Pulled up deer tongue lettuce today. I hated to do it – it’s a lovely variety, and has fed us through the winter. But it’s time – wanted to catch it before it bolted. In keeping with my goal of year-round gardening, I mixed in some compost from the worm bin, and replanted with pole beans (“eye” side up, as I’ve recently learned). Although a storm is coming, I think it’ll be warm enough to get them going. Also transplanted quite a few things from the starting "plugs" to 2” and 3” pots. They were looking pretty sad, so I hope they make it. Not sure what happened this time – last time it worked so well! Ah, well, can’t expect things to always be so easy.
Had to add another tray to the worm bin today. They haven't looked "right" lately, and DH laughed, when I told him I'd figured out what was wrong with them -- they need more fiber in their diets. But it's true -- since we've basically given up coffee, I've only been giving them veggie trimmings, plus the odd tea bag -- and it's not a balanced diet! So I started a new tray, using a layer of veggie trimmings, paper from the shredder, a healthy layer of leaves and a layer of moistened newspaper. I'm a little concerned about the shredded paper, though -- when I mixed it with water, the water turned a lovely shade of blue. I rinsed it out as best I could -- I'm hoping it won't hurt them. Guess I'll know pretty soon...
I'm very pleased to be able to eat wheat again. For a time, it seemed to cause all kinds of problems. But, after giving up coffee, I can now eat wheat. Been making bread using Peter Reinhart's method -- soaker & biga prepared 3 days ahead & refrigerated -- which seems to make it even easier for my system to handle. In fact, I've been so pleased that I've shared the information with a friend who also has difficulty with wheat (or maybe gluten -- he's not sure). I'm really hoping this will help -- it'd certainly make it easier for him & his family!!
I'm really pleased with the way we're eating these days -- not only is it healthier, it's MUCH cheaper!! I buy most things in bulk, including wheat, oats, beans, etc., and we grow more of our own produce than I'd have believed possible!! Tonight, for example, we had a salad made of mostly homegrown greens, embellished with homegrown carrots & beets, and storebought peppers & tomatoes. Slices of homemade multigrain bread, augmented with a little animal protein (which we're in the process of getting away from again) to round out the meal. Right now, we have about a dozen baby tomatoes on various vines. There's another big storm coming in (this has been an unsually wet and cold April), which I'm hoping won't hurt them.
10/16/10
It didn't, as it turned out. It wasn't an exceptional year for tomatoes, but we did enjoy them from mid-May until mid-October, so I feel pretty good about that!!
Read more!
Showing posts with label Year-Round Gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Year-Round Gardening. Show all posts
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Living and Learning...
Interesting adventure, this year-round gardening thing. Planted some greens, carrots, beets & other stuff about a month ago. Carefully picked a mix of warm weather greens, spaced the seeds just so, kept them watered -- and then noticed that the cat has been enjoying those formerly nice, neat rows, too.
Although I'm not happy with losing most of what I planted, I really can't blame him. If I had to do my important business in this slab of concrete pretending to be dirt, I'd pick the nice neat rows, too.
So it's a bit of a setback, but it's caused me to expand my approach. From here on, I'll start what I can indoors (he doesn't seem to bother the little seedlings, once I set them out), and arrange an inconvenient spot (for him) to plant the rest. A friend told me about upending 5-gallon buckets, setting an old door or shelving on top, then putting a kiddie pool or two on top of that. You have to drill holes in the pool, of course, and I think I'd probably throw plastic over the door or whatever, so it'll be likely to last a little longer. My friend's growing potatoes in hers, but I think I'll stick to carrots, beets & other stuff that doesn't transplant well. (I'll probably throw some chicken wire over, to make clear to His Highness that this is not the perfect kitty box.)
Planted cucumbers and beans today. Planted some a couple of weeks ago, then we got a cold & rainy spell, so I lost what little did come up. Now I understand a little better the frustrations & joys of my farmer friends... I realized, after I planted the cucumber seeds, that I'd planted most of them in the shade of the little fence I want them to climb -- not sure how many will actually come up...
