Seeing Red!

I mentioned before that I planned to try to ripen a bunch of green tomatoes indoors.  I took the best of the ones I pulled from the garden, wrapped them individually in newspaper and sat them on shelves in my basement, covered by a dark blanket.  Well, I checked them this morning – well, I checked one of them that is – it was red!  It worked!  Now the trick will be to keep them in decent shape until I have time to process them.  I wasn’t expecting this to happen so quickly! 

Scurries off to locate sauce recipes...

Tomatoes out the $%@

They’re everywhere! The green tomatoes that is…it’s like summer is taking another turn – everything is green and flowering again… Alas, I know it won’t last, so I’m trying to enjoy it while it does. My tomato routine until now has been to check the garden every day or two and pluck the red ‘maters from the vines. As the season went on there were fewer and fewer ripe red ones, but still TONS of green tomatoes. My dear sweet husband, being a practical boy, inquired “can’t we just pick the green ones and use them?” So I did a little research on the subject. My new plan is to gather the healthiest of the fruits, bring them inside and let them ripen on their own indoors. Then I’ll process them – can them, freeze them, eat them, or something. J My sources tell me that indoor-ripened tomatoes do not taste quite as good as vine-ripened, but will be infinitely better than store-bought. Since I do plan on canning most of them as sauce of some sort, I think it’ll be OK. I picked a large basket-full last night, but didn’t even get a quarter of the way through the garden. Eek!

I’d also like to try some green tomato cooking experiments – any recipe recommendations?

Resurrected onions

Bit of a gardening surprise yesterday (but, as I’m pretty new to this sport, what isn’t a surprise?).  I went out to pluck the few cantaloupes that hadn’t been attacked by bugs from my little plot, and eventually turned my attention to the onions.  I had read that onions can be harvested after their stalks dry up and flop over, which happen earlier this summer…I pulled a few of them for salads already.  I figured I’d pull up the rest…but then I noticed that they were no longer dried and shriveled (the stalks that is)…they were green and sturdy.  Did I miss my chance to harvest the onions?  Why did they suddenly spring back to life?  Comments welcome; in the meantime I’ll be doing some research…

The Case of the Mystery Melon - solved!

I did eventually manage to snap a few pics of my mystery melons (the ones I thought were cantaloupes, but were looking much more like watermelons), but alas, the camera didn't make it back into the house from our last car trip. I'm bad at bringing things back in...
However, the mystery is solved! I am in fact growing cantaloupes. Their "skin" (rind?) is starting to develop a very cantaloupe-like texture. Phew! I'm not sure how mature they will get, as we've already started to experience some low temps in the area. But maybe next week's predicted upper 80's-low 90's will give them a boost...

Update: here is a photo (I cleaned out the car...) of the melons before they were identified:

Not sure what I'm growing!

When I planted my garden, I picked up four plants in the cucurbit family: a zucchini, a summer squash, a cucumber, and what I thought was a cantaloupe.   Now I’m not so sure – there are strange melon-like fruits growing from one of the remaining plants (both the zucchini and summer squash met an untimely end), but these fruits do not look like cantaloupe to me…they look more like watermelon.  Of course, having never grown either type of melon, I couldn’t tell you for sure what they look like as ‘toddlers’.  I’m tempted to take one inside and cut it open – that would solve things quickly enough; however my dear sweet husband insists that I just be patient and wait until the melons are full-grown.  Grrrr….

I’ll have to post some photos of the mystery melons, if it ever stops raining…

 

 

wilted

As in both my poor zucchini plants and my spirits.  :(  I looked out the window today and almost all the leaves on my zucchini plant had fallen over.  It looked like it hadn't been watered in days, but we've had nothing but rain this week, so I know that is not the case.  A quick internet search has lead me to suspect some sort of squash borer or other pest.  I'm not sure if I can do anything to save them or if I should just give up and yank the whole thing out of the ground.  So sad - I hadn't quite had my fill of zucchini yet...

They've got us surrounded!

The tomatoes, that is.  They’re everywhere!  I dropped off a whole sack of them with ML last night and our fruit bowl is filled to the brim still.  And for every red tomato I pull off the vine, three green ones take its place…  Salsa time, here we come!

