2019 Review

Red Flam Grapes - 2019

The best/most productive crop in the garden for 2019 has been the Red Flame grapes. The quantity & quality have never been better. The vines were allowed to reach out across the garden in an array. Only limited pruning was performed to tidy stray vines. I constructed a very unsophisticated system of support using tall wooden stakes and twine leading the vines from the arbor out across the garden. This provided me with much welcomed summer shade while allowing the vines to soak up the sun and produce loads and loads of grapes. The grapes weren’t grocery store big in size; but they certainly tasted superior. I may continue with my remedial method unless Farmer MacGregor constructs a better more permanent structure.

Thornless boysenberries and Santa Rosa plums also performed well.  Earlier in the year, carrots thrived during the cool rainy season. Disappointments were beets being devoured by insects.  Still don’t know the culprits. They continue to destroy my fall beets. Tomatoes and peppers were also duds.

Two trees were removed:  Blenheim apricot & O’Henry peach. A new Blenheim has replaced O’Henry.  The nursery didn’t have any O’Henry’s in stock; so we hope to snag a bareroot peach this coming season. Farmer MacGregor insists. The Granny Smith apple also needs to be removed. I’m thinking of replacing it with a Royal Crimson cherry that has been developed by Dave Wilson Nursery for the San Joaquin Valley.

A variety of onions and garlic has been planted in the winter garden and look to be enjoying the cooler, wetter weather just like me. Hope you all are enjoying your garden too.

Whew!

Soaking the garden dirt off the fresh carrots and beets that were harvested this morning.  Everything was hosed off; but there's some left behind.  The water will be dumped on an azalea.

Carrots will be blanched and frozen with some reserved for Farmer MacGregor's corned beef.  The beets will be pickled and set up in jars. There's still more out in the garden yet to be harvested.

Two beds are ready for tomatoes. I'll need to hit the sidewalk sale at Floyd's and get started tomorrow.  Summer is here.

UPDATE:  Looky here what I found in my haul of carrots.  Hope this puts a smile on your face. If it doesn't, go out and pull some weeds.

This is February?!

Today would have been a perfect beach like day IF it was July.  However, it’s February in Bakersfield.  I need some cold weather to kill the bugs, rain in the garden to settle the dust and clear the air, and snow in the mountains to use when it is July.

Can you believe ladybugs are already working in the garden?Here’s what’s growing on in the garden today:

The cauliflower has been bothered by aphids in this warm weather.  I was considering taking the plants out and getting the bed ready for summer crops; but there are 16 head that seem to be doing alright.  I’ll wait.Broccoli has also had aphid troubles.I’ve blasted the plants with a power stream of water from the garden hose and relocated some of the early ladybugs so they can help control this problem.Probably every seed of lettuce germinated successfully in the garden this season.  There is lettuce growing in a salad bed and lettuce growing in the holes of the cinder blocks that form the beds.  Another reason the hope for cooler weather is to extend my lettuce enjoyment.The discovery of Root Knot Nematodes* has led to a search for knowledge on the topic and a successful safe way to control the wee beasties.  At least I have beets and carrots successfully growing in beds that don’t seem to effected by nematodes.The carrots are coming along nicely and have been used in roast beef and pasta salad.  Of course, they have been snacks while out in the garden along with peas.  I can never seem to get peas past the garden gate because I eat them while enjoying the garden.By about 10:30 this morning the temperature was just under 70°F with clear skies and a light breeze.  By nightfall, the lights were visible out in Elk Hills, on the Grapevine, and Breckenridge where there is no snow.

*  If anyone has information to share about ridding my garden of damaging nematodes, I would appreciate it.

Red

There is red in the garden.

Hummingbird / Bee Feeder

 

Merlot Lettuce

 

Strawberries

 

Cimmaron Romaine Lettuce

 

Borlotto Solista Beans

 

Brune d’Hiver Lettuce

 

Early Wonder Beets

 

Broken bit of summer scare tape among the fall leaves.

 

 

Perhaps there will also be a lot more red throughout American gardens tomorrow.

Please vote.

Harvest Moon / Planting Moon

Fall planting is almost complete.  I’m a bit late but I hope to see some results.  As expected, the radishes are up.  The radishes pictured above are Jaune D’Or Ovales.  These were planted on September 16 and the photo was taken this evening (September 22).  These radishes are planted in the lettuce bed that was most recently the Lemon Squash bed.

I use stakes and old tomato cages to keep garden kitties (any kitties) out.  Redwood stakes are used to mark the rows.  Even though I write down what I planted on the seed packet and on my garden plan, the stakes are a handy reference.

This evening, I planted as long as I could thinking that the light of the harvest moon would help me complete my planting.  No way.  I’m almost done though.

