makes it such a wonderful eating apple.)

My neighbor is getting a Spitzenburg apple tree. Our deal was we both wanted apple trees but you need two different varieties to properly pollinate and set fruit. She'd already picked the Spitzenburg variety which is both a tasty fresh eating apple in addition to being one excellent for baking. I thought I might change to a Jonathan apple (which was a cross pollinated variety with Spitzenburg being one of the parents and so has many of the same qualities and is also quite good.) I'm wondering then if I can even get this tree because everything I've been reading has mentioned that the Jonathan's be pollinated with a Red or Yellow Delicious or an Early Harvest variety, not a Spitzenburg. Gah! I don't know.

The other choice is to go with an Elstar apple (a cross between Golden Delicious and Ingrid Marie apples) which is sweet/tart and good for baking and cooking/sauce making but it doesn't keep fresh for very long. It also only sets fruit every other year which would be disappointing as I have only space for one tree.

The Rome Beauty has similar characteristics to the Elstar apple but is sweeter. (And according to wikipedia has democratic leanings Heehee.) Though I've also read other reviews that it's mealy and easily infested by worms and not so good for eating out of hand. ::sigh::

I guess I don't need to make a decision this minute but it sure would be nice to just buy a Spitzenburg and make my neighbor get something else! Ha! If only...

It'll be apples tomorrow but today...

2009-10-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

...somebody bought a peach tree!
*Squees*

A beautiful fall day

2009-10-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

I got the fall clean up started in the garden. I pulled out the pumpkin, winter squash and cucumber vines. I pulled out and cut down the corn stalks. I raked the gravel paths and threw half a yard of dark aged fir bark into the blueberry bed to help protect their roots during the winter months. I also managed to at least mow the lawns though they still need to be edged and aerated. I cleaned off and deflated the swimming pool, rubber ducky, blow up balls and stored them all away for the winter. The last, a bitter sweet task.

It was a glorious fall day full of cool air and warm sunshine. The birds were singing and the work satisfying. I found loads more winter squash then I imagined I had as they were hiding under the large broad leaves and some were growing behind the fence and others were tucked away in the flower bed covered by the daliah's. Needless to say I also filled up my compost bin. I hope it all breaks down a bit before the next round of plant matter needs to be tossed on. All the weeds and powdery mildewed vine remains went into the municipal compost bins. It looks much tidier!

I only wish I had the time to do this every day until the yard looked perfect (and I could then ignore it all winter) - Ha!

Finally took some pictures!

2009-09-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

So a whole lot of these:

Turned into a little bit of this:

I also have a bunch of these:

That I think I'll turn into a roasted red pepper spread. (But dang it! I need another pound of tomatoes and I just used them all to make the tomato sauce. Maybe my neighbor will take pity on me, she has loads of tomatoes left.) I went to Powell's Books today and picked up Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving: 400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today. The Roasted Red Pepper Spread recipe comes from that book. It was either that or Pickled Roasted Red Peppers and hubby voted for the former.

My other option is to use these with the red pepper spread:

I went and harvested all the grape tomatoes on my Sweetheart vine and there's got to be at least five lbs of em! They filled up the entire colander. I was thinking I'd dehydrate them though to use in sauce and on pizza this winter. When the family moved Grandpa out of his home (to a care facility) earlier this year and cleaned out the house he'd lived in for 60 some-odd years I inherited the dehydrator. It's only 10 years old and might even still work; I'm kinda afraid to plug it in. Grandpa never threw *anything* away. Oh. Except for the manual. I finally found it on-line but I don't know that I can get it clean enough. I don't think it was ever properly cleaned after being used so I'm a little... uh... Ew. At least the racks can go in the dishwasher... Then again for food safety sake it might be worth it to just go get a new one. At least I'll know where it's been. We'll see how clean I can get it by tomorrow first.

A wee little bit of yumminess

2009-09-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

Huh. 10lbs of tomatoes sure don't go far in the sauce world. Got three pints. Heh. But better three pints of amazing deliciousness then then no pints at all. =) Of course now I'm spoiled for garden sauce over store bought junk. ::sigh:: I really, really need to grow more tomatoes next year.

