the plot thickens

June

2011-06-10T04:33:00.000-07:00

Lots has changed in the garden since my last post.

Plenty of sugar snap peas to pick on a daily basis. Most get crunched right out in the garden.

I love the way this growing Kale looks. It's almost blue.

Summer squash plant looking great. This one is Yellow Crookneck I think.

Tomato lineup.

Bug's eye view of a tomato plant. They seem to be getting signifcantly bigger on a daily basis.

Winter squash growing over it's trellis.

This little blob will someday be a Burgess Buttercup Squash.

And this one will be a Potimarron Squash.

Everything is looking as it should in the potato and bean beds. I expect that we'll see some bean pods emerging in the next week or two.

I sneaked a peak at the base of my Purple Viking potato plant. And, sure enough, there are purple potatos growing.

The Black Eyed Susans lining the front of the garden look like they are about to bloom any day.

Some other back yard projects have gotten time recently. So far the deck is re-stained, plants are potted on the patio, and the fence is in the process of being extended down into the yard.

And I am happy with the way this bed on the side of the yard has turned out. I lined it last fall with broken pieces of our old sidewalk, and have mulched all the plants heavily this spring. Looking good.

Tomato Day 2011

2011-05-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

In fact these pictures are from about a week ago, so tomato day was really last week.

Aiden was a good assistant.

It's only been a week, but these have almost doubled in size.

Learning about worms.

Eventually toys won out over garden projects. Still a good tomato day!

Mid-May

2011-05-14T04:10:00.000-07:00

Finally got out into the garden early enough in the day to take some pictures in decent light. Lots going on.

Milk jugs in the foreground hold the tomato seedlings with huge bamboo stakes next to each.

The peas are a' growin.

Winter squash, both started from seed in milk jugs and now transplanted into the ground. Eventually there will be a wire mesh over the bamboo in this picture that the squash vines can climb up.

Swiss Chard in the sunlight. This amazing plant was overwintered and is now thriving once again.

Potatoes around the edge of this bed with beans in the middle. This year I am going to mulch all the beds heavily with grass clippings from the lawn. Keeps the weeds down and retains water, plus I like the way it looks.

Closeup of the grass mulch around the potato plants.

Stunning rhubarb stalks. I picked my first batch of rhubarb the other day to make a strawberry rhubarb crumble for Mother's Day.

Tomato seedling in a milk jug. This process seems to be working well; next year I may try to just the start the seeds right into the jugs.

Melon seedling in a jug. All three types are still small but look good. I'm in the process of prepping the melon bed to plant out hopefully in about two weeks.

A sea of young lettuce.

I am very pleased that the black-eyed susans that I seeded last year at the front fence of the garden have come back even stronger. Excited to see them in bloom.

April Rains

2011-04-28T05:09:00.001-07:00

Soaking rains have been almost a daily event for the last few weeks, and the garden has benefited immensely with nearly everything planted showing significant growth.

Peas growing- so far the Amish Snap are outdistancing the Green Arrow, but everything is growing well.

I started bean seeds directly in the ground under old plastic soda bottles. This is the first time I've tried this, but so far so good.

The melons and squashes that I started in milk jugs are all looking quite good. The only thing that has shown no signs of life thus far is the strawberries.

Trying something a little different with the tomatoes this year. Typically at this point I would transplant them into individual plastic cups and let them grow inside on the windowsill for a few weeks. This year I am instead going to transplant the seedling directly into milk jugs similar to the way I did the squash and melon seeds. If this technique works than it would be a lot less fussy as once I plant the stuff into jugs it usually remains pretty self-sufficient until its time to put it in the ground. If this works maybe next year I could try planting the tomato seeds directly into the jugs, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

jugs galore.

I have gone a little crazy with the bamboo structures this year. I already have climbing space for peas, beans, melons and squash, and I still have to put in the giant tomato stakes. It's starting to look like a swiss family robinson garden.

Potato Day

2011-04-09T04:57:00.000-07:00

April 7th was Potato Day for 2011. It's about 2 weeks later than last year, and even with the extra time I am nervous about cold weather doing some damage. The forecast looks quite good for the week ahead though, so maybe I am in the clear.

I got two potato varieties this year: Purple Viking (pictured above) which is a new type for me, and Yukon Gold which I tried and had great success with last year.

The Purple Vikings were quite large, and had to be cut in half to make appropriately sized seed potatoes. Both varieties were delivered in mesh bags which I hung in the basement for about 2 weeks to start sprouting.

I also allocated more space to potatoes this year as they did so well last season. I was surprised and pleased at how easy and prolific they were, and I am hoping for more of the same this time around.

Trenched about 5-6 inches down and ready to be covered with 2-3 inches of soil and a blanket of leaf mulch.

This is my secret potato weapon: coffee grounds. We've been saving our spent grounds from our french press for the last few months and after I planted and covered the potatotes with soil they got dressed with a light covering of the grounds. The grounds will slowly release nutrients into the soil that will help the spuds grow strong.

Using leftover bamboo stakes as plant markers this year. Also, trying to write the planting date on the marker this year for quick reference.

Peas Planted

2011-03-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

It may have been a little hasty, but the 2011 garden season is, at last, officially underway. With recent temperatures hovering in the 40's I have been delaying my first planting of peas longer than I would have liked. Yesterday, however, the sun was out and the weather felt suitably spring-like so I decided that it was time to give it a go and get some seeds into the ground.

I am planting two pea types this year. Green Arrow (which I grew last year) which is a productive low climbing shelling pea. And also Amish Sugar Snap which is a vigorous climber and good for eating raw, pod and all.

I have high hopes this year to incorporate Aiden into as many garden activities as possible. He got a garden tool set for Christmas and has seemed excited to put his little trowel and watering can to good use. Pea planting was a perfect 3 year old garden project. We pushed aside the top layer of leaves around the pea teepees that I had built and Aiden used the wooden dibbler to poke holes into the ground.

After carefully placing a pea seed into each hole we filled in the holes and gave to area a good smooth pat down with our trowels. A few of the seeds received some extra water from Aiden's watering can for good measure.

Peas successfully planted!

Hopefully potatoes will follow in short order. I would have liked to have them in ground earlier as well, but cold wet weather can spell rot for seed potatoes, so I am going to dig in my heels and wait. I may try to "chit" my potatoes this year, which means to put them out on a shelf in the basement where they will begin to sprout- this could give them a head start in the growing department while still avoiding the bad weather.

Also, I planted the tomato seeds into my mini-greenhouse flat in the kitchen. Again I am about a week behind when I started seeds last year, but in the end I don't think that this should make too much difference.

signs of spring

2011-03-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Forsythias are in bloom and the bulbs have emerged- even though the weather is struggling to top 50 degrees there are signs of spring all over the yard and garden.

The first of my perennial vegetables emerged this week. I found 4 or 5 bright red heads of rhubarb poking up through the leaves in the garden. I could not be more pleased with the rhubarb as it seems to thrive in one of the garden's shadiest corners.

Last weekend I completed one of my first projects of the season. These bean and pea poles are part of my plan to maximize my vertical growing space this year. I'd hoped to have the peas in the ground by now, but the cold, wet weather has postponed any early planting.

This picture shows the rest of the pea/ bean poles. I need to get another load of bamboo as I still want to put in trellesing for tomatoes and winter squash. The foreground of this picture is the spot where I am hoping to put the duck house- another work in progress...

Panning Part III- The Master Plan

2011-03-10T04:53:00.000-08:00

Here my high-tech 2011 garden master plan. Clicking on the image should enlarge it enough to make the text readable.

Additional note: First seeds of the season ordered this past week. Yukon Gold and Purple Viking potatoes, and Green Arrow and Amish Sugar Snap peas.

2011 Planning- Part II

2011-03-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

Looking back at my list of planned projects last year, I actually didn't do half bad. I'd give myself maybe a B-.

The new raised bed were a substantial accomplishment as they significantly increased both the size and quality of my growing space. Similarly the lattice/ trellis wall along the parking lot side of the garden was a serious improvement and a welcome addition. The added privacy is great, and I am hoping to better utilize the additional vertical growing space this year.

The compost pile did not see much activity and still looks more or less the same as last year, although at the end of the season I did acquire a nice sized shipping pallet that I am hoping to use to better define the area. I did follow through on my plans to plant perennial vegetables, in this case Asparagus and Rhubarb. Although neither yielded a harvest the first year (which is expected) they both showed signs of vigour and life- the Rhubarb in particular was strong. I am going to try to be as attentive as possible to the Asparagus this year in hopes of getting it well established for the years to come. My final project (chicken acquisition) never materialized. Unfortunately this one simply fell by the wayside.

Now, looking ahead to planned projects for the 2011 season:

Compost Heap: This needs to happen. Right now my derelict pile of old leaves and garden waste takes up maximum space while providing minimal finished, usable compost. My goal is a neat, compact, active and effective pile to provide the beds with a continually renewing source of garden fertility.