10/16/10
Very few, as it turned out. Well, they might've come up, but I never saw 'em. It was a bad year, earwigs-wise, I was told. In any case, not a single cucumber -- nor even so much as a bean -- did we harvest. So I ended up buying all of the cucumbers I needed for our winter's supply of sweet pickle relish (for DH's "Thousands of Islands" dressing) at my two favorite roadside stands, and my sister provided us with beans from her garden. Oh, well -- we had a great crop of spaghetti squash...
On the positive side, two of our tomatoes are setting fruit already!!! Read more!
Although I'm not happy with losing most of what I planted, I really can't blame him. If I had to do my important business in this slab of concrete pretending to be dirt, I'd pick the nice neat rows, too.
So it's a bit of a setback, but it's caused me to expand my approach. From here on, I'll start what I can indoors (he doesn't seem to bother the little seedlings, once I set them out), and arrange an inconvenient spot (for him) to plant the rest. A friend told me about upending 5-gallon buckets, setting an old door or shelving on top, then putting a kiddie pool or two on top of that. You have to drill holes in the pool, of course, and I think I'd probably throw plastic over the door or whatever, so it'll be likely to last a little longer. My friend's growing potatoes in hers, but I think I'll stick to carrots, beets & other stuff that doesn't transplant well. (I'll probably throw some chicken wire over, to make clear to His Highness that this is not the perfect kitty box.)
Planted cucumbers and beans today. Planted some a couple of weeks ago, then we got a cold & rainy spell, so I lost what little did come up. Now I understand a little better the frustrations & joys of my farmer friends... I realized, after I planted the cucumber seeds, that I'd planted most of them in the shade of the little fence I want them to climb -- not sure how many will actually come up...
10/16/10
Very few, as it turned out. Well, they might've come up, but I never saw 'em. It was a bad year, earwigs-wise, I was told. In any case, not a single cucumber -- nor even so much as a bean -- did we harvest. So I ended up buying all of the cucumbers I needed for our winter's supply of sweet pickle relish (for DH's "Thousands of Islands" dressing) at my two favorite roadside stands, and my sister provided us with beans from her garden. Oh, well -- we had a great crop of spaghetti squash...
On the positive side, two of our tomatoes are setting fruit already!!! Read more!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Tomatoes, Peppers, and Die-hard Redbor Kale!
Huge storms headed our way, so we spent the weekend frantically getting our cold frames set up, and the transplants settled into it. We made it -- barely. By the time I was finished watering, I was soaked, too. Most of the transplants went into the cold frame, and the rest into the greenhouse. I want to see which ones are likely to do best, where...
That's part of what I'm trying to accomplish -- to learn which plants do best under what conditions. I planted several cool weather things last weekend, and noticed today that a single Redbor Kale plant has pushed its little cotelydons up into the (greenhouse) world. The sight of that tiny purple stalk gave me such a thrill, I had to restrain myself from dashing in to order more seeds!! I planted the last 2 seeds as part of last weekend's efforts, and was pleasantly surprised when this one made its appearance today. I planted most of the packet last Fall, but it must have been the wrong time -- not one plant came up. Or maybe something ate them as they emerged, before I saw them. In any case, I was glad to see this little one!
Planted several kinds of tomatoes and peppers in our new Bio Dome starter today. Put the heat mat under them, to really get them going. It's a bit early for the tomatoes, but I want to try growing them in the greenhouse. One of my goals is to see if we can harvest tomatoes, and possibly peppers, for much of the year.
10/16/10
The tomatoes and peppers came zooming into the world, and we ended up enjoying them weeks earlier than would otherwise have been possible. I will definitely do that again this year!!
And who would've believed it -- that redbor kale is still going strong!! It sort of hung on, until we moved the planter it was in out of the greenhouse. Turns out the greenhouse didn't get enough light where we had it. So we moved it in early spring, and because the plants looked ok (maybe a little stunted), we left them. They sort of hunkered down & didn't do much over the summer, but now that it's starting to cool off again, they're going to town!!
