Early April in an Austin Urban Garden April 5, 2012

I’ve been so busy lately, I’ve gotten way behind on this blog.  The gardens are coming along nicely with our frequent rain.  The tomato plants I planted on the side in February, in defiance of the threatened last frost, are taller than I and have set fruit.

The tomatoes planted in early March are growing and flowering like crazy, which is a little more time appropriate.  The Matt’s Wild Cherry volunteers have set a ton of tiny fruit.  This is my least favorite tomato variety, and I will continue to harvest for a while, then dedicate the space to something I enjoy more.  

 

I’m getting 5 to 10 strawberries a day and have been for a couple of weeks.  I’m eating some and freezing some for later.  Because my volume is low, I purchased some Poteet Strawberries for jam.  I made strawberry, vanilla, meyer lemon jam with meyer lemons from a friend’s tree in Houston.  My meyers were done weeks ago.

The onions are the garden star right now, as I’ve harvested probably 30 fairly large onions that had bolted.  I’ve eaten some bur dried most for storage in a mesh bag that the G and S Oranges come in.  I have loads more to harvest, probably this weekend, as one by one they are showing signs of wanting to lay down.

 

The peppers are just in the ground and flowering, as they tend to produce better in the heat.  I’ll put in more peppers, watermelon seeds, cucumber seeds and squash perhaps in the onion beds once I harvest those and amend the soil with compost and a bunch of new soil.  

I’d love to hear how your gardens are growing!

 

Taking Clues from Nature – Throwing Out the Planting Guide January 17, 2012

This has been a warmish winter.  Before Christmas, I noticed a volunteer tomato plant had sprung up in one of my Earthboxes.  I don’t get a lot of tomato volunteers, so I thought for kicks, I’d keep this one warm and see how things went.  I’m not even sure what it is, perhaps a Large Red Cherry.  After hauling it in and out of the garage and covering it during our few freezes, it has grown into a hearty plant and has been flowering for a couple of weeks.

January Tomato Plant

When I was watering this plant today, I noticed that there were two other volunteers it the same Earthbox.  In the empty pot next to it, there were 4 or 5 more, and another in the raised bed on the driveway-the bed that housed the heaviest producers last Spring.  It occurred to me that if conditions were good enough that all of these plants were coming up on their own, perhaps, I’d just help them along.  So, with cold weather expected tonight, I dug several of them up, planted them in pots, and brought them indoors.

My little volunteer army

They were all growing in awkward spots, so I’m going to put them into the raised bed on Thursday, ahead of a couple weeks of warmer weather.  I also decided, since seeds are so cheap, to experiment and sow some seeds directly into the garden.  Perhaps all of our freezes are done, perhaps not,  I can always cover the plants.  Nothing to lose, really.

In a more traditional seed starting manner, I have 5 or 6 varieties of tomatoes in a seed starting tray in the kitchen, under a light.

Seed Starting Tray

I’m tempted to build a bed solely for experiments and just toss a handful of various seeds into it, and see if each variety waited to germinate when the weather was appropriate.  I may do this too.  But, I have to save room for the corn experiment to come.  You all know how I love to grow corn.

Happy Gardening!  I’ll report back.

Vegetable Planting Guide for January/February and Planning for Spring Garden January 6, 2012

I know the City hasn’t even picked up your Christmas tree yet, and its the dead center of winter, but gardeners, it is time to get busy, so dust off your clogs.  The biggest complaint I hear from gardeners, is that they were disorganized or too busy and waited too late to get their garden in.

We are entering a busy planting season now, as it is time to plant Artichokes, Asparagus, Greens, Lettuces, Onions, Radishes and Spinach.

From mid January – February, we will plant Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbge, Carrots, Cauliflower, Chard, Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Mustard, Potatoes, Spinach and Turnips.

The tricky thing here is to manage your space requirements with the Spring planting season quickly approaching.  You don’t want to fill your future tomato space with slow growing onions in mid-February, so read your seed packets, plant the above early and start looking forward to the Spring garden.