Here’s what’s in the ground now:

Bed 1	Bed 2	Bed 3	Bed 4
Peas – Tall Telephone	Lettuce - Merlot		Cabbage – Early Jersey Wakefield
blank	Radishes - Watermelon		Onions – Yellow of Parma
Peas – Tall Telephone	Lettuce - Cimmaron		Cabbage – Mammoth Red Rock
Peas – Tall Telephone	Beets - Crapaudine		Beets – Early Wonder
Carrots – to be determined	Radishes – Juane D’Or Ovale		Cauliflower – Purple of Sicily
Carrots – Atomic Red	Onions – He-Shi-Ko		Onions – Flat of Italy
Carrots – to be determined	Lettuce – Brune d’Hiver		Broccoli – to be determined
Carrots – Cosmic Purple	Lettuce - Iceberg		WILD CARD
	Stevia		Lavender
	Strawberries - established		Orange Thyme
	Basil - established

The beds are listed from west to east.  The crops are listed from west to east with framing crops at the bottom of each list.  Grey italic means the seeds still need to be planted.

The hot peppers in bed 3 (Serranos and Black Hungarians) are producing like mad and I’m going with the flow.  This bed may be reserved for early tomato planting in about six months.  I don’t know.

Summer Crops – Part III

Moving further to the east…

This bed still has a few items leftover from fall.  There were peas on the far left.  Those are long gone.  Next is garlic.  I suspect that will be harvested soon as the greens are drying out.  Beside the garlic are a few remaining beets.  Beets are harvested each weekend and pickled to be used throughout the week.  Carrots are on the far right.  I may harvest those to make some Basque carrots and clear out the bed. 

Hot peppers will be grown here through the summer.  From seed, I’ve started Serano and Black Hungarians.  These peppers will be used to make salsa all summer long.  Wonderful, delicious salsa to enjoy all summer long kind of takes the edge off of disliking summer so much.  Another use for the harvest is pepper poppers.  These are like candy to Farmer MacGregor.

I don’t believe the seedlings I have will fill the bed; so I would like to grow beans.  Cannellini beans.  Lidia’s Italy on PBS   provided a nice recipe using  cannellini beans.  These would be superb to have on hand to add to soups and other dishes.  I’m having a tough time finding a supplier; so that makes me want them all the more.

Meanwhile, here’s the plans for the final bed:

This eastern most bed has been planted with green bunching onions (04/18/10).  They’ve already sprouted (04/29/10).  The sprouts can be thinned soon and used like chives.  Once the onions are about as thick as a pencil, they can be harvested and used in salads, on baked potatoes, and eaten plain.

A dozen metal stakes are now in the bed.  These stakes will have the tomato supports attached to them.  This is the 1st year I’ve strung tomatoes and Farmer MacGregor is blazing the way by constructing fine supports to showoff all the heirloom tomatoes in the garden.  They will take up less space horizontally allowing for companion crops to grow along side and benefit each other.

The tomatoes are on standby ready to be planted as soon as Farmer MacGregor completes construction.  I plan to chronicle how to string tomatoes showing the plans and construction all the way to threading the tomatoes up the twine.

That’s it.  Four raised beds ready to produce a bounty this summer and all it took was a few packets of seed, a ton of labor, and Farmer MacGregor’s know how.  Ain’t he great?

Summer Crops – Part II

In the last post I highlighted the western most raised bed.  Now let’s move east.  There are still onions developing.  They were planted on September 20, 2009.  The heat has really pushed their growth.  You can easily see the location of the Candy Hybrid onions.  The stakes are placed to prevent garden kitties from littering where they ought not litter.  The bed is trimmed with lobelia, freesia, and strawberries.

From left to right I have planted seeds from Baker Creek.

Crapaudine Beets – are planted under the squash support (4/29/10).  Here’s the description from Baker Creek: In 1885, the French book, The Vegetable Garden stated this is one of the oldest varieties. Today some experts feel this may be the oldest beet still in existence, possibly dating back 1000 years. This unique variety is one of the most flavorful, with carrot-shaped roots that have rough, dark colored skin which looks like tree bark. Inside, the roots are very dark, with almost black flesh that is of superior quality and sought after by chefs who want real flavor. We are proud to offer this rare old selection.

 Beets are cool weather crop; but I wanted to see how they would grow in the shade of the squash as the vines cover the support.  This is a simple experiment.  There’s plenty of seeds to plant at the end of summer if this is a flop.

Lemon Squash – has a custom made support to climb.  Farmer MacGregor installed his workshop creation the same day the seeds were planted (4/28/10).  The idea is to have the lemon shaped squash dangle through the hog wire of the support.  They will stay out of the dirt and moisture and should be easy to harvest.  Lemon Squash has received great reviews at Baker Creek.

The description is this:  The shape, size and color of a lemon, it grows great here, has huge yields and the best resistance to insects I have seen in a summer squash. Very tasty, great fried! A favorite, this is a superb market variety and is very attractive. Our most popular summer squash!

