Growing season has begun. All organic, no GE, no Monsanto! Sweet peas, parsley, dill, carrots, and lettuce. Long live the organic homestead! :)
SATORI - Organic, sexy gardening
Waste Not, Want Not
So mom bought tomatoes from the market in this HORRIBLE plastic carton, and when I spotted it in the fridge, I thought, "Ugh, more plastic in the waste stream."THEN I thought, "Wait, this is a perfect little seed germinator!" So I filled it with seed starting mix, punched holes in the bottom of each cell, watered, and added organic Italian parsley seeds (Franchi Semetti, the best seeds on the market). Closed it tight, and put it in under the grow lights. Voila! Three fat cells of organic parsley will be ready for planting in the herb potager in less than a month. And I'll use this little treasure over and over again. Thank you, Mother Earth!
Keeping Herbs Going Strong Through Winter
Three pots of fresh herbs procured at at friend's February 11 wedding are going strong under the grow lights, with a 12-hour on/off rotation and watering every other day. Just gave them a boost of iron. They're doing great, and hopefully, will go into the herb garden in spring! From left are spearmint, lemon balm, and thyme. Thank you, Mother Earth!
Hippeastrum, Early January 2012
This is the last bloom coming from the Christmas Hippeastrum, January 12, 2012. Sad days. :(
Here Comes the Sun
This is my little window of overwintering plants, November 2011. Scented geranium (rose), geranium, aloe, African violet, snake plant, chives. The sunniest window in the house. They get a little leggy after a few months, but they survive until next summer!
Play in the Dirt
One of gardener/artist Ned Vare's oils, "play in the dirt (full circle)". Ned, who died two years ago, was a gardener extraordinaire who taught me much of what I know. Thank you Ned! I hope you're having a ball with Hunter T.!
Overwintering
Beautiful lemon verbena
November – a sad, sad month for gardeners. This is it. Really no more room for excuses. Potted plants either have to be sent to glory (i.e., the compost pile) or overwintered indoors. Overwintering geraniums, scented geraniums, chives and parsley is pretty easy. The tough ones, and the ones I want so much to salvage, are lemon verbena and rosemary; two of my favorite herbs.
Two winters back, I successfully overwintered a large rosemary plant in our unheated garage. It still grows, and tonight, I’m going to bring it into the garage again for its winter rest. Last night’s frost might have already done it in; I’ll know when I get home. The lemon verbena was brought into the garage about 2 weeks ago. It’s a delicate herb, and herbalist friends of mine swear by overwintering it in a root cellar or unheated garage. I’ve had no luck with either. This winter, I’m keeping it in a spot in the garage, away from the windows, but where I can see it everyday, so I’ll remember to water it about once a month. Ditto the rosemary.
Wish us luck! There’s nothing harder than spending a summer loving your babies just to watch them wither when November arrives. Blast winter.
Irene, Spotted-Wing Drosophila Ruin Raspberries This Year
This has just been the worst food growing season ever in Zone 6. Tragic: http://www.theday.com/article/20110909/NWS01/110909573/-1/zip06&town=Guilford&template=zip06art'The Four Immeasurables'
It's easy to forget the measure of Mother Nature's power. Hurricane Irene (which was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached Connecticut) reminded me of Her great kindness as well as Her frightful muscle. Her force is beautiful and spine-chilling. Prayers of recovery to all those impacted by Irene! Stay well, my friends!
Four Immeasurables
May all beings have happiness and its causes,
May they never have suffering nor its causes;
May they constantly dwell in joy transcending sorrow;
May they dwell in equal love for both near and far.
- Buddhist Prayer of Recovery
Some beach somewhere, there’s a big umbrella casting shade over an empty chair. Palm trees are growing, warm breezes blowing. I see myself there...
Cucumbers are doing OK… It’s been a strange growing season here in Zone 6. Nothing has really done well, even the cucumbers, which usually thrive in my garden. Tomatoes are late and sporadic. Herbs are doing OK, and the flowers are blooming, although all the rain has encouraged some fungus. The cosmos are beginning to look like they’ve seen better days. I’ll be making pesto this weekend with all the basil, however, and am delighted! I freeze some of my pesto for winter dinners. It’s like opening a can of summer! A gardening friend of mine in Pasadena, California, just messaged that it appears that summer is ending. NOT! Anais, don’t say that! Summer will reign forever!