Read more!
That's part of what I'm trying to accomplish -- to learn which plants do best under what conditions. I planted several cool weather things last weekend, and noticed today that a single Redbor Kale plant has pushed its little cotelydons up into the (greenhouse) world. The sight of that tiny purple stalk gave me such a thrill, I had to restrain myself from dashing in to order more seeds!! I planted the last 2 seeds as part of last weekend's efforts, and was pleasantly surprised when this one made its appearance today. I planted most of the packet last Fall, but it must have been the wrong time -- not one plant came up. Or maybe something ate them as they emerged, before I saw them. In any case, I was glad to see this little one!
Planted several kinds of tomatoes and peppers in our new Bio Dome starter today. Put the heat mat under them, to really get them going. It's a bit early for the tomatoes, but I want to try growing them in the greenhouse. One of my goals is to see if we can harvest tomatoes, and possibly peppers, for much of the year.
10/16/10
The tomatoes and peppers came zooming into the world, and we ended up enjoying them weeks earlier than would otherwise have been possible. I will definitely do that again this year!!
And who would've believed it -- that redbor kale is still going strong!! It sort of hung on, until we moved the planter it was in out of the greenhouse. Turns out the greenhouse didn't get enough light where we had it. So we moved it in early spring, and because the plants looked ok (maybe a little stunted), we left them. They sort of hunkered down & didn't do much over the summer, but now that it's starting to cool off again, they're going to town!!
Read more!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Time (in a Greenhouse)
The concept of time, in its various guises, seems to be a theme lately. Everything, from the hours it takes for the sun to glide across the garden in the backyard, feeding the leaves that feed the plants that will, in turn, feed us, to the days between nestling a seed into the earth and the reward of seeing its tiny cotilydons pushing up toward the light, to the months of infinitesimal increases (or decreases) in the temperature of the soil, is inextricably linked to the passage of time.
And yet, Einstein proved that time is not linear. I can't help thinking about our forebears, and it wasn't all that long ago, to whom the concept of "ownership" of time would have been completely foreign. They were at the mercy of time -- or, rather, someone else's concept of it. Whoever owned the clock, owned time.
Even now, in our cyber world, for all our understanding of it, we are completely and utterly unable to have any impact on it. Except, maybe, in a greenhouse. Actually, we can't really have any impact upon time -- but, by making slight changes to the environment, we can definitely have a very real impact on the length of the time we can grow various things each year. In fact, we can actually produce things to eat, in our own backyards, all year. That, it seems to me, is the purpose of a greenhouse. It can, of course, be used for starting plants earlier than would otherwise be possible. But the real value, for my money, lies in the possibility of extending the time that tomatoes, say, can be grown at home. And in improving the quality of the produce we enjoy.
So we experimented with a greenhouse. It didn't, ultimately, work out very well -- but only because the only part of the yard we could put it in at the time didn't get enough sunlight to support plant life. Still, I consider the experiment a success, in that we learned a great deal in the process, and it helped us along on the journey toward growing our own food.
10/16/10
We've moved the greenhouse (all 4 x 6 of it!!) to the garden. It now resides on a raised bed DH built for it. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do with it, now that it's in a place that gets adequate light!!
Read more!
And yet, Einstein proved that time is not linear. I can't help thinking about our forebears, and it wasn't all that long ago, to whom the concept of "ownership" of time would have been completely foreign. They were at the mercy of time -- or, rather, someone else's concept of it. Whoever owned the clock, owned time.
Even now, in our cyber world, for all our understanding of it, we are completely and utterly unable to have any impact on it. Except, maybe, in a greenhouse. Actually, we can't really have any impact upon time -- but, by making slight changes to the environment, we can definitely have a very real impact on the length of the time we can grow various things each year. In fact, we can actually produce things to eat, in our own backyards, all year. That, it seems to me, is the purpose of a greenhouse. It can, of course, be used for starting plants earlier than would otherwise be possible. But the real value, for my money, lies in the possibility of extending the time that tomatoes, say, can be grown at home. And in improving the quality of the produce we enjoy.
