Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Garden update
The potatoes are growing surprisingly well. Time to mound up soil.
My Dill is very tall and flowering.
I repotted the blueberries and after a year of thinking they were dead there is finally new growth appearing.
I have lots of seedlings to transplant and need to do it soon.
The green beans I planted are finally sprouting too.
I love seeing signs of Spring.
My Dill is very tall and flowering.
I repotted the blueberries and after a year of thinking they were dead there is finally new growth appearing.
I have lots of seedlings to transplant and need to do it soon.
The green beans I planted are finally sprouting too.
I love seeing signs of Spring.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Yarden Coming Along Nicely
The front yard garden (aka Yarden) is coming along nicely. I wish I were physically capable of doing so much more so much quicker than I am, however my condition only allows for 15 - 20 minutes of physical activity at a time, and even then I'm down and out for at least an hour afterward.
I posted this picture on my facebook page the other day and was amazed to see the sorta drastic results, or the fruits of my labor if you will.
Thoughts?
I posted this picture on my facebook page the other day and was amazed to see the sorta drastic results, or the fruits of my labor if you will.
After seeing the change side by side I decided to play around with some ideas in paint. I'm thinking a bean teepee off to the side and some white trellises between the windows to grow Blue Sky Vine, or some other beautiful, lush flowering vine.
Planted asparagus today
Today I cleaned out bed 2 in the yarden, filled it with soil and planted Mary Washington Asparagus seeds. I have no idea if it will grow, but it was worth a shot since I got the seeds for free. I have done a lot of reading on growing asparagus here in zone 9b and it seems asparagus doesn't like it here and will not grow. But you never know unless you try, right?
Wish my seeds luck & in 3 years I should be able to harvest my first set of spears.
Also want to add I found this great info on growing asparagus in hot climates.
Update 3/28/13: 6 of the 10 seeds I planted have sprouted (5 sprouted by last week and I just noticed one popping up yesterday). It's going to be a painfully slow process growing asparagus but will hopefully be worth the wait.
Wish my seeds luck & in 3 years I should be able to harvest my first set of spears.
Also want to add I found this great info on growing asparagus in hot climates.
You know how they say you can’t grow asparagus in hot climates? Well, don’t believe it. I live in Zone 9 in Texas, about 10 miles inland in the Galveston area. My husband and I have been growing asparagus in our gardens since 1980. Of course, you do have to make a few modifications to adapt to the heat and soil.
1) Pick the right variety. Texas A&M found hybrids produce better in the heat. Mary Washington and Jersey Giant have done great for me. Purple Passion has also worked well here.
2) Pick the right location for your beds. An area with northern exposure is good, to take advantage of the ‘northers’ when they blow through. Eastern side is good too. Even better, make sure there is at least a little protection from the late afternoon sun – your production won’t drop off as much after 5-6 years if the plants don’t get regularly cooked in the afternoon sun in summer. Mulch is your friend, put it on top of the manure and add more if it gets thin after you stop harvesting. I’ve located my beds both on the north side of the house and on the north side of my property next to a wooden privacy fence. Both have worked well.
3) Prepare the beds carefully. Raised beds only – I can’t say this enough – with good garden soil/rose soil placed on top of the UNDISTURBED soil already there. (I have clay/caliche soil that turns to concrete when it dries out-don’t even try to amend it since it’s a waste of time and money.) Prepare a year ahead if you can, and kill off weeds as they continue to sprout. ESPECIALLY make sure you take time to get rid of nutsedge (or nutgrass, as it is sometimes called) before planting. It can make your life miserable if you don’t, since Roundup only kills off the tops and it keeps coming back.
4) Cut back the ferns in late Dec/early Jan, even if they are still green. You won’t have a frost to kill them back and force dormancy. So do it manually before the (somewhat) cold weather hits in Jan/Feb. If you’re lucky, you may even get a light freeze every 2 or 3 years to help! Cut back the stalks to about 1/2″ to 1″ below the soil line or they could introduce rot to the root in this climate.
5) Invest and buy good quality composted cow manure to top every year. The cheap stuff usually has weed seeds. I ended up with carolina horsenettle sprouting one year, and finally had to kill off the entire bed to get rid of it after it spread to half my garden. Nasty, nasty stuff.
1) Pick the right variety. Texas A&M found hybrids produce better in the heat. Mary Washington and Jersey Giant have done great for me. Purple Passion has also worked well here.
2) Pick the right location for your beds. An area with northern exposure is good, to take advantage of the ‘northers’ when they blow through. Eastern side is good too. Even better, make sure there is at least a little protection from the late afternoon sun – your production won’t drop off as much after 5-6 years if the plants don’t get regularly cooked in the afternoon sun in summer. Mulch is your friend, put it on top of the manure and add more if it gets thin after you stop harvesting. I’ve located my beds both on the north side of the house and on the north side of my property next to a wooden privacy fence. Both have worked well.
3) Prepare the beds carefully. Raised beds only – I can’t say this enough – with good garden soil/rose soil placed on top of the UNDISTURBED soil already there. (I have clay/caliche soil that turns to concrete when it dries out-don’t even try to amend it since it’s a waste of time and money.) Prepare a year ahead if you can, and kill off weeds as they continue to sprout. ESPECIALLY make sure you take time to get rid of nutsedge (or nutgrass, as it is sometimes called) before planting. It can make your life miserable if you don’t, since Roundup only kills off the tops and it keeps coming back.