Somehow the brutal Summer is gone from my memory, and my mind is constantly filled with memories of the best Spring tomato garden I’ve ever had.  I started seeds indoors early, and took a risk of frost and set the transplants in the garden early, and that, along with heavily amended soil, paid off.

I currently have 3 beds filled with onions, leeks and garlic, to be harvested in time for the later Spring/Summer vegetables like Peppers, Squash, Watermelons and Cucumbers.  My favorite tomato bed is partially occupied with onions that I’ll harvest late February as Spring onions.  I’ve just reseeded for lettuce which will be harvested all throughout February.  The remaining broccoli will be harvested in the coming 3 weeks and allowed to rest until tomato time.  The two strawberry beds will host their strawberries through Spring.

I have ordered Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Slenderette Bush Beans, Casino Corn, Lemon Cucumber, Slicer Cucumber, Rainbow Sherbet Watermelon, Sugar Snap Peas, Snow Peas, Tomatillos and a Pepper blend from Renees Garden Seeds.  www.reneesgarden.com

I ordered Ace 55, Aunt Ginny’s Purple Heirloom Tomato, Beefsteak Heirloom, Black Cherry, Black Krim, Cherokee Chocolate and Cherokee Purple Tomato Seeds from Tomatofest. www.tomatofest.com  I intend to start the tomatoes from seed indoors around the 20th of January.  As I do every year, I’ll pick up tomato and pepper transplants throughout the season at the Sunshine Community Garden Plant sale (first Saturday in March), and at nurseries around town.  I never rely on my early planted seeds only.

That’s my plan. I’d love to hear yours!

Memorial Day in an Austin Urban Garden May 29, 2011

I can’t believe the end of May is already here.  I feel so blessed with my harvest of tomatoes already, and there are more to come.  My kitchen window has housed the rotation of tomatoes from daily harvests for the last 5 weeks or so.

Yesterday's window

May 16th window

May 6th window

I have no idea how many tomatoes I’ve harvested this Spring, but it has been a lot.  Everyone who visits gets a bag full; everyone I visit gets a bag full, my freezer is full, and I’m eating them as fast as I can.  I’m in garden tomato heaven, and there are lots more where those came from.

More tomatoes!

The cucumbers have done fairly well, and I’ve harvested two very different ones, a Straight 8 and a long curly one.  Since those were harvested, the plants have taken off and started flowering more.

Cucumber plant

I pickled mine and some from the farmer’s market, yesterday.

Pickles

The peppers have been heavy producers as well, and I’m eating peppers every chance I get.  This morning I picked the biggest of the jalapenos, serranos, padrons and an Anaheim.  The Hinklehatz aren’t turning red just yet, but I have a plant full of them.

This morning's pepper harvest

The watermelon plants took off after I fed them some Buds and Blooms and gave them a good douse of water.  There are tiny watermelons making an appearance.

Watermelon

I still haven’t managed to grow fantastic corn.  It is delicious, but the ears never fill out as much as I’d like.

corn

 

My breakfast gets eaten outside these days, as I pluck nearly ripe tomatoes with blackberry stained fingers.

Superfruit

The citrus are coming right along, too.  Meyer lemons, key limes, and  Satsuma oranges have all set fruit.

Meyer Lemon

I have had a dwarf peach tree in a pot on my driveway for 3 or 4 years.  Each year, it has peaches on it, and each year, they get stolen, by some animal.  This year, my little tree has 18 peaches on it, and remains unmolested by nature.  I’m ecstatic.

Peaches!

I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful garden this year.  Yet, I have no idea why my garden, and everyone else’s that I know, are so very productive and trouble free.  Did the freeze kill the bugs?  Maybe.  But where are the squirrels?  I have no idea, but I’m thankful for it!