Ducks: My ideal backyard bird has always been a duck. One of my farming hero's Eliott Coleman is a champion of ducks in the garden saying that not only do they lay eggs, eat bugs, and provide fertilizer as well (or better than) chickens, they also are generally more amicable and pleasant to be around. I am hoping to get 3-4 Khaki Cambell ducks, probably from here.

Season Extension: I am already doing this in a rudimentary way by starting seedlings indoors on a windowsill, and outside in my "mini greenhouse" pots. My hope though is to develop a system of low hoop plastic tunnels to fit over the raised beds frames so that I can continue growing longer into the cold fall and winter months. I am again looking to Eliot Coleman, specifically his book "Four Season Harvest" for inspiration and instruction on this one.

Vertical Expansion: This is always an ongoing work in progress, but I am hoping this year to find more ways to use vertical space for growing. I have the large lattice wall in place, but additionally I'll have access this year to a nearly unlimited supply of good quality long bamboo poles, so the possibilities for trellis and tee pee building are endless.

2011 Planning- Part I

2011-03-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

Crop List in Progress for 2011 season:

TOMATO:

Sungold

Amish Paste

Gold Medal*

Matt's Wild Cherry*

Red Brandywine

Halladay's Mortgage Lifter*

MELON:

Eden's Gem*

Golden Midget*

Blacktail Mountain

POTATO:

Purple Viking*

Yukon Gold

WINTER SQUASH:

Burgess Buttercup*

Potimarron*

Winter Luxury Pie*

SUMMER SQUASH:

Costata Romenesco

Yellow Crookneck

PEA:

Amish Snap*

Green Arrow

CUCUMBER:

A&C Pickling

BEANS:

Tongue of Fire*

Garden of Eden*

PEPPER:

Ancho Gigantea

GREENS:

Lacinato Kale*

Rhubarb Red Chard

Lettuce Mix

Blue Solaiae Leek*

De Cicco Broccoli*

*new variety

The Last Squash Standing

2011-01-14T04:38:00.000-08:00

It's official. The last holdover from the 2010 growing seen is gone. Eaten-bowls-licked-clean- and-washed-and-leftovers-tucked-in-the-freezer-gone. I'd made a batch of squash soup a while back, and being pretty pleased with the result, decided that this one would meet a similar end. Despite this being probably the smallest squash that I harvested it still made enough for a meal for us plus a huge portion to pass along to friends.

The process is simple. It begins by roasting the squash on a pan in a 350 degree oven.

After about an hour the flesh is slumped in and soft, and the skin peels right off with your fingers.

Carrots, celery and onions are chopped and placed in a pot with broth to simmer while prepping the squash.

After cooled slightly the flesh of the squash is scooped out and cut into smaller chunks.

Squash pieces are added to vegetables and broth and allowed to further simmer and soften. Things start to smell very good at this point.

When all ingredients are suitably soft and juicy an immersion blender is used to bring everything to a pleasantly smooth consistently. Finally cream and spices are added and mixed in. And then you have soup. Yum.

Remnants

2010-10-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken about a week ago. It was the last week of October, before the two heavy, killing frosts. Everything now has officially started it's long winter decay, and I've already sent much of the green seen in these photos to the compost pile. I'm glad I got a few last pictures in before the season ended, even if it was just a fleeting glimpse of the garden's final days.

I had two of these (very large) cinderella pumpkins, which have always been a fovorite of Jen's. Unfortunately they never reached their fully mature coloring, although they are still pretty stunning in their dark, mottled greens.

I may have never mentioned it but I planted hops this year. Of the 4 varieties I planted this one did best. Next year I'll be able to add some home-grown hops to some home-made brews.

The final vestiges of this years tomato onslaught. I just can't say enough good things about Sungold. They were the first to ripen, the last ones left and they just taste so darn good.

I am always impressed by the beauty and virility of the swiss chard. If any plants survived yesterday's frost (haven't checked yet) it would be these. Plus, do any other salad plants look this good?

The Dhalias seemed to, if anything, reach their peak as October ended. Until the frost they remained a brilliant shot of color amidst the browns and greens of fall.

These Pennsylvania Crookneck Squash were the unheralded wonder-kids of this year's garden. This squash pictured is just one of seven or eight that reached full maturity this year. If anything these plants may have been a tad too fertile as the vines stretched on and on, nearly engulfing the entire garden.

A final pumpkin shot. Looking dark and regal perched atop the picnic table. Having not fully ripened there is little usefullness for this squash outside of allowing it to become a beautiful fall sculpture, a reminder of the summer and a promise of the spring.

It's a jungle out there

2010-07-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Just returned from ten days in Maine. The garden has survived (and thrived) in my absence. Everything is growing into and on top of everything else, weeds included. I have my work cut out for me in the days to come.

This Zuchinni was as big around as a baseball bat, and nearly as long. It got chucked in the compost heap. A couple of nice ones made it onto the diiner plate though.

Pumpkin growing into Zucchini, growing into Tomato, growing into watermelon. It's a beautiful mess.

Sugar Baby Watermelon. Bowling ball size. Maybe ready to pick this week.

Blacktail Mountain watermelon. Softball size.

My assistant director of Zinnia beheading. Hard at work.

Sungold Tomatoes on the vine...

...and in my hand.

Charentais melon. First one picked of the season (cue ominous music...)

The summer squash and zucchini joined some Sungolds in a pasta for dinner.

I really thought that this melon was ripe.

It even looked a little ripe on the inside. But, alas it was not to be. It tasted like...water. Hard, sour, melony flavored water.

Rain

2010-07-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

After 2 solid weeks without a drop, today we've had a heavy, drenching rain. Finally.

This Yellow Crookneck Squash will be eaten tonight.

A Dhalia among melons.

A glistening Cherokee Purple tomato.

Sungold cascade.

A still life of summer squash and Sungold.

A dangling Blacktail Mountain watermelon.

A dark and mysterious melon.

Potato vines have begun to die back. I've read that you can just leave the spuds in the ground and harvest them as needed, so thats what I'll do.

Lettuce has all bolted. Soon I'll rip it all out to plant fall peas.

The promise of a Dhalia.

Delivered.

Zinnias in many hues.

Dinner.

twilight in the garden

2010-07-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

A potato in the ground.

A potato in my hand.

Potatoes.

Chopped. With Rosemary from the garden. Later to join olive oil in tin foil on the grill.

Enjoyed the first tomato of the year. It was a Sungold, and it tasted like summer.

Ripening...

This will be a yellow Zucchini someday.

It's been so hot. Wet newspaper and mulch are the only things keeping these plants from certain death.

A Charentais Melon.

A Blacktail Mountain Watermelon.

A Dhalia. The first Dhalia of the summer.

My book The Kitchen Gardens of France says that Dhalias are a traditional flower planted in vegetable gardens. I needed no further convincing.

Zinnia.

Purple Coneflower with bee.

Purple Coneflower in the sun.

Purple Coneflower with pink Hydrangea.

Zucchini

2010-07-05T05:49:00.001-07:00

These pictures are a few weeks old by now, but I can't let the arrival of the first Zucchini go undocumented.

These were the first two picked, both Costata Romanseco. They ended up on the grill with some oive oil and parmesean cheese.

There seem to be quite a few more on their way, with a couple of the yellow crookneck variety looking to ripen later this week. To prevent the stem rot/bug problems that I had last year I wrapped the base of the stalk in a layer of tinfoil. It seems to be working so far as I've already doubled last years harvest with no end in sight.

It's been a tough stretch of weather with 95+ degree days and little to no rain in recent memory. The garden has required almost daily soakings to keep everything from simply shriveling back into the dirt. No rain in the forecast for the next few days either. Tomrrow's high: 100 degrees...

peas please

2010-06-21T04:43:00.000-07:00

Pea season has officialy come to a close in the garden. Yesterday I picked off all the remaining pods, and then pulled the vines out and sent them on a one way trip to the compost pile.

This was the first year that I planted a 'shelling' pea as opposed to the 'sugar snap' or 'snow' varieties, and I have to say I was really pleased. It was easy to enjoy them on the fly, as they were quite tasty eaten directly from the pod while working in the garden.

Also, cooked in some boiling water, and served with a bit of butter and salt they were a real treat. After I shelled and washed this last bunch I put them in a ziplock bag and stuck them in the freezer to save for some future meal. I am thinking of trying this pea pesto...

Growth

2010-06-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

After another short trip away from home, and an extended absence from the blog, there have been many changes in the June garden. The squash, zucchini, and pumpkin plants in particular seemed to grow to about 10 times their previous size while I was gone.

The lettuce continues to be abundant, and the peas are now in their prime as the teepees are literally dripping with fat, ripe pods. And most exciting of all the tomatoes continue to develop beautifully with numerous blossoms and immature fruits promising a glut of tomatoes in our future.

The San Marzano, and Amish Paste tomatoes have all gotten up to about 4 ft tall and are starting to set fruit.

