A Moment of Silence for the Tomatoes, Please

Well, I feel like a true pioneer woman today... except that they didn't have a freezer! Technically, you're not supposed to water bath can tomatoes from dead/dying vines, so I have to freeze everything or pressure can it (which I just don't have the energy for).

My tomatoes, for those who haven't heard, have succombed entirely to late tomato blight. I'm about to head out and rip up every last plant, bag it up, and throw it away! I can't even compost them (sigh). But I harvested every last usable tomato and made 7 pints of green tomato salsa, 1 quart of green tomato ketchup, and pureed 10 cups for breads/cakes this week. I'm about to tackle the last bit of red tomatoes for some sauce for the freezer. I'm afraid to just freeze the tomatoes themselves because the few who have blight already on them are succombing. I'm afraid it might still eat the tomatoes in the freezer. So, I'm going to cut out all bad spots and cook those babies with some fresh basil--maybe I'll do some soup. I'm WORN OUT. The green tomato salsa and ketchup all got made today. I'm pooped. I'm actually glad I won't be harvesting any tomatoes next week. And then I'll start to get sad. Maybe my peppers will do even better without the competition for light and nutrients (my tomatoes have grown over everything and are so congested thanks to all the rain--it's no wonder they all got sick).

Here's my tomato count for the season: (no doubt it would be higher if the stupid squirrels hadn't shown such a love for green tomatoes--no telling how many they carried off!) (this includes everything I picked--many of which I've given away)

Romas: 58 (mix of several--some from Parks and some from Lowe's)

All-Purpose: 35 (mix of Rutgers (they do well for me), Fabulous, Early Girls, Celebrity)

Mr. Stripeys: 12 (these are my favorite and this is the healthiest plant... sigh...these babies are HUGE, very cool-looking tomatoes--even the green ones are prettier than other green ones)

Orange Cherries (cups): 8

Yellow Pears--cherry type (cups): 8

Green Tomatoes: 6 pounds miscellaneous plus 30 all-purpose/Mr. Stripeys and 20 Romas

Organic Gardening is for the Birds...

...and slugs, cabbage loopers, roly polies, weird black bugs, worms, rabbits, dogs,.....

I'm delighted to report that I harvested two monstrous heads of Napa cabbage Thursday night and will harvest two more this week. The amount of bugs in my kitchen sink as I did the preliminary cleaning of one head gave Elizabeth nightmares.... Seriously. They freaked her out, and she woke up in the middle of the night thinking there were bugs in her bed. It could have been because her mommy was also a little freaked out and working VERY hard to keep all the bugs in the sink/down the drain as they frantically crawled up the walls of the sink. Hmm.... Next time, I'll just hose the cabbages off outside or dunk them in the kiddy pool (when there are no kids in it).

ANYWAY, once that trauma was past us, I was willing to re-wash and eat this lovely, Swiss-cheese-looking cabbage. The bugs left me a little, and, when it's chopped finely in a yummy Mexican slaw, you can't even see the little holes and inroads from the bugs.

I've got baby tomatoes coming on one tomato plant, cukes/beans/zucchini/winter squash sprouting, and pepper and basil plants thriving. All greens, save the cabbage, have gone to seed. Oh, I even harvested a little broccoli. My peas look like they're packing up for summer vacation.

How's everyone else's little plots doing? Katie, I know, has some Swiss chard coming up.

The Harvest Continues!

I'm sure Sarah and Curt are harvesting more radishes by now.... I, on the other hand, have yet to plant my radishes. Hmmm....

However, I just picked my first snow peas!! My sugar snaps are taking their time (and only about 1/3 of the plants have even survived to this point). I picked about 1 cup of snow peas, though, and there are more that will be ready soon! I read that you can pick snow peas when they're still flat, but about 3 inches long. I had flowers last week and, boom, this week I have peas--keep an eye on them if you have any.

Here's a website for freezing peas (any kind--shelled, edible pod, etc.). Check it out--you can always pick up some at the farmer's market and do this with them.