On the other side of the garden (all 4 feet of it) I have a new invader.  A small grayish bug which my visiting mother insists is another kind of squash beetle.  Great – just what I need!  The nasty chemical spray I tried earlier in the season has done no good…might have to try something else…

I pulled up a couple of onions last night, too – they are very small, but I’m not sure how big they were going to get anyway – the tops had fallen over and wilted, which I read was a sign of the onions being ready for harvest.  I pulled 3, but I’m planning on leaving the rest in the ground for a while to see what happens…

Just like heaven...

I popped a few cherry tomatoes into my salad for lunch today…they are SO delicious! I have never been a fan of cherry tomatoes, honestly. But then again, I’ve never grown them either, or eaten them just off the vine…heavenly! There were about 5 ripe ones yesterday, so just enough for one meal. Also got a couple of Romas, although I think they could have used couple of more days to languish on the vine – the DH snatched them up before I could protest.

I’m also working on my second batch of zucchini bread from the second monster zucchini we found this week – where are these things hiding?!? We check every day! Oh, well, I love bread, so it’s all good…

Like comparing apples and... cherries

So, after two years of fighting the cedar-apple rust on our poor little apple tree, we gave up.  The DH ripped it from the ground this week and replaced it with a mazer.  Yeah, that’s a type of small cherry tree.  (Pardon the bad Orange County quotation!).  

Our other fruit trees look great – healthy and sturdy.  No edible fruit yet, although the DH did find a lone plum on the ground under the plum tree this week.  Hopefully we’ll see something worthwhile one of these years… J

How big was it?

Last night the DH and I went out to check on the garden – there’s been a regular flow of squash ready for harvest this week, plus he wanted to swat cucumber beetles with our handheld bug zappers. What did we find but a huge zucchini – over 20 inches long!!! How did we miss that one before? It was towards the center of the garden and I usually poke around the edges, so it is likely that it was just out of my view the last few trips out to the plot. We also found the first “real” cucumber (I was fooled last week by an odd-looking zucchini). J

Compost progress

I'm not entirely sure the compost bin is making compost, but it has to be doing something, 'cause the bin never seems to fill up!  Every time I open it to add veggies scraps or coffee grounds, the level has gone down...that has to be a good sign, right? 
In other Happy Little Garden news, the squash and the tomato plants are slowly moving in from the edges of the small plot and will probably take over the whole garden by summer's end.  Next year we are definitely expanding.  The good thing is that I like tomatoes and squash!  The bad thing is that I also like onions and peppers and it's going to be hard for the peppers to get much sun. 
I pulled the first ripe cherry tomatoes off the vine yesterday, with every plant heavy with green fruit.  Hopefully I get access to Mom's canning equipment before I end up with a boatload of tomatoes and no where to stash them!  Even the patio tomato is looking healthy and strong...
Maybe I'm not so bad at this after all...

The wait is over!

Woo-hoo! The first real harvest from the garden! Check out these two babies - a zucchini and a summer squash, fresh from my backyard. And there are plenty more where they came from, almost ready...
Last week I gave up fighting with the cucumber beetles, gave in, and purchases a definitely-nonorganic solution - insect spray. I know I could have been more patient and tried my friend Michael's suggestion of basil tea, but after the first cucumber casualty, I just couldn't bare it. I'm not sure how much good it is doing - there was a beetle ambling along a leaf as I approached the plot just now, but as I was checking the rest of the plant, I noticed that some of the previously itty-bitty veggies were now full-grown and ready for a-pickin'...
These two will be grilled, but I see plenty of stir-fries, kabobs, and perhaps even some zucchini bread in my future. What a happy little garden I have!

Spotted Green Demons!

Silly me, I shooed away the big spider, and now I have...CUCUMBER BEETLES. They look like green ladybugs and they've already eaten one cucumber. Is there anyway to rid myself of these pests organically, other than flicking them off by hand???