Tomato Takeover! May 16, 2011

I am in the midst of the best tomato season I’ve ever had from my garden.  I attribute it to the Texas Pot Method, getting water to the roots of the plants, the harsh and late freezes killing insect pests,  planting really early, and luck.  I’m not going to analyze it too deeply, I’m just trying to enjoy.   They are starting to take over my kitchen window.

Tomatoes!

There are Celebrities, and Early Girls, which are the largest ones.

Celebrities and Early Girls

The Large Red Cherries are perhaps the largest cherry tomatoes I’ve even seen.  The Black Cherries are the small darker ones, and the medium to smallish are the Stupices.

Variety of smaller tomatoes

I have let some ripen on the vine, and have pulled some about a day before the will be ripe, so as not to tempt any of the pests that have left me alone for the first time ever.

I have made Caprese Salad a few times, and Pico de Gallo several times, with my garden onions, peppers and cilantro.

Fresh Pico

I cut them up for salads, in this case Taco Salad.

Taco Salad

I put them in migas for breakfast, and everything else I can think of.  I’ve shared some of this glorious tomato bounty with friends.

Yesterday, I side dressed each of the tomato plants with Rabbit Hill Farms Buds and Blooms, to encourage the plants to keep flowering and setting fruit.  I’m about to have to step up my preserving game here pretty quickly!  Oh how I love the Spring garden.

Mid April in an Austin Urban Garden April 16, 2011

The garden is in full splendor right now, and producing lots of food, with more on the way.  I’ve eaten at least a bushel of strawberries over the last couple of weeks, and now the plants are setting new fruit.  The Chandlers have proven to be the biggest and sweetest and most prolific this year.  The Blackberries are setting fruit as well, and I expect to be eating Blackberries in the next several weeks.

The tomato plants are looking gorgeous and all 12 plants have set fruit.  Not just one tomato each, each plant has multiple bundles of tomatoes.  I think the difference may be my buried bucket root watering experiment.  I have tomatoes like never before.  Will they be stolen as they ripen like last year?  We’ll see.  I have not heard the mockingbird lately.  So far, no pests at all.

Big Garden filling out

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Tiny Cucumbers

I’m going to need to plant more cucumbers, if I’m going to have enough to pickle.  Might need to get this done today.

The Jalapeno and Serrano peppers are already needing to be picked.  I tasted on last week, and it was completely devoid of heat.  I’m hoping those that I’ll pick today will at least have a little heat.  It takes hot weather to produce a hot pepper, and these are ready a bit early for that.

Peppers

I planted a couple more Ancho Chiles yesterday and will be looking for different varieties at this morning’s Farmer’s Market.  I have room for more where the onions were.

I have now pulled up all but a few onions.  A big burlap bag of dried onions hangs in the pantry and this box of onions, still drying, needs to be hung up as well for long term storage.

Dried Onions

The Sugar Snap Peas are abundant right now as well, and I’ll be enjoying some of these for dinner tonight.

Sugar Snap Pea

The potatoes are huge and flowering, but I’m going to give them at least two more weeks before I start digging up new potatoes.  I’ll pull some as new potatoes, then let some mature.  The carrots need another week, and I’ll have a nice harvest of those, which I’m looking forward to.  The leeks are slow, and although they can come up at any time, I want the fat leeks I see at the markets.

This is such an enjoyable time to be in the garden, and I’m thankful for its productivity this season.  Last Spring was riddled by bugs, and squirrels and unknown beasts, and this Spring has been a pleasure.  Fingers crossed that it continues!

The Time Between Winter and Spring in an Austin Urban Garden March 4, 2011

I think Austin should have more than 4 defined seasons.  There is always this time when it feels like Winter has left us and Spring is here.  We flock to the nurseries to purchase our tomato seedlings and feel that eager itch to get our hands dirty.  But we know, history being that factual reminder that Spring might not have sprung just yet, and we wait for one last freeze.  Around my house, all evidence points to Spring.  My peach tree is putting on gorgeous blossoms.  Perhaps this year I’ll get to the peaches before whatever critter always robs me of them.

