August Tomato Update 2014 and Plans for the Winter Garden

I spent most of yesterday morning pulling up the tomatoes along the driveway.  With the heat, wind and drought this year I didn't get the production off these plants that I had hoped for.  The tomatoes at my community plot also had low production.  We had a total of  23 plants plus 4 cherry tomato varieties between the two locations.  Oh, we had plenty to eat, but I was expecting a mother load from all these plants!

For some reason the 5 plants, plus the 4 cherry tomato plants I have growing in the grove are still doing very well, with no signs of blight.  They reached the top of the 8 foot cages in July, began growing over and towards the navel orange tree which grows behind their bed on the east side.  I will leave these in and continue to feed and water them.  We may still be picking from these 5 plants well into December.  Not sure how long the cherry tomatoes will produce with the sun moving more towards the southwest side of the house, and that may be a problem.  I don't think it will shine on them for more then 4-5 hours.  We will just wait and see what kind of weather we get moving towards fall.  Soon, I will need the raised bed space that these tomatoes are using for my winter garden.

I read on a local garden site that many gardeners had the same problem with their tomatoes; probably due to late season blight.

I did harvest enough tomatoes to freeze 6 quarts of whole, oven roasted tomatoes, some sauce and a few jars of salsa, but that was it.  I still have enough green tomatoes on the counter that will continue to ripen from what I picked off the vines yesterday.

Moving on: I am now planning my winter garden and have started planting in my seed starter trays already this morning. The moon is almost full and a perfect time to start more seeds.

I ordered these seeds from Botanical Interests Seeds, I have a link to their site on the right side of my blog.

I still need to order from Kitazawa Seeds,  I like the Asian greens varieties they have. Plus, they are out of CA which is nice, the order will come quickly.

 Do you save all of your old catalogs?  I do, I actually order online but I love to browse through the pages and I also cut out photos of what I am growing each season and paste them in my journal.  Yes, even though I blog I still keep a garden journal.  I keep it with me when I am out in the beds so I can make notes on what I am planting and what is doing well or not.  Also I am getting old and forgetful so this helps me when checking back from year to year.

Winter Garden Update 2013

Onions amongst the Arugula and Bright Lights Swiss Chard. I removed the Red Winter Kale seedlings that you might be able to see here in the center of the onions, and transplanted to another area so they will have room to mature.  This area is the second planting and is growing leaps and bounds with the rains we are having. Just enough rain to keep the soil wet enough so I won't need to use the sprinklers.

A few of the Red Winter Kale I transplanted on Sunday.

Beets, Early Wonder, Bulls Blood and a Gourmet Blend, all from Botanical Interests Seeds.  I will thin them out to give them room to expand and eat the baby beets with the tops attached.  I just scrub the tiny ones lightly, and eat with the roots and all.

  Third planting of Lacinato Kale and Little Gem Romaine Lettuce.

I think this is Red Velvet, and below is Little Gem Romaine, both organic heirloom seed from Botanical Interest Seeds.  I started these a couple of months ago and put them out on Sunday.

 

Salad Burnet, is ready to pick and some will be in tonight's salad.  This herb grows year round for me, I keep it next to the house on the West side, but it is in the shade which it prefers this far South.  Salad Burnet has a light cucumber-melon flavor and is wonderful added to a vinaigrette dressing or just mixed in with your salad greens. It is lovely added to cucumber tea sandwiches or sprinkled over Cucumber Bisque.  Lucky for us it will still be here when I am growing cucumbers.

Winter Savory growing in my herb garden.  It is much stronger and pungent in flavor than the Summer Savory and holds up well in hearty Bean dishes.  Although the flavor is strong, add it fresh, near the end of cooking. Try adding it to white wine vinegar, it will give it a spicy peppery note.  I add Winter Savory in my bouquet garni when making my vegetable broths.

 

Here is one of several Nasturtium Fiesta Blend patches that cover my front bank. I pick the leaves and flowers when small and tender and add them to our salads.  Many people use the flowers to stuff with cream cheese and herbs.  Both the leaves and flowers have a light peppery taste. I love the leaves tossed with apple cider vinegar and pears as a salad.  In late summer I pick the seeds that will form and when they are green you can pickle them; they will be similar in flavor to caper's.

The Snow Peas and English Peas are blossoming now.  The white blossoms are from the English Peas and the pretty, pale pink blossoms shown in photo below are from the Snow Peas.  I picked a few of the tendrils to add to my Ginger-Honey Roasted Carrots for tonight's dinner.

I didn't plant enough radishes this year, but here are some from the Easter Egg Radish blend from Botanical Interest Seeds.  The one above is large at two inches across. Too big now to enjoy as it will be hot.  I will add it to the vegetable broth pot, along with the green tops. I don't waste the roots either, I just clean them well and add to my soups or chop finely and sprinkle onto salads or use in my vinaigrette's.