Still haven't figured out precisely what I'm going to do with the bell peppers yet. I'd love to make a spread or roast them... not sure yet. Maybe we'll go to Powell's tomorrow and I'll let my kiddlet pick out a book and while she's looking at her book I'll go see if I can't find some amazing book of canning recipes. (Which I'll justify right now by saying it'll help me plan my garden *next* year... heehee)

Tomato Sauce

2009-09-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

I picked about 10lbs of tomatoes tonight so I think I'll make sauce and can it tomorrow. I can't decide if I should make spaghetti sauce or just chopped toms plain to use in other dishes. I somewhat like the idea of spaghetti sauce... or catsup. Since I just planted one determinate tomato plant... I must make due. I might have to make a bit of extra room next year in the garden for another determinate tomato.. then maybe I'd get 20lbs - still such a paltry sum. lol

I also picked about half a dozen bell peppers and again as many paprika peppers. The more I write the more I'm leaning toward the spaghetti sauce... with roasted bell peppers thrown in. Mmmm. Ya know, the recipe doesn't call for bell peppers. Would I screw up the acidity by adding them in? I don't want to get sick later. The recipe does call for lemon juice to be added to the bottom of the jar, sauce ladled over, sealed and processed. Think it would be okay to add the roasted peppers?

Quick Post

2009-09-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

Things have been crazy lately. What else is new? I'm happy to report however that I'm sitting in a cafe smack dab in the center of a nursery. Two of my favorite things - coffee and plants! I wish I had more time to babble here but I've got to make it quick.

Things going on in the garden:
* Eating another round of beautiful green beans.
*Sauce tomatoes are all just about to all ripen. I'm thinking I'll make spaghetti sauce with them at the end of the week (when it's not so hot out!)
*I saw a squirrel accidently drop about two stories out of a tree. Unlike cats they land on the sides. It did get up and totter off but it didn't look well. I hope that it wasn't poisoned by some neighbor.
*Before I leave I think I'll pick up some garlic for fall planting. The last variety I got didn't do well so I'm hoping changing it up will help a bit.

Tomatoes!

2009-09-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

We're eating a lot of tomatoes these days. They sure are good I just wish there were a bit more so I could make sauce or salsa with them. Mostly the grape tomatoes have been going nuts. Not that I mind...

I had nachos with spiced ground beef, cheese, a load of tomatoes from the garden, a splash of lime juice a bit of dried cilantro and glop or two of hot sauce for lunch the other day.

Tonight we had grilled steak with grilled grape tomatoes and green onions. The rice was herbed with fresh time and onions both from the garden. I do love summer.

My 200th post, a meme award

2009-09-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

I'd just like to say how sweet both Amy from Tales of a Transplanted Gardener and Shawn Ann from Shawn Ann's Garden are for nominating me for the meme award that's going around. You're both dears - thanks! I completely don't deserve it especially since I've not been posting much lately as I've been really consumed these past few months with lots of other things besides blogging about my garden. More on that in a little bit.

The Meme award guidelines:
1. Link back to the person who gave you the award 
2. Reveal 7 things about yourself 
3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and link to them 
4. Let each blogger know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. 
5. Let the tagger know when your post is up.

So here goes...

1. Our only daughter is just starting preschool for the first time. She's very vivacious and outgoing so is completely loving school. We're easing her in with about 2.5 hours a day, two days a week. It's mostly to get her used to the idea of schedules, routines and getting in some peer play time. Of course it's thrown our house hold routine on its ear. We've had an adjustment period. I now have nearly five hours a week all to myself though and I foresee I'll have no problem filling in the time.... just too bad none of it will be at home as her school is a bit of a drive from the house.

2. One of the things I've been working on a lot lately is my other "life" which I haven't really commented about here or kept here with my other blogs mostly because I don't want them knowing too much about my personal life. I'm a volunteer for the local branch of the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America and have been for upwards of five years now. I produce the quarterly newsletter and write our local support group blog, Grain Damaged. I also help run the support group meetings occasionally. It's very tough for a lot of people to transition to living without wheat, barley, rye and in some people oats. However if you have to have a chronic autoimmune illness this is the one to get. If caught early enough nearly all symptoms of the disease (over 200 of them!) can be negated by simple diet changes. How did I get involved with this? I have it myself. Which, bringing it all back around, makes me just adore my garden where I know all the food is gluten free! ::shudders at the thought of using rye as a cover crop:: lol

3. I grew up in California and sometimes I miss the diversity, the climate, my old friends (my best friend especially), fresh *fresh* fruit and veggies. The beach and the sunsets didn't suck either. I do not however miss the expense, the crowding and general chaos. I should go visit.

4. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue.

5. Once upon a time I got paid to color. No kidding. Best gig ever, not sure why I gave up being a color designer. Oh yeah, a promotion to a much harder job. I did get to travel to China and Korea about four times a year though. The movie Lost in Translation cracked me up. Guess you've had to live that life to get its surrealness. I will say this however, China is a beautiful country (if you can overlook the pollution) and the people love to have a good time. I quite enjoyed my stays there. Their food philosophy on the other hand, If it won't kill you, eat it can make for some *very* scary meals!

6. Speaking of travel I've been to quite a few places, some for work, some for play. Honduras is not some place I'd like to go back to. El Salvador is slightly better. Singapore is exotically beautiful (just don't chew gum or spit on the side walk), Ireland is like going home, England is like visiting a cousin, France is pretty to look at but is a bit stuck up, Korea seems like it's going to be more fun then it is, China is more fun then it seems like its going to be. I've also been in many states all around the US and Canada is so culturally similar to us it hardly feels like "going" anywhere. There are still so many places I'd like to travel though. Australia and New Zealand and PNG are high on the list. Africa is both appealing and intimidating at the same time, war, famine, racial tensions and disease may put me off forever. Then again, never say never.

7. Okay and I have to think of one last thing. Hum. Oh DH and I will celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary next month. =D

This is the part now where I'm supposed to tag seven other bloggers. Ah. That's tough, so many of the blogs I read have been tagged already! How do you choose?

I just stumbled across A Hand Made Life this morning which seems pretty cool.

In no particular order, I think you should check out:
1. Annie's Kitchen Garden
2. Our Engineered Garden
3. Tales of a Transplanted Gardener
4. Toni's Weedless Square Foot Garden
5. Shawn Ann's Garden
6. The Corner Yard
7. Give a Girl a Fig

September's Garden

2009-09-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Shawn Ann for the blogger award! You are such a sweet heart!

Welcome too Sam, Di and Kiki - so nice to have you here!

Not much to do when it rains

2009-09-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

The rain is back so I haven't been doing much of anything in the garden. I did notice that my green beans are coming back with a vengeance now that the heat is gone. Yay! Also one of my paprika peppers is turning red. I hope the rest of them ripen before we're all rain and cold all the time again. I still need to rip out the pumpkin vines that were hit with PM. Maybe if it's dry tomorrow I'll give that a go. Just before the rain came I managed to direct seed carrots, beets and spinach. We'll see how they fare. My spring crops of beets and spinach were a complete bust... maybe this time around they'll do better? Fingers crossed.

Compost

2009-09-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

Oh how I adore rotting piles of plant matter! I adore my husband more though (as it should be!) He indulges me in all things gardening. Well, except for the green house... I'm still working on that one BUT he's not all bad. ;^) I requested that he make a screen for my compost and he obliged. What a swell guy.

I'd composted before but was using just a one bin toss n' go system and never really did like it that well. It was hard to get to the finished compost on the bottom. So my dear hubby made me a three bin system at the end of last winter. Yay!

We collected plant materials and at the beginning of summer I moved them out the storage area (bin 1) and into the working pile area (bin 2). Bin 3 is for storing finished compost - I haven't had the pleasure yet as I use it faster then I can make it! Because we didn't have three cubic feet worth of materials I wasn't able to get the pile nearly as hot as I'd like. I did manage to get it up to about 145° which was pretty successful considering the lack of bulk. However not everything in the pile broke down to my satisfaction. You can see here the rather large clumps of still easily identifiable stuff (newspapers, sticks, a random potato or two, etc.)

As much as I love compost I didn't really want to use that on my garden beds because A.) it's unsightly and B.) It's still going through a decomposition process in which there's the off chance it could steal nitrogen from my plants (probably not really an issue unless I dug it in before planting and it was at the root zone level). Mostly it's just A - I like a pretty bed, what can I say?

So to indulge me, DH made me a compost screen to fit over my wheel barrow. (He used some scrap wood we had laying around and 1/2" wire mesh tacked into the bottom with heavy duty 1/8" staples to hold it in place.) It's super sturdy. He also braced the corners and put guides on the sides so it wouldn't slip as I was sifting my dirt.