Chicken mushrooms!
Driving back from breakfast this morning when I spotted something very interesting growing on the trunk of a tree along the roadside.
Lunch! Or a potential lunch, courtesy of Mother Nature and a handful of rainy days.An edible mushroom common in this area, “laetiporus” is a genus of edible mushrooms that are not only pretty, but also wonderfully tasty.
The locals call it, “chicken of the woods” or the “chicken mushroom”. In no way does it resemble a chicken, but to many people, it tastes like chicken, hence the name.
Cut carefully from the tree trunk, brought home and sautéed, the chicken mushroom really takes on a smoky, almost spicy taste. And many vegetarians use the chicken mushroom as a meat substitute; a very delicious, satisfying one. It can be cooked much in the same way chicken is cooked, so is a popular meat substitute. Very yummy!
August Dinner!
AUGUST 11 DINNER: Tabouleh, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh garlic, fresh jalapeno, basil, parsley, lemon verbena, rosemary, onion, ALL (except the tabouleh) from the garden!
NOM!!!
I LOVE SUMMER! THANK YOU, MOTHER EARTH!!!!
Tree of Joy!
The Brown Turkey Fig Tree is putting out tons of ripe figs now. They’re falling from the tree daily. The poor tree branches are weighed down with them, and the tree looks goofy and inelegant. But who cares? We are eating ripe, warm figs off the tree this week. Thank you, Mother Earth!
Spearmint and Summer Song
Just a quick mid-summer garden update. Spearmint is flourishing, thanks to its amazing ability to root almost overnight in water. Since early June, I’ve been clipping spearmint from the Guilford and Clinton gardens, putting them in jam jars, letting them root, and then planting new clumps everywhere. We have spearmint far and wide! The other day, I made spearmint sun tea. It is mouthwatering. I also made a black sun tea infused with sprigs of lavender from the garden. Refreshing and sweet. Cucumbers are in abundance, tomatoes are finally turning red, flowers are blooming and need a little pruning now, the brown turkey figs are starting to weigh down the tree (can’t pick them until they’re ripe!), sunflowers are opening, the new bean plants are climbing the poles, jalapeno, cherry and banana peppers are plumping up, last winter’s geraniums are making a comeback (we lost one), and I planted 3 new San Marzano (sauce) tomato plants given to me by a coworker (thanks Jess!). Lemon balm is getting leggy in its pot, but the ground patch is thriving. Lemon verbena is radiant (I’ll try to overwinter it again this year), and pineapple sage smells heavenly. This weekend’s project: Lavender cookies! I cut a handful of lavender flowers last week and they’ve been drying. I’ll grind them up in the coffee mill and add it to a basic sugar cookie dough. The essence of summer. Finally, the crickets are buzzing their hot afternoon song. Thank you, Mother Earth!
Sweet Peas!
I really thought I’d missed the sweet peas train this year. We planted seeds in late May. Most recommend planting indoors 8 weeks before last frost, or outdoors as soon as the ice melts. But I got lazy this spring and bypassed an early planting. So, while I was sewing an all-from-seed flower bed by the side of the house (sunflowers, cosmos, zinnia, marigold, nasturtium, pink and red poppies), I made a spot for sweet peas, planted, and placed a trellis. Now, they’re blooming purple and pink! They have a lot more growing to do, but they’re in bloom. Joy! One thing, though – very little fragrance right now. Sweet peas are known for their heady fragrance. I wonder if it has anything to do with the timing of the planting. In any case, I’m delighted, and my next from-the-garden cut flower bouquet will include sweet peas! Thank you Mother Earth!
Kaleidoscopic garden
The colors really burst this time of year. Petunias and zinnia - petunias from plugs, zinnia from seed. The front garden is alive with color. Thank you, Mother Earth!
Planting beans in July? Yes!