New additions

My dear in-laws are in the midst of a big basement clean-out, and offered me an old wheelbarrow they found down there. Yea! I love hand-me-downs! I've wanted to buy one, but haven't wanted to spend the money - even the crappiest ones are too much moolah for me. Second-hand is definitely the way to go, and you can't beat free!
My second present of the afternoon from my new family was a bag full of freshly dug up mint and some wild strawberry plants. Both had spread beyond control in their back yard, so they had plenty to spare. I know that mint is invasive, so I potted it, then buried the pot halfway in the ground - the first addition to my herb garden.
Our neighbors are putting the final touches on a new wood patio - it's gorgeous, as is the rest of their professionally landscaped yard... I'm so jealous. However, they aren't growing anything edible, so I hope they will be the envious ones come harvest time... :)

A taste of things to come...

A co-worker gave me a cucumber fresh-picked from his garden yesterday…now I’m jonesin’ for more!  Hurry up, little cukes, grow!

More Tomatoe Woes

My patio tomato is starting to look very very sad...there are 3 little tomatoes on it, but the plant itself is starting to turn yellow! Does it need a bigger container? Help!

Update: I bought a larger container - actually, a self-watering container - and some organic potting soil. The container is pretty nifty - it has a reservoir in the bottom which you fill with water, so the plant drinks from the bottom... Hopefully this does the trick, 'cause the poor little guy looks pretty bad... On the other hand, the tomatoes in my garden are just thriving so all is not lost if the patio plant doesn't make it. Funny - I bought the patio tomato because the garden plants were worrisome. Must've made them jealous...

Picking peppers

I plucked the lone purple bell pepper from its stem last night.  It’s not the biggest pepper yet, but I figured either I get it now, or the rabbit beats me to it.  J  Plus, I’m guessing it will be the first of many peppers this summer…  I also have cucumbers now!  I’m rather excited about this, as I introduced my husband to the joy that is the lightly-salted cucumber slice last night.  I swear I’ve never seen him eat a veggie that wasn’t covered in a sauce or dip, so this was quite the sight.  Don’t tease him about it though – he doesn’t seem to like that. J 

I think the little pepper will be part of a stir-fry tonight…there are no small parts, only small peppers, right?

 

 

Wascally Wabbit

As I told ML this morning, my husband said the most horrible thing to me last night.  He said “Honey, is that a rabbit out there by the garden?”  I immediately raced to my veggie plot, small dog on my heels, looking for the little bugger.  It was dark out at this point, and the rabbit was dark-furred as well, so it was very hard to spot, but we clearly saw its cottony puff of a tail as it suddenly raced for the other side of the yard and dove under the fence.  Our not-so-quick dog didn’t even notice anything was happening until it was all over, and THEN he started sniffing around.  Some watchdog, huh? 

I put a wire fence around the garden to keep the dog out, but it’s certainly not rabbit-proof.  What to do now?  I need to add an additional fence or a barrier of some kind…or do I just give up and accept that rabbit encounters are part of gardening life?

 

New pics

I updated the photos to my accurately reflect the state of the garden. About to head out there now to take advantage of the cooler temps of the morning (it should get into the 90s today).

Got Milk?

Yesterday You Grow Girl suggested pouring a 50/50 mix of milk and water on tomato plants as a disease preventative.  As I have plenty of milk in the fridge, just waiting to go bad (I’m not a milk-drinker, but I buy it for cereal and cooking purposes), I thought I’d give it a try.  No immediate response from the little guys of course, but we’ll see…  Thanks for the tip, Gayla!

Progress

Well, it appears the tiny lettuce that had sprouted from my seeds has given up.  However, my pretty little patio tomato plant (still in its ugly plastic pot) has two lovely green tomatoes hanging from it.  Also, the first pepper plant to bear fruit, with a roughly 3 inch long pepper dangling from it, is the purple bell.  The onions look sturdy, although I have no idea what’s going on under the ground, the cucumber plant is about 10 times as big as when it was transplanted, and several of the garden tomato plants are flowering.  Now that I can recognize carrot tops, it also appears that I have carrots coming in. J  What a happy little garden!  Although the lack of lettuce is a disappointment, I guess I knew that it was too late in the season (ie too hot) to start lettuce, and I will try again as fall approaches and the temps drop…

Herbal Delights

I have yet to plant any herbs in my garden, mostly because I don’t know what to do with them.  Well, until last night that is!  I attended a “Cooking with Herbs” event at the Lauritzen botanical gardens and now I’m just itching to get some herbs planted…  The evening started with a tour of the Herb Garden, located deep into the vast grounds of the facility, and maintained by the Omaha Herb Society.  The herb garden was divided into small plots based on theme – there was a dyers plot, filled with colorful herbs utilized for their wool-dying properties; a culinary plot containing the usual suspects of mint, sage, basil, chives, etc; a fragrance plot used for potpourri; a tea plot, and so on.  It was fascinating to stroke the leaves of various exotic herbs – I had never touched cinnamon basil before.  Quite educational. 

