Friday, June 02, 2006
The Vegetable Garden, June 2nd
I thought it was about time to give an update of my vegetable garden.
I overwintered some broccoli, cabbage, kale and lettuce under floating row covers and some spinach and more kale without covers. The broccoli and cabbage were on the bitter side, ok cooled but not good raw. The Kale in both places was very good and the lettuce was my first lettuce sucess. Beautiful sweet, crisp, dark green heads of romaine lettuce, Plato II variety if anyone is interested. All of this was picked early this spring with the last lettuce that was overwintered harvested on May 1st.
The middle of march I planted 9 of each: cauliflower, cabbage and broccli transplants from walmart and kale that I had started from seed. The cauliflower produced 8 very small heads(3-4 to a meal) and one larger one, I planted them too close and left them out too long but will try more in the fall. The cabbage is ready now. We have harvested 3 heads and have 5 more out there, one plant did not produce a head. The broccoli is also coming in and we have harvested 5 heads with the others ready soon.
Sugar Snap peas were delicious and are now done. The 7 tomato plants, and one volunteer near the house are growing well. Take a look at my garden plan to see what I have planted. This is the most detailed garden plan I have ever done.
I saw the first zuchinni flower today and hope that means I will get a few squash before the vine borers get the plants, I will try spraying Bt every few days and see if that helps.
I overwintered some broccoli, cabbage, kale and lettuce under floating row covers and some spinach and more kale without covers. The broccoli and cabbage were on the bitter side, ok cooled but not good raw. The Kale in both places was very good and the lettuce was my first lettuce sucess. Beautiful sweet, crisp, dark green heads of romaine lettuce, Plato II variety if anyone is interested. All of this was picked early this spring with the last lettuce that was overwintered harvested on May 1st.
The middle of march I planted 9 of each: cauliflower, cabbage and broccli transplants from walmart and kale that I had started from seed. The cauliflower produced 8 very small heads(3-4 to a meal) and one larger one, I planted them too close and left them out too long but will try more in the fall. The cabbage is ready now. We have harvested 3 heads and have 5 more out there, one plant did not produce a head. The broccoli is also coming in and we have harvested 5 heads with the others ready soon.
Sugar Snap peas were delicious and are now done. The 7 tomato plants, and one volunteer near the house are growing well. Take a look at my garden plan to see what I have planted. This is the most detailed garden plan I have ever done.
I saw the first zuchinni flower today and hope that means I will get a few squash before the vine borers get the plants, I will try spraying Bt every few days and see if that helps.
The Plant Swap
On Sunday May 7th I joined a group of enthusiastic gardeners at the Mountian Maddness Plant Swap. It had been posted on freecycle. It was great to meet a group of people as into gardening and seeing things grow as I am. I took a carload of extra seedlings that I had started and other plants. It was amazing to come home with 22 different plants, some of which I has been looking at in the nurseries and not letting myself buy.
I had a great time and hope there will be another swap in the fall. I have already potted up two heuchera in anticipation.
I had a great time and hope there will be another swap in the fall. I have already potted up two heuchera in anticipation.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
I'm Back
After a difficult 6 months I think I am back. I will try to give updates in various areas of life over the next weeks.
From October to March I spent several days a week with my friend as she dying of cancer. She died peacefully in her sleep on March 3rd. She suffered a lot those few months and I feel privledged to have been able to help make it a little easier. She is now in heaven and can see Jesus face to face. And all those things of life that were beyond understanding make sense to her.
The past month or so have been spent recovering and bringing our own household and garden back in order. My next post will probably be a garden update with pictures.
From October to March I spent several days a week with my friend as she dying of cancer. She died peacefully in her sleep on March 3rd. She suffered a lot those few months and I feel privledged to have been able to help make it a little easier. She is now in heaven and can see Jesus face to face. And all those things of life that were beyond understanding make sense to her.
The past month or so have been spent recovering and bringing our own household and garden back in order. My next post will probably be a garden update with pictures.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
The Garden, 10/23/05
Today I harvested all the tomatoes and cut up the plants to put in the compost. I now have an underbed box more than half full of green tomatoes on top of a shelf in the basement. The ones I don't turn into fried green tomatoes should ripen slowly over then next month or so. I will let you know when to last one is rotten or eaten.