Tomato blossoms with lettuce in the background.

Immature Sungold tomatoes. These will probably be the first ripe ones this year.

Amish Paste tomatoes.

These Green Arrow Peas are a traditional english shelling variety.

They can be shelled and cooked for dinner, but so far they've mostly been eaten by being popped directly from pod to mouth.

A sea of lettuce varieties.

Costata Romanesco zucchini.

A genuine pumpkin patch.

Butternut squash, with sunfowers poking through.

The melons continue to sprawl lazily on their black plastic. Quite a few blossoms have already appeared.

Charentais melon blossom.

A pot of marigolds growing on the patio.

Basil growing in an old coffee can.

Assorted patio herbs, flowers and a Sungold tomato.

2010-05-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Back from a 4 day trip and the garden continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

The potatoes are about waist high, and I planted red bell peppers and giant ancho peppers behind the potato row.

Tomatoes seemed to grow a foot over the weekend. I noticed some small red bugs around the base of some of the plants. I'm not sure what they are but I'll need to keep an eye if they start to do any damage.

Winter squash coming in well.

The peas continue to climb, and I noticed the first blooms on them today.

A pepper seedling viewed through potato leaves.

Looking head on at an asparagus fern.

Honeysuckle with neighbors roses in the background.

Some patio pots that will soon hopefully be filled with basil, marigold, coneflower and strawberries.

Tomatoes are in- and other news.

2010-05-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

There is lots going on in garden at the moment. With weather consistently summer-like, and the last frost date well in the rearview mirror, planting has started in earnest.

I put the Rhubarb in the ground a few weeks back, and it is now starting to make it's first appearance. I am really excited about the Rhubarb partly because I am looking forward to the pies this Rhubarb will grace in the future. Also, it makes me remember nostalgically the rhubarb patch at our house growing up. It's a double whammy.

The row of potatos is also looking rather healthy as they feast on the spent coffee grounds that I've been carefully feeding them since planting time.

The biggest project of the weekend was getting the tomatos in the ground. It's the first weekend of May (the same time I planted them last year) and the weather seemed primed to finally get these plants into the garden.

I've had black weed barrier over the tomato beds for two weeks, getting things nice and warm. I am trying to give each plant plenty of space this year as I certainly want to avoid the blight infestation that cropped up last summer.

So it's offical, the tomatoes are in the ground. Here's to a long and tomato-filled summer.

Tomato

2010-04-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I took any pictures of my tomato seedlings, but they are coming right along. They have been thriving on the kitchen windowsill for the last few weeks, although they recently outgrew that particular piece of real estate.

Now I have them in this big metal bin so they can be easily carried outside for the daytime, and brought back inside during the night. Next weekend is supposed to be a warm one so that is my projected date to get these guys in the ground.

April Progress

2010-04-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Despite infrequent posting here on the blog, things have been humming along in the garden with the growing season well underway.

One cool project I am trying this year for the first time is a super-DIY, super-cheap seed starting technique. Since I am noticably lacking a nice, warm greenhouse for giving my seeds a head start while the weather is still cool, I decided to substitute in lots of mini-greenhouses and hopefully accomplish the same goal. These "greenhouses" are just old plastic milk jugs and 2 liter soda bottles (cut in half) with a little bit of potting soil in the bottom.

The plastic walls of the bottles work their greenhouse magic, retaining heat and moisture, allowing the seeds to grow even as night time temperatures dip down into the 30s and 40s. The picture below is of two Cream of Saskatchewan watermelon seedlings. So far so good!

I finally built the trellis/ fence that I have been wishing for for such a long time. The added privacy is great, and the extra growing space is a nice bonus too.

My first planting of mixed lettuces is coming in nicely. I did a second planting about 2 weeks later and those are just starting to pop up as well.

Peas also are looking good, getting taller and tucked safely behind their rabbit-proof mini fence.

One of bigger recent plantings is one that I have been looking forward to for quite a while: asparagus. For those who've never seen it (I hadn't) this is what asparagus crowns look like when they arrive in a box from the seed catalog. When you take them out they look like small octopus, with lots of thin roots dangling down from a central head.

Here is the asaparagus bed, first in it's pristine "before" state, and then also prepped with the asparagus crowns ready to be covered with soil.

Seedling Jungle

2010-04-06T09:14:00.001-07:00

The tomato seedlings are getting a bit leggy so I'll be moving them on into their plastic pots sometime this week. Lettuce and peas are nosing their way through the soil out in the garden. It feels like mid- June outside, but I think that the reality of April weather can't be far off...

Compost

2010-03-29T05:22:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I got my first load of Phoenixville Borough compost delivered to my garden by my Dad (thanks Dad). It was first piled all into one of the raised beds, but I spent a few hours on Sunday spreading it out between the two new beds. You can see that it is pretty rough stuff, with lots of sticks and woody pieces mixed in.

As I moved it around though I tried to sift through it and remove most of the woody chunks while leaving the good stuff behind.

In the picture below you can see the other raised bed filled out with compost. Behind that, on an angle, you can see another small, new bed that I have set aside for the rhubarb plants when they arrive.

My last project of Sunday involved this forlorn little weedy/ grassy patch back near the compost pile. I planted a few blackberry plants here 2 years back, they have to take off- but I'm still holding out hope.

It's a big space and I'm hoping to plant some winter squash here this year, but the soil is a bit to shallow and root-filled to dig much compost into. So I am trying a technique that I've read about but never tried myself.

The area that I going to plant I covered with a thick layer of old cardboard. Later on I'll use chopped leaves and more compost to cover the cardboard with a good 5--6 inches of organic material. The idea is that the cardboard will block out any weeds that are present, and then eventually just break down into the soil. Thats the idea anyway. The logs on top of the cardboard are just there to hold it down until I get the compost to cover it up.

Tomato Seeds Started

2010-03-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

I used this afternoon to get my tomato seeds going in my little peat-plug seed starting kit. I didn't take many pictures this time because I documented the process pretty well last year, and this went pretty much the same. I am trying seven varieties this year, and they are: Aunt Ruby's German Green, San Marzano, Amish Paste, Cherokee Purple, Sungold, Red Brandywine, and Flamme.

2010 Season Underway

2010-03-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend brought on the start of a new growing season. Even though the weather was unusualy warm for this early in the spring (70+ and sunny), I went by the traditional Saint Patricks day planting date to get my first seeds in the ground. This year in addition to peas I used my first planting date to also get Lettuce, Chard and Potatoes in the ground. All of these seeds are able to be planted "as soon as the ground can be worked" and should have no problem with the cooler, wetter weather during the next few weeks.

The peas I planted into two of the new raised beds in the background of this picture.

Instead of making a more formal trellis structure for the peas to grow on, this year I just stuck some sticks into the ground in a loose tipi shape.

I took a few pictures of my potato planting technique this year. Not because I know what I am doing, but this way if things don't go wellI can look back and see where it all went terribly wrong.

I try to avoid the temptation to clean the beds off and tidy things up too much and instead allow the leaves to be worked into the soil over time. This is the potato bed prepped and ready to go.

Trench dug about 6 inches deep.

Seed potatoes placed in the trench with most of the "eyes" facing up.

The trench filled over with the potatoes safely tucked in for the season. Happy growing!

A Real Spring Day

2010-03-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

Many of the seeds that I ordered have arrived, with more showing up in the mail just today. I spent some time today continuing to frame out the new raised beds and added some composted manure to the soil in preparation for pea planting- hopefully next weekend.

Incidentally, it was sunny and 65 today. Summer can't come soon enough.

Plans, part 2

2010-03-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a list of garden plans and projects for the coming season that did not fall under the last post that I did about which varieties I'll be planting (many of which have already changed by the way.)

Raised Beds- I have plans to increase the size of and improve the quality of the garden's raised beds. This is one project that is already started as I took a trip to Lowes yesterday and got some lumber to start the framing. In addition to bed frames I also want to try to build up the beds themselves by adding as much organic matter as possible- possibly from the newly discovered municipal compost facility.

Compost Heap- This one is basic, and to be honest should have been one of the first things I set out to do when I started the garden a few years back. Right now my "compost heap" is just a pile of wet leaves and other yard detritus shoved in the back corner of the garden. While technically this stuff will break down into compost eventually it could take years to become true valuble garden compost. I want to build a proper framed compost bin, and also pay more attention to makeup of the pile itself, and turning it etc. to aid in faster break down.

Large Trellis- One of the ever present eyes-sores of the garden is the fact that it backs up to a neighboring parking lot and dumpster (yes, a dumpster.) My hope for this year is to put 5-6 foot tall trellis/fence along that side of the garden effectively improving the view, while also providing some vertical growing space.

Perrenial Vegetables- I like the idea of planting something that will be there to harvest not just later the same year, but for many years to come. This year I am investing some extra time and money to plant asparagus and rhubarb. Both being long term providers that should be viable for a long, long time.