Back at the visitors center, we were treated to a cooking demonstration by a locally-based, but world-renowned chef, Teresa Kramer-Ruback.  Teresa grew up here in Omaha, but interned with Wolfgang Puck at Spago, and has practiced her culinary arts all over the world, including post-Oscars parties and Middle-Eastern peace talks!  She demonstrated the preparation of several kinds of pesto (Chive-Dill pesto…mmm…), hummus, and a goat cheese dip.  All of these splendid concoctions, with the exception of a rose-geranium pound cake, appear to be low-carb treats as well, so I am planning on trying them at home.

I love that we have events like this here in the Mid-West, and I’m grateful that I took the time on my evening off to attend – I learned a lot and have some new gardening, as well as cooking, inspiration.

Fruit(less) trees

When we moved into this house, there were no trees, so Lowell and I set out to buy and plant a few.  He had grown up with fruit trees, so that’s what we got, despite my protests that they would just attract bees and hornets, as well as make a huge mess.  In our back yard, we now have 2-year-old apple, plum, and pear trees – one of each.  They look pretty good, with the exception of the apple tree, which developed cedar apple rust last summer.  We sprayed some nasty chemical on it and that seemed to clear it up.  But it appears as though the rust is back…I need to find a less-toxic solution to this problem, as the tree is near my garden and any spray that requires a mask to apply doesn’t sound like it’s good for my veggies…or us!  Since this tree is our dog’s favorite to water, I’d rather not have him subjected to any chemicals either…

None of these trees are producing fruit thus far, so no hornets yet.  

I also cheated a little this last weekend on my tomatoes…I bought a patio plant, just to hedge my bets should the garden not bear fruit.  So far, this patio tomato is the healthiest looking of the bunch.  I have yet to move it from its original plastic container to something prettier, in spite of some adamant protesting on Lowell’s part that it looks “trashy”.  No, dear, “trashy” would be a dead tomato plant in a pretty pot!

Happy happy! Joy joy!

I might not be a total failure at this gardening business, after all! :) We had a glorious rain today, and I ventured out to the garden this evening with a new Russian tomato plant (a gift from a co-worker)...and lo' and behold, my tomato plants seem to be recovering! Granted, they are still slightly wilted around the leaves, but they are upright and holding in there. My peppers still look awesome, the cucumber transplants have doubled in size, and I think some of my seeds are starting to spout. I think. Its kinda early to say for sure - could just be weeds of some sort poking their way through...but there is definitely something sprouting. One little guy kinda looks like lettuce...

Tomato-Uh-Oh

So, my bell pepper plants look awesome!  BUT…my tomato plants not so much.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong – they are in the sun, it’s hot outside, they are getting enough water, but still they are withering.  Is it transplant-shock?  Will they recover?  Will I have to buy new plants and start over???  I’ll try to get some pictures tonight.  I was so looking forward to tomatoes, too!  So sad…

 

Admitting defeat

So, I think my seedlings are a lost cause. I'm not a very attentive plant parent - my peace lily can attest to that. My flower beds are a haphazard mix of whatever can basically grow itself the second year after being planted. So, am I too surprised that I suck at seed-starting? No, not really. I shouldn't have expected any miracles. I walked into the makeshift nursery (our guest room) last night to discover my tiny peppy seedlings looking severly wilted, much like their onion brethren before them. I watered them, but I'm not deluding myself into thinking it will help.
Fortunately, over the weekend and with the help of my friend ML, some more-established veggies plants were added to the garden. A trip to the Farmer's Market yielded several tomato plants (Better Boy, Roma, Cherry, and Beefsteak), peppers (green, yellow, red, and purple(!), and a couple of cucumbers. I stopped at Walmart's gardening department and picked up some onions, zucchini, squash, and canteloupe plants, and into the garden they went. I planted the gourds in the row I had already sowed cucumber seeds - that way in case any of the seeds do decided to sprout, they aren't surrounded by strangers. Also, since I know zucchinis and melons tend to spread and take over, putting them along one side gives me room to expand the plot to that side next year and let them do their thing. The onions went down the center row, to protect the schnauzer puppy from his own curiousity - onions are very dangerous to dogs.
I also covered the entire plot with cedar mulch - I don't know if this is right, but I didn't have anything more natural to mulch with - no untainted grass clippings or straw - so orgaznic cedar mulch will have to work for now.
So, my garden now looks like a real garden instead of just a large patch of dirt. Cross your fingers that some of my little babies bear fruit. I will try seed-starting again next year, with better equipment and a little experience under my belt.