As the temperature tonight is supposed to be near freezing, I put floating row cover over the letttuce and carrot seedling that are just growing their first true leaves. I think I planted them too late, but we will see. The other things I planted at the same time, turnips, mache, mesculin mix, will have to fend for themselves. I am still trying to get the hand of fall and winter gardening.
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These are pictures of some of the butterflies that visited the zinnias today. There were also Monarch butterflies but Ich did not get any pictures of them this time. I'm sure we will try again another time if the cold does not kill the zinnias
Monday, October 17, 2005
A walk through the garden
The summer garden is nearing its end. This weekend I took down the strings that supported the cucumbers and melon and pole beans. I left the yard-long beans. Amazingly they are still blooming and slowly producing. We have not had our first frost yet and none are forecasted this week. Days in the 70's and nights in the 50's. Wonderful early fall weather.
I dug up my lemon grass and will plant about 15 pieces in large soil blocks, the start of my herb business, I think. And I will try to divide my oregano, mother-of-thyme, lemon thyme, and mints so have some of those to sell next year. I have a book about propagating herbs on hold at the library and should get it this week.
The zinnas and marigold look beautiful, thought I will plant different marigolds next year the ones I have now are too tall. The tomatoes are full of green tomatoes with one ripening every day or so. I will harvest all the green ones and wrap them in newspaper when a real frost threatens. There are 2 or three yellow bell peppers and 3 or 4 ichiban eggplants that I can harvest anytime but they keep better on the vine that in the refrigerator. And there is more basil than I know what to do with. I have already dried all I need and we never used the pesto I made last year so I will skip that this year. I might just pick some to give away.
I changed my flower box from geranium and lantana to pansys with daffidil bulbs planted under them. I hope that works good. The pansys sure look nice. I have mother-of-thyme planted in the corner of the box,spilling over and lemon thyme in the back. I really like the softening they give the box. I should take a picture and put it here.
My fall garden is doing well. I have an abundance of salad greens: turnip greens, mizuna mustard, swiss chard,assorted lettuces, and one spinach plant. There is also broccoli, cauliflower and savoy cabbage that will mature this winter but I do not know which is which as the foot tall plants all look alike and I did not label them. I will find out eventually. About a week ago I sowed seed for my winter garden, I probably should have done it earlier but at least it is in and we are having a warm October. I think everything has sprouted- carrots, lettuce, turnips(for greens), mizuna, kale, spinach, mache. I think that is all. I have also ordered 15 feet of floating row cover and will cover these crops when I get it to help them get a good start before it gets colder. I might even put blankets over them if we have really cold weather this winter. This is by far the most in season extending that I have ever done.
PS Disregard the dates on the photos, the camera was set wrong, all pictures were actually taken Oct 19, 2005. Oops.
Walking down a road I thought I never would
Have you ever read Robert Frost's poem " The Road Not Taken".
It begins:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow woodand
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;......"
I learned this poem in Junior High and have often thought of it since.
Now in life I stand looking down a road I thought/hoped I would never have to take. A dear friend of mine has cancer and the prospects do not look too good. And though part of me would like to walk away and find and easier road I know I could not live with myself if I refuse to walk close to her on this journey. I know about quick death and will write more about that on the 29th, but have not experienced slow death.
Lord, help me to be what I need to be to her and to my family during this time.
Sometimes we get to choose the road, sometimes it is chosen for us.
It begins:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow woodand
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;......"
I learned this poem in Junior High and have often thought of it since.
Now in life I stand looking down a road I thought/hoped I would never have to take. A dear friend of mine has cancer and the prospects do not look too good. And though part of me would like to walk away and find and easier road I know I could not live with myself if I refuse to walk close to her on this journey. I know about quick death and will write more about that on the 29th, but have not experienced slow death.
Lord, help me to be what I need to be to her and to my family during this time.
