RACCOONS FREE TO A GOOD HOME

 

FUN LOVING, CAREFREE, LOVES TO PLAY IN THE DIRT, WILL TRAVEL FOR FUN, LIKES VEGGIE GARDENS, COMPOST PILES AND FLOWER POTS. THEY LIKE TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK IN THE TREES, REQUIRES NO TRAINING AND WILL FORAGE FOR THEIR OWN FOOD. MAKES NO NOISE AND WILL NOT BE SEEN OFTEN.

PLEASE CALL 1-800-getraccoons

The Attack of the Killer Raccoons on My Raised Beds

Bed # 2

I had planned on working on the herb garden but looks like Mother Nature had something else in store for me today.

Last night raccoons got over the fencing and dug up almost all of my seedlings in two of the raised beds. This is the first time in 7 years that I have had something get in the raised beds; I thought the fence was high enough to keep them out but obviously not this year. I think it must have been the raccoons or maybe oppossums; they are probably looking for grub worms.

I will take this as a positive intervention and hope that if they had not eaten the grub worms that the worms would have destroyed my plants at a later date, which would have been worse than now since it is still plenty early to replant the seeds. I will cover the beds with some chicken wire and hope that they don't bring the entire family and lift it off! I should have time to harvest goodies for the Thanksgiving table if I can keep them out from now on.

My cat Cookie was sitting in the window most of last night looking at something in the dark. I guess we now know what was going on. I think of times like this as little “Cat Movies”. You know how humans might watch a demolition derby; well I guess this is their version. I wonder what was going through her mind when she was watching them…probably laughing inside thinking “boy will Carla be bummed when she sees what they did to her garden!”

Bed # 3

Close-up Bed # 2

Winter Garden 2011 "We Have Sprouts"

We planted the 3 raised beds last Saturday, September 17th with our winter crops.  We already have lots of goodies sprouting.

Bed Number One

 In this bed, I have planted 2 rows of Bright Lights Swiss Chard from (Botanical Interests) which I started a few months back so I would have a head start on this green, which I love!  Also planted in this bed is 7 rows of Organic Early Wonder Beets and 3 rows of Organic Lacinato or Dino Kale. I will plant more Kale on my east bank next week as I will need a lot more than 3 short rows. We eat a lot of greens, just about everyday.

Bed Number Two

In this bed I have all my lettuces. I have planted 2 rows each of Mesclun, Asian Salad, Rocket Arugula, Farmer's Market Blend of Mesclun, Mache, Leaf Lettuce, Red Sails Lettuce, Oak Leaf Lettuce and 2 rows of Bright Lights Swiss Chard; same as in my first bed but I planted seeds here. All the seeds in this bed are from Botanical Interests.  

Already lots of little sprouts are showing their faces, as if to say "Here we are ready to help you have a healthy heart"

 

Bed Number Three

 In the third bed I have planted 4 rows of Snow Peas, 3 rows of Heirloom Kohlrabi 3 rows of Heirloom Rutabaga and 3 rows of Organic Tyee Spinach.  

I still need to plant a package of Easter Egg Blend Radishes, Watercress, Sorrel and more Cilantro. We were lucky this summer to have cooler than normal temperatures and my Parsley is still growing; only a few have sent up seed heads so I may get by without having to plant more seeds. I have seen a few sprouts popping up amongst the stone pathway that leads to the herb garden so I think I will have plenty for winter.

I also purchased a pony pack of Brussels Sprouts and will plant these six on the east bank as soon as the San Marzano tomatoes are finished. I am still picking tomatoes from these plants even though our temperatures have dropped to the high 50's at night. If you only plant one tomato, make it a San Marzano . You will not be disappointed!  Take a look at a few of my tomato sauce jars I canned this year. I also canned my own juice.

San Marzano Tomato Sauce

 Juice ready for the jars!

Peppers picked today and ready for roasting

Pink Grapefruit

Yellow Grapefruit

Lemon Tree

We are picking lots of Pink Grapefruit, Yellow Grapefruit and Lemons now, too. Oh, I forgot I made Preserved Lemons.  You can find out how to do this by visiting Emelie Tolley's Blog.  She is the author of two of the herb books you see on my blog photo.

Try to remember the kind of September ...
when life was slow and oh, so mellow. ...

Enjoy your final September Days!

September 2011 Tomato Update

This morning I picked the last of the tomatoes in the raised beds.  There were still a few on the vines but I need to get my winter beds planted so I will pull them out today.  I still have San Marzano, Green Zebra and Dr. Lyles Pink Beefsteak growing along the driveway and these we are picking daily.  The vines are taking over and are loaded with fruit, I planted this group in mid June.