Here you can see I've thrown a shovelful of chunky compost on the screen.

The next step is to take my gloved hands and just move the compost back and forth across the screen letting the smaller pieces fall though. The bigger stuff I then just chuck back into the collection bin of the next pile I'll be working on. The good stuff falls into the wheel barrow. The end result is beautiful compost that I've rotted myself!*

I went and tossed this on my fall starts and of course they love it! The broccoli is especially appreciative and is getting huge already. The new little red cabbages look so lovely next to the new dark earth I had to take a picture or two.

*WIth the help of one or two hundred trillion microbes and wee beasties. (Thanks guys!!)

Also, Welcome Kira, Gary and Michelle to my blog! Hope you enjoy my bit of show and tell. I hope to get over and see what you're writing about very soon. =) Cheers~

Death Day

2009-09-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Death Day or Three Strikes You're Out!

I realize I was supposed to post this yesterday for Death Day (held the last day of day of each month to show off all the skeletons in the closet so to speak). I had the wonderful opportunity to use this bed for one summer season to grow various squash and pumpkins, my favorite. Yay! This fall I'll be putting a semi-dwarf apple there. In the meantime I planted Jack O' Lanterns, Sugar Pumpkins, Fairytale Squash and summer Yellow Crookneck Squash. And they did great for most of the summer. However powdery mildew snuck up on me and in three strikes took out most of my plants.

The main reasons for death seem to be the following.

1.) It came on in the very hottest part of our summer which was also unusually humid for our region, the perfect conditions for powdery mildew. It didn't help that I noticed it late either.
2.) Once I realized what a terror it was going to be and galvanized myself into action, the spay bottle I was using to broke half way though the first application of a milk/baking soda mix.
3.) The next day we left for a week to go to a beach house on the Washington Coast. By the time we got back it had done its worst. As you can see the pumpkins, despite the mildew, look lovely. I think at least the winter gourds will be fine. There is no more summer yellow crook neck squash left worth eating.

The best part about the garden

2009-08-30T09:15:00.001-07:00

Sadly my garden is pretty small all things considered so I don't really get a chance to can much since we don't really have extra but we sure have been eating well this summer. And come to think of it I did have a few pictures sitting around of what we've been doing with the harvested delights from the garden so I'll share those.

We had quite a bit of corn come in this year and paired with the tomatoes I made scratch cornbread and chili.

I also harvested all the leeks and taters (which also went into potato salad and a few other dishes) but this was the best of all, Potato Leek Soup!

Technical Difficulties

2009-08-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

Oh shoot! I took pictures yesterday but now I can't find my camera cord. I need a maid these days!

Under a rock

2009-08-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Wow - I've really gotten away from this blog haven't I? How'd that happen? Hope everyone's had a great last month of summer.

I did manage to get a few fall crops planted around mid month: red and green cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. Unfortunately it was bad timing as we were headed out to the coast to spend the week in a beach house. I was so nervous about leaving them in the heat that I left the starter cups on the south side of the seedlings full of water to both cast shade and keep them a little damp while we were gone since no one would be around to take care of them. As it turned out, they were fine! (Whew~)

Today I'm going to try to get a few more fall crops in the ground: carrots, kale, lettuce.

And one of the flowers blooming now in the garden.

I'll try to make a big post here and catch you up on everything very soon... life's just been busy lately. I'm still gardening even if I'm not writing about it.

Powdery Mildew

2009-08-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well my pumpkin plants have succumbed to powdery mildew. I found this advice on how to safely quell the outbreak. I'll give it a try this afternoon.

To control minor infestations, pick off affected plant parts and either compost them in a hot compost pile or bag them tightly and put them in the trash. Research studies in 1999 and 2003 on infected zucchini and winter wheat (respectively) indicated that spraying cow's milk slowed the spread of the disease. To try this at home, mix 1 part milk with 9 parts water and spray the stems and tops of leaves with the solution. Reapply after rain. Spraying leaves with baking soda (1 teaspoon in 1 quart water) raises the pH, creating an inhospitable environment for powdery mildew.

Source:www.organicgardening.com

You can both spray and pour liquid seaweed onto your plant’s leaves. Research has shown that this has a powerful “booster” effect to your plant’s health and it helps fight off the powdery mildew. This is being used in many vineyards now as an organic control because it seems to work particularly well on crops that produce fruit. I mention it as a good alternative.