Chickens- Yes, chickens. Although this one is still only a possibility, I may be able to acquire a few grown hens from a relative who is looking to thin their small flock. Backyard chickens/ ducks has always been a daydream of mine- and it looks like I may have the chance to give it a go. Fresh eggs!

There are a few other minor tweaks to my overall gardening techniques that I want to try this year, but the items already mentioned are the bigger projects that I am hoping to complete.

Melting, Mold and Signs of Life

2010-03-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

With the many layers of snow at last melted I am finally getting to see the yard and garden for the first time in weeks. Garden plans are seeming more realistic now that I can actually see the beds, and I spent my first afternoon working outside today.

I also ordered my first seeds of the season this week, and I hope to work on expanding some of raised beds during the coming weeks.

I never took any pictures of it before, but in the fall I set up a "leaf mold" area. Leaf mold is just fallen (in this case shredded) leaves that are allowed to break down into a compost-like consistency. It doesn't have the same nutrient rich qualities of true compost, but it'll be good for mulching and adding some substance to the soil.

I just thought I'd note that a few early spring bulbs are actually emerging. Finally.

Garden Master Plan 2010

2010-02-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

I spent some time the other day drawing out a rough plan of the garden layout for this year. It's nice to visualize how all the pieces will fit together. In the end, it is probably an oversimplified version as there are plenty of things that I'll end up sticking in the nooks and crannies. Overall though, I think that this gives a pretty accurate representation of how things will look this year.

I have to thank my son for allowing me the use of his construction paper and crayons, without which, this post would not have been possible.

Planning Part 1: seeds

2010-02-16T11:39:00.001-08:00

Within the next month I'll be putting in orders to various seed companies for the 2010 growing season. Regardless of the frozen tundra outside my doorstep the time for planting will be here before I know it, so I've been working on getting together a list of seed varieties to order this year. During the last few years I've relied heavily on "Johnny's Selected Seeds", a Maine based company that has good varieties for northeastern gardeners with an organic focus. Although there are still a few items I'll be ordering from them this time around, I am planning to get the bulk of my seeds from the "Seed Savers Exchange." Seed Savers is a Iowa company that focuses not only on organic growing but heirloom seed varieties. The concept of heirloom vegetables is a sound one, and they do a good job of explaining the benefits of this type of growing on their company web site.

So, as of February 16th here is my working list for the 2010 season (with an SS indicating Seed Savers Exchange and a JS indicating Johnnys Select) :

- Apollo Arugla- SS

- Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce- SS

- Australian Yellowleaf Lettuce- SS

- Bronze Arrowhead Lettuce- SS

- Forrellenschuss Lettuce- SS

- Lollo Rossa Lettuce- SS

- Pablo Lettuce- SS

- Red Velvet Lettuce- SS

- Reines des Glaces Lettuce- SS

- America Spinach- SS

- Jersey Knight Asparagus- JS

- Charantais Melon- SS

- Prescott Fond Blanc Melon- SS

- Pride of Wisconsin Melon- SS

- Green Arrow Pea- SS

- Tom Thumb Pea- SS

- King Richard Leeks- JS

- French Fingerling Potato- SS

- German Butterball Potato- SS

- Tolli's Sweet Italian Pepper- SS

- Ancho Gigantea Pepper- SS

- Five Color Silver Beet Swiss Chard- SS

- Costata Romanesco Zucchini- JS

- Soleil Zucchini- JS

- Cornfield Pumpkin- SS

- Musquee de Provence Pumpkin- SS

- Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash- SS

- Amish Paste Tomato- SS

- Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomato- SS

- Blondkopfchen Tomato- SS

- Red Brandywine Tomato- SS

- Cherokee Purple Tomato- SS

- San Marzano Tomato- JS

- Sun Gold Tomato- JS

- Blacktail Mountain Watermelon- SS

- Moon and Stars Watermelon- SS

- Jewel Strawberries- JS

- Victoria Rhubarb- JS

- Genovese Basil- SS

This list is still a work in progress and is missing some items that I may still add (like carrots, beans and additional herb types). All in all though, I think that this will be pretty close to the final selections.

At some point soon I am hoping to do another 'planning post' in which I list some of the projects that I hope to tackle in the yard and garden during the coming season.

Dreams vs Reality

2010-02-12T18:38:00.000-08:00

In my ideal garden world right now I can see the firm green flesh of ripening tomatos and smell the sweet tangy aroma as I brush against their leaves.

But in reality, when I look out the window all is see is white...

I guess I still have a wait ahead of me.

Pages of Inspiration

2010-02-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

I got a few new books around Christmas time that have been providing plenty of ideas and inspiration for the coming growing season. Two are by gardener/author Amy Goldman. Her books are carefully detailed descriptions based on her extensive growing trials of heirloom varieties in her home garden. The information is thoughtfully laid out, and the photographs are, simply put, spectacular.

The first book is called "The Heirloom Tomato," and perusing it has given me ideas for a few new heirloom varieties to try.

The second is "Melons for the Passionate Grower" and, as you can see, the photographs in it are literally works of art.

The last of my new books is called "Tender: Volume 1" by Nigel Slater. Slater is a british garden writer and chef. He uses this book to talk about his experiences growing and cooking most of the primary vegetable crops in the home garden. The recipes and information are a good read, and the photos are, once again, outstanding.

quiet

2010-02-07T13:06:00.001-08:00

Things in the garden, as on the blog, have been quiet for some time now. No worries though, despite the thick blanket of snow laying over my beds the garden season has already begun in earnest as I have been thumbing through seed catalogs, pen in hand. The planning and pondering has begun, which means planting can't be too far behind...

Cookbook Dreams

2009-12-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

It may be the middle of December, but the pictures from this Jamie Oliver cookbook has got me thinking garden.

It may be time to break out the seed catalogs...

Quiet October

2009-10-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

There is not much going on in the garden at the moment. I've cleaned out a good portion of the beds, with the few remaining squash and melons ready to be removed at any time. I just thought I'd take a picture of the trellis to show how well the Morning Glories did this year.

Considering they need bascially zero attention, they really did a great job of climbing, and providing a nice canopy of shade under the trellis. I'd like to eventually have Wisteria instead, but for now the Morning Glory is a nice stand in.

I also did a quick project the other day I wanted to document. I made a teepee out of the old hardwood stakes that were left over when I pulled out the tomatoes. I put it in place of that old ladder, which never looked very good anyway.

Most of the big sunflowers have whithered, but a few of the smaller ones are still going strong.

I Dream of Coldframes

2009-10-11T21:03:00.001-07:00

Every year around this time I start to get an itch for some good ol'fashioned cold weather gardening. As the tomatoes and other warm weather crops fall by the wayside I tend to find myself wishing that fall and winter were more then just 'cleanup' season in the garden.

One of my first gardening books was Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman, and it is good enough to make any gardener start dreaming about coldframes, greenhouses and fresh salad all winter long. His other book, The New Organic Grower, is equally as good and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Maybe eventually I'll find some ways to work in some coldframes and the like, but until then I'll have to just keep on dreaming.

The Zucchini Stands Alone

2009-09-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

Sigh.

This little Sebring Zucchini is one of only three that I was able to harvest this year.

Three.

Last year I had more Zucchini then I could handle. This year: nada.

Although I am pretty sure that there was a bad case of Vine Worm Borer running around the garden, it just goes to show that even the most vigourous plants require attention to soil conditions and sunlight position.

That's the great thing about gardening. Every year is a heap of new lessons learned, and new info to log away for future years. Even though this growing season had it's share of frustrations, it was a good time for experimentation and trial and error.

And, on the plus side, that little zucchini was pretty tasty.

Frosty Morning

2009-09-20T05:29:00.000-07:00

Looking out the kitchen window this morning I'm noticing that there is a very light layering of frost on the lawn. I'll have to get out to the garden later today to evaluate the damage if any.

Things have been winding down recentley anyway, but I have still been holding on to hopes of a late summer zucchini and squash harvest.

We'll see...

Bugs, Blight & Bunnies

2009-09-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

There have been some battles waging recently in the garden. Of all the casualies thus far the tomatoes have been hit by far the worst. All that rain I was so excited about back in the month of August has brought about some nasty consequences. Namely a serious case of tomato blight.

Apprently there is not always just one factor that causes tomato blight, but constantly wet weather is a major piece of the puzzle. This nasty looking rot started in just one plant and has worked it's way quickly down the row, plant to plant, like a bad case of the flu. I've tried to stay on top of it by pruning the infected fruits out (and I have been able to salvage a few here and there) but for the most part this has thrown a serious wrench into my tomato-growing machinery.

Likewise I've had some problems with my winter squash (pumpkin and butternut). The vines grow, the flowers bloom... and then before the squash sets in- the flowers just fall off. At first I thought the blossoms were being nibbled by the local rabbit population, so I put my portable rabbit-proof fencing around the beds. No dice though. The flowers kept disappearing.