 Dr. Wyche's yellow on a six inch plate.

If you would like to see a list of what I planted this year click HERE.

This group was planted in raised beds:

Abraham Lincoln: grew very well, no signs of disease, medium size tomato with heavy harvest. I would recommend this one. Early tomato.

Cherokee Purple: Winner all around. Large fruit, slightly sweet, beautiful color. My husbands favorite! Must repeat this one next year.

German Queen: Very large fruit, great flavor, would grow again.

Isle Candy: Super Sweet yellow cherry tomato. I loved this one! Give it lots of room to grow. Must repeat next year.

Mr. Underwood's Pink Beefsteak: Huge tomato! Beautiful color and flavor. A must for next year.

Old German (yellow): slow to ripen, medium size tomato, pretty red veins, tart flavor. I liked this one and may grow again next year but will put it in a cage. I grew this one under an orange tree and the vines climbed high into the tree. It needs space.

Persimmon: Beautiful yellow/orange, medium to large tomato. Much like a beefsteak inside. Wonderful flavor, slightly sweet. Will grow next year.

San Marzano: Heavy producer. Easy to pick, almost too easy, they tend to fall into your hand when you move them. A MUST FOR NEXT YEAR!  The only plum type tomato I will grow. (Also growing along driveway).

Wisconsin 55: This is a smaller salad size tomato. Heavy producer, no diseases, would grow again.

Yellow Pear Cherry: No name on this one, but a heavy producer as with most pear tomatoes. I will save seeds from this one to grow next year.

Zapotec Pink: No! Just did not give me enough tomatoes. The ones I did get were good, but with my limited space, I would not repeat this one.

Red Zebra: A real winner, I loved the flavor. This one is a smaller tomato, nice tart flavor pretty striped skin but the flesh is red and not striped like the skin. I will grow again. Early producer.

Balls Beefsteak: Another huge tomato. Winner all around. Late harvest is the only drawback. You need to wait for this one, but you will be rewarded for your patience!

This group was planted on the bank by the driveway in June.

Dr. Lyle's Beefsteak: Huge tomato, very meaty. This was one I was not sure if I planted or not, but found the tag when harvesting. A must for next year. Very vigorous growth. Give it lots of room and a tall large wood cage. The small cages will not support these vines.

Dr. Wyche's Yellow:  Huge size yellow tomato, nice for slicing. Would grow again.

Green Zebra: One of my all time favorites. Tangy, green stripe skin, lemon green color when sliced. Looks pretty with red and yellow tomato slices in a Caprese salad. A must for next year.

San Marzano and Mr. Underwood Pink Beefsteak growing here too.

Review
My tomatoes this year exceeded my expectations!I have canned and froze more than we will need for the winter. I am already planning for next year.

Front Row: L-R Cherokee Purple, Red Zebra, Balls Beefsteak. Second Row: Mr. Underwood's Pink, Dr. Wyche's Yellow, Wisconsin 55.  Back Section: Persimmon, Old German, more Wisconsin 55, and Red and Green Zebra's

Red Zebra in front, San Marzano (plum tomato), Persimmon and Old German

Persimmon and Old German (yellow)

Yellow Pear

Everybody in the mix

more in the mix

Cherokee Purple, Mr. Underwood in front;  Zapotec Pink  in the back, Yellow Pear on right, small yellow is Persimmon.

San Marzano!



San Diego Iris Sale This Sunday Sept 11th

I thought I would post the link for the San Diego Iris Society Rhizome sale that will be held in Balboa Park this Sunday. I know I will be going!

Click here San Diego Iris Soiety Sale

Misty Morning Breakfast with Spider Webs



I ate breakfast on my patio this morning, the air was so cool and damp for a late August.  As I walked around to the front of the house I noticed a huge spider web reaching from the citrus trees to the hollyhock stock. 

Then I looked up at the Black Pine tree and noticed this...



Each branch had a patch of web, they glistened in the mist.  It feels a lot like Autumn already and yet it is only the middle of August. Strange weather this year.



The Spider And The Fly

"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider

to the fly; but the cunning little insect only winked

the other eye and he knowingly retorted in a buzz so

low and sweet: "Well, not upon your half-tone, I

have learned to watch my feet. I have a load of

small-pox on my silken little wings, my legs are lined

with typhus germs and other deadly things. I am

taking some bacilli to a house across the way and you

must not try to stop me, for I have no time to play."

