Before the Rain

Rain, rain, and more rain.  This past weekend, the weather turned cold and damp...not a great start to June.

Friday night, before the rain started I went out to do some weeding and harvested what I could.  I picked 8 strawberries, 1 pea, and 1 head of lettuce. I also picked some thyme and rosemary (to make flatbread - a great rainy day snack).

I just can't get enough of these cute, perfect strawberries!

and look...my first tomato (on my sunsugar plant).

Ready, Set, Grow

I got up early on Sunday morning to head to Russell's Garden Center so that I could buy everything needed to get my garden going for the season. I wanted to beat the traffic and the crowds, since it was going to be another beautiful day in Boston.  I also knew that I had a long day ahead of me since I had not quite yet finished prepping the beds.  In addition to my "standard" list of veggies (with a few new varieties thrown in), my goal was to vary my raised beds this year with some flowers.  I am very fortunate to have extra space this year, as my friend is not able to garden in her 6' x 3' bed.  I was incredibly overwhelmed by the vast amount of flower varieties, but ultimately ended up going with a few favorites that will hopefully make nice arrangements throughout the summer. Here is what I ended up with...

Veggies/Herbs
Cucumber - Burpee Gold Standard Hybrid
Tomato - Sugary (grape), Sunsugar
Eggplant - Black Beauty
Pepper - Valencia
Sweet Basil
Rosemary

Flowers
Argyranthemum - white & pink
Dahlla
Coneflower
Snapdragon
Cosmos
Zinnia

After a lot more work prepping the beds and refreshing the "square foot" lines with new string, I planted got everything planted.  In addition, I planted the three grafted tomato varieties I had ordered from Burpee (Bradywine and two San Marzano) and sowed one row of the following:
Carrot - Little Finger, Danvers
Bean - Kentucky Wonder, Pole

Since I am always looking for new tips and tricks, I decided to try the "Tomato and Pepper Automator Trays."  I have to say that they were a little awkward to set up, but I am hoping that they give my two Grafted San Marzano plants an extra boost.

Overall, I am really excited for my garden this year and to see the transformation as everything grows. Who knows if the flowers will eventually overshadow the veggie plants, but I tried to place them as best I could based on sun pattern, and all I can do is hope for the best.  With rain the past two days, hopefully everything will adjust to their new home.

5.20.2012

First Harvest of 2012

Spring temps are finally stabilizing around Boston, and even though we have had a lot of rain I can't help get excited for the warm temperatures ahead and another year of backyard gardening.

Like last year, I plan to head to Russell's after volunteering at the graduation for the college where I work this weekend to pick up veggie plants and flowers.  However, I still have to finalize my garden plan and figure out what to buy this year. I already ordered and received three grafted, heirloom tomato plants from Burpee.  The two San Marzano that I had last year produced incredibly well, so I went with them again. My third plant is a different variety than last year, a Red Brandywine.

I have made the decision not to grow tomatillos again, even though I loved the salsa they produced.  The two plants I had last year just took over and were hard to keep up with.  I was able to can a lot of the salsa and enjoyed it throughout the winter.  However, I have been told that tomatillo seeds are pretty hearty and can over-winter, so I am watching to see if any pop up in the beds.  There are few sprouting plants that I have not yet confirmed their identity, so I will need to do some research to find out what they are.

I bought a few pea seedlings at Home Depot in April on a whim because I had not yet sown my sugar snap pea seeds.  However, these plants are not doing very well.  They are only about a foot tall (about double the size), but at the same time, already producing flowers...and peas!  This was Wednesday night's  harvest...three peas...and cilantro (I love an 'excuse' to make salsa.)

My thyme plant over wintered very well, and much better than my rosemary, which I have declared dead.

Next up...strawberries!  My plants multiplied quite a bit and I am excited for even more strawberries this year.

 5/16/2012

Rosemary & Thyme Flatbread

My rosemary and thyme bushes are really starting to take off. So, I wanted to figure out how I could use a lot of each herb at once. I remembered a recipe from smitten kitchen (one of my favorite cooking blogs) that I made a while back - rosemary flatbread. It was absolutely delicious - and easy as she says it is. Since she commented that other herbs like thyme could be substituted for rosemary, I decided to make a batch with thyme.