Turns out the problem was not bunnies, but bugs. There are tiny bugs that bore their way into squash vines (appropriately named Squash Vine Borers) where they lay eggs and wreak general havoc. Plants can still look relatively healthy but, as I've found, the flowers do not fully develop. The solution (say the books) is to bury the stem farther up from the affected area where the ought to put out new roots, causing much rejoicing all around.

I'm not fully convinced, but I tried it anyway. We'll see.

After all that depressing disease and pestilence talk I'll end this post with some cheery Sunflower pictures. Because really, whats cheerier than a sunflower?

Seed Savers

2009-09-05T05:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I missed the boat on these guys for so long, but the other day I stumbled upon the website run by the good people of "Seed Savers Exchange." Their company's mission statement is, in their own words, as follows:

Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. We are a non-profit organization of gardeners dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.

So bascially its some people who were so dedicated to not losing our country's old, regional, heirloom varities of vegetables (and fruits, herbs and flowers) that they rounded up these seeds from home gardners and now offer the seeds for sale on their website.

They've got great pictures and descriptions of all the different types. Although in some cases the names alone would be enough to convince me. After all, who could resist an Aunt Rubie's German Green Tomato, or a Sweet Mountain Yellow Watermelon?

I already ordered a full catalog from the website, and I am predicting now that I'll be recieving lots of seed packets from Seed Savers in early spring for next year's garden.

Carrots

2009-08-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

We planted these carrots back on Earth Day as a family project. And now, voila, here they are!

These were the first four that were ready to pick, but by the looks of it there should be plenty more down the road.

I turned to "Barefoot Contessa" for a quick roasted carrots recipe. A little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and thats that.

Might have been undercooked a little bit, but not bad overall. With the next batch I'll try to get them a little more brown and crispy on the outside.

Big Boy

2009-08-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

I guess there's a reason that this sunflower is named "Mammoth." It's gotta be 7 feet tall, and the flower itself borders a "Little Shop of Horrors" level of hugeness.

Yikes.

Tomato Town

2009-08-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

With my supply of tomatoes from the garden continually mounting I've been looking for new ways to eat and enjoy these little babies.

A recipe for pizza in my baking cookbook "Knead" caught my eye. You make the basic pizza dough from scratch, then top it with sliced tomatoes, basil, olive oil and mozzarella cheese. Sounds simple and tasty. Perfect.

I dusted off the old stand mixer to make the dough. After a few minutes of mixing, and an hour or so to rise, I had a wee ball o' dough- ready for pizza making

We ended up making two pizzas. One with the tomato sauce that I made last week, and one with these sliced tomatoes straight from the garden.

I really couldn't take pictures of the last steps as it involved sliding the dough onto a hot pan and hastily assembling the ingredients before shoving them into the oven. The end result was pretty satisfying though, and very, very tasty.

Yum.

Garden Tragedy

2009-08-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

Everything that I've read about melons says that the best way to determine ripeness is to wait until the stem turns dry and brown. And also that when the stem dries it will 'pull away' sightly from the body of the melon.

Well the other day I was out pulling weeds. It was hot, and I was really, really sweaty. Well the heat must have affected my judgement. At one point I looked over and saw this Sugar Baby watermelon, and it just looked so refreshing and so...ripe. I checked the stem...nope, not dry. Not brown. Despite the voice of reason whispering in my ear, I plucked the thing up and whisked it into the kitchen.

I mean look at this thing, doesn't it just look ripe?

Well it wasn't.

At all.

Lesson learned. (I hope)

New Look

2009-08-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

Yep. The blog title changed. Get over it, I already did.

The garden is just about dripping with tomatoes at this point, and there is no way that I can pick them fast enough. The sauce tomatoes (San Marzano and Juliet) are especially prolific. It makes me think that I need to make a bigger batch of sauce since the first go-round was relatively successful.

I haven't shown the carrots much since planting them back on earth day, but they look good. You can see some healthy looking carrot-shoulders poking out in this picture.

A snaky looking Zucchini plant tucked into a shady corner.

The sunflowers are big, bigger, and biggest. This one is called 'Teddy Bear'- short, but with some serious attitude.

The Zinnias continue to be big and bright focal points of the herb garden.

Is there a flower more photogenic then a Dhalia? These pictures would seem to say no... and I would tend to agree.

Garden Growth and Tomato Sauce

2009-08-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

The rain has continued through the first half of August so far, and everything has just kept on growing. I think that I've only had to get the watering can out once or twice all month.

The Dhalias have started to bloom...

The sunflowers have really taken off too.

The tomatoes are still growing like crazy- they kind of look like a mess in this picture though.

The watermelon patch is still looking nice and thick.

Some good looking watermelons peeking through the vines. Hopefully this one'll be ripe soon.

This 'Chanterais' melon is looking pretty good too.

I decided today to finally use my paste tomatoes to make some tomato sauce. This is a mix of both types the 'San Marzano' and the 'Juliet'.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Preparing the tomatoes took longer then the actual cooking. Here are they are after being peeled...

..and and after being cut in half and seeded.

There wasn't much to it after that. They simmered in the pan with olive oil, garlic and basil for about 15 minutes.

After simmering for a while it got pretty saucy, and smelled really good. After it was done I ran it through the food processor to make a smoother consistency.

I think that my first sauce making experiment was a success. It was pretty easy, and it tasted pretty darn good. The only thing was that it didn't make as much as I thought. It takes a lot of tomatoes to make a little sauce I guess. Good to know.

Still Growing

2009-08-02T06:10:00.000-07:00

With all of the rain we've had recentley and without any new planting to do, the garden has mostly been on auto-pilot for the last week or two. And for the most part things are looking really good.

I took some overhead pictures from the ladder that is supposed to be a trellis for my lab-lab vines, but right now just looks like a big white ladder in the middle of the garden.

Looking straight down you can see the butternut squash plants on the right of the main path, and the lettuce, and the new pepper plants on the left.

To the far left are the sunflowers, against the front fence are the tomatoes, and in the middle are the watermelons.

On the right are more tomatoes and melons, and also carrots against the far right fence. You can also see the zucchini and beans in the foreground.

Here are the sunflowers again, which are really getting tall- and the watermelons which so far look great.

Hiding under the vines is the first little melon.

The is a Dhalia plant that looks like its getting ready to bloom at any second.

I finally have a Valencia tomato to try out. Of all the varities planted I have been most excited to taste test these. Mostly because the 2 'paste' varities are mainly for sauce, the 'Early Girl' are meant to be a steady supplier, and 'Sungold' I've grown before.

Here it is, fresh from the vine...

Cut open and looking good. Good for slicing, and juicy but not too juicy.

Served up on a slice of toast with some olive oil, salt and pepper and a slice of cheese (which is the perfect way to enjoy a tomato.) It was sweet with just a little bit of acidity, and nice and firm and easy to eat with a fork. Delicious.

Mini Harvest

2009-07-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

There have been more and more ripe tomatoes every day. Today I picked a few 'Early Girl' which are the large ones, 'Juliet' and 'San Marzano' which are the plum size, and lots of 'Sungold' cherry tomatoes.

I also dug up some potatoes today. The plants have slowly died off, which is supposed to mean that they are ready to dig. When I dug them up there were potatoes, just not very many.

I don't know if anything went wrong. The only thing I can think of is that the dirt about 6-8 inches down seemed pretty densely packed and potatoes are supposed to be in loose soil. Maybe they would grow better in large tubs or pots.

Here they are before...

...and after being washed.

Back to the Garden

2009-07-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

After being away for the week we arrived home to find that the garden had just kept right on growing.

Here is a shot looking at the front of the garden where you can see some of the overall progress.

The tomatoes are getting ready to really come into there own. Both of the smaller paste varieties "Juliet" and "San Marzano" are starting to ripen.

And the "Sungold" cherry tomatoes are ripe and ready to eat. We ate our first ones before we even unpacked our bags.

During the week I went to colonial nursery to pick up a few things and ended up leaving with these two bell pepper plants. I don't remember the types but one is green and one is red.

I planted them where one of the beds of peas was, mixed in with the lettuce and a couple pumpkin plants.

The watermelon vines are looking long and healthy. Already lots of little blooms are visible along the length of the vines.

I also bought 2 new basil plants that I planted in the herb/ flower bed.

The Zinnias are practically exploding with color. We've already cut lots to use in the house, but there are plenty more out there.

My favorite of the zinnias is this one that has lots of tightly packed white petals.

July Updates

2009-07-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend it was finally time for the peas to get ripped out. Along with the peas was the strings that held them up, and all of the weeds that were tangled into them. It was nice to have such a clean blank slate when I was done. On this side I planted a type of Butternut Squash.

On the other side the lettuce looks kind of lonely all by itself. I planted a few more pumpkins here though, so they'll fill in the space.

Lots and lots of ripening tomatoes. With really no exception each and every plant is doing very well. Still not much difference between the mulched and the unmulched. I think when we get back from Maine in 2 weeks the cherry tomatoes will be ripe, with the others not far behind.