You did what?!?

That was basically the reaction I got last night, when the DH arrived home and discovered our lovely new compost bin nestled next to the deck stairs. The bin, previously home to some give-away clothing I'd stored in the basement, is now half-full of the evening's fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds, and a couple of junk-mail newspapers.
He'll get over it. I think he's amused more than anything about my formerly-closeted Dundee Barbee self rearing it's patchoili-scented head. I'm 3/8 hippie, you know. Hippy-dippy is probably a more accurate description - I meant to take pictures of the whole compost-bin construction process, but alas I could not locate the camera I had used less than 20 minutes prior to this adventure. I took it outside to photograph some flowers blooming in the front yard (at least something is growing!) and now I know that I then carried it into the basement and set it down to pick up the bin. I managed to look everywhere BUT the basement before giving up to prepare for belly dance class. Oh, well.
Composting is a slightly intimidating project, but I honestly think the hardest part will be keeping the schnauzer-dog from peeing on it.

Rain, rain, go away

No sooner than I got my seeds into the ground did the skies open and the rain began.  As of Saturday night, I heard rumors of up to 5 inches of rain already.  Most of the Midwest has been drenched the past few days, with dangerous storms to boot.  

I’m worried that my seeds might have been washed away, but I haven’t ventured out to check yet.  My plan at this point is to replant if necessary and to pick up a few already-established plants at the Farmer’s Market this coming weekend.

 

Into the ground they go...

My office was closed for the afternoon due to the Offutt Air Show rehearsal (we're in the flight path, so it's a safety issue). So I took advantage of the moist soil and warm day to get some seeds into the ground.
Today I planted cucumbers (Burpee Hybrid II), lettuce (a five-variety gourmet blend), and carrots (Little Finger).
The garden soil looked good - I'm thinking that the week since I mixed in the manure and top soil really helped, not to mention all the rain we got this week (and are looking forward to this weekend). I drug my cultivator through the plot to loosen things up, then began making little rows for my seeds. The cucumbers are in the first row on the west-most side of the garden, with two rows of carrots next to them. I put the lettuce up toward the front of the plot for easy access. I marked the rows with small stakes and some yard (a temporary solution).
These three types of seeds took up about half of my plot! Granted it's not too big, but I was initially worried that this project would take up so much time because I had this "huge area" to fill. Fortunately, as I go, it seems smaller and smaller. I'm glad I had the foresight to start small. If this is a hobby I stick with over the years, I can add on as needed.
Once my onion and pepper seedlings get a little bigger and studier, I will transfer them out to the garden. Right now they are in "recovery" in the guest room. I left them with the DH's mother while we were on vacation, and they seemed fine when we got back, but then I had the great idea to set them outside on the deck (since it's so lovely outside)...and they started to look bad...I brought them back in and have been nursing them, but I think I lost a few. Oh well, if they don't make it, I'll just shell out some cash for more established plants that were started by someone who has a clue what they are doing! I was mainly curious to see if the seed-starting could be done at all....
That's right - I said it: I have no idea what I'm doing, really. :) I've planted many flowers, several shrubs, and had some good luck, some bad luck, but mainly just luck - there is no skill involved in my gardening activities. If you're looking for advice, you're in the wrong place - this is just a chronicle of my dirt-covered adventure in edible flora...