Once more the spider pleaded in accents soft

and low: "Won't you step into my parlor and rest be-

fore you go ? My web is lined with gossamer of tex-

ture fine and rare and you'll find some lovely

microbes if you will enter there. I have a nice collec-

tion I am saving just for you, and I want to seal our

friendship with a B. Coli or two."

"With all my heart," replied the fly and straight-

way walked inside and the spider got his dinner and

was fully satisfied.

by Albert Stroud 1917

Joining The Grimy Hands Girls' Club

To learn more about Sharon Lovejoy and The Grimy Hands Girls' Club check out her blog at Sharon Lovejoy

Today's Harvest

Just a few photos to keep my blog updated on this years harvest times.  Today I picked a few more yellow beans, lots of yellow pear tomatoes, a few more Isle Candy yellow cherry tomatoes, lots of zucchini (again).  My second purple bell pepper and two green bells. A few more yellow crookneck and a patty pan squash. Lots more tomatoes but I had already put most of those on the table so they are not in this picture.  The beautiful yellow tomato is the Persimmon tomato, an heirloom I grew for the first time this year. I love the flavor and it is producing very large fruit.

A bowl of San Marzano tomatoes that I roasted today. These I will freeze for pasta sauce in the winter. I put garlic and olive oil on them before roasting and will add fresh basil to each bag before I freeze it.

So far only four Poblano's have come in. They are good size though so I am happy. I hope to get more!

I roasted these with the tomatoes at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. The peels slip right off after letting them set under plastic wrap.  I will freeze these for stuffed poblano's in the fall and winter.

I also made some Dill Pickles today.  The cucumbers are doing fantastic this year, must be from the cooler weather we had.  This week is heating up so we will see how long they last.



Tomato Update, Tomato Addiction, Cucumbers, Summer Squash and Beans too



I am convinced that I have a tomato addiction! With so many heirloom varieties to choose from it is easy to get an addiction to these beauties!



I am already planning next years tomato selections. I will repeat Red Zebra, Cherokee Purple and Isle Candy, though.



The last few days have been busy for me picking tomatoes!  I have picked the San Marzano Tomatoes many times now. I like roasting them and making chunky or smooth sauce for the winter. I froze the sauce again this year in jars; so much easier than heating up the kitchen when canning. I also made 4 pint jars of salsa, I love to bring that out in January and taste the flavors of summer when I am missing my tomatoes and going through withdrawals!.

I am really happy with the Red Zebra tomatoes I am growing this year, last year I only had the Green Zebras, ;which I have I planted but are a little late in ripening as I planted those late in June and with the cooler summer we are having I am not sure that they will do that well.  I have plenty on the vines, but it has been so cool this month they are taking a while to ripen. We are forecast for temperatures down to 59 degrees this week; that is just crazy for August it should be in the high 90's to over 100 now and with much warmer nights.

Heirloom Yellow Pear and Isle Candy, a really sweet yellow cherry tomato.

My cucumbers on the other hand are doing really well this year. I do not have mildew on any of the leaves and the plants are loaded with blossoms.  The bees were busy working the flowers this morning when I was looking for some to pick. I found a few and will make a jar of pickles with these.  I should be getting a bunch in the next week or two as I saw lots of small ones forming.  I can't wait to have these pickles for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. So often my vines get mildew or just get too hot and shrivel up before they produce, I am grateful for the cooler weather we have for these.  And I do have a lot of tomatoes so I can't complain, it has been a good growing season so far.


Organic Bush Bean Pencil Pod and Pickling Cucumbers

I planted Bean Bush Pencil Pod Organic Heirlooms from Botanical Interests this year and have only picked a few handfuls in the last week. The flavor is great and the plants are very healthy. They will do better once we get a few weeks of warmer weather though.

Add caption

A few of the summer squash I planted this year, Cocozelle, an heirloom organic zucchini (the ones with the stripes), a Black Beauty zucchini (in the middle), Scallop Patty Pan Blend, so far I have only had white and I should have light green and yellow in the Patty Pan.  And yellow Crookneck squash. All doing fantastic.
Picking lots of basil, tarragon, sage and thyme.  I am still picking parsley with the cooler weather too so that is nice. I will be making Basil Pesto tonight and will also be making a sage and a tarragon pesto. I use walnuts of the sage pesto and pecans for the tarragon.  It is fun to play around with different herbs and nuts to create pesto's. I have also used hazelnuts for the tarragon, but pine nuts will work for all of them. Try using sage, blue cheese and walnuts, you will love this flavor together and it is fantastic on pork and beef. Think Prime Rib!

Adirondack Blue I Do Love You!