Stephanie's Garden

Stephanie doesn't have a computer at home, so that's the main reason she's not a fellow "author" on this gardening journal/blog. But I took some pictures of her terrific garden this week and thought I'd post them! She's got wonderfully thick rows of sugar snap peas and cauliflower, double rows of green beans and green onions, and a few tomato and pepper plants. To top it off, there were already strawberry plants and raspberry plants on her property! Check these pictures out (I'm envious--anyone else?).

Oh, the Drama....

Anyone else having such a dramatic (and traumatic) gardening experience this spring? Short list of my troubles as of the beginning of May here:

1. Slugs!!! And not just a few... oh no... my snow peas, in particular, are COVERED in them!!! So, here's a link to a rundown of some organic gardening slug control practices, courtesy of  magazine. Katie, you'll notice that your dad's solution of putting the board down is mentioned.... I'm going to have to try that one.
2. Cutworms!!! Well, that's Katie's diagnosis for what's ailing my tomato plants and it sounds about right (sigh). Of the 15 plants that I planted last weekend, only 5 have stalks and leaves left. The rest: vanished. This time, the kids aren't the culprits because the plants are behind the garden fence. I've been nursing these babies for months, now, and am so depressed. Again, it sounds like Katie's dad has the popular solution: a "collar" made by a paper cup. This is what Organic Gardening recommends. Katie also suggested tying popsicle sticks to the plants' little stems.
3. Cabbage Loopers!!! These are ATTACKING my napa cabbage, broccoli, and mustard greens with a true vengeance. They're pretty little things, but, if I'm going to stay organic here, will take more work to get rid of, if I'm following OG's solutions.... (sigh). Stephanie's father-in-law (who is a big-time gardener) also recommends sprinkling sawdust on plants such as broccoli and cauliflower. Since I had some of that in the basement courtesy of my hubby's wood-working habits, that's what I went with tonight.
4. Mustard greens bolting: not a terrible problem in and of itself, but I'd hoped to get more greens out of the plants before they bolted. We'll be eating them tomorrow, but I doubt I have more than one-two meals' worth. I suppose I'll be trying these again in the fall (incidentally, OG mentioned that there are fewer pests in the fall, so maybe I'll have better luck all the way around with the cabbage family then). 

Hope the rest of you are having better luck! On the positive side, my cucumbers have reseeded themselves from last year.... I can't remember if I'd planted hybrids or not, they're not in the place I'd earmarked for cukes this year, and there are about 10 of them in a tiny clump. But, nonetheless, they cheered me up.

Pea Shoots....

You have to try the pea shoots recipe--with any Asian greens (we did a combo of young mustard greens, bok choy, and pea shoots). It's wonderful! Here's the link again: Pea Shoots Stir-Fried with Garlic

You'll all going to have stuff you could try this with sometime soon I bet. Mmmmm

More on Pea Shoots

If they're good, then I might try this for a continuous supply.... It would be a terrific project for my intrepid 3-year-old.

Storebought Tomato Plants v. Home-seed-started Tomato Plants

Thanks to my sacrificed tomato seedlings, I succumbed and bought a few replacement tomato plants at Lowe's today. Here's what I've noticed (yes, a picture would be helpful, but that would require me finding the camera, putting my shoes on, heading outside, taking pictures, and then waiting for the upload--I'm counting on my fellow gardeners' imaginations here):

Lowe's plants are much bigger, taller, leafier, and prettier than mine. Am I discouraged? Maybe.

But then I remember: tomato plants gain more root structure each time you repot them more deeply (you can bury up to 80% of the plant when you transplant it and it will grow roots from the buried stalk). Mine are in their 3rd pot, having been buried nice and deeply each time. So, we'll see which plants do better when the hot, dry summer weather hits: the fancy, leafy Lowe's ones or the looks-can-be-deceiving-killer-root-system-home-started ones. Any guesses? I'll make sure I label them clearly so when the rubber meets the road in August, we'll know.