On a slightly different note, I also planted some flower seeds. There is a corner of the yard that I un-sodded last year to put in some sort of bush...I can't remember what it was, 'cause it didn't survive - either due to lack of care, bad conditions, or perhaps someone mowed over it and just didn't tell me - it's not longer there. So I have this patch of nothing and adjacent to that, there is a strip of grass along the east side of the yard that has turned yellow. So today I pulled that up, pushed the dirt around a little, and tossed in some butterfly-attracting wildflower seeds from a big can. There are plenty left, so my plan is to continue to pull the grass from along the fence until I can border the entire yard with wildflowers. I will also add some larger plants throughout the border as I have the time and money, but the can of seeds seemed much simpler than planting individual flowers or bulbs. Hopefully they take off before the birds get to them...

Oh sh!t...& my new friend

Last week before we left for our Colorado vacation, I stopped by Menards on my way home from work.  I figured a week away from home was a great time to let some fresh garden soil and compost settle into the garden – better than nothing, right?  So I picked up a few bags of organic garden soil and some Nebraska-produced manure compost and headed home with a new hoe and a new cultivator.  My dear sweet husband, while impressed than I spent a couple of hours in the sun turning over the soil, was not so keen on the idea of paying for poop…

While digging, I came to the realization that flip-flops are not the best footwear for gardening.  Not because I stubbed my toe on the shovel, but because I had a close run-in with my new “friend”, a large brown spider.  Eek!  I just have to remember that he’s there to help – a large well-fed spider is better than a garden plot full of bugs…

 

 

Finally...

My peppers have sprouted. I was starting to get concerned that my little “guest room garden” wasn’t conducive to peppers quite as much as for the onions…I’ve had everything set up under a lamp in the only free room in the house. The seed packages did say that it would take 10-21 days for the seedlings to take off, but after 18-19 days I was starting to get worried! Finally on day 20, we have sproutage. J

Next to see how the poor little things survive my week-long vacation out of state.

In other gardening news, I spent time yesterday between rain showers applying Milky Spore Disease to our yard and garden. This is an organic grub solution – the grubs ingest the spores, get Milky Spore Disease, and die. The spores live on to infect future generations of the Japanese beetle grub. It was probably quite the sight to see – me measuring out teaspoons full of white powder onto my lawn every four feet – at least one neighbor stopped to ask…

Emergence

I’ve got seedlings! I need to get some photos of this…my onion and pepper seeds have begun to sprout. Very soon they’ll need to be moved into a well-lit area, which will leave me room to get some tomatoes started on top of the fridge… Yea! I was kind of worried that my bad house-plant luck would spread to the garden as well… J

Seeds of possibility

Tuesday night I sat down at the kitchen table (well, more like crouched over it) with a bag of seed starting mix, some small containers and a couple packets of seeds and planted my first veggie seeds ever…or at least since 6^th grade, when we grew beans on the windowsill at school. My first 50 containers, now safe and warm on the top of the fridge, hold Vidalia onions and sweet bell peppers. I’ll post pictures when I finally get my camera back from my sister…

The directions on the seed packets weren’t the clearest, so I wasn’t certain as to how many seeds to put in each container. For this first round of seeds, I went with one pepper seed per container, for a total of 20 seeds, and 2 onion seeds per container, for a total of 60. I’m planning on buying more containers tonight, so I can start my tomato seeds as well. If I have enough space, I might toss a few more onions seeds in a couple of pots to see if they grow well in multiples… I’m not exactly sure where all these seedlings will go, as our refrigerator top is full and we don’t have that many more warm spaces available in our little house…

So to recap, first seeds:

Vidalia Onions – planted April 3, 2007

60 seeds

Seedlings will be moved outdoors when they have reached pencil-thickness

“Carnival Mix” Sweet Bell Peppers – planted April 3, 2007

20 seeds

Seedlings should appear in 10-21 days and will be moved outdoors when they have 2 pairs of leaves each.

The Happy Little Garden

I'd been considering a gardening project for some time now. Since I moved to the "big city" (which Omaha is IF you grew up in a town so small it was officially a "village") I've frequented the Saturday morning farmers' market and tried my hand at growing various flowers and the occasional houseplant. But I've never grown my own food, an idea that appeals to me more and more as I read about the sustainable farming movement and local food initiatives. I'm working on convincing the DH that we should also join the local farmers' food coop that sprung up last summer...but for now I'm going to focus on the immediately local area - aka my back yard. And so begins the happy little goddess' Happy Little Garden.