Sulphur sprays are quite effective at stopping the spread of powdery mildew. Remember that they do knock out beneficial soil fungi as well so do only spray to runoff. You can find sulphur in almost any garden shop.

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is recommended by many gardeners and when it is mixed at the rate of between 2 and 10 g per litre of water (add a small dash of liquid soap as a wetting agent). (1 teaspoon to a quart of water) I’ve seen research that up to 20g / litre of water has worked well with no burning.

And to just to make your day, it has also been reported (I’ve never used this myself) that urine when diluted at 1 part urine to 4 parts water is an effective powdery mildew control. There’s another reason to take a seventh inning stretch.

Milk is another very effective spray for powdery mildew. Mix the milk at a ratio of one part of milk to nine parts of water and spray weekly. Do NOT go higher than 3 milk to 9 water or you’ll attract other fungus problems that want to feed on the milk. Skim milk works well as it contains no fat to turn rancid (and attract other problems that like the smell of rotting fats.)

There are also products on the garden center shelves featuring jojoba oil and neem oil. I can’t speak to these but some gardeners swear by their effectivness for controlling powdery mildew.

Source: Simple Gifts Farm

A while later...
Okay, I made a spay of milk, baking soda, olive oil and water. I've sprayed. We'll see how it goes. I took before pictures so hopefully I'll have dramatic results to share with you soon. =)

Blossom End Rot

2009-08-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks to EG for setting the record straight. He confirmed that late blight starts at the stem and works its way down, while blossom end rot shows up at the bottom of the tomato. White powdery spores and brown spots on the leaves are common symptoms of late blight. My tomatoes did have some brown crispy leaves making me think it was blight but no powdery spores. I think they might have just been scalded by the sun during our heat-wave... it would also explain why some of the newer toms are rot free. I may get a few tomatoes before the summer's out - fingers crossed.

It's a love, hate thing

2009-08-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Some of my tomatoes love me!
(like this one I bought from the store!* lol)

...and some of them hate me. Like the ones in my garden. ::pouts::

Not sure what this is, I've never had tomatoes do this to me before. Is it late blight? They were just about to ripen too.

*Store bought tomato could've come from someone's garden it was so good! Heirloom variety (brown stripe I believe) locally grown and vine ripened. I'd like to grow this myself next year if I can find seeds (yeah, I should've taken them from the tom itself but I was too busy eating it!)

My favorite garden snack...

2009-08-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

A grape tomato with a wee basil leaf. YUM!

Clean up

2009-08-02T16:47:00.001-07:00

It was another hot day but I didn't care. I wanted to be in the garden! This time however I really needed to focus my energies on the front yard. It's been the poor neglected stepchild of the garden lately. I think Feb. was the last time I touched some of it. Yoinks. The weeds were horrendous, nothing had been mulched, crab grass and clover had conspired to take over every square inch. I managed to get 3/4 of it weeded and mulched. I even watered a bit and dead-headed the flowers. It felt GOOD. It looks so much better! I could still spend another full day out there but then who would watch my kiddlet? (Daddy was on duty today).

I did notice several more dead (of heat?) bugs: one bumble bee and one wasp. I also uncovered a horde of snails. There must have been three dozen all nestled down between the wide iris leaves and the stone wall, into the city compost they went. Heh.

I'm hoping it make the fall clean up go a lot smoother in a few months.

First of the Month Pictures

2009-08-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

July

August

You can see the heat really did a number on the nasturtiums but the marigolds took off so there's still pretty flowers in the garden. All of the onions and garlic have been pulled and the peppers have come up. I completely overwatered my peppers and it shows. I also didn't start them from seed soon enough this year so they never really go a chance to shine. Next year, right? The tomatoes are also continuing to grow... I never did get around to staking them. I should probably do that this weekend sometime.

July

August

This bed doesn't look much different... just bigger marigolds and the pepper and basil plants have come up a bit too. I also harvested about half the potatoes this morning. (Yukon Golds and Russet... the true blue's aren't ready yet and the potatoes planted from true seed never came to fruition). I also snipped out what's most likely the very last of the green beans. There were only a small handful left. I think next year I'd like to try some bush beans. All the cilantro went to seed... the bees sure liked it when it was flowering though.

