Blog Archives
First Look at our Garden Plans for 2012
It’s a little bit funny that we’re talking about our planting plans when we aren’t remotely close to having beds to plant in. However, we’re eternal optimists and are forging ahead with our planting plans, regardless of whether or not we ever actually get to implement them! I think we’ll have some very exciting things in the garden this year, assuming the construction goes well this spring.
Friday PhotoEssay
I’ve got a few more pictures to share from the destruction this week. Maybe then we can move on to happier topics.
Here’s our version of those really expensive tricolor pepper packages you see in the store. These peppers were hidden lower on the plants, and so didn’t get picked when they were smaller. I know I have a hard time leaving them on the plants long enough to get this big.
Poor habaneros – the plants were covered in blooms this week, but no peppers. Maybe we’ll try them again next year.
I know the glare on the plastic bag is bad, but I was too lazy to dump out all these little guys. We had a full gallon bag of these Mini Belle Peppers. I wish they had been about twice the size.
Another look at our overflowing compost bin. I was really sad to pull out those citrus marigolds. I think everyone else was too, because they were almost the last thing removed, and I ended up doing the deed.
We did have a few casualties during garden demolition this week…I didn’t see this one occur, until the aftermath. Poor screwdriver. I also know there’s a missing hammer head somewhere in the garden. I’m actually surprised that we didn’t break at least one shovel in the process, since we were using them as crowbars.
Have a great weekend!
Friday PhotoEssay
I hadn’t really realized how much I miss all the fall gardening that we usually do until I was going through some pictures from the last 2 years. It makes our garden this fall seem pretty sad.
I’m sure the tomatoes are the main culprit for the sadness. These two plants toppled over in the wind a couple days ago. They just got too top heavy with all the growth and fruit at the top, and then the wind knocked them over. Luckily, it seems like no harm was done. I stood them up and stuck a couple posts in the cages to help hold them up.
Some of the Master Gardeners worked on planting a new shade trial garden this week. We have several different types of ornamentals and grasses that we are testing for K-State to see how well they do in a situation where they are competing with tree roots in a non-improved soil.
The Mini Belle Peppers are fairly prolific, although the fruit are still about 1/2 to 1/3 the size I think they should be. They probably need more fertilizer, but they aren’t going to get it. Isn’t that orange color beautiful, though?
Last year, the citrus marigolds just keeled over in the heat of summer. This year, the plant didn’t look very good for most of the summer, but it is finally holding its own. I love the lacy foliage with the tiny blooms. I did try eating one (yes, they’re edible), and it wasn’t bad. But not quite good enough for me to dig out that citrus marigold sauce recipe.
I haven’t shared as many cooking adventures this year, but here’s a picture of one interesting experiment. This is a Peanut-Pork Satay with lots of peppers, and instead of noodles or rice, we made Cucumber Noodles. Yes, that’s right – that slightly green pile of noodles is 100% cucumber. (Well…probably 98%, by the time you account for butter and seasoning.) We sliced the cucumbers into noodles with a mandolin slicer, blanched them in boiling water, drained them, then sauteed them in butter. They were pretty good!
Here are 4 of the 5 melons we picked this week. They are pretty small, and unfortunately, not very tasty. The small ones tasted over-ripe and mealy. The larger ones were better, but still not as sweet as we might have wished.
Have a great weekend! Next week – Garden Demolition!
Beginning of the End and Family of 4 Harvest Report
While some years we might keep things going longer, due to the renovation we are tearing out most plants sooner than some years. Today we hacked the grapevines to bits, pulled and distributed all the herbs, and started tearing out the flowers. Next week the tomatoes and peppers will be pulled, ready or not!
We had some very healthy parsley that will be great for cooking. We pulled all the annual herbs and harvested what we wanted for culinary use. The perennials all got potted up and distributed to new homes.
All except for the garlic chives, that is. After all, you only need so many garlic chives. If you are desperate, there are a whole bunch in the compost bin, and I’m sure they’ll still be in fine condition.
We also had a nice haul of tomatoes from the ‘Golden Rave’ Roma plant in the Family of 4 Garden. Combined with a modest harvest of peppers this week, several small cantaloupes, and all the herbs, we had a decent selection of veggies this week.
Family of 4 Garden Harvest
1.75 lb of tomatoes @ $2.00/lb = $3.50
3 bell peppers @ $1.25/each = $3.75
Weekly Total: $7.25
Year to Date: $217.71
Friday PhotoEssay
Friday already! Of course there’s lots of peppers, but also a few other pretties here and there.
The Yummy Peppers are finally producing. For some reason, they just take awhile to really start producing. It’s a good thing I got this picture early, because the Master Gardeners ate these up like candy. They are really sweet!
This is just a cool picture….a cucumber beetle on the flowers of a Root Beer Agastache plant. I love the colors and the contrast. Apparently the cucumber beetles like rootbeer flavor too!
We had a pretty good haul from the two purple bell pepper varieties this week (Purple Beauty & Merlot). They are a little smaller than I would like, but I think they are normally smaller than what you would see in the grocery store.
The morning glories are really showing off right now. They are an invasive pain, but they are also really beautiful.
Better late than never, right? The Chocolate Habanero plants are FINALLY budded. I just hope we get some ripe peppers before it gets too cold.
Have a great weekend!
