Harvest Monday

There are two yummy harvests I'd like to share with you--one unexpected, but first I need to update you on last week's harvest...

After reading Granny's comment on someone's blog about being able to dig up potatoes and leave the plant to grow more, I thought I'd give it a try with mine. I was able to find potatoes in three buckets. The forth bucket that didn't have anything in it is also the one that had a plant die in a few weeks back.

Most of the potatoes were crammed in the bottom portion of the buckets, so maybe it's a good thing I pulled these out. I don't know why no potatoes have grown up along the stem of the plants as I covered them.

Just under two pounds. Not bad...

I ended up making microwaved potato chips with these, which were delicious!

My other harvest from last week was coriander... This is about 1/5 of what I have out there. They smell so good! Coriander is my second favorite spice (nutmeg is Numero Uno). I put it in almost every meat dish I use. I don't know if it makes a difference in flavor, but it sure helps my cooking mood when I smell it. I can't wait for these to finish drying so I can try them.

Today's harvests...
The rest of my CA White garlics were pulled this morning. Including the stems, they came in at 2 pounds, for a grand total of 3 pounds for 2 square feet. These were nice, full sized heads of garlic. Glad I kept them in the ground a few extra weeks. I'll probably replace them with basil (yea, more "random" basil, har).

I didn't think that all of the "bird food" cherries I mentioned yesterday bothered me at all, but at about three in the morning I shot straight up in bed and realized I had to get those cherries off the tree!

The first chance I had this morning, I was out there picking cherries. I didn't use a conventional method, like using a fruit picker, or climbing and picking by hand (although I did climb the tree a little). No, I hacked away at the already gnarly looking, hacked-at cherry tree with DH's twelve foot limb cutter. I can't think of what it's called, but it's the kind that has a pulley system with a rope connected to the blade.

A lot of the fruits fell victim to birds and squirrels...

Right as I was climbing into the tree using a step stool, I noticed these things, Right. Where. My. Hand. Was about to go. EEEWWWW! YUCK! BLEGH! OMGosh! Anyone know what these nasties are?!?! Over weight earwigs??? Bugs really don't bother me--except when I'm not expecting them. These totally freaked me out.

After an hour of work and a little child labor, I yielded 5.5 pounds of cherries!!!

Here are the lovely cherries in all their glory (hmm, maybe "all their glory" will be when they're prepared in pies, tarts, and maybe even cherry lemonade?)

Now if I could only think of a way to get the rest down... The 3 or so feet from being in the tree, plus my 5 foot 2 inches of height (those two inches are important), plus 12 feet of limb cutter were about 4 feet short of reaching the largest and best looking clusters... Maybe I'll wake up again tonight with a plan....

Each week Daphne over at Daphne's Dandelions hosts Harvest Monday. Check out her page to see what other's have been munchin' and crunchin' on this week.

Harvest Monday, and More Planted

This weekend was satisfyingly productive. Sigh... Beautiful weather, happy boys who listened and played well, and accomplishing a lot in my PJs. Yes, the proof is in the PJs... This is how I meander into my garden most weekend mornings... T-shirt, flannel jammies, and socks (maybe that's why so many of them have holes).

The alliums are coming! The alliums are coming! Quick! Run for your knives!

I removed the onions (Texas Grano 502) that I started from seed on 8/7/09. I didn't want to pull them just when they were starting to plump up, but I needed to get my melons in the ground. Ya' know? I'm not too sad about it. They produced something! Including the greens, they weighed in right at 4 pounds.

The largest one is a little smaller than a tennis ball...

I also pulled part of my California Early White Garlic. These were also small of course, but they're a little lumpy, so it looks like I have something usable. These weighed in right at one pound.

Geez, they look big in these pictures, but they're not...

Fortunately, I have ten more left that will have the chance to get nice and plump...

In the picture above, you can see that 3 of my 5 Charentais melons are set to grow up the trellis. In front are more Purple Queen beans. I'm not sure how well the beans will produce... They look pretty scraggy. The last two melons will go into an 18 gallon SWP  when I finish this post.

While I was amending the soil for my melons and beans, I found this beast...

Last week I received an order from Park Seed Co. of flower seeds along with a packet of heat tolerant lettuces. I've complained in the past about mixed lettuce packets because I don't know what I'll end up growing, but I got these after I went through Park's heat tolerant lettuces and my basket was full of most of what was included in the mix anyway. Although it's late to get a new round going, and I'm more than likely going to end up with bolted greens, I wanted to give it a try. So, I mixed up some soil for my salad table (40% peat, 40% compost, 10% perlite, 10% vermiculite, fertilizer & some lime), and planted the pre-sprouted seeds. The table will receive first light, and then about 2 hours of sun around 11-1pm.

Each week Daphne over at Daphne's Dandelions hosts Harvest Monday. Check out her page to see what other's have been munchin' and crunchin' on this week.

Starting 2010 With Rain, Growth, and Blogging

First, thank you to those of you who contacted me to make sure everything is ok, and to those of you who have encouraged me to get back into writing. After being gone for two weeks back in October, I fell out of the writing and gardening groove. Having the holidays thrown in there didn't help much either! One of my New Year's "Do Better's" ("resolutions" seems so extreme, and tend to drop by the wayside faster than "do-better's") is to get back in that groove!

So, here's what have been growing around the garden. I have two sets of most pictures. The first of each are from 1/11, and the second from today, after we've had a week of rain (gasp).

