Hello. Good Bye.

Some onions are about ready to burst attracting more pollinators to the garden.  Not many butterflies yet; but there are honey bees, bumble bees, and hummingbirds visiting.  More visitors to the garden are expected soon.

This weekend I searched for a grape tomato plant to help fill my mother's need for daily munchable tomatoes.  She can be found cruising the grocery store aisles popping tiny tomatoes before finally checking out and paying for her treat.  We went for a ride to a nursery on the other side of town and found an overpriced, gangly plant that should work.

Johnny's Select Seeds describes this variety:  Bite-size, firm, oval-shaped grape tomatoes. Fruits avg. 10 gm. Plants have medium-short internodes and are manageable without pruning, but staking is recommended. Determinate.  For the metric challenged, 1gm = 0.035274 oz.  I'm still looking for a couple of other varieties of small tomatoes to try.  Determinate would be great; but it's not a requirement.  The search continues.

Sweet Olive Tomato Planted 05/04/14

The lame plant is very spindly and was growing horizontally.  I removed it's lower sets of leaves and planted it deep in nicely amended soil with organic fertilizer.  A bamboo stake and green garden tape helped to convince Sweet Olive that she needs to stand up straight.  Sweet Kern River water was then applied to welcome Sweet Olive into the garden. 

Rio Red Grapefruit

Sadly, this is the last harvest from the grapefruit tree for 2014.  Supplies have lasted from the first of the year until now.  And I usually eat one grapefruit each morning.  Good bye, Rio Red.  See you again in a few months.  

That's pretty good - and delicious.  My daily fruit will now switch to berries - boysenberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

The Onion Field*

Everything in the garden was planted in place - meaning that a package of seeds was opened and sown in the place the vegetables are intended to grow.  Onions are fairly easy to get started.  Like other vegetables that are root crops, the soil needs to be well draining and free of stones.  Make sure to choose a spot that will get full sun most of the day.

The seeds are usually pretty small – about the size of a grain of sand.  Please do not leave a geological comment regarding the previous generalized term.  Only lightly cover the seeds with soil and sprinkle to get everything nice and moist.  Keep the onion bed moist but not wet.  Some seeds germinate faster than others.  Bright green strings should start punching up towards the warm sun in about 6 – 10 days.  You might get some over achievers like the bunching onions I just planted on Sunday.  They are up today (Tuesday).  You’ll need to thin your sprouts to make room for a healthy crop.  The thinned onions can be used like you would chives.

A variety of onions are in for the fall / winter garden: 

Flat of Italy

He-Shi-Ko Bunching

Jaune Pailles Des Vertus

White Lisbon Bunching

Yellow of Parma

A package of seeds costs about $2 so the investment isn’t a big one.  That small investment helps you to have onions that will allow you to avoid the grocery store more and more while using your money for something else.

I love onions.  In fact, whenever I’m driving behind a trailer loaded with onions I roll down the windows and drive behind the truck for as long as possible to enjoy the onion scented air.

Enjoy.

 

*The Onion Field is a 1973 nonfiction book by Joseph Wambaugh that is set in the fields surrounding Bakersfield, California, my hometown.

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.

Mamas’ Day

Mamas’ Day was great.  The morning started early out in the garden finishing the tomato supports.  It was cool and breezy.  It was so cool I had to grab an extra shirt.  Excellent.  I snagged an onion for dinner and strawberries for a big bowl of fruit salad.  Notice the dust on the strawberry leaves.  A change is coming. I would loved to have tied the twine to the tomato supports and started planting the tomatoes; but my back had different plans.  Stooping over or bending was not in the plans.  I went to the kitchen to get some “upright” work done. The clouds began to roll in.  I had to change to sweat pants and a sweater.  Lovely.  The wind started to blow.  When the rain came some windows had to get shut. Sweet rain.  My babies probably ordered the weather just for me.  They’re good that way.  I really don’t mind that there was one tragedy due to the storm. It was a nice Mamas’ Day.

Onion Seeds as Art

Art can be found anywhere.  This was found this evening in the garden.  The onion seed pods are developing and starting to burst.  This shot turned out pretty cool.  It reminds me of performing art…

 

 

 

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.