So we experimented with a greenhouse. It didn't, ultimately, work out very well -- but only because the only part of the yard we could put it in at the time didn't get enough sunlight to support plant life. Still, I consider the experiment a success, in that we learned a great deal in the process, and it helped us along on the journey toward growing our own food.
10/16/10
We've moved the greenhouse (all 4 x 6 of it!!) to the garden. It now resides on a raised bed DH built for it. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do with it, now that it's in a place that gets adequate light!!
Read more!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Surrounded by Life
I suddenly find myself surrounded by a surprising amount of life: A flat of seedlings reaching their tiny cotyledons up to a grow light in the garage, a tray of red wigglers busily making compost in the laundry room, what Laurel Robertson calls “yeast beasties”, frantically transforming freshly ground flour, honey and water into the Staff of Life that sustains…
And what sustenance it is! Following Peter Reinhart’s “Power Bread” recipe, which, though it takes three days to complete, is pretty easy, yielded the best bread I’ve ever made. It’s a lovely combination of whole wheat (I use freshly ground white wheat -- still a whole grain, but lighter in flavor and texture than the traditional hard red) with the sweetness of raisins and honey, and the earthy notes of sunflower and sesame seeds. Although it's quite sweet, it doesn't seem to cause blood sugar issues -- thanks to the combination of proteins in the grain and seeds. And, because the enzymes are given time to do their work over the 3-day process, and the sunflower seeds are ground, it's very easy to digest. I have been on a quest for the perfect bread recipe for some time, and this just might be it -- it has certainly become my new favorite bread recipe...
And the greens and baby carrots we bring in from the garden are vibrant with life. How fortunate we feel, enjoying a fresh salad popping out of the bowl with color -- in the dead of winter! And all it took was a bit of effort last Fall. As Eliot Coleman points out in his wonderful "Four-Season Harvest" book, plant selection, plus timing, really can equal a year-round harvest of fresh food that makes the flavorless (and expensive) produce on the grocery store shelves at this time of year even less appealing. And I can't help but think of all the phytonutrients we're getting -- probably some they haven't even discovered yet, new as that science is.
It's amazing how much more involved with what's real in life we've become.
Our new (portable) greenhouse arrived yesterday. Though I'm itching to put it up (to see what the temperature extremes will be), we're not quite ready. I've taken next Monday off from work to give me time to play with it. The seeds I ordered should be mailed this week (finally -- they were a Christmas gift!!), and the new heating mat, coupled with a second grow light, will allow me to get a jump start on the peppers, tomatoes and other heat-loving things we want to grow... My goal is to be able to harvest fresh food all year, and I'm optimistic that the (relatively inexpensive) equipment we're accumulating will allow us to do just that.
Read more!
And what sustenance it is! Following Peter Reinhart’s “Power Bread” recipe, which, though it takes three days to complete, is pretty easy, yielded the best bread I’ve ever made. It’s a lovely combination of whole wheat (I use freshly ground white wheat -- still a whole grain, but lighter in flavor and texture than the traditional hard red) with the sweetness of raisins and honey, and the earthy notes of sunflower and sesame seeds. Although it's quite sweet, it doesn't seem to cause blood sugar issues -- thanks to the combination of proteins in the grain and seeds. And, because the enzymes are given time to do their work over the 3-day process, and the sunflower seeds are ground, it's very easy to digest. I have been on a quest for the perfect bread recipe for some time, and this just might be it -- it has certainly become my new favorite bread recipe...