Easter Egg Radish and French Breakfast Radish.

I thinned out the Parisienne Carrot's and have just enough for my recipe tonight.

I have at least 5 volunteer tomato plants coming up.  I transplanted a few of these to give them some room as they were all coming up in the lettuce and onion patches. I have no idea if they will make it through the winter months or what variety they are, but that is what gardeners love about a volunteer, the surprise. 

Here are a few Bright Lights Swiss Chard seedlings that I transplanted out on Sunday.

I think this is Arugula Rocket Salad, from Botanical Interest Seed. Most of my markers faded in the sunlight, I will know in a few weeks if it is indeed arugula.

Here is Giant Red Mustard an heirloom from Botanical Interest Seeds, just now showing its colors. This is one I transplanted on Sunday so it is looking a little sad right now. The rain will perk it up and it will grow beyond 2 feet tall if I let it, but I will start picking the leaves in a few weeks. If let to grow too tall they become bitter and tough.

I will leave you with one of many Borage seedlings; annual volunteers that pop up all over my front yard and bank.  They don't enjoy being transplanted so I leave them where they decide to sprout and work around them.  This is what is in store for us in a couple of months Borage Ice Cubes.  The leaves are also edible with a cucumber flavor, and when picked young can be added to sandwiches and salads. But don't harvest when too old or large as the leaves are 'hairy' and get prickly shape.

Hibiscus Flower Tea adorned with Borage Flower Ice Cubes.  The flowers also look lovely floating in light, creamy soups and have a slight cucumber flavor.

Who loves a garden

Finds within his soul

Life's whole;

He hears the anthem of the soil

While ingrates toil;

And sees beyond his little sphere

The waving fronds of heaven clear.

Louise Seymour Jones

Winter Garden 2013

I am late posting photos of my winter garden plantings that took place a couple of weeks ago.  Of course had I taken the pics then there wouldn't be anything in the pictures but soil!  It doesn't look like much right now but when the little guys grow up the plot will be covered in goodies for us to eat all winter.

We are still using the area along the driveway this year and probably next year, since we used the adobe bricks from the raised beds for the labyrinth; I don't have that space to use right now.  This area gets a lot of sun and I can easily work the ground from both sides.  We used one of the tomato cages for the peas and green beans; I think this will work out pretty well and I can always add a tall fence around the cage to give the peas more room to spread and hold onto if need be.  I still have another section (past the kale) to dig up and amend the soil with compost, then I will plant more of the same things but a few weeks later. This way I am not harvesting all at once. Sucession planting!

Snow Peas and Green Beans on the cage, Easter Egg Radishes, French Breakfast Radishes and Round Black Spanish Radish.

Snow Pea shoots, in the back area there are onion seedlings.  I used the seed heads and just sprinkled them along  the parimeter of the row.  I will probably need to separate some of them as they get larger.

In this area we have a french Carrot called Parisienne  from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds that is short variety.  I also planted Cilantro, Parsley and Dill somewhere in the space. LOL

Same area, with Gourmet Baby Greens, Mesclum Sassy Salad Mix, and Arugula.

Lacinato Kale

Chioggia Beets, these are the red and white stripe beets and Gourmet Blend Beets, this mix has golden, orange, dark red and stripe beets.  I will do intermitant planting of all of the beets, onion sets and radishes, watching for areas that I missed and seeds that did not germinate. 

Last seasons Swiss Chard looking sad, but it will now do much better with the cooler nights. Also a section of onion sets in the foreground.  I planted many of these a month or so ago and then more on this day.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard and More of the Red Chard.

Mesclun and Salad Bowl Blend

Pencil Pod Yellow Beans, a bush variety.

A Girl’s Garden

Robert Frost (from Mountain Interval, 1920)

A neighbor of mine in the village

    Likes to tell how one spring

When she was a girl on the farm, she did

    A childlike thing.

One day she asked her father

    To give her a garden plot

To plant and tend and reap herself,

    And he said, “Why not?”

In casting about for a corner

    He thought of an idle bit

Of walled-off ground where a shop had stood,

    And he said, “Just it.”

And he said, “That ought to make you

    An ideal one-girl farm,

And give you a chance to put some strength

    On your slim-jim arm.”

It was not enough of a garden,

    Her father said, to plough;

So she had to work it all by hand,

    But she don’t mind now.

She wheeled the dung in the wheelbarrow

    Along a stretch of road;

But she always ran away and left

    Her not-nice load.

And hid from anyone passing.

    And then she begged the seed.

She says she thinks she planted one

    Of all things but weed.

A hill each of potatoes,

    Radishes, lettuce, peas,

Tomatoes, beets, beans, pumpkins, corn,

    And even fruit trees

 And yes, she has long mistrusted

    That a cider apple tree

In bearing there to-day is hers,

    Or at least may be.