Due to a limited parchment supply, I cut four 8" x 6" squares - which made the flatbread a little thicker than a thin cracker. However, both versions were very yummy!

Strawberry Season

English Lavender

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I spent the weekend up in Maine, seeing family and welcoming the start of summer with open arms. Although slightly cooler up north, it sounds like it was a great, hot weekend for most of New England.

I had a special treat of fresh Jersey strawberries that my parents brought up from southern NJ, which tasted heavenly paired with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Then, as I returned home tonight to my garden I found that a few of my own Junebearing Strawberries had ripened.

Now, I know the rule that you are supposed to pinch back flowers on strawberry plants in their first year to help them establish for the future - but I am just too impatient to follow that rule. I let my three plants flower away. So, tonight I ate three great tasting strawberries of my own.

I swear that most of my plants doubled in size over the weekend. I love watching everything grow. In addition to the three strawberries, I harvested more Salad Bowl Lettuce (2.25 oz) and my first head of Boston Lettuce (4.75 oz).

5/30/11 harvest

Other growing news...
The volunteer tomatoes are taking over and will need to be moved soon:


My first tomatoes (Better Boy) are growing:


My second succession of Black-Seeded Blue Lake Pole Beans (planted only on 5/24) are about half the size of the first succession, planted more than two weeks earlier on 5/8. The warm weather really made a difference with germination:

Commencement

This past weekend seemed to be all about commencement. One of the great volunteer opportunities I have in working at a college is assisting at the annual graduation ceremony. For the second year in a row I signed up to be a "marshal," someone assigned to lead/direct a row of students during the commencement activities. Although a bit stressful at times, it is such a great opportunity to share the day with students. It also means that I have to look the part - wearing the whole outfit: black robe, a hood with my grad school's colors, and even the hat with tassel! Saturday's ceremony was ordinary and extraordinary at the same time, and everyone was thankful that the weather cooperated.

Immediately following the commencement ceremony, I went over to Russell's Garden Center in Wayland, MA to buy a majority of the vegetables I wanted to plant this year. I had everything calculated and planned out - expect for a few varieties of tomatoes. There are many varieties to choose from, but I just picked a few based on wanting a combination of cherry, paste and slicing tomatoes - with some 'new to me' varieties. I am very excited to have the 2011 growing season officially commence. This is what I came home with:

• Marigold (Durango Orange, Durango Outback Mix, Bonanza Yellow)
• Tomato (Italian Ice, Jet Star, San Marzano, Sunsugar, Better Boy)
• Basil (Sweet)
• Cucumber (Diva, Northern Pickling)
• Tomatillo (Toma Verde)
• Eggplant (Black Beauty)
• Pepper (Golden Summer, Red Beauty)
• Parsley (Flat)
• Zinnia (Cut & Come Again)

Tomatillos are new for me and although I have some research still to do, I hope to diversify my salsa creations this summer. I am also curious about the Italian Ice cherry tomato variety. They are going to be white/ivory! The Sunsugar cherry tomato was just too amazing last year (about 240 harvested) to pass up. I grew impatient waiting for my marigold seeds (planted 4/17) to grow, so I bought some plants. I just love the instant color they bring to the boxes. I left a few of the marigold seeds that actually germinated, but there may not be enough room for them all to mature.

On Sunday I was able to get everything in the ground, but a rain storm interrupted me mid-day so I had to stop. Luckily it stopped in late afternoon just enough to allow me to plant the rest. I cleaned up the tomato plants, trimming the lower leaves to promote upward growth and placed a few crushed egg shells around the base of the tomato and pepper plants for added calcium. I have a few empty squares as I wait on the arrival of my mail-order grafted tomato plants, wait to sow the next succession of carrots & lettuce seeds, and purchase two cabbage plants. Here are what the boxes look like after planting - it is great to have them full.

This week I really need to start harvesting some of the Salad Bowl lettuce, which will be my first harvest! Over the past few days, I noticed a few volunteer tomato seedlings among the weeds that have popped up in the SFG beds. I am hoping to let one grow a bit to see what it turns into!

This week looks to be very rainy. Hopefully my all my plants will survive the heavy downpours. I have heard from a few people that crops seem to be behind compared to this time last year. It has definitely been a cool spring. However, since weather can change in a second, who knows what this summer will bring. My fingers are crossed that it will be as good of a year as 2010!