Incidentally, one of the ones I bought was a Mr. Stripey--these are very fun looking tomatoes in case you want ANOTHER tomato plant. (Maybe I should have taken the tomato murder as a sign from the Lord that I already had too many tomato plants--especially for a family that doesn't like them raw very much.)

First Harvest!!!

After much distress over my brutally, savagely murdered tomato seedlings* (a Golden Gem, 2 Early Girls, and 1 heirloom), I noticed with delight that we'll be eating our first meal from the garden this week!!!! What a nice pick-me-up.

I'm choosing to ignore the fact that, were the rabbits not so greedy in their nibblings, we could be eating baby bok choy several times instead of the one, small, brave plant I'm going to harvest today. Since you can't make a meal on 1 baby bok choy plant alone, I'm also going to harvest some pea shoots. My 3-year-old helper planted them rather thickly, so we have some thinning to do. I'm going to try this recipe. We'll also have Napa cabbage soon, some mesculun mix, and probably green onions if I wanted them. How're everyone else's gardens growing?

*the murder of aforementioned tomato seedlings went something like this in my imagination: "Hey, W, come over here and look what I can do." "OK." "Ooohh... cool.... we can pinch off all the leaves." "Yeah, and we can pinch off the ENTIRE stalk, too!" "This is so much fun." "It's just like what Mommy does with those plants near the sidewalk [herbs]." "I bet we're being big helpers, the three of us."

What to Plant When...and a book/blog suggestion

This is a great web site for knowing what to plant when in your particular "neck of the woods".
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/What-To-Plant-Now.aspx

Would you like to know how I found it :)? Well, I recently read a book called Made from Scratch, and while reading discovered that the author ( a mere youngster!) had once lived in our previous corner of the planet! I have had a great time reading her blog. You can read an excerpt of it here, on Mother Earth News:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/Homestead-Life-Jenna-Woginrich.aspx

Anyway, one click lead to another and I thought the "what to plant when" info. was very helpful!

Update

Well, I am glad that someone has dogs that are helpful!!

Here is our garden update: http://cassie-mrstsblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/garden-update.html It appears that I posted it to the wrong blog!

Some Garden Photos

I enjoyed seeing Sara's garden a bit over the weekend, so I thought I'd post some pics of our (struggling) crops. You'll have to drive by on the Dogwood Trail to get the full impact of the azaleas coming out and the few dogwoods that survived the previous years' droughts. But the azaleas are electric!!

First, we have a nice, flourishing row of snow peas. They're doing the best and coming up nicely. I'm even going to have to thin them out, I believe. Struggling to grow just in front of them is some bok choy--hardly even worth a picture.


Next, I have a nice small amount of mustard greens growing. The few plants are finally doing quite well... no thanks to the rabbit I saw fleeing down my street last night.

Third is my row of sugar snap peas--not doing as well as the snow peas, but finally making a brave appearance.

I've put my tomatoes and peppers out to harden off this week, so here's a shot of a few of them. I'm pretty proud of them, but I was also proud of my bok choy, broccoli, and napa cabbage seedlings before they got munched on in the garden.

I'm including a small shot of some oregano in my herb garden--anyone need some? How about lemon marjoram (nice yellow/chartreuse color, no noticeable flavor difference)? My parsley is coming back from last year, too. And, if you can root rosemary, then bring your shears over because I have a nice, big specimen. Come to think of it, this might be marjoram in the picture--they look so similar at this point in the year and the genius that planted them (me) put them right next to each other....

This brings us to some hostas I transplanted from my back yard into my front (the flowers are primroses--can't take any credit for those). I'm including some ornamentals here to cheer myself up--not all my plants become lunch for the local wildlife.

And, finally, some black-eyed Susans from a neighbor's yard that are also doing nicely. I'm going to give her some of my maidenhair ferns--you can just seem their new leaves in the front left of the black-eyed Susan picture.

Now, it's your turn! I want to see what everyone else's garden looks like! And, I should offer full disclosure here: my garden looks WAY more impressive from a few close up shots of the plants that are doing well than the overall first impression of weeds, grass that needs cutting, and chewed off leaves of vegetable plants.....