Sunflowers are getting taller.

The first blossoms have appeared on the Zucchini plants. With the rate that these things grow, the full sized zucchinis can't be far off.

The watermelons are all growing slowly but surely. I hope that they get enough rain while were away. I really want them to do well this year.

The morning glories have climbed all the way up the trellis and are strarting to cover the top. A few of the plants have blooms, but they were closed here because it was evening.

The zinnias are getting ready to explode with color any day now.

Sunnier Days

2009-06-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Last few days have finally brought some steady sunshine. We left during the weekend for 2 days and everything kept growing pretty good while we were gone, the weeds especially.

One noticably new item in the garden is an old ladder that I am going to use as a trellis. I painted it white (although don't look too closely because I ran out of paint towards the bottom.) I planted Lab- Lab seeds at the base which will become a climbing vine with purple flowers.

The first tomatoes are appearing. Interestingly enough the 2 plants that are the farthest along are both the "New Girl" hybrid. The heirloom varities all look good, but are just developing a little more slowly.

The lone watermelon plant. Hopefully the others will emerge soon.

The zucchini plants are all looking good and growing quickly.

The rows of carrots and potatoes continue to get taller and bushier.

I planted a basil plant today. I've been hoping to get a whole bunch of basil plants to plant amidst the tomatoes, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

One of my favorite garden tools is also one of the simplest. It's called a "Dibbler".

It's pretty basic. You use it to poke holes in the ground to put seeds into. A finger would work just as well, but the dibbler seems more efficient and keeps the hands clean.

Just pop the seeds in, cover them with a little soil and you're done.

The lilies are really blooming now. They add some really nice color to the yard.

quick notes

2009-06-20T05:35:00.001-07:00

- It's been rainy for the last week plus. Everything is growing really well, and I can't remember the last time I had to get the watering can out, but I'm ready for some sunnier days.

- Only 1 of the sugar baby watermelon seeds had sprouted as of yesterday, and none of the other melons. I looked closely and realized that all the rain had literaly washed all of the seeds away. Yesterday I replanted everything.

-Dhalias, Zinnias and Morning Glories are all looking really good, and I'm looking forward to some blooms. Also, the replanted sunflowers are hanging in there, and the Daylilies are in full bloom.

- I pulled up one of the flowering potato plants yesterday, but I realized it was still too early as not much had developed. Have to be more patient.

- The zucchini and pumpkin plants are growing fast. I almost forgot how vigorous those can be. Hoping soon to be able to get the seed in for the winter squash.

-Still taking lots of lettuce almost daily. The peas are maybe just past their peak and won't be around too much longer. Once they're cleared out I'm going to use that area for the squash.

Some Early Blooms

2009-06-14T05:17:00.000-07:00

Here is an overall shot of the garden as it stands now. You can see the peas climbing up the strings on the side of the trellis. The tomato stakes and plants are in the foreground. And in the back are the bean teepees.

There are lots of peas ripe right now.

The beans have pretty much over-run their teepees, and some little blossoms are just starting to appear. I don't know if the sunfowers are going to grow quickly enough for the beans to climb on. If I try this next year I'll have to plant the sunflowers earlier.

These are the first flowers on the potato plants. I think that usually you are supposed to wait until the plants die back in the fall to harvest the potatoes, but I think you can get a smaller, earlier crop by taking some when the flowers are blooming. I'l have to try this soon.

The tomato plants are quickly getting taller, and I'm having to tie them up pretty regularly.

There are lots of flowers on the tomato plants. I've stopped pinching them off now, and am just letting the plants go.

This is the lavander in the herb garden. Very pretty.

The roses along the side of the yard still look nice. I've decided that I need to prune them back much more severely next fall, as otherwise they can become kind of a tangled mess.

These are the Dhalia plants which had been suffering from some night nibbling by an unknown animal. I put these 2 liter soda bottles over them for protection, which seems to be working. An unexpected side effect is that the bottles seem to create a mini greenhouse over the plant, and they have really been growing quickly and look very healthy.

Rain

2009-06-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

The past 3 days have been a steady, constant drizzle with temperatures is the 60's-70's. Even though I am looking forward to sun coming back out, the garden has been thriving in the cooler, wetter weather.

The peas are about as tall as me now, with abundant pods. We picked the first couple yesterday and threw them in with our salad. Very tasty.

The beans are climbing their teepees vigorously. Hopefully the sunflowers underplanted for them will catch up soon because they are running out of room to grow.

The tomatos all look great and are starting to show buds. I don't know where I heard that you should pinch off the first buds to encourage the plants to continue to grow, but that is what I've been doing.

Really everything except the sunflowers that the birds ate has been thriving recently. I'll have to take more pictures once things are less waterlogged.

june

2009-06-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Took a few pictures this afternoon of the latest developments in the garden. This first picture shows my trusty watering can with my trusty garden helpers in the background.

I planted Lavender seeds in the herb/ flower garden along the borders. The small sprouts in the middle are zinnias that look like they're coming in great.

Unfortunately the birds ate all of the sunflower seeds and sprouts that I planted. I replanted them today and put some wire fencing over top that hopefully protect the future plants.

This is a Zucchini plant starting to come up.

I planted 'Rock Star' pumpkins in the back near the blackberry plants. Hopefully they'll be good Jack-o-Lantern size by Halloween.

This picture shows the melon area. There are two spots like this- one has 'Sugar Baby' watermelons. The other side has 2 Cantaloupe plants and 2 french Chanterais melons.

better pictures

2009-05-29T05:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some less washed out pictures.

This shows how high the peas are climbing. The 'sugar snap' peas have gotten noticeably taller recentley then the 'oregon snow pod' peas.

This is a spot that I am prepping for watermelons. It's ugly, but the weed supressing fabric warms the soil up and also should keep the weeds at bay when the melons go in. I've never had any luck with melons, and I'm hoping that'll change this year.

These are better pictures of the 2 bean areas. The unmulched one first, and the mulched second.

I built this low stone wall around the herb/ flower garden. The stone was taken up from the area where the gravel BBQ pit now is. I wish there weren't such a tangle of weeds in the back.

The roses are just starting to bloom. Aiden fell into one yesterday and scratched his arm.

I planted Dhalia bulbs and Zinnia seeds in this bed in the middle of the yard. I am not sure if there is enough sun for these things to really do well. But I'm hoping.

The deck, freshly stained and freshly rained on. It's dark, but I really like how it turned out.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

Wish I had some better pictures, but I snapped these in a hurry in order to have some some record of how things are going.

The peas are working their way up the trellis. I am wondering if I should have thinned them out more as right now they are climbing into each other as much as up the strings. In the picture the wire fencing is still in place, but I did take it off afterwards.

The beans are progressing interestingly. The group in the non-mulched soil have been doing great, and look really healthy. Also, the sunflowers I planted inside the teepee are coming up.

However, the beans planted amidst the leaf mulch look pretty bad. A couple of them have been chewed up completely, and the few surviving look pretty pathetic. There must have been some kind of bug that was introduced with the leaves.

The tomato experiement, though, doesn't show nearly the differences of the beans. Both sides look to be doing quite well, and at this point I can't see any noticeable difference between the mulched and the unmulched groups.

Peas and potatoes are both looking fine.

All 3 lettuce types.

The yard as it is looking now.

The latest patio addition. An old wood stove that we brought home from the Maine cabin to use as an outdoor fireplace.

Some other things that I've done recentely that I don't have pictures of.

-The deck is stained

-I powerwashed the patio

-Planted zucchini and squash in the beds alongside the beans

-planted rows of sunflowers along the side of the garden facing the parking lot

-working on building low stone wall as edging around herb garden

Some things I'm hoping to accomplish soon:

-Stain the picnic table

-build step for deck

-plant melons

-plant more herbs

-plant Dhalia bulbs and Zinnias in flower garden

quick notes

2009-05-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

-gravel BBQ pit area is done.

-planted Zinnias, Morning Glories & Sunflowers over the last 2 days.

-yesterday we had our first taste of the garden. I picked some small mixed lettuce and chard leaves for a salad. Very tasty and not at all bitter.

-hard to say yet but I maybe should not have planted the tomatoes in the middle of a 6 day monsoon. They all look relatively healthy, but definitely a little beat up. Today I planted some tomato seeds as a safety net in case all the original plants suddenly die.

Sunny day to-do list

2009-05-08T05:38:00.000-07:00

After 6 straight days of rain there is finally some sunshine this morning (although they are calling for possible thunderstorms later). The list of things to do has piled up as I haven't been able to spend any significant amount of time in the yard for a full week. Some of the things that should get some attention in the next few days:

-MOW LAWN!

-work on pea gravel barbeque area

- plant/weed in garden

- pressure wash patio

-stain deck

Tomato Day

2009-05-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

May 3 was officially tomato day for 2009 as all of the tomato plants that I've been nurturing along since March were finally planted out in the garden. Here are all 10 of the plants sitting back by the shed, ready for planting.