Garden Overview 5/15/11

Lavender Help Needed

These are my two lavender plants. One English (left) and one French-Provence (right). I purchased them last year and then brought them both from my community plot when I moved. I immediately planted them upon setting up my beds in November. They are looking pretty sad. I have read a little bit about lavender plants, but am still having a hard time figuring out if they are going to bounce back, or if I need to trim them back at all. One article said to trim them back to the woody part in the spring. However, most of the stems appear to be very woody. The English lavender definitely has evidence of new growth, as seen below:

Does anyone have any experience with lavender - especially keeping the plants as perennials in Zone 6? I would love to hear your advice.

Sprouting peas

Sugar Snap Peas are sprouting!

So far about 14/18 seeds planted have broken through the soil. Planted on 4/3, they took exactly two weeks to sprout.

On Sunday I planted the following:
Lettuce - Boston (plants)
Lettuce - Salad Bowl (plants)
Onion - Red (plants) - total experiment; I am not really sure what to do with them
Marigold - Crackerjack (seed) - seeds were free, but I worry that this variety will be too big
Carrot - Short n' Sweet (seed) - half of one square
Carrot - Little Finger (seed) - half of one square
Strawberry - June-bearing (plant) - I couldn't resist increasing my changes for strawberries this year

Earlier in the week I planted a thyme and rosemary bush. I already experienced the convenience of having the herbs outside my door. While grilling Sunday night I was able to add some fresh thyme to my basket of onions, potatoes and peppers. Yum!

Here are some updated box shots - now that there something growing in each one.

Box 1
(Currently growing: marigold, thyme, rosemary)

Box 2
(Currently growing: marigold, sugar snap pea, strawberry, lettuce, carrot)

Box 3
(Currently growing: marigold, lavender, red onion)

No Joke

It was not fun waking up to this garden scene.

Fortunately, I do not have much to be worried about, but I rescued the pansies just in case. I am still not sure if the strawberry & lavender plants survived the winter; hopefully this storm won't kill them. It is supposed to "warm up" this weekend, so I plan to get my peas in the ground.

Harvest Monday: Watermelon!!

I have to confess, I am not a die-hard watermelon fan. However, in my quest like more things, I figured that growing one would help! I picked my first Sugar Baby watermelon today, with one still left in the garden. It was definitely the sweetest and most flavorful one I have ever had!

Additional harvested items include lots of tomatoes and basil (small varieties not shown). The dry, hot weather and my inconsistent watering are taking a toll on my large tomatoes, where they have developed many cracks. However, I am just happy to have so many this year. Last year, my plants did not produce as many and critters always selected the ripest ones to munch on right before harvesting!

My Green Zebra variety is being very neglected. The fruit are so hard to see within all the greenery from neighboring tomato plants, that I keep leaving them too long on the vine. I have to make a more conscience effort to look for them since they are not as easy to spot as the red ones.

Green beans were plentiful, along with some of the last pickling cucumbers. I harvested my first red Giant Marconi pepper and four small Italian Pepperoncini.

It is sad to see signs that the garden is slowing down, but so am I. Sunflowers were pulled and the weeds are starting to win. However, I still have a lot to look forward to...like potatoes (fingers crossed) and butternut squash!

A crooked garden overview, 8/8/10

Found: Seeds in Triscuit Boxes

Triscuit wants everybody to experience 'home farming.' They included basil or dill seeds in 4 million boxes, providing seed cards inside marked boxes. My mom is the one that pointed this promotion out to me, and gave me two basil seed cards. I hope to plant them soon.

I think this is a creative way to spread the word about gardening, especially for kids who will be able to see how easy and [in my mind...miraculous] it is to grow a plant/vegetable from one seed speck.

For more information on Triscuit's collaboration with urbanfarming.org visit www.triscuit.com/homefarming

Disclaimer: I am not sure if this promotion is still running; just check your local Triscuit retailer to find out!

Perfect Growing Weather?