The Big Freeze

We're expecting freezing temperatures this coming Monday and Tuesday (low of 29 degrees). So, wait on any iffy crops until after then if you still haven't planted them (little flowers and such). If things are in the ground, you might want to cover them up with sheets if they're not very cold hardy.

Does anyone know what spring crops should be protected and which ones can take the cold? I've got pea shoots coming up, broccoli, greens, etc..... I also HAD bok choy, spinach, and some lettuce, but I think the little bunnies and squirrels have been munching away.

Pole Bean Staking

Here's an interesting website outlining some of the ways to stake pole beans:

How to Stake Pole Beans

Is Gardening "Fun"?

My back aches, my nails are no more, my fingers are dry, my feet hurt,...but I got my compost shoveled in/around the garden and all cool weather crops planted!!!!!! So, maybe I'll look back on today with fond memories when I'm actually eating my hard work. For now, I'm looking forward to an easy dinner and a night of vegging out in front of the TV.... Anyone else out there feel the same way? Isn't it great that we're not actually dependent on these food crops for survival? I'm now thinking that folks who garden to survive probably don't miss TV--they just go to bed as soon as dinner is over.

Rundown of what I planted (this is sufficing for my garden journal)

• 20-foot row of sugar snaps
• 20-foot row of snow peas
• 4 bok choy plants, some seeds as well
• 4 broccoli plants
• 3 spinach plants plus some seeds
• 3 spinach plants (different kind) plus some seeds
• 3 spinach mustard plants plus some seeds
• 3 mustard greens plants plus some seeds
• 4 napa cabbage plants (seeds, too?)
• 3 lettuce plants plus a TON of seeds.... oops.... we might be eating mesculun for dinner a LOT
  

See everyone tomorrow!

Seeds Have Sprouted!

Just a note to say that ALL my herbs have some sort of sprouted representation. I'm still waiting on some peppermint seeds, but in general, at least a few of all the herbs (haven't started basil yet) have come up--even the "old" seeds. So, that should encourage everyone.

Also, I have sprouts for all cool weather crops (save cabbage) and peppers and tomatoes. I'm going to transplant them into bigger containers (the peppers and tomatoes) and harden off the cool weather stuff so I can plant it in the garden soon! (Of course, I still have to get that garden ready!!)

Don't forget, Katie and Alicia, about the seed chart I emailed you out weeks ago--it has timing, companion planting, and other info on it in brief. It might help if you're trying to figure out how to fit this massive, over-zealous garden of ours into a smaller space..... I just figured out how to link it in the side bar--so the charts are in the Gardening Resources!

Neat site on how much to plant.

I forget how I found this site (clicking through links from one site to another, I presume), but it has some interesting information on what you would want to plant to feed a family of 4 for each type of plant. I know we were discussing not knowing how much our garden would produce and how to make sure we plant enough to not only feed us through the summer but to also put up via freezing or canning if possible. Anyway, I thought it was interesting, and hopefully not a re-post of something!

Hume Seeds

Sprouts!

I always feel a wee bit like a new parent again when my seeds sprout or my plants produce their first fruit. And, we have lots of little sprouts! When I get a chance, I'll post a picture. I'm not exactly sure what's sprouting--there are some in both trays. I'm pretty sure some parsley has sprouted and some peppers (it's going to be a challenge to keep these peppers going until they can be put in the ground!!!). So, let's see... that means the peppers (I think) sprouted in less than a week. Same for about half the herbs. No tomatoes, greens, cabbages, etc. yet. Speaking of cabbages, we haven't actually gotten our regular ol' green cabbage seeds yet. Better hurry!

Next project for me: getting that garden ready so I can plant cold weather stuff! We have a bit of work to do (compost, digging, bean/pea teepees...). Thanks, Katie, for the tip about letting peas climb up branches! 

Free Green Onions!

Here's a potential way to get free green onions! Worth a try!

Harvesting Tomato Seeds

Here's something to think about this summer if/when we can't use all of our (hoped-for) tomatoes: letting tomatoes rot for seed.