Summer Crops – Part I

There are four raised beds in the garden.  Three of the four beds are ready for planting.  Let’s start the tour with bed number one.  Notice the tomato cages laying on their sides.  This is kitty litter prevention.  All four rows have been sewn and I do not want garden kitties to help themselves.  This should do the job until the seedlings are established.  All four rows will be planted with a variety of heirloom tomatoes.  I wanted to get the companion seedlings started before the tomato supports are installed and the tomatoes planted.

Here’s what has been planted from left to right.

Atomic Red Carrots are brilliant red and unique looking.  The 8” roots are high in lycopene which is helpful in preventing several types of cancer.  They should mature in 75 days.   They are supposed to be good companions to tomatoes according to Carrots Love Tomatoes.

Genovese Basil is very popular with cooks claims the seed package and catalogue.  It’s supposed to help tomatoes to overcome both insects and disease.  The flavor of the tomatoes is also improved with this companion.  Did you know basil repels mosquitoes and flies?

Yellow of Parma Onions is described in the catalogue as a Long-day type--Large, golden onions are oblong-globe shaped. This late onion makes an excellent keeper; a rare and hard-to-find Italian variety.  Like garlic, onions help repel insects from tomatoes, not to mention they taste great.

Jaune D’Or Ovale Radishes are golden.  The package has this to say:  In 1885 the French seed house Vilmorin mentioned “Jaune D’Or” as a new variety.  This French variety starts out a pale tannish-white and turns a yellowish-tan as the large roots mature.  The egg-shaped roots are medium-hot, and are great for salads; they seem to remain tender over a long period.  Be sure to try this unique old classic that France has been enjoying for over 125 years.  Radishes repel the two-spotted spider mite.

This bed is on the western most edge of the garden and in full sun.  With temperatures expected in the 80s next week (yuck), the seeds should be sprouting at a record rate.

What a Weekend

Here’s what’s been happening in Maybelline’s Garden this weekend.

Ladybugs are everywhere -  the lawn, fruit trees, and even my rear view mirror on the was back from the grocery store.  Here are a few shots of the ladies working on the strawberries and lavender.

Farmer MacGregor was busy constructing the supports for the tomatoes and lemon squash.  He even has plans to make drying racks for the garlic and onions.  Neighbors are in awe of his talent. The green onions were planted in one bed they will share with tomatoes.  The other tomato bed will also house radishes.  Farmer MacGregors supports will allow the tomatoes to be strung up allowing plenty of sunshine to hit the onions.  The companion gardening of placing onions amongst the tomatoes should help with pest control.  The same goes for the radishes. The hot peppers were transplanted into their final stage before being planted in the garden.  They join the tomatoes in the nursery that looks like its making  the best use of cups after a kegger. My mother’s lemon tree is loaded with small lemons.  I squeeze the juice and freeze it in ice cube trays storing the cubes in freezer bags.  Juice is always available that way plus the cut lemons make the house smell great.

I’m pooped.

Winter Garden – California Style

Here’s what we’re enjoying in Maybelline’s Garden:

 

 

 

While Noah was building his ark this weekend, I took pictures while the sun was still operating.  Today, January, 18, 2009, the winds howled and the sky opened up.  Wow.  It poured.  I hope the next storm sticks some snow up in the mountains.   This time of year is delightful.

Fall Planting Part II

1. eggplant/peppers 2. serrano peppers 3. broccoli 4. onions

February 6, 2010

The second bed from the west has been planted 1/2 way with fall crops – broccoli and onions. The eggplant, bell peppers, and serrano peppers are still producing; so they’re staying put for now.

Another bed is filled with pumpkins. I’ll wait another week or two then I’ll harvest the pumpkins and pull out the plants. Garlic should grow well over the winter. We use lots of garlic and onions; so I doubt if I could ever plant too much. Maybe some carrots and beets will fill that bed.

The final bed that had potatoes this past winter and cantaloupes this summer has now been turned with the hope of planting more above ground crops like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and lettuce. I would like to have some peas and need to noodle out a plan to get those in before things cool down.

Cool down? Is it possible? Tomorrow is supposed to be 108 and that’s more than enough to get these seeds off to a good start.

You can read Fall Planting Part I and see how the 1st planting is evolving.

September 24, 2009: The broccoli has sprouted! This heat is really pushing everything into high gear. Don’t know why I haven’t recorded the broccoli sprouts.

 October 3, 2009:  The onions are sprouting.  Volunteer marigolds are joining in.