 

Peach Blossoms

 

The Lime Tree is budding like crazy, making me ever hopeful for lots of limes.

 

Lime Tree blossoms

 

The onions and elephant garlic are starting to tempt me to pull them, they are so big.  But, then I wouldn’t have fully matured onions to last for months.

 

Onions and Elephant Garlic

 

The Sugar Snap Peas have come up and will need their trellis soon.  The carrots are up too, although I may have planted those a bit late.  We shall see.

 

Sugar Snap Peas

 

The Leeks are rocking right along.  They are a bit slow for my liking, I’m ready for leeks.

 

Leeks

 

There is still plenty of lettuce.  And the strawberries are flowering like crazy!

 

Lots of lettuce

 

There is some spinach in there too.

 

Strawberries very soon

 

The potatoes are not up yet, but I accidentally (or not) unearthed one and it had formed quite a root structure.

So, with the Saturday night low expected to be 39, the tomatoes which I have transplanted into 6 inch pots, remain in the greenhouse, along with the sprouted seedlings.

 

Tomatoes in the Greenhouse

 

Here they will stay, probably for another 2 weeks, depending on the weather forecast.  For the dedicated bed, I purchased a soil sample kit and tested the ph.

 

ph test

 

It tested around 6.5 which is slightly acidic.  I think most plants like slightly acidic conditions, but I’m going to do some research about tomatoes, because I’ve never tested my soil, although I am a serial soil amender.

As I sit here, I’m expecting several gardening friends to show up for a seedling exchange.  I had lots of success, so I have lots to share.  I’m looking forward to seeing what the others will bring!

 

My contributions to seedling exchange.

I have always thought one of the best parts of gardening is sharing the fruits of our labor.  It does make sense to share seedlings, because no one needs 50 pepper plants.  But, it is quite labor intensive, at least the way I did it.  I planted the seedlings in trays, then transplanted them into 4 inch pots.  Time consuming, yet rewarding.

 

Two Big Austin Vegetable Transplant Sales in Early March February 24, 2011

It is still Winter, even though it has felt like Spring for the last couple of weeks.  Early March is the perfect time to get your Spring vegetables and herbs in the ground, and there are two big sales coming up.  My favorite, The Sunshine Community Garden Spring Plant Sale is a big one.  Always the first Saturday in March, so this year it will be on March 5, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  This is more than a sale, it is a Festival with lots of vendors and things for the kiddos.  This sale has more heirloom varieties of tomatoes and peppers, than you will find at area nurseries.  Get there early, there will be folks lining up before 8:00 to get first dibs on the plants, and they usually sell out.

http://www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org/index.php?p=plantsale

Another great place to buy your Spring transplants is Johnson’s Backyard Garden.  Also on March 5, 2011 from 10:00 to 1:00 at the farm.  You can also order online for pick up at the farm.  Johnson’s has a wide variety of heirloom tomatoes and peppers as well. 

http://www.jbgorganic.com/blog/

Time to get growing!

Growing Food is Beautiful April 2, 2010

I’m really enjoying all of my flowering fruit trees and plants right now, partly because, I know that my fruit deprived diet will soon be bursting with options, but also because the plants that bear fruit produce such lovely flowers, first.  The lime blossoms are beautiful, and soon I’ll have lots of limes.

lime blossoms

one lime so far

The blackberry bushes make pretty flowers, and soon I’ll have at least a couple handfuls of blackberries:

blackberry bloom

And of course, strawberries!  Equally pretty, and I’m getting close to loads of them:

strawberry flowers

The lemon tree’s blossoms are nearly indistinguishable from the lime, so I’ll spare you another photo.  I did snap another few pictures while in Steiner Ranch for a consultation this afternoon.  Couldn’t help myself.

Texas Wildflowers