Almost Summer in an Urban Garden May 27, 2010

It feels like summer, already – the only time I enjoy being out, is in the morning and late evening.  The garden is very productive and I’m excited about the good things to come.  The strawberries are about done, and I’ve decided to pull them up, as I usually do.  I thought about getting another season out of them, but then I’d just be watering them for another 8 months before they produce again, when I could be growing something else that will produce before time to plant strawberries again.  I’ve pulled up all the onions and garlic, which all did fine.  I’ve decided not to plant purple onions again, because so many bolted.  I did manage to grow the biggest onion I’ve ever grown.  It really looks much larger in person.

Personal Best Onion

The corn seems to be doing what corn should do, and the larger stalks are sending up shoots, whatever they are called.  If I actually get corn, I’ll be a happy girl.

Aside from the pestilence, detailed in my earlier post the tomatoes are looking good, however I believe the two tomato plants in my Earthbox have become one, so it looks like 2 kinds of tomatoes growing on one plant.

tomato confusion

I’ve been eating Chocolate Cherry tomatoes all week, and they are wonderful.

The peppers are taking the production lead and there will be plenty to eat, make salsa, pickle, and share.

Peppers

jalapenos

Ancho Pepper

I’m still waiting for more lemon cucumbers, those were so good.  The eggplants aren’t looking good, having been choked out by the cucumbers and the watermelon looks a bit sad as well, but I just planted it last week.  I don’t think the black bean experiment is working, so that is a lesson learned.  The potato grow bag experiment may be a lesson learned as well, but in the grow bag’s defense, I didn’t mound the plants like I was supposed to, because I got too busy.  I’m giving them a couple more weeks.

Mid-April in an Austin Urban Garden April 17, 2010

I hadn’t seen my garden in a couple of days and knew there were strawberries to pick, so first thing this morning I headed out back.  There were lots of strawberries to pick!

Everything else looks amazing, the rain has really made everything happy.

Picked strawberries, minus what I ate

The tomatoes are all getting huge and bushy and the cheater plant I bought at Sledd Nursery has 7 or 8 tomatoes on it.

They don't call this Celebrity for nothing!

More tomatoes

It is hard for me to say, as a promoter of raised garden beds, that the tomatoes in my Earthbox are bigger than those in my raised garden.  I also promote and sell Earthboxes, but I’ve never been a bigger fan.

The black bean and corn bed is rocking along as well.  The cheater tomato is in there too, where Nandina once mucked up my landscape.  I planted corn from seed, then found some little transplants and got those.  Then after Carol Ann at Boggy Creek Farm told me I planted a couple of weeks late, and to be wary of worms in June, I found a couple of transplants that were further along.  So, I have corn at three levels of growth.

Black Beans and Corn

I found some lemon cucumber plants the other day and planted those.  That sounds good, lemon and cucumber.

lemon cucumber

And the onions continue their slow march toward maturity.  At least the bolting has halted, with the cooler weather.

Onions, shallots and garlic

The herbs on the patio are happy as well.  I just bought more basil with pesto in mind, and some cilantro, with salsa in mind.

Basil

Thyme

Mint

No Grocery Store Challenge, Days 76 and 77, and Freeze Warning March 20, 2010

The thunder acted as both alarm and snooze button this morning.  It woke me up, and the rain gave me license to go back to sleep, until the next thunder boom.  This is a nice way to start a Saturday, after a really hectic and stressful week.

Day 76 was Thursday.  For breakfast, I had a little tangerine juice, which I had frozen when they were in season and defrosted.  So good.  Lunch on the run was 2 Thunderheart bison jerky sticks.  Slow Food Happy Hour was that evening at Wink, an as usual, we ordered food.  Wink, why not?  I split some mac and cheese, the slider plate, and cheese plate with some folks.  All amazing.

Day 77, yesterday, did not eat breakfast.  I had a huge lunch at Cafe Josie with my mom, then out running errands, stopped by Antonelli’s Cheese Shop to get some Brazos Valley Parmesan and Veldhuizen chedder.  They also gifted me an amazing goat cheese being made by some family in Houston.  They aren’t selling it yet, but are considering it.  As the shop became busy, I got caught up in the hustle and bustle and the distribution of cheeses for tastings.  I had already made my cheese and wine purchase, but that’s just how the Antonelli’s.  Here, taste this one.  Ooohhh and Carla, try these amazing olives.  By the time I left, I was stuffed.  I bought an amazing wine, too, the Carina Cellars Clairvoyant.  It was really outstanding.