There are two beds that I prepped for the tomatos, with 5 plants going in each. I decided that, since there were two seperate areas I would prepare each area a little bit differently as a comparision test over the course of the summer. The first bed I prepared by buying bags of mushroom compost and topsoil from a local garden shop and incorporating them into the soil. This more traditional method should insure that the bed is really fertile and rich for growing some serious tomatos. On the downside though it was fairly labor intensive because I had to dig the materials in, and it also was more expensive from having to purchase the bags at the store. This is the first bed prepped and with the tomato stakes in place:

The second bed I prepared using a version of the "no-dig" technique. I did not add any extra materials to the soil and, with the exception of pulling some weeds, left the bed largely untouched. What I did do though is spread a 2-3 inch layer of chopped leaf mulch over the top of the bed. This method was less labor intensive, and less expensive, then the first bed as I already have a big pile of leaves in the yard and just had to spread them out over the soil. The idea here is that the leaves will act as mulch (retaining moisture, blocking out weeds) and will eventually decompose into the soil adding to it's fertility. I am pretty sure that this technique is healthier for the soil in the long term, but I'm interested to see how the two techniques will stand up against each other in the first year. We'll see!

Here is the second bed prepped:

Yesterday was a wet day, it wasn't raining as I was planting but everything was pretty soaked. Here are the two beds with the plants in place.

Closeups of both beds. The 'No-Dig' bed:

The traditionaly prepared bed:

As for the other things growing in the garden. Here are some tiny carrots coming up.

All of the lettuce types are doing well.

And the first beans poking up.

Haven't seen any sign of the potatoes yet, but hopefully they'll emerge soon. The peas are growing safely in their enclosure and will soon be scrambling up the trellis.

Looks like more rain this week.

April Ending

2009-04-29T04:58:00.000-07:00

We're back to normal spring weather (60's and drizzly) after a weekend of unbelievable heat and sun. The temperature was mid- 80's easily and may have even reached 90 a time or two.

In planting news:

-I planted 'Tavera' beans. A french filet bush bean. I planted them in the same bed with the potatoes and carrots.

-The tomato seedlings are really getting big. I left them outside the last few days, and mabe by this weekend could be ready to go into the garden. I certainly don't want to rush it and have them taken out by a late frost, but I think that they're just about ready.

-With the unusually warm temperatures I was tempted to plant some the more warm weather seeds (corn, squash, flowers) but I'm glad I waited.

Deck = Done

2009-04-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

Well, almost anyway. I still need to build a step up to it from ground level, and a few other finishing touches, but pretty much it's done. The weather was so warm today that we were inspired to drag our outdoor furniture out of the shed.

In the garden today I planted "Garden of Eden" pole beans.

Earth Day Carrots

2009-04-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

Carrots went in on Wednesday. They are 'Napoli', a variety I bought from Johnny's Select Seeds last year but never got around to planting. I planted them next to the potatoes per my companion-planting information.

Because it was Earth Day we planted the carrots as a family project. The full story is on here on the family blog.

Spring Scenes

2009-04-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Questions and Answers

2009-04-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Steph A.- I wrote a long reply to your question in the comments section, but on the off chance that anyone else may have similar questions I decided just to post the reponse here instead.

Q. I've got a really small space to start a garden. What should I grow?

A. Really you could go for just about anything. It's just a matter of what you really want to eat/grow. Tomatoes would definitely work. You could try 2 different tomato types with some basil planted in between. They grow well next to each other and are good to eat together too. You could also do peppers or eggplant or beans- but tomatoes are my favorite so I would always recommend them first. If you only have limited space pick something that you know you'll be excited to eat (be it lettuce, watermelon, tomatoes, etc) as that'll give you motivation to stick with it.

Q. Should I start plants from seeds or buy the already established seedlings?

A. As far as starting with seeds vs. plants. I would suggest that for most things just stick with buying the already started plants. Unless there is a very specific variety that you want that is only available as a seed, I'd say start out with the plants as they are much more reliable and easier to get going. However, I'd recommend against using the seedings available at the big hardware stores. They can be pretty unhealthy, and they may only have one variety to choose from. My advice would be to check out the West Chester/Phoenixville farmers market in may/june. I remember that there are a couple of vendors there that sell really great, healthy tomato seedlings that are ready for planting right away. Also, these are from local growers so they are types that are choosen to thrive in our local growing conditions/climate.

Q. Should I try growing stuff in pots?

A. I would totally recommend growing stuff in pots. You really can grow anything in containers that you grow in the garden so, again, it's totally just a matter of what you are into. Plants like tomatoes, and peppers work great. Or you could do an 'cooking herb' pot, with oregano, thyme, rosmary, chives etc. Or a 'salad pot' where you get a couple of different types of lettuce and plant them together. Herbs are another thing that I'd recommend buying as seedlings at the Farmer's Market. If you do want to buy seeds (lettuce and salad greens are something I would recommend growing from seed) I'd again skip the hardware store and go to a garden/ farm supply store. I used to go the West Chester Agway- it's right near Kelly's Sports. They have a way better seed selection then Home Depot or Lowes. Lastly if you google "container gardening" you'll find as much information about the specifics of this as you'll ever need.

My basic advice: Keep it simple. You'll have a better chance of being successful, and you'll be more likely to try some new things the next time around. I hope this helps!

Companions

2009-04-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

Some companion planting partnerships that I have found recently that I want to remember:

-Tomato- basil, marigolds, lettuce, onion, parsley

-Potato- bush bean, carrot, corn, marigold, peas

-Corn- beans, peas, pumpkin, squash

-Squash- corn, onion

-Beans- chard, corn, lettuce, pea, potato, sunflower, strawberry, rosemary

Porch and Potatoes

2009-04-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

Planted potatoes today. Only had space for half of what I ordered so maybe I'll try to find a spot to plant some of the leftovers. This is the first time growing potatoes, so it'll be an experiment to see if they take.

The tomato seedlings are continuing to thrive on the windowsill. Pretty soon they'll be big enough to start spending some time outside.

The deck project continues. I did about half of the decking yesterday, and hopefully later today I'll be able to finish the rest.

porch project

2009-04-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Improving and expanding our back patio has been on the to-do list ever since moving in to our house almost two years ago. Well the time has finally come. After a long time spent debating the merits of various projects we finally settled on a building a smallish wooden deck off the end of our existing concrete patio. This seemed to the best mix of maximum affordability and minimum complexity. Plus it'll just give a lot more usable space.

Even though it's a pretty simple project I knew that I'd have to break it into a couple of weekends to make it more manageable. So this weekend was Phase 1. Here is the 'before' picture:

The things that I did today included:

-breaking up the flagstone and concrete step at the end of the sidewalk

-digging post holes and placing support posts

-building base frame

-settings posts and frame in concrete

Here is the day 1 completed picture:

The things that still need to be done are:

-attach decking

-build built-in bench

-build step from deck to ground level

Taters

2009-04-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

Seed potatoes arrived in the mail today. 'Russian Banana' fingerling type from Johnny's Select. Hopefully I'll have a chance to get them planted this weekend. Haven't had much time in the last few days to get out to the garden, and this weekend looks cool and wet, so I may not be able to get much done.

the greens go in

2009-04-06T08:28:00.001-07:00

I had a productive hour in the garden this morning. The weather was perfect for planting- overcast, a little cool, with rain coming in just as I finished up.

And here they are. The first peas of the spring.

I had two problems with my peas last year. 1) I planted them way too late. 2) The rabbits came in and gnawed the tops off of almost all the plants, effectively ending my pea harvest for the year.

In order to fix these problems for this year I first made sure to get them planted nice and early. Easy enough. The other thing that I am doing is putting a very short section of wire fencing around the peas when they are in their earliest stages. Once they are tall enough the rabbits won't be an issue so I can take the protection down. For now though, they'll grow nice and safe in their little cage.

A new green that I am trying this year: Pak Choi. Supposed to be great in a stir fry. I also planted three lettuce types and Swiss Chard today.

I noticed quite a bit of this self-seeded lettuce popping up. I'm not going to argue with that.

And also one lone Swiss Chard plant that looks like it is growing out of one of the stems of last years plants that had been left in the ground. Interesting.

Potting On

2009-04-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

The tomato seedlings have gotten big enough that today I transplanted them from their little tray into nice spacious plastic cups. Here are all the supplies layed out on the kitchen table.

All I did was fill the cups partially with potting soil, drop the peat plugs into place ( after cutting off their thin net covering) and fill in the space around and above it with more potting soil.

Originally I had 5 seedlings of each tomato type. I don't need or want that many actual plants so only the best 2 seedlings were transplanted

The top 10, all transplanted and ready to grow.

The sad runners-up, destined for the compost pile.

And here they are all lined up in their new sunny window sill. They'll stay here for at least a week or two. After that they'll be slowly hardened off by being placed outside (and being brought in if there is a danger of frost.) Eventually, once everything has warmed off enough they'll be planted outside permanently.