Her crop was a miscellany

    When all was said and done,

A little bit of everything,

    A great deal of none.

Now when she sees in the village

    How village things go,

Just when it seems to come in right,

    She says, “I know!

It’s as when I was a farmer——”

    Oh, never by way of advice!

And she never sins by telling the tale

    To the same person twice.

The Seeds Are Here!

Botanical Interests

I received my two seed orders on Friday. I had just placed the order on Monday and I was surprised to see both orders in my mailbox.  If you click on my photos it will be enlarged and you will be able to read the names on the seed packages.

I know I don't have to tell all you gardeners out there how excited I get when my orders arrive, but just in case you are not a gardener and are reading my blog think of it like a long awaited Christmas gift or maybe a shopping spree at your favorite shoe or clothing store. That is how excited I get!

I read each package and then stare at the picture (if there is one) dreaming about the plant growing in my flower or vegetable garden.  I make notes on when I will plant it and where it will go. These are the first steps I take each year when planning my gardens. I envision the flower blooming in my "minds eye garden" and what plants will be planted around it.

 

 

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (the Black Radish in the back is actually from Botanical Interests)

Tomorrow I will begin potting up the seeds. Some of these will be direct sowed in the garden when the planting time is right,  but all the tomato seeds will be started indoors and I will also pot up the Mexican Sunflower seeds.  We generally do not get freezing temperatures in our area and if we do it will only be a day or two so I will probably be planting many of the flower seeds and of course the radish seeds directly in the ground this week. If you check back on my past posts you will see that we are harvesting radishes, and a few other greens now.  I also will be making up my annual spreadsheet of the tomatoes I will plant and post it here when I get them planted out in the garden; that should be in mid March.

A nice rain has been falling all day today. I here my plants singing out....

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn

Garden Update Lots of Pictures!

Easter Egg Blend Radishes

It has been a couple of months since my last update.  After our battle with the raccoons and then replanting the beds three times, it took a while for the vegetable garden to produce. We have been harvesting lettuces, green onions, kale, pea pods and swiss chard the last few weeks.  I will post a lot of pictures to keep my blog up to date on the growth and varieties we planted. All the seeds I used in the garden are from Botanical Interest Seeds.

Bed One

Bed Two

Bed Three has Purple & White Vienna Blend Kohlrabi, American Purple Top Rutabaga, Sugar Snap Peas, and Spinach

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Red Sails and Tango Leaf Lettuce, and a few Cilantro Plants

Easter Egg Blend Radishes (I picked some earlier)  and Gourmet Blend Beets.  Spring Onion Seeds I saved from last year. These I tossed around in all the beds.

Early Wonder Beets

Q's Special Medley Mesclun Lettuce

Oak Leaf Lettuce

Mache Corn Salad Greens

Kale Italian Lacinato (Nero Toscana)

Brussels Sprouts Long Island Improved Heirloom

these are just about ready to pick

start at the bottom and move upward when picking. The plant continues to grow taller and taller forming new sprouts at each leaf joint.

Kohlrabi Purple and White Vienna Blend

Kohlrabi Purple & White Vienna Blend

Sugar Snap Peas

I also planted Bok Choy and onion sets along with some garlic which I didn't get a picture of.  They are just coming in so I will update that later.

I purchased as many organic seeds from Botanical Interests as I could this year.  I think this spring I will add more seed from Baker Creek and Seeds of Change.  I have used Seeds of Change a few times now for my tomato seeds and have been very happy with them. But I do love Botanical Interest and will always buy the majority of my seeds from them.

We are off to a great start in the winter garden, now that the raccoons are gone. Oh, I forgot to mention; my neighbor caught 8 raccoons and relocated them somewhere.  So far I have not had any more damage to the beds.

I will continue to plant consecutively so we can harvest throughout the growing season, which will end for me around early May. I will need to use some of the beds for tomato plants as I generally get those in around March or April.  Last March we had a hail storm late in the month so I may hold off on the tomatoes until April this year; that will give me a couple more months of winter vegetable planting.

I have already started to pull tomato seeds to plant in pots that I had saved from some of my plants last year.  I will get those going this month.  I also need to get started on replanting the herb garden. I generally do this about every two years and put in some new plants to replace those that may have become overgrown or woody.  The marjoram is due this year. I may just move it as it has the most intoxicating aroma and I love to make wreaths out of the longer stems. Hang one on your garden gate; all those that enter will ask "what is that lovely smell?"

I will end with a couple photos of our Aloe plant that is in full bloom now.

These tower about 6 to 7 feet tall.

You may just get a fleeting glimpse
of golden wings or faint footprints
For gardens whether large or small
Are not quite what they seem at all.

Happy Gardening!