Today, Day 78, I have no plan for food.  I have a pass to the Rachel Ray event at Stubb’s and I have no idea what that includes.

I have missed several farmer’s markets in the last week and it is raining now, so I don’t know if the downtown market is in my plans before the Stubb’s event.   I’m out of coffee and milk, so things could get interesting if I don’t make it!

Gardener’s, if your tomatoes are in the ground, I recommend giving them some shelter from the cold for the next 2 nights.  Just to be safe.

Yay, Spring Garden Underway March 14, 2010

This is the time of year I spend so much time getting gardens in for customers, I barely have time for my own.  This morning I took the time to get some stuff done.  First on the list, making way for the peppers.  I had to harvest a boatload of lettuce.

Boatload of Lettuce

I had already worked on and amended part of the garden, but now had to amend the space taken up by lettuce all fall and winter.  I turned the soil, dumped in some worm castings, Actinoiron, Hill County Soil, Ladybug general fertilizer, and Sylvan compost and mixed it all together as if I was making a mudcake.  Next I planted the peppers, a bell, 2 serrano del sols, and a jalapeno.

Peppers

Next in were the tomatoes.  A Mortgage Lifter, a Celebrity or two, two Chocolate Cherries, a Black Krim, a Yellow Brandywine, a Cherokee Purple, and a a Striped German.  The Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, and Striped German are new varieties to me.

Tomatoes in the big raised bed

I weeded the Watermelon Radishes, which still need a couple more weeks.

Watermelon radishes, almost done

Tossed some Ladybug fertilizer on the strawberries, which are looking good, putting on new leaves and starting to set fruit.

Strawberry patch

strawberry flower

Weeded the smaller bed, half filled with lettuce and radishes, and ready to receive more plants.

Smaller garden

Next I watered the whole lot with rainwater.

Then went around to the side gardens, and said howdy to the onions, garlic, and shallots.

onions, garlic, shallots

Next, I poked around at the taters growing in their bags.

potatoes sprouting in grow bags

Planted some basil and thyme in a pot.  There is never enough thyme!

Not enough thyme!!

Then I watered and pondered my next garden moves.  I think this will suffice for this lovely Sunday.

First Tomato Casualty – Blossom End Rot May 20, 2009

I just had to pull off and discard a tomato affected by Blossom End Rot. It was about half way to mature size and was an heirloom tomato. The raised gardens on the side of the house have an organic soil that I have grown to dislike, as it is too rocky and drains too well, which makes me think I have to water more often. It is meant for growing roses, but we had some left over from an installation where the customer requested it, so I used it. Now I’ve either got to figure out if I’ve overwatered, if the ph is off, or if the soil is lacking calcium. Can’t bear another tomato casualty. Still bug free, knock on wood.

Finally, Sun, peppers and tomatos March 16, 2009

Yay the sun finally returned. My raised garden has been planketed and the patio herb and lettuce garden covered for what seems like forever. Rain is awesome, but I was ready for the sun to come out again. I got the heirlooms from the Sunshine Community gardens planted in my raised garden. I ran out of garden room and alas, the pepper plants are in pots. Oh well, I’ve always had good luck with potted peppers, as long as the pots are big enough, the soil is good and there is plenty of sun. I hope Spring is here to stay for a while. Peppers and tomatos all got some Rabbit Hill Farms Tomato and Pepper Food and of course, some worm castings. Worm castings make everything better.

Tomatos and loads of lettuce March 6, 2009

I decided not to give myself any more garden space, since all of the raised bed gardens in my garage really are meant to be sold. So, I pulled up the broccoli, who’s crowns had already been eaten, and harvested a huge amount of lettuce to make room for my tomatos. I embarked upon a huge lettuce cleaning operation, then packaged up 4 stuffed quart sized bags of lettuce and shared with friends. Sharing yummy food from the garden is what it’s all about. Now I just need to find room for my peppers. I’m sure I have some empty pots they will do fine in.