This is the second year that I have grown the Adirondack Blue Potato.  Believe it or not I grow these under one of our orange trees.  I keep them planted on the outer edges so the trees do not get too much water.  They do very well and the trees have not suffered at all.

I am not sure what variety the red is. I just remember planting a potato from a batch that had started to sprout and these are what we have. 

I am thinking tonight I will make this Red Potato Salad only I will combine the two colors.  And omit the bacon since I am trying to keep the fat low in my meals.

Happy Gardening!

Here They Come Again! Tomato Time and Update

I like to keep my blog updated with my tomato harvesting and information on each of the ones that I chose from year to year.  This year they seem to be coming in a little later than last year. We have had a much cooler spring and July has been cooler than normal too. This week we are heating up and I am happy to say I am picking tomatoes!

Here is my harvest today

 Cocozelle Zucchini (organic seed), San Marzano Tomato Pole (organic seed), Broad leaf Sage (organic seed), Basil Napoletano, German Chamomile (organic seed), Dill, Summer Early Yellow Crookneck Squash, all from Botanical Interests.  Green bunching onions from seeds I planted last fall. Yellow Pear Tomato which does not have a name on it so can't say which one it is. Red Zebra and Cherokee Purple Tomato from Seeds of Change (both grown from seed).

Bed One

  

Bed Two

Bed Three



Coriander/Cilantro Seeds

Our summers are too hot to grow Cilantro but I always let one plant from the Spring form seed heads for Coriander and to have more seed for Cilantro to grow in the fall through spring months. 

The small plant at the end of this bed is a Poha Plant. Easily grown from seed or cuttings. It has delicious fruit that I just eat from the hand but you can use it to make jam.  Also known as Cape Gooseberry. 

Poha Plant



This year we pulled out the ground cover along the driveway and dug a long two foot wide trough and lined it with chicken wire (to keep the gophers out) then filled with rich compost and amendments.  This is the result.  Lush tomatoes and huge summer squash plants. Tomatoes in this bed are Cherry Rainbow Mix from Botanical Interests.  Dr. Wyche's Tomato, German Queen Tomato (rare), and Green Zebra.

Same bed only a close up view.

Here we have one of two Eggplants and one of several Orange Watermelon plants.  I got the seed for these from a neighbor that brought us one of these melons they grew last year.  It had to be one of the best watermelons I have ever had and very pretty.  I will find out the name and add it later.

Our first Artichoke Plant was planted in June!

Straight Eight Cucumber from Ferry -Morse, looking very good this year. Keeping my fingers crossed that they do not get mildew. I purposely planted them late to avoid the May and June foggy months. I also have Japanese Soyu Burpless Cucumbers planted in this bed along the driveway.

Just a few of our Pepper Plants. These are planted by some Penstemon plants and are still small.  We are growing Ancho/Poblano, Pimiento sweet pepper, Carnival Mix Bells and New Mexico pepper.  A few green Bells and a Jalapeno.

Borage Seed coming up again.



Zapotec Pink Ribbon Tomato

Cherokee Purple

  

Persimmon, a Yellow Orange determinate heirloom tomato.  Plant is loaded with fruit.



San Marzano Pole Tomato

  

Cocozelle Organic Zucchini (from seed)


This plant is doing fantastic in the new bed along the driveway. I pick 3 to 4 squash a day now. In back, to the left a bit is the Summer Early Yellow Crookneck. This one is just beginning to produce now. Many of them are showing up straighter than I would expect; must be because I planted them so close to the zucchini.

I didn't get a chance to photograph the summer squash plants in the back and the beans. The beans are doing well.  After putting down the mulch they seemed to have grown a food.  I planted Bush French Filet and Bush Pencil Pod Yellow both from Botanical Interests.

This is what my husband and I did last weekend.  10 cubic yards of compost for the flower beds and around the citrus trees.  Hopefully this will keep the weeds down for a few weeks.

Well that is it for now.  Hoping you are all having wonderful success with your tomatoes, etc this year!

Day's End

The twilight comes to cool the. air,

The shadows lengthen on the sod,

Soft breezes blow the garden through,

The leaves and blossoms sway and nod.

On garden path, in sheltering hedge,

In treetops dark and cloudless sky,

The evening birds awake to life,

To stir; to sing and upward fly.

And flowers, warm with summer heat,

Expand to greet the softened light

And shed, to show their gratitude,

A fragrance in the summer night.

Now all is peace. From meadows near

A cooling mist blows o'er the wall

And strangely lonesome in the night

There comes the thrush's silvery call.

-EDWIN W. PROCTOR