Today's Babble - Zucchini

It appears that I have time on my hands 'cuz there's nothing doin' in the garden. Time to blog but nothing to blog about! A double edged sword.

Sooo I thought I would highlight a post by someone who does have things to talk about and I wanted to share it. I can't quite remember how I found it. It would be safe to say that I took the usual route....the circuitous one. Basically sheer luck. It's about life on the other side of the pond. You can find it here Thyme for Cooking.

Here she offers some solutions for "that" time of year. When people become zucchiniphobic. Neighbors hide when they see you coming. They run away screaming when you round the corner with an armful of green baseball bats...... "Noooooooo mooooore!" Ya, that's not going to happen to me this year but just in case......I will be ready. There's always next year. But for those of you with a bountiful harvest, here are some ideas in her blog.

Veggies - Keeping Track

Finally a little progress in the garden - not what it should be but c'est la vie.

Zucchini Babies

Purty Pumpkins

I was very pleasantly surprised with these. I pulled my leeks more than a week ago and decided to put the scapes in a vase with water. What a beautiful sight! They make an excellent bouquet and last really long. Very very interesting.


My cauliflower is showing it's first bud. The brassicas sure have to put up with a lot around here. The critters are brutal. Last year was my first year growing any and in absolute frustration over the constant attacks, I yanked most of them. I left a few to see how they would do and surprisingly they recovered quite well.

Although they are under siege again this year, I will be patient and let nature take it's course.

I try to keep organic and that makes it more difficult but I am committed. Go cauliflower!

Another Day in Paradise...

Guess what? It rained today...again. Not only that but it was severe enough that the National Weather Service interrupted radio transmissions to announce that a tornado could potentially touch down. My town was on the top of the list. Thankfully it didn't fully materialize. The reports are that supercells and microbursts hit a few miles to the north and a few miles to the south - hail, flooding, downed trees, etc. but we only saw heavy rain. One town about 15 miles north of here has gotten 9" of rain since last Thursday - only 6 days!

It has been relentless this year - rainy and very cool. It's 59 degrees right now! I haven't even been in the pool yet this year. That is just wrong! I am usually in the pool in May. I'm thinking that my garden may be a bust. My banana peppers are not even 6" tall and they've been in since the end of May. Oh well since I can't change it, I might as well get over it.

It's June?

Brrrr. Somebody forgot to tell the powers that be that it's June! I'm OK with it but what about the tender veggies? They are not doing a thing. No growth at all. It has been 50-60'ish during the day and 40's at night. Will they recover? I dunno.

So with the garden at a standstill.....some feathered friends.

Memorial Day - Veggie Kick Start

"OFFICIAL" PLANTING OF THE VEGGIES
The past two days have been spent prepping and planting the veggie beds - finally! One last addition of black gold (compost) and we are ready to rock 'n roll.

I planted several varieties of tomatoes, jalapenos, banana peppers, celery, pumpkins, cukes, eggplant, brussel sprouts, watermelon, and zucchini for now. Look how silly the little peppers look next to the garlic! Not for long!

Last year I pickled the banana peppers and they were a hit with my daughters so I'll definitely do that again this year. The jalapeno peppers won't go to waste either. One of my daughters works at a Mexican restaurant and last year's yield was used to make some excellent Ceviche. Once a week she has some of the cooks/chefs over and a big ole batch is whipped up. Now that is something to look forward to!

POTATO BAGS
I have mentioned before how delighted I was with my neighbor's garden fresh potatoes last summer and so had to grow my own this year. I have kind of been in a quandary as to what I should do because we might be moving this summer so I wanted them to be movable. In keeping with the spirit of this blog, I decided to experiment with Smart Pots that I bought at Gardener's Supply.

In addition to my "potatoes to go", I've split tomatoes, cukes, peppers, celery, etc. between the raised beds and containers , just in case.

Unexpected Findings.....Pleasant and Otherwise
Sometimes when you're down on your hand and knees you come across some funky stuff. Such was the case today when I found this in my raised bed....

Indoor Seeds - Round 2

Well three days later, I'm just getting back to seed starts.
Obviously I got sidetracked. So unlike me. Not! The second round of seeds were planted on the 15th. I planted:

• Tomato - Mortgage Lifter (x18)
• Onion - Evergreen (x8)
• Yellow Peter Pepper (x6)
• Morning Glory - Pink Star (x8) - and already 5 sprouts after 3 days!
• Tomato - Sweet 100's (x10)
• Orangesicle Peppers (x9)
• Dutchmen's Pipe "Grandiflora" (x9)

Have I mentioned how much I love this whole process? Seeds become food from food that is full of seeds.

Indoor Seeds - Round 1

Turkey & Dirt

While the bird was in the oven for Easter dinner I decided to multi-task. Soooooo........I got out the peat pots and related gear as the bird was cooking. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I bought a couple of those prefilled peat pots trays and quickly found out how hard it is to moisten the soil. After a few different approaches, the solution was to grab a bowl > add dirt > add water and swish around with my hands. Voila! There - now that works! Hubby who had spent the afternoon on the couch watching baseball happened upon the scene and was overcome by the very earthy smell permeating the kitchen. "Are we having turkey or dirt for dinner?", he asked. Oy! I do silly stuff!

Anyhoo....normally I start my seeds way too early and have problems with damping off and what not so I decided to start them a few weeks later this year. I managed to get these started:

• Cilantro
• Cucumbers - Bush Champion
• Eggplant - Black Beauty
• Jalapenos (can't wait for Ceviche this summer!)
  
• Snake Gourds
• Giant Pumpkins
• Dipper Gourds
• Birdhouse Gourds
• Sunflowers - Golden Cheer
  

Next up......tomatoes & peppers.

Spring has Sprung!

Welcome Spring! Finally!

After a rather wicked winter the garden is awakening! Spring bulbs are readying to burst open with color. The unmistakable smell of hyacinth will soon be wafting in the air. I love all Spring flowers but hyacinths......yummy. Tulips won't be far behind! Whew-hew!

Yesterday was a beautiful day - time to kick start the garden!



Cold-Frame
Installed the small cold frame in the veggie bed. This was fashioned out of wood with an old window hinged on top. I must give credit where credit is due because this would never have happened without the help of my neighbor Colin (I am forbidden from using power tools that have the potential to remove my limbs). Thank you Colin.

The first seeds to go in were:

• Cabbage - Earliana
• Cauliflower - Early Snowball
• Spinach - Baby's Leaf
  
• Lettuce - Sweet Salad mix includes Black Seeded Simpson, Green & Red Salad Bowl, Marvel of Four Seasons and Bibb
• Lettuce - Looseleaf Blend includes BSS and G&RSB plus Royal Oak Leaf, Lolla Rosa and Salad Bowl

Feeling a little adventurous I thought I would direct sow in the garden next to the cold-frame to compare the results. I smell an "experiment" . How clever is that! Ha!

While puttering in the garden I observed the leeks that I planted last summer. To my amazement they survived a New England winter and actually seemed quite content - they looked good and smelled even better. Now, about leeks......last summer was the 1st time that I ever grew them, if "grow" is what you want to call it. They were planted as 1" starts last June and by season's end the were rather pathetic looking - perhaps 1/3" in diameter. Contrary to my nature, I did NOT yank them in the Fall but rather I decided to leave them be. Hmmmm.....I am interested to see what happens. If this is the kind of growth schedule that they are on, I guess I now know why they are so expensive in the store.