Last night, I started two pots of Romano pole beans under the grow lights in the garden room. The bush beans we planted in May seem to be hibernating. I’m not sure what’s wrong, other than the excessive rain, which has yellowed the plants some. I wanted to plant pole beans anyway, so yesterday afternoon on my lunch break, I swung by the local nursery and picked up a packet of heirloom Romano pole beans. This is an old, reliable bean that has been around for generations.
Problem is, I’m planting in July.
Well, that may not be a problem. Many bean growers “succession plant” through summer – meaning they start a second or even third bean bed well into summer, for early to late autumn harvests. I succession plant basil and parsley through summer, and have fresh herbs well into October.
In our climate here, with such short summers, will it work with the beans? We’ll see. I’m giving them a quick start under the lights, so they should be ready to go into the ground in about two weeks.
On a less tentative note, last night’s dinner was fab. We boiled penne, and while it was cooking, we got out the food processor, threw in parmesan, raw garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and the following fresh herbs from the garden – lemon balm, lemon verbena, parsley, oregano, basil, pineapple sage and chives. Whirred it all up and tossed it with the cooked penne. Divine. I love summer.
Thank you, Mother Earth!
We have figs!
The Brown Turkey fig tree has suddenly decided to bear an immense amount of fruit all at once. I went out earlier to check the soil, and lo, it is covered with baby figs! It's been getting a high potassium diet and I think that explains the sudden explosion of fruit. Have you ever had a fresh, ripe fig, warm off the tree? Mmmmm........
Someone ate the baby mango trees!
Someone out there in the woods of Guilford loves to nibble baby mango trees. So they went ahead and ate both of them! I suspect chipmunks or deer, but my jaw dropped last night when I went out to check on them and they had been dug up and spirited away. Good thing I have another mango ripening in the kitchen. This time, I'm going to cover the baby mango with a wire basket or some such contrivance. Back to Square One!
Rooting Basil
A LOT of gardeners don’t know this: Like all the mints, lemon balm and lots of other herbs, you can easily root basil in water to produce more plants for your herb garden in much less time than it takes to germinate seeds, and less money than it takes to go to the nursery and buy more basil plants!
The trick to rooting herbs successfully is to take as long a cutting as possible remove ALL the leaves that would otherwise soak in the water that you’re rooting your basil in. Any leaves kept underwater will quickly get soused, bacteria-ridden, slimy, and eventually, dead.
So take your basil cuttings as CLOSE to the soil line as possible, gently remove ALL the leaves but the top sets, use a thin-necked bottle (so the cuttings don’t sag into the water), keep the water fresh by changing every few days, and in a week or two, you’ll see new roots sprouting from the submerged stems. When the roots are about an inch or so long, pot up your new basil plant and put it in the sun!
This is a photo of a coupe of basil cuttings I took this morning. I’m using an old glass medicine bottle with a thin neck, and you’ll note that there are NO basil leaves submerged in the water. I popped it on a windowsill in the bedroom and expect to see a new root system very soon.
This is how I keep basil going all summer. Thank you, Mother Earth!
Lemon Dreams
I'm germinating some grocery store lemon pits using the peat moss baggie method. Not sure of the variety - they're not Meyer - but let's see what happens. I'll probably try grapefuit and orange next, but imagine a lovely lemon tree! I really have to think about moving to the Mediterranean. :)
UPDATE: Baby mango trees!
About 3 inches tall now. They're both doing very well under the indoor grow lights in the garden room. When they've gotten a little more burly, I'll put them outside in the summer sun. I have no illusions about having a fruit crop, but they're green and exotic and it will be interesting to see how they mature! Thank you, Mother Earth!
Baby pictures!
Baby mango trees (top photo) and baby chickpea plants. It took less than a week for the chickpeas to germinate. So cute. :)
A little garden update - and PEONIES!
