Garden Update #2

It's been very warm so the garden has been growing pretty well. We also had two days of heavy rainfall last week which probably kicked things into gear too.

Some of the wildflowers have started to bloom, even though the Morning Glory looks like it's threatening to choke out a few of them.

The two happy squash plants are producing tiny baby squash. The other two plants seem to be growth-stunted.

The dill is blooming and the lemon verbana is trying to take over. (they're to the right in this picture)

We caged the tomatoes and I'm hoping that the Mortgage Lifters will perk up now that they're off the soil. The cherry varieties are making lots of green tomatoes and a few ripe ones.

I still have one empty bed (at the front) but I may put down some bean seeds in it since our growing season lasts into October.

 

Garden 2011 - Week 12 or maybe 13

I have to admit my poor little garden has been greatly neglected recently. It's the same old story, heat and mosquitoes. 

This is what's happening currently:

Okra and Morning Glory is taller than me (I'm 5'2) Tiny okra pods are appearing, the Morning Glory is blooming, I just need to go out there in the AM to take a picture. 

Carrots and Bachelor's Buttons are growing, probably another few weeks before the carrots are ready to harvest. 

 

Cucumbers and beans are being attacked by something vicious. I have a lot of misshapen pickling cucumbers and one lovely and unusual looking True Lemon cucumber. The beans are dying so that's kind of a shame but I haven't been doing much to prevent.

Tomatoes and zinnias are doing exceedingly well. I love the zinnias so much, they remind me of my childhood. I have a ton of Roma tomatoes on the vine and lots of larger green ones of varieties I can't recall. I also have these teensy little guys, this was one of the plants my mom gave me that she started from seed - Matt's Wild Cherry.

Doug's grape vines are finally producing real, edible grapes. These are Concord, they have seeds and a very strong flavor. 

Garden 2011 - Week 7/8

I can't remember what actual week I'm on, either 7 or 8. Eh, anyway, while we were gone my kind brother came over and kept all of our cats fed, watered and with a clean litterbox and he watered my plants/garden. Yay for brothers!

Everything exploded while we were gone. Tendrils are reaching out for something to climb up and onto, tomatoes are flowering and growing, cucumbers and beans are blooming, etc. I do appear to have a pest problem, what kind of pest I'm not sure, I did catch a glimpse of something that looks like a pink/iridescent ladybug. At any rate something(s) have been nibbling on my morning glory, okra, beans and zinnias. I sprayed some insecticidal soap on Monday and because of the rain/watering I'll need to reapply this weekend. I also need to stake my tomatoes too but Lowe's was out of the right size of bamboo poles so off to Home Depot I need to go. 

Morning Glory/Okra/Bachelor Buttons/Carrots

Beans/Cucumbers

Tomatoes/Zinnias/Herbs

Lemon Boy Tomato

 

Doug's grapes (Concord & Red Flame)

 

In the flower bed  my newest cone flower has bloomed and so has my double Rose of Sharon. 

 

The potato vine and petunias were looking a little sickly but extra water and deadheading the petunias seemed to help. 

Garden 2011 - Week 4

This year we decided to start with a clean slate so to speak. We got a pretty late start but it always warm here well past September so I think it'll be alright. First I pulled up all the brick that was between and around our raised beds and we tossed the original beds (the wood was starting to rot). After some research/reading I decided to try square foot gardening. Doug built us six 4 x 4 boxes and then we divided them into smaller square using cotton yarn and nails. They're filled with a mixture of organic garden soil and composted cow manure. We hope to add pea gravel in between the boxes and frame out the area with a picket fence and gate. We're not sure yet if our budget will allow for this summer or if it will happen next year but I think it'll look nice once the total vision is complete.

This is my planting list, all from Seed Savers:

Ideal Market Bean

Climbing French Bean

Dragon Carrot

A & C Pickling Cucumber

True Lemon Cucumber

Star of David Okra (okra seems to take a lot longer to germinate for some reason)

Blue Boy Bachelor's Buttons (flower)

Morning Glory (flower)

Giant Zinnias (flower)

Plus tomatoes, basil, parsley and marigolds I bought as plants. I do hope this year's growing season will be better than last year. It was so dry and hot a lot of my plants died before or shortly after they first produced something.

Carrots and Bachelor's Buttons

 Okra and Morning Glory

Cucumbers and Beans

Tomatoes, marigolds, parsley, basil & Zinnias

This is the first year I've planted any petunias and I think they look great with the chartreuse potato vine.

I'm so in love with our patio right now, everything is coming in nicely and despite the sudden onset of heat, I really like sitting out there under the umbrella. 

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Currently my garden only seems to be producing okra and cherry tomatoes. But given the heat index and the lack of rain I'll take what I can get. Over the past week I accumulated enough tomatoes to slow-roast in the oven and use for pasta. 

The slow-roasted tomato 'recipe' comes from Smitten Kitchen and they were delicious. I let mine roast for about 2.5 hours and I was out of garlic so I skipped it. 

Once they were roasted I boiled a cup of capellini pasta and tossed it together with the tomatoes, salt, pepper and fresh Parmesan for lunch. Making these tomatoes and worth turning the oven on for.

What I accomplished this weekend

Taught my 7.5 year old niece to knit (I hope it sticks!)

My favorite thing was when my brother came to pick her up and we were getting her things together I asked her if she wanted to put her knitting in her bag and she said "No I'm going to knit in the car." A child after my own heart.

Made the same niece a little elastic waist skirt with fabric she picked out. 

Finished the increase portion of my Damson shawl. The yarn is Malabrigo sock and the color reminds me of honey.

Wound one skein of yarn and made a giant mess with two other skeins after my swift fell apart.

Got Golden India takeout for dinner Saturday.

Went to the movies with Doug (saw this)

Read some of this Mary Gaitskill book.

Drank several glasses of iced Vanilla Chai from Memphis-based Ugly Mug while watching Lucas on the Indie Channel. Noted while watching said movie, Jeremy Piven in 1986 looks pretty much just like Jeremy Piven in 2010, but Charlie Sheen was way hotter in 1986.

Roasted okra from my garden (just a little olive oil, salt and pepper - yum!) 

Creepy and crawly

I usually leave the photography of insects to Doug, but over the weekend I was at my grandmother's and spotted this dragonfly who was an agreeable model.This caught my eye too, I thought it was just a cluster of insect eggs on one of her tomatoes but when I came home to show Doug he pointed out that it's actually a horned tomato worm that is covered in parasitic wasp eggs. Crazy looking! I knew you could order the wasp eggs online to combat the worm destruction but I've never had any in my garden so I had no clue what they looked like. Creepy!