Planting radishes with the squash will help to repel beetles.  I’ll just pick up regular old radish seeds for this purpose.

 

Malali Watermelon – from Israel rounds out the bed.  I picked these because they don’t grow to the size of Guinness Book of World Record prize winning melons and they can take the heat.  The seed company has a wide variety to choose from but these should be perfect.  A sugary-sweet watermelon from Israel; this variety is great for warm climates. Small fruit weigh about 10 lbs. Green-striped rind and delicious light-red flesh is really refreshing. A good little melon for small families and market growers.

I try to mark the date I plant seeds on each packet whenever possible.

Good luck with your Kentucky Derby wager.

Garden Update

Here’s a few things that have been going on in the garden.

March 6, 2010 – The tomato seeds sprouted.  They were planted, along with pepper seeds, on March 1.

The lilac continues to perfume the garden air.

The broccoli has bolted.  The final harvest was made and the plants removed to make way for summer crops after the soil is amended.  Note:   the Lobelia in the background.  I have been unsuccessful in capturing how dark the purple is on this Crystal Palace variety.  Finally, the color shows when it’s not the focal point.

The beets are really starting to take off.  I usually thin out the smaller ones; but now they’re really starting to get big,

The Red Flame grape is starting to show signs of life.  The vine was fed today.

These little caterpillars along with their thug friends the pill bugs and earry wigs (earwigs) have been found guilty and executed for the damage they have done to the cabbage.

Most of the rest of the cabbage was salvaged.  The bed is now completely vacant awaiting amendments so the summer beans and savory can be planted.

Carrots continue to produce.  A bunch was recently harvested to add to a pot of mushroom/wine chicken.

Peas continue to go nuts.  Now that the heat is cranking up, the pods are filling out at an accelerated pace.  They joined the carrots in the pot with the chicken.

All the fruit trees have been fed:  plum, peach, apple, pear, nectarine, apricot, fig, grapefruit, orange, mandarin, lemon. 

Maybelline’s Crime Scene Investigation

Some varmint is skeltonizing my cabbage!  The evidence/damage isn’t overwhelming.  Just a few outer leaves on a few heads.  Most all of the cabbage heads have been visited by caterpillars gnawing on the outer leaves.  They were discovered and picked off.  This recent damage is different and I can’t determine what is causing this.  I suspect beetle larvae; but I need more clues.

The next crime scene is disturbing.  You may want to click away.

 

 

 

 

 

Alright.  You asked for it.

That’s right.  Something is mowing down my beets. 

Here’s some healthy beets growing.  The little, out of focus, red dots in the foreground are the victims.

Bastards!  My 1st suspicion is pill bugs.  They’ve done me wrong before.  A few years ago, I grew heirloom tomatoes from seed.  The seedlings were transplanted into a beautiful, warm garden.  The next day, most of them had been mowed down.  What the…??!!  I came out that night to catch the fat mob of pill bugs returning to the crime scene.

Right next to the beets are carrots.  This next image may make you nauseous.  Continue on if you feel strong enough.

The offenders seem to prefer beets over carrots.  Nevertheless, damage is occurring in the carrot patch as well.

On New Year’s Day, this is how well the carrots had progressed.  Have you ever eaten a carrot right out of the ground?  Yeowsa!

Last evening, I waited for the sun to be set for an hour or two.  Waiting for darkness insured me the element of surprise to catch any offenders in the act.  I armed myself with a flashlight and camera.  Pumpkin, the yard cat accompanied me.  We were on a mission.  I envisioned hoards of pill bugs invading my garden. My assistant and I walked in darkness to the 1st crime scene then blasted the flashlight on  the cabbages.  Nothing.  Nothing at all.  We moved in darkness to the beets and carrots.  Same results.  What the??!!

The mystery continues.  I’ll try going out later tonight to catch the culprits.  They must be stopped.

To be continued…

Garden Update

There was a nice harvest today.  Romaine and Bibb lettuce was thinned.  The heads were used to make a salad.  The beets were also thinned.  The baby beets were pickled to add to the salad. The cauliflower is ripening all at the same time so a few heads were cut along with some broccoli to make casseroles.  This was the 1st day to harvest any cauliflower or broccoli.  Cauliflower and cabbage are in extreme abundance and are being shared to take advantage of the fresh, tender produce. The peas are continuing to mature.  Last weekend they needed to be staked up more to eliminate their sprawl.  They were beginning to overtake the garlic.  Now, the garlic has a clear shot at the sun.  I’m thinking about planting this entire bed with tomatoes next. With the beets thinned, they have more room to grow larger and are less likely to shade the garlic.

Note:  Do not plant peas on the east side of  a bed.  Their vigorous growth tends to shade anything trying to grow on the west side.