Below: Salad table, and current hot spot for producing life! Left (sown 11/5): Summer Crisp Lettuce. Right, back to front (sown 11/23): French Breakfast Radishes, Short & Sweet Carrots, loose-leaf lettuce mix.

Cilantro. After all the rain, I have fungus gnats--bad. I drilled more holes at the bottom, and will treat with BTi once the rain tapers.

SFG, right side: Peas and broccoli, and hidden behind the broccoli, under the peas are carrots. The carrots were more of an experiment after my carrot seed mats sown in my west-east running raised bed failed due to lack of sun, and slugs. The peas are taking up so much more space than I anticipated. I added a wire "fence" to try containing them, then I added more trellis string I had and tried tieing them back, to no avail...

At least the peas are beginning to bloom.

My broccoli is beginning to flower! YES!

SFG, left side: Looks like a bunch of weeds, yeah? Garlic and onions are in the back, with soggy onion scapes taking over the empty spot on front right. Shallots in the front left. I dug down in the dirt to see what's happening, and nothing is happening. Nothing to match the growth on top at all. I'll give them until April when tomatoes need to go in (yes, tomatoes, but more on that another time) to show me they're worthy, or they're gone.

 

The orange bush/tree is doing really well. This year there are a lot more but smaller fruits growing than last year... Interesting...

My hyacinths and crocus' (croci? hehe) are coming up. Early I think? They aren't very picture worthy at this point since the flowers that haven't been decapitated by slugs are spread far apart...

Hope you've enjoyed!

PS Many thanks to Mom and Dad for my new camera! Now I just need to learn to use it to it's full potential!

Finally Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Wow! It's hard to believe I haven't blogged in a month! Time has gone by too quickly...

The day we returned home from our two week vacation in VA, the LO ended up with croup (I'm still extremely happy he didn't start his barky cough on the plane!), and as soon as he started recovering, I came down with a nasty cold turned sinus and eye infections with laryngitis, and now Boy Wonder is sick. I sure hope this is all we see of the sickies this season!

The next few days my posts will be focusing on updates around the yard. Today I'll do a mostly pictorial post of the growth and changes that have occurred to the plants I blogged about on 10/8. DH was kind enough to take pictures on 10/21 while I was gone.

SFG, right side

(back to front) Lantana, Green Arrow Peas, broccoli, radishes

 10/11

10/21

10/31

Today
(the line in front of the peas will be carrots)

SFG, left side
(back) Lantana, Garlic, Texas Grano onion (front) French Red & Dutch Yellow Shallots, Lettuce mix, and Musclun mix
10/21

10/31

Today

Cantaloupe

10/11

10/21

10/31

Today

Right raised bed
Sweet potatoes, musclun/lettuce mixes, carrots
10/21

10/31

Today

Dwarf Meyer Lemons
 9/23

10/5

11/7

During my next post, I will talk about the changes I've made to my garden plans, and a few issues I've been having around the yard.

Almost Done With Fall Plantings! (long post)

Well, all, I did it! It's finally cooled off consistently enough, so I went ahead and got the rest of my cool weather plants in the ground yesterday! Now, my downfall could come if we have a last heat wave, or if something happens in the next two weeks while I'm gone. Yes folks, I planted everything a few days before we are due to leave on our long awaited two week trip home! I'll either return to dirt or I'll be welcomed back by a lot of green babies in my garden! Let's pray for the latter, k?

I'm taking a relaxed approach this season to the "square foot" method, because my "feet" are more like 10 inches. As you can see below, I measured the plant spaces as I laid everything out before planting. My plans have changed a bit from my original chart, and I'll post an updated one when I return from our trip to VA.

Here's what went in the left side of the SFG. Top: CA Early White Garlic; Texas Grano 502 Onion seedlings. Bottom: French Red Shallots; Dutch Yellow Shallots; Musclun mix, and Lettuce mix seed mats.

The instructions that came with the garlic said to plant them 2" deep. Since I'm absolutely horrible with estimating measurements, I marked a dowel and used this to confirm I pushed the garlic deep enough.

Covering the seed mats... Like last time, I removed the needed amount of soil instead of adding it on top of my mats since my beds were recently filled. Like the dump truck? HA! I just grabbed whatever was closest. The air may be cool out, but the Cali sun likes to cook ya', so I was working fast!

 I didn't thin a lot of the TX. Grano's as they were growing indoors, and it was getting late, so I'll thin themm after they prove to be happy in their new location. I've been acclimating them this week, but I'll shade them in the afternoon until we leave.

The Green Arrow peas I planted on 9/30 began sprouting yesterday (not pictured, but also sprouting are the lettuce/mesclun also planted on 9/30. One carrot has sprouted, the rest are taking their time).

Below the peas, I planted 4 "squares" of Waltham 29 Broccoli, and below the broccoli I planted my radish seed mat strips. I may plant another set of radishes above the broccoli when I get back.

Lastly, I was about to give up on my cantaloupe earlier this week, and rip them out because I didn't see any melons growing, but at the last moment, this caught my eye! It was totally camoflauged by leaves, the lucky duck! I've placed a piece of foil beneath it to keep it off the soil, and to help reflect light onto it since my neighbor's ginormous trees are casting longer shadows on my raised beds.

Alrighty! I'm off to pack our bags!!!!!