After being away at a conference in Kansas City, MO for a week I visited the garden yesterday. I could not believe how much everything had grown! I think the great weather we have been having has kicked the plants into overdrive. Some of my veggie plants almost doubled in size (or so I want to believe). Unfortunately, it also meant that the weeds grew even faster! I spent a lot of time weeding my perimeter beds and in "the addition" - because, of course my SFG boxes were weedless!

My potato box is now complete and filled to the top with soil. I anticipate them starting to flower by the end of the month (when I will check for new potatoes). I appreciate the cautionary comments from Leslie of dreams and bones, " I have found that soil that is too fertile tends to yield lots of foliage but no spuds. So as you add dirt, make it dirt, not some extra enriched soil." This is a lesson that I may have to learn this year, sine I used a mixture of free compost and store-bought potting soil. The plants definitely grew fast (planted on 4/18; first sprouted on 5/7) - way faster than anticipated, which may not be a good sign! I still wonder if there are any spuds in there! Hopefully the mystery will soon be solved!

I love getting comments and tips! This is what blogging is all about-sharing and learning!

In other growing news, my two corn varieties are coming along nicely!

Brocade Sweet & Japanese Hulless Popcorn

Here is my first 2010 harvest comprised of lettuce (Salad Bowl & Mesclun Mix), Sugar Snap Peas, Basil...and something else that is so special it needs its own post (to follow shortly!)

In not so great news...my Everbearing Strawberry plants appear to be growing well and producing small berries, but critters have made any red berry inedible to humans. I placed some bird netting over the plants two weeks ago, but it is not stopping smaller pests. Also, two of my cucumber varieties, recently bought and transplanted, did not make it. With sadness, I pulled up my shriveled Diva & Burpless seedlings (varieties that served me well last year). However, I decided to try two new varieties: Sweet Success & Straight Eight!

Lots of additions!

The past few weeks have brought a lot of additions to my garden, but not to my blog. My most exciting update is that my potatoes are growing! I always have a little uncertainty when planting by seed and wonder, "is anything happening?" I was not sure quite how long it would take for the Bintje potato plants to push through the soil. I anticipated 3-4 weeks, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the first leaves after 2 1/2 weeks!

Bintje Potatoes (planted 4/18) on 5/7 & 5/16

In other news, I added a yellow bistro set so I now have a place to rest my tired feet (and back) and also a place for guests to sit! I am attempting to grow grass so that I have something soft to run my toes through! In addition I now have a blue, triangle shade 'sail' to have provide some sun protection as my garden provides no shade. This design allows me to take it down and put it up easily. I look forward to many mornings, afternoons, and evenings here! Come on over!

Sunday was a BIG planting day! Our last frost day came late this year, as temps dipped back down into the 30s and 40s last week. However, with the beautiful weekend weather, I was anxious to fill the rest of my SFG boxes! I had finished my research and knew which type of vegetable/herb/plant I was going to plant in each square foot! I made most of my purchases at Russell's Garden Center in Wayland, MA. I went there for the first time last year and was blown away by their variety and quantity of vegetable plants! In addition to my garlic and potatoes already planted, I am trying a lot of new things this year: watermelon, eggplant, butternut squash, corn and all new varieties of tomatoes and peppers.

Here is what I planted on Sunday, except for a few sown on 5/11: [s] = seed; [p] = plant

Nasturtium - Fordhook Favorites Mix [s]
Fennel [s]
Basil - Sweet [p]
Lavender - Provence [p]
Bean - Black-seeded Blue Lake Snap Pole Bean (planted 5/11) [s]
Corn - Brocade Sweet; Japanese Hullless Popcorn (planted 5/11) [s]
Cabbage - Market Prize [p]
Squash - Butternut [p]
Eggplant - Hansel [p]
Watermelon - Sugar baby [p]
Cucumber - Diva, Burpless, Northern Picking [p]
Pepper - Carmen, Giant Marconi, Italian Pepperoncini [p]
Tomato- La Roma II, Yellow Pear, First Lady, Green Zebra, Sunsugar, Sungold [p]

Unfortunately, I lost track of which square I was working in and dug up a few beans. I am hoping a few still come up!!

I still actually have 4 squares still unaccounted for and am thinking of getting two more basil plants and two more tomato plants to ensure I have enough for my anticipated canning and pesto-making adventures!

SFG Boxes (5/16/10)

a lizard in the garden overview