And the greens and baby carrots we bring in from the garden are vibrant with life. How fortunate we feel, enjoying a fresh salad popping out of the bowl with color -- in the dead of winter! And all it took was a bit of effort last Fall. As Eliot Coleman points out in his wonderful "Four-Season Harvest" book, plant selection, plus timing, really can equal a year-round harvest of fresh food that makes the flavorless (and expensive) produce on the grocery store shelves at this time of year even less appealing. And I can't help but think of all the phytonutrients we're getting -- probably some they haven't even discovered yet, new as that science is.
It's amazing how much more involved with what's real in life we've become.
Our new (portable) greenhouse arrived yesterday. Though I'm itching to put it up (to see what the temperature extremes will be), we're not quite ready. I've taken next Monday off from work to give me time to play with it. The seeds I ordered should be mailed this week (finally -- they were a Christmas gift!!), and the new heating mat, coupled with a second grow light, will allow me to get a jump start on the peppers, tomatoes and other heat-loving things we want to grow... My goal is to be able to harvest fresh food all year, and I'm optimistic that the (relatively inexpensive) equipment we're accumulating will allow us to do just that.
Read more!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Soil Temperatures & Sunlight Hours
Have spent much time & energy researching how to do this year-round gardening thing on the West Coast. Despite the fact that we live in an area that is pretty easy for plants to grow in, I'm having trouble locating information on the subject.
So far, I've learned the minimum germination temperatures for the various things I want to grow, the first and last frost dates for my area, and am beginning to amass a general understanding of what plants generally do well in cooler weather. I plan to keep a journal of what we planted & how it did, which will help us refine our plant choices & timing in the future.
My goal, in all of this, is to gain more control over our food supply -- the quality, the variety and the cost. Read more!
So far, I've learned the minimum germination temperatures for the various things I want to grow, the first and last frost dates for my area, and am beginning to amass a general understanding of what plants generally do well in cooler weather. I plan to keep a journal of what we planted & how it did, which will help us refine our plant choices & timing in the future.
My goal, in all of this, is to gain more control over our food supply -- the quality, the variety and the cost. Read more!
Bowlful of Spring in December
Park's Master Chef Lettuce Blend 12/20/09
Pak Choi, Violetta, 12/20/09
We're reaping the rewards of efforts we made last Fall -- lovely, dark green leaves to add to our salad. I planted several kinds of lettuce, spinach, carrots, cabbage, broccoli and green onions. Must have been the wrong time for the kale, though, because it never poked its red head above the soil.
But, how nicely the rich, dark greens of violetta pak choi (a mild-flavored, purple leaf-style cabbage), deer tongue and other interesting lettuces, as well as mild cabbages brighten up our winter salad!! And having done a little research, we're also including dandelion and a few of its lookalikes.
It was an act of faith when I nestled those little seeds into the ground months ago. Even though I live in a Zone 9 region (very hospitable to plants most all year), and despite the fact that I've always been interested in year-round gardening, I'd never really believed it was possible. Then I stumbled upon Eliot Coleman's book, "Four Season Harvest", (www.fourseasonfarm.com). As it turns out, he and his family live in Zone 5 -- few daily sunlight hours and deep snowdrifts every winter -- yet they enjoy fresh produce from their backyard all year. After reading his discussion about hours of sunlight (we had 9-1/2 today) and plant choices, I realized we stood a pretty good chance of being able to grow something to eat in Winter.
In fact, I really got excited when I realized that, by choosing the right plants and putting them in the ground at the right time, we would not even need a greenhouse!! So I spent a late September afternoon putting in what I hoped would be our Winter garden. Things took quite a while to come up, and at times I worried that I'd either put them in too early or too late (too early, as it turns out). In fact, the Mesclun mix just came up a couple of weeks ago! I'm eager for it to get big enough that we can add it to our salads.
But as the photo above shows, we now have a nice variety of greens to brighten up our salad bowl. Unfortunately, as we're pretty big salad eaters, I'm afraid I haven't planted enough that we can live on it exclusively. But we do get enough to supplement the high quality lettuce I still have to buy from the store. And next year...
Read more!
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