Sometimes we get to choose the road, sometimes it is chosen for us.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
The Garden, history
I have planted tomatoes and a few other things on and off for the past 1o to 15 years but the summer of 2004 I decided to study gardening, particularly vegetable gardening. I figured that I any good I could grow we would not have to buy and with Ichi going to college fulltime this year money would be tight.
I started and continue with books in the Library. I have read too many gardening books to count. Favorites are The Four Season Harvest, Lasagna Gardening, Great Garden Companions, The Self-Sufficient Suburban Garden, Gardening Without Work, Weedless Gardening to name a few.
My garden in the summer of 2004 consisted of four 4'X4' squares and one 2 1/2'X5' strip. Three of the squares had been laboriously dug the previous year and the last square and the strip created each in a few hours using the Lasagna Gardening methods. In these I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, shallots, banana peppers, beans- bush and pole, basil, marigolds, carrots, eggplant, parsley, shasta dasies, zuchinni, sunflowers, watermelon, petunas and bunching onion. We ate tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers and beans most of the summer, had all the basil I could want. The zuchinni succum to vine borers and the watermelon produced only two small ones. But most everything produced at least little and the kids(I gave San and Go each a spot where they could decide what to plant, Shi has his spot in heaven) enjoyed their spots and so did I.
The following fall I attempted a winter garden but started everything much too late and harvested only some mesculin mix but learned a lot.
The more I read the more convinced I become that organic methods are the least expensive and produce the nutritionally best produce.
I started and continue with books in the Library. I have read too many gardening books to count. Favorites are The Four Season Harvest, Lasagna Gardening, Great Garden Companions, The Self-Sufficient Suburban Garden, Gardening Without Work, Weedless Gardening to name a few.
My garden in the summer of 2004 consisted of four 4'X4' squares and one 2 1/2'X5' strip. Three of the squares had been laboriously dug the previous year and the last square and the strip created each in a few hours using the Lasagna Gardening methods. In these I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, shallots, banana peppers, beans- bush and pole, basil, marigolds, carrots, eggplant, parsley, shasta dasies, zuchinni, sunflowers, watermelon, petunas and bunching onion. We ate tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers and beans most of the summer, had all the basil I could want. The zuchinni succum to vine borers and the watermelon produced only two small ones. But most everything produced at least little and the kids(I gave San and Go each a spot where they could decide what to plant, Shi has his spot in heaven) enjoyed their spots and so did I.
The following fall I attempted a winter garden but started everything much too late and harvested only some mesculin mix but learned a lot.
The more I read the more convinced I become that organic methods are the least expensive and produce the nutritionally best produce.
Recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes
I am posting this because I have a friend who has asked me many times for this recipe. The last time I gave it to her she really remembered it but could not believe it was so simple.
Combine 1 part bread crumbs and 1 part parmesan cheese. You can add a little Italian seasoning if you wish but not essential.
Buttermilk or 1 egg + 1 Tablespoon of water, a dash salt is good to add here
Sliced green tomatoes
Dip tomato slices in liquid then in breadcrumb mixture. Brown on both sides in a skillet with a little oil.
Eat and enjoy.
Combine 1 part bread crumbs and 1 part parmesan cheese. You can add a little Italian seasoning if you wish but not essential.
Buttermilk or 1 egg + 1 Tablespoon of water, a dash salt is good to add here
Sliced green tomatoes
Dip tomato slices in liquid then in breadcrumb mixture. Brown on both sides in a skillet with a little oil.
Eat and enjoy.
A view into out lives
Why did we choose Camera Obscura 1 for the name of our blog?
A camera obscura is a lightless room with a lens mounted in a small single window. An image of the outside world would be projected on a screen in the room. The 1 is because our initial attempt to create the blog was unsucessful.
A camera obscura is a lightless room with a lens mounted in a small single window. An image of the outside world would be projected on a screen in the room. The 1 is because our initial attempt to create the blog was unsucessful.
This blog will be a place for us to display a part of our life, though imperfectly, to the world. Here we will irregularly put up messages about the "goings ons" of Ichi, Ni, San, Shi and Go.
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