July

August

Yeah, I wish that was dill but no, it's parsley. I've left it because the pollinators really like it. Otherwise I actually think I lost some of the tender new asparagus I planted this spring. I guess I'll find out by waiting to see what comes back up early next year. I should also go dig out the Walla Walla's I planted there too... the tops have fallen over but I've been ignoring them - I know they didn't do that well. It was a bad spot for them.

July

August

You can see the daliah's have come up and are in bloom now. From the description when I bought them I thought the lighter one's would've had a more saturated color. They're a little "blah" for me. Too bad. Maybe I'll have to dig them out and plant something else there for next year. I adore the ones in the back however, with their lovely dark foliage and sunflower colors. The thyme has also finished blooming and has settled into this spot nicely. That pot in front is the healthy pot of mint. It went bonkers and got about two feet tall, so I hacked it all back last (mid) month and now it's sending out all new and tender fresh leaves. I cut up a bit and sprinkled it into cubed watermelon. A delightful summer treat! Also I *might* have made a mojito or two. Heehee. I'll most likely harvest them all again before the first hard frost and dry them to make tea. I'll might do the same with the thyme too (for seasoning though, not tea - :;g::)

July

August

This has been a fun bed to watch progress - for me at any rate. The corn got hugenormous! It's also tasseled and the silks have started to flop over... should be ready to eat in the next week or two - I've *really* been looking forward to fresh plucked corn. Mmmm. I planted these 4/1 and I'm thinking that might be a hair too close. Some of the inner corn stalks didn't quite mature to where I would've liked to see them. I think a 1/1 spacing might be too roomy however. I'll have to work on a happy medium for next year. Also to those who suggested that my yellow crook neck squash flowers weren't getting pollinated and that's why they were rotting on the vine.... you were right! I cut back some of the larger leaves so the buggies could get where they needed to be and we've been enjoying squash ever since. Yay! You can also see that the cucumber vines also made a nice recovery (back left) and trellised themselves quite nicely. I have been a little disappointed that I haven't been able to get a large enough crop all at once to make either pickles or relish (my whole reason for growing them). We don't really eat cucumbers... so. I did pick some this morning but they're too big to make a classic pickle with... maybe I'll make some relish? My winter squash did really well in the heat and finally took off (after being smothered back there earlier this summer by the peas and radishes I let get huge)... I still have yet to see it set any fruit even with all the flowers it's putting out. (I just ran over there and checked - I have one!) Luckily the other vine is producing like crazy. The pumpkin however has put out at least one very nice gourd that I'm planning on making soup with for Thanksgiving if at all possible. It should be beautiful. Hope I don't screw it up. Heh.

July

August

Ah the blueberry bed. We've been snacking on the blueberries all month. They're still not done which I'm perfectly happy with. We're also getting our second flush of strawberries. Yay!

The sunflowers are starting to bloom. I only wish I'd planted more of them.

I've been watering the spiders too. Is that silly? Well okay, I've been misting them. It's hot and everyone needs a drink. Gotta take care of the bugs that help take care of the pests. ;^)

Here is the picture of the harvest from this morning.

Something I haven't really mentioned before are the crows. They are a menace. They have a nest in the large tree above the garden and they don't like invaders. Earlier this spring we had a lot of bluejay hanging around. I guess the crows didn't like it one bit. We'd see them dive bomb and chase after the jays. A few weeks ago we found a dismembered jay leg in the back yard. How did we know it was a jays? We found the head in the front yard. Bleh. We thankfully never found the rest of the body. Neither have we seen any jays since. Come to think of it the squirrels have been making themselves rather scarce as of late too... Maybe we've had a cat hanging out in our yard lately? Not sure.... Either way the crows are still here. Oh and speaking of dead things... I think the heat took its toll on a few critters in our back yard too. I found a dead mouse that'd made its way on to the hot gravel and flopped over and died. Also found a dead spider on the hot rocks looking very mummified and a bee dead and resting on one of the daliahs in mid pollination. I think I'm not the only one looking forward to the cooler weather...

Death Day

2009-08-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know I was supposed to post this yesterday for Garden Blogger's Death Day but other projects kept me busy. So without further ado... I killed mint. Yes, that invasive weed that most people cannot eradicate, the plant that puts bamboo to shame and gives kudzu a run for its money... mint. Deader n' a door nail. Though a lovely home for spiders apparently.

The good news? I have another whole pot of it that I actually remembered to water so it's doing just fine.