4) Cut back the ferns in late Dec/early Jan, even if they are still green. You won’t have a frost to kill them back and force dormancy. So do it manually before the (somewhat) cold weather hits in Jan/Feb. If you’re lucky, you may even get a light freeze every 2 or 3 years to help! Cut back the stalks to about 1/2″ to 1″ below the soil line or they could introduce rot to the root in this climate.
5) Invest and buy good quality composted cow manure to top every year. The cheap stuff usually has weed seeds. I ended up with carolina horsenettle sprouting one year, and finally had to kill off the entire bed to get rid of it after it spread to half my garden. Nasty, nasty stuff.
With these differences, I have had tremendous success with my asparagus, and usually end up freezing and giving away quite a bit every year from a single 3′x24′ bed with 11-year-old crowns.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Easy Organic Homemade Ketchup
I had a few very ripe tomatoes and was not sure what to do with them (since I don't like tomatoes) so I started looking for easy homemade ketchup recipes. I wasn't able to find one that suited my needs (the few tomatoes I had and the spices I have on hand) so I compiled a little bit of all the recipes and came up with this one.
Fresh tomatoes (I had just under 2 lbs)
white vinegar
sugar
salt
onion powder
garlic powder
onions
garlic
First I blended all of my tomatoes in the blender and ran them through my mesh strainer into a pan. Turned the heat onto Med. Finely chopped a small onion and added it to the pan. Minced a large clove of garlic and tossed that in too. Added a sprinkle of salt (to taste), some onion powder and garlic powder (again, to taste) then 2 TBSP or so of sugar. Whisked it all together and let it boil down to a thick consistency. I let it cool then put it back into the blender to make it nice and smooth.
Easy and delicious!
Fresh tomatoes (I had just under 2 lbs)
white vinegar
sugar
salt
onion powder
garlic powder
onions
garlic
First I blended all of my tomatoes in the blender and ran them through my mesh strainer into a pan. Turned the heat onto Med. Finely chopped a small onion and added it to the pan. Minced a large clove of garlic and tossed that in too. Added a sprinkle of salt (to taste), some onion powder and garlic powder (again, to taste) then 2 TBSP or so of sugar. Whisked it all together and let it boil down to a thick consistency. I let it cool then put it back into the blender to make it nice and smooth.
Easy and delicious!
Cabbage Harvest
Harvested quite a large head of cabbage today. 4 lbs 9 oz! After doing some research I read many old farmers just harvest the head and first couple sets of outer leaves and in a few weeks they get up to four small cabbages to harvest, so that's how I harvested it too. Can't hurt to try, huh?
Growing Leeks
I've never tasted a leek before, but my daughter planted a bunch of leek seeds and they all came up so I did some research on how and when to separate the leeks.
 |
| Alien looking leek seedlings. I was able to find some very useful information on growing leeks here. Growing Leeks
Grace your dinner table with an easy-to-grow, elegant onion cousin: the leek. Sweet and mild, leeks are gentle on the digestive system and play the role of onion in dishes, only toned down. Unlike onions, leeks don’t produce bulbs, but stash their flavor in thick, juicy stems, looking similar to a giant scallion. Leafy stems are pretty and don’t need much room in the garden.
You will find a clump of several leek seedling plants in our pots.
In the supermarket, leeks cost a premium; harvested from the garden, their a trouble-free bargain. Leeks are most famous for leek and potato soup, but they’re also good steamed like asparagus, oven-roasted, chopped in quiche, or wrapped in ham, baked, and covered with cheese sauce.
Frost-tolerant leeks thrive in cool weather. In Zones 7 and warmer, plants can overwinter in the ground, perfect for fall planting. In northerly zones, tuck plants into beds in early spring, as soon as soil can be worked.
Even though our biodegradable pot directions indicate planting the whole pot, in the case of leeks, you need to remove the plant from the pot and very gently coax the clump of seedlings apart so that you can plant each leek seedling separately.
Plant leeks in a sunny spot in soil that is fertile and well drained. Leeks thrive in traditional garden beds, raised beds, or even in tall containers. Space leeks depending on the stem size you want to harvest. For thickest stems, space seedlings 6 to 8 inches apart. For thinner, scallion-size leeks, follow tighter spacing, setting seedlings 3 to 4 inches apart. You’ll gain the best of both worlds by spacing seedlings 3 to 4 inches apart and thinning every other stem when they reach scallion size, allowing remaining stems to grow to thicker size.
Leeks need two things to thrive: high nitrogen and consistent soil moisture. If possible, add compost or organic fertilizer to the leek bed the season prior to planting. Otherwise, work in organic matter into the ground a few days before if possible.
To produce a succulent white stem, leeks must be blanched—that is covered or hidden from the sun. To do this, plant leeks into deep holes. Deeper planting yields a more drought-resistant plant. Make narrow trench 6 to 8 inches deep and tuck seedlings into the trench, pulling soil up to the base of the first green leaf. Water well.
Bury the plants up to the point where the foliage arises from the stem, but not so deep that soil gets into the folds between the leaves.
After planting, mulch the bed with straw, grass clippings, or some other organic material to help soil retain moisture. Soak newly planted leeks with a liquid fertilizer such as Bonnie’s Herb and Vegetable Plant Food. Water leeks as needed until plants are established. After that, plants require an inch of water a week, either through rainfall or irrigation. Inconsistent moisture yields tough stems. Continue fertilizing plants with liquid fertilizer every week or so during the growing season.
As leeks grow, mound the soil from the trench around stems, beginning when stems are 1 inch thick.
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)