You can't see it here, but way in the back of the yard, in the garden, the first peas are starting to poke up through the soil. More pictures to come soon.

Sprouts

2009-03-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

Some updates on my seed starting endeavor:

Most of the seeds have sprouted and, per the instructions, I've removed the clear plastic lid and placed the tray near a sunny window sill. After they've grown a bit more the best seedlings will be replanted in plastic cups and placed back on the windowsill. This will give the roots more room to grow then in the small peat plugs. Eventually the very best seedlings will make their way out to the garden for planting.

The latest garden shots. Both rows of peas are planted out, with twine in place as a trellis. On either side are two small bamboo teepees that I'm going to use for the small french beans that don't cimb very high. I'm still not sure where to grow the regular green beans. I've thought about letting them ramble up the wire fence in front or on the side facing the neighbors.

This bed was just enriched with topsoil and mushroom compost from the nursery mentioned in a previous post. This is the spot where the first planting of tomatos will go (the ones now growing inside).

2009-03-28T13:38:00.001-07:00

Planted second succession of peas today.

The last few days have brought the first good rains of the spring. It feels like everything wants to start growing. Forsythia is just starting to flower.

Found a great nursery the other day. It's called "Colonial Gardens" on rt. 724 ouside of Phoenixville, and it's got the best selection of any local place I've found. Just got some mushroom soil when I was there and some hardwood stakes for the tomato plants.

Getting Started

2009-03-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

On this past friday (the 20th) the first seeds of the spring went in the ground. I have 2 varieties of sugar snap pea that I put in, with the plan being to start a second planting in a week or so to have some succesion harvesting. It was a few days after St. Patrick's day, the traditional planting day for the first peas of the year. Although I noticed that it was almost a whole month earlier then I planted them last year.

Some pictures showing the wood chipper mulch layed down in the paths between beds.

Preparing the bed for a row of peas.

Peas planted with trellis strings in place.

Crocuses popped up 1-2 weeks go. Just about the same time as last year.

I'm going to try some basic seed-starting this year. I picked up a kit from Sears and I'm going to try just with the various tomato varieties that I have to get some seedlings going. I've not had much success with this in the past, but I figure it'd be worth it to get even a few earlier harvests this way.

Here is the kit with the 5 tomato types:

The varieties that I bought this year are:

1- "new girl" an early all-around hybrid

2- "sungold" the best cherry tomato ever

3- "juliet" a smaller paste type tomato

4- "valencia" an large golden herloom variety

5- "san marzano" a classic italian paste tomato

The seeds in place.

The cover is on and, until the seeds sprout, it will sit in this corner of our kitchen counter. At that point it will be moved to a sunny windowsill.

Wood Chipper Work

2009-03-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on throwing all of my accumulated brush and branches throught the wood-chipper. The woodchips that are left over will be used as path material between planting beds. It looks good so far, although it takes a lot of chipping to get a little bit of woodchips. I'll post some pictures once I'm done.

I'm also hopng to run some of the leaves through to use as a mulch for the planting areas.

2009-03-08T06:08:00.001-07:00

Ordered seeds today!

Snowed in

2009-01-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

There may be snow on the ground, but the good news is that the seed catalogs have started arriving!

Cleanup

2008-10-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

Took some pictures while working on fall cleanup today. Here is a homemade cloche I'm working on with some self-seeded lettuce underneath.

Champion Chard. Still going strong in late October. Looks pretty in the light too.

More bloom pictures.

Fall Roundup

2008-10-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

Just some thoughts on the vegetable varities that I tried this year...

Tomatoes:

-The Sungold cherry tomatoes are an A++. Plentiful and great tasting.

-The striped German were large and meaty. Maybe a little juicy as a slicing tomatoe, but good.

-The Brandywine variety that I bought as a seedling never really took off. The fruit was much smaller then they were supposed to be, and a little dissapointing overall.

Zucchini:

-Just tried the Costata Romanesco this year, which was really good. Maybe split these with a smaller variety next year also.

Lab Lab Beans looked great on the trellis. Never ate any though.

Melon:

None of the three melon varities that I tried this year ever really got off the ground. Two softball size Sugar Baby watermelons are still sitting in the garden, and the other types withered and died in the alternating rain and drought.

All the salad greens were good- any type of lettuce seems to work fine and the Chard was hardy.

Some things I'd like to integrate next year:

-Sweet Corn

-Pumpkins

-Strawberries

-Fruit Trees

-Rhubarb

Blooms

2008-09-05T16:18:00.001-07:00

2008-08-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

'Sungold' and 'Brandywine' Tomato, and 'Costata Romanesco' Zucchini.

Fruits of my labor

2008-08-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

August 18th

2008-08-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

The August garden. Some things, like lettuce and peas, have peaked and now gone by the wayside. While others, like tomatoes, melons and zucchini are just coming into their peak time. In general things are lush to the point of being a bit overgrown. The biggest task is just trying to keep everything (weeds included) from getting too out of control.

"Ruby Moon" (or "Lab-Lab") These are a bean in the hyacinth family. Although the pods are very much edible I like them mostly for their vigorous climbing and bright purple pods and flowers. These are probably the most distinctive plants in the garden.

This tangle is a formerly tidy lettuce area. Both seed varieties ("Red Star", and "Red Grand Rapid Galactic") were productive and tasty. Unfortunately the high heat did them in and they are both very much bolted. There were also radishes interplanted with the lettuce (D'Avignon) which grew well and looked good, but did not taste great. It may be that we are just not used to the taste of radishes, but I think that the soil may have just been to poor for a root crop like a radish.

"Magenta Sunset" This was a second planting of swiss chard after the initial early one. (May-June maybe) I haven't given it much attention but it still thriving despite all the hot weather we've had. I thought chard was more cool weather- but this variety seems not to mind the heat.

"Sarah's Choice" A hybrid cantaloupe (or muskmelon) looks to be coming along nicely.

"Sugar Baby" A smallish supposedly sweet traditional watermelon. This is the biggest one so far so we've a way to go before tasting any.

"Costata Romanesco" This Zucchini is by far the most vigorous plant in the garden. We have enjoyed lots of very, very tasty zucchini from these plants, but next year I could plant half as many and be fine. (3-4 plants would be plenty)

"Sungold" A hybrid variety from 'Johnnys Select'. I'll probably grow this tomato every year that I have a garden. It'd be fun to try other cherry varieties, but this one is so good, and so prolific it'd be hard to beat.

"Striped German". An heirloom tomato grown from seed that I got from 'Johnnys Select.' Looks pretty huge, but no ripe ones yet- so no idea on taste.

Another heirloom: "Brandywine" This was the only plant I bought as a seedling from the Farmer's Market. The other ones caught up to it quickly in terms of size, but this looks like it'll have the first ripe fruit.

Flowers from the "Lab-Lab" vines.

A selection of flowers from the herb/cutting flower garden.

2008-05-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

The bones of the garden are pretty much done.

Lettuce

Chard

Sunflower, and Zinnia seeds are in the flower garden

The first seeds of spring

2008-04-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Swiss Chard

Lettuce

snap peas

2008-04-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

Finally got the garden area fenced in. Still a little but more to do, but its done for now. Have pea, bean, lettuce, leek, and chard seeds in the ground. Still need to finish building trellising for peas & beans. Nothing emerging yet, hopefully in the next few days.

The trees are really coming in to their leaves. Weather report says its going to be 70+ and sunny all week. Haven't had much good rain in a week or so.

2008-04-10T04:26:00.000-07:00

Started to edge the garden area yesterday. For the main path I used found lumber, and for the smaller paths I am trying to use cut sticks.

I also transplanted some herbs that I had in a planter over winter. Eventually I want the whole middle section to be lined with perennial herbs with flowers for cutting inside the bed.

2008-04-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Ordered first seeds from Johnny's Select today. Varieties of tomato, bean, pea, lettuce & carrot. Will update more specifically once seeds arrive. My intention for this garden season is to only buy seeds/plants as I need them instead of all at once, thats why I only purchased earlier planting vegetables at this time.

Continuing to get consistently warmer. 65 degrees today, supposed to be 70+ tomorrow. Early flowering trees/shrubs are well in bloom.

2008-03-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Lots of these interesting bulbs are popping up all over the yard. Crocuses I think.

Turning the Corner

2008-03-03T17:58:00.000-08:00

First day that it felt like spring, maybe it's not so far away after all.

Inspiration

2008-03-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

November 21st

2007-11-21T18:43:00.000-08:00

- veg garden sections all complete

-leaves are brilliant yellow. Many more falling each day.

-warm today. up to 70 degrees

November 16th

2007-11-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

-began digging last veg garden section

-very cool and blustery

-leaves just beginning to turn yellow- some have fallen with MANY more to come

November 13th

2007-11-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

-Continuing to rough out beds for vegetable garden area.

-Initial digging about 1/2 completed