It's been a wet, cool spring, but things seem to be turning around now that it's June! I lost a pot of basil and cosmos to fungus (relentless rain and basil don't marry well) as well as a small pot of rosemary, which also likes to be dry. Other than that, everything is doing well. Outdoors, lemon balm is already GIGANTIC; the greens bed (spinach, lettuces, arugula) is good, parsley and other herbs (including "Mouse Ear" basil, a new Italian variety I bought as seed) are growing, the flower bed is spreading and some of the zinnias are already blooming. The PEONIES are in bloom and are gorgeous. They really shine, and I just love them. Purple clematis is climbing the birdhouse pole, cosmos are feathering out, roses are bushing up, dahlias are peeking. In the vegetable department, we have pole beans with purple blossoms, bush beans, two varieties of tomatoes with yellow flowers, one cherry that hasn't flowered yet, several cucumbers (Straight Eight and Marketmore) that are healthy, 3 kinds of hot peppers that are doing wonderfully, a new mint bed (spearmint, orange mint and peppermint) that will eventually take over the planet, lavender is back, and we've had wild strawberries for breakfast every day this past week. Indoors, the MANGO trees are growing! They're about 3 inches tall right now. Chickpeas are coming up (about half the seeds germinated) and will soon go outside, with the mango trees. I'm also germinating more nasturtium under the grow lights. Nasturtium in the flower bed is growing like mad. With all the lemon balm, lemon verbena, lavender and peppermint exploding in the garden, I'm going to make some herbal sun tea this weekend. Thank you, Mother Earth!Evolution of a mango tree
So tonight, I pulled the mango pits from their peat moss baggie and potted them up. This is very exciting for me :) I LOVE mangoes (although I don't expect to see fruit from these trees); and I've always wanted to germinate mango pits. So here we are.
Photo 1: Mango pits still in baggie
Photo 2: Pits removed, washed off. You can see the roots and the shoots. Fascinating the way the seed unfurls like a ribbon.
Photo 3: Close up of one pit - see the scape coming out on top? And the tiny root system below?
Photo 4: Potted up and under the grow lights! I put both pits in; the stronger one will survive, the weaker will probably have to be culled.
Mangoes - Ya mon!
Baby mango trees!
THIS JUST IN: The mango seeds have germinated, using the peat moss baggie method! Will we have mango trees outside this summer and in the garden room in winter? Yes, we will. Will post photos of the newborns later. :)
Growing chickpeas!
Chick pea, (Cicer arietinum), is an annual that belongs to the legume family and it is also known as garbanzo beans, although they are neither peas nor beans. But who cares?
I planted a pot of chickpeas this morning. Four little chickpeas in a medium-sized pot. Growing chickpeas is difficult in this region, as it requires long, hot growing seasons to flower and bear fruit.
Knowing this, I may just feed the plants a high-nitrogen fertilizer to encourage the gorgeous, fernlike leafy growth that chickpeas put out, and just forget about getting food from it. But this is a first time and an experiment.
Chickpeas are usually ready for harvest about 100 days after planting. That would put us into September. So, there’s a chance I may get some pods for drying. Wouldn’t it be cool to make my own hummus from chickpeas I grew in my garden? Sweet.
Nasturtium fever
Planting nasturtium like crazy this spring. Can't get enough of it! Both leaves and flowers are edible and very tasty, assuming you've used no chemical fertilizer. They're pretty and they taste great. Wonderful in salads. Easy to germinate, too. One packet of seed should give you enough nasturtium to last through summer. Unless you're me. Then you'll need 10 packets of seeds.
Mango madness
Well, I finally did it. I have started germinating a mango seed. Here's what I did: I bought a lovely, organic mango from the health food store, brought it home and let it ripen. Yesterday, I peeled it, ate the DELICIOUS fruit, then removed the seed husk. I scrubbed the husk clean with running water and a serrated knife, then put it on paper towels to dry overnight. This morning, I carefully pried open the husk to get to the adorable, cashew-shaped, dark brown seed inside. I am using the peat moss method. Fill a one-quart plastic bag with moist peat moss, then tie the top tightly. Place it on a warm surface (in this case, on top of one of the light banks in the indoor garden room, where it will stay very warm), and check every few days. Within a couple of weeks, the seed should sprout roots and a scape. Then, I'll plant it up and put it outside for summer. Will I ever see a mango on it? Who knows? But it will make the most interesting houseplant at least. Mango madness!
Salmon geranium
Well, I couldn't resist this little salmon-colored geranium I saw at a nursery this week. Really, I have ENOUGH geraniums, and they overwinter beautifully in a south-facing window (ask me about the "Chelsea Chop" someday), but this color is really extraordinary. So, I caved. Bad girl.
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