Tonight my kid made (and ate!) mini-pizzas using tomatoes and basil from our garden. Thanks, Michelle Obama for convincing my kid that veggies are cool.
My kid and I had a long discussion tonight about why some people think tomatoes are a fruit and others say it's a vegetable. (I remember being obsessed with the same topic in 5th grade. Kids today just grow up so fast.)
Jalapenos are coming in by the handfull. The tomatoes are slowly but surely joining the party. I'm ready to salsa, so let's get moving, tomatoes!
We have some beets and turnips that look ready to pick. Not going to take the plunge until I've figured out how to prepare them.
Finally laid the two soaker hoses I bought and hooked them up to the handy automatic timer. I'll bet it's a lot easier to lay those hoses at the beginning of the season rather than trying to squeeze between 4 foot tall tomato plants.
Showing posts with label fail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fail. Show all posts
July 6, 2011
April 27, 2011
Rip-off
I spent TEN DOLLARS on this Disney growhouse for Marielle. In my defense, I didn't know it was $10, because Home Depot had it marked as $4, and I didn't see the receipt until later. She has been quite excited by it, but I guarantee will not be getting a new one next year. I'll probably just wash this guy out!
We grew Zinnias - for Z sharing week at school - using a different packet of seeds than the one that came with the kit. I didn't want pink and red and whatever Disney assigned me; I wanted purple. Marielle insists they will be pink, because Sleeping beauty is pink, but she didn't see the switcheroo I pulled.
Anyway, here is proof that Disney even give you overpriced-shitty dirt. The plant on the left (top) was grown with the soil disc thingie that came with this set. The one on the right (bottom) was grown with one of those Jiffy refill thingies that costs 25 cents. Everything else was exactly the same. The seed, the lighting, the watering, the day planted -- everything.
Sorry about the orientation of the photo. I was going to fix it but then I decided I wanted to take a nap instead.
We grew Zinnias - for Z sharing week at school - using a different packet of seeds than the one that came with the kit. I didn't want pink and red and whatever Disney assigned me; I wanted purple. Marielle insists they will be pink, because Sleeping beauty is pink, but she didn't see the switcheroo I pulled.
Anyway, here is proof that Disney even give you overpriced-shitty dirt. The plant on the left (top) was grown with the soil disc thingie that came with this set. The one on the right (bottom) was grown with one of those Jiffy refill thingies that costs 25 cents. Everything else was exactly the same. The seed, the lighting, the watering, the day planted -- everything.
Sorry about the orientation of the photo. I was going to fix it but then I decided I wanted to take a nap instead.
April 17, 2011
A farmer's work is never done
A few weeks ago our back fence blew over. I briefly considered not replacing it right away until my father reminded me bunnies et al would eat my vegetables. We had a new one 3 weeks later!
The new fence is shorter and lets in more light. (Let's say we wanted it that way, and not that we were too poor for another privacy fence. That's the ticket.) I'm hoping this means a little less shade in our backyard and more sun for our garden(s). We expanded our fence all the way to the property line, which opened up some space for another raised bed, right in the prime sunny spot of our yard!
Farmer Nacho helped me procure supplies, top soil, leaf gro, etc. from our favorite local garden center but was smart enough to flee town right after we unloaded it all. I went at the building alone in my garage, learning many lessons, most of all, I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN SHOP IN HIGH SCHOOL. Stupid other electives - what good are you to me now?
I had a couple of pieces of leftover wood I never got around to using last year. I recommend 10"x2"x8' for beds. (Yes, I probably did that in the wrong order. Figure it out.) You can make one long bed or do a nice 4'x4' bed too.
One piece of wood turned out to be warped pretty bad. Rather than stopping what I was doing and getting a new piece from Home Depot, I just though I could make it work. Due to this and many other misteps along the way, I've ended up with more of a 6.5'x4' bed that is slightly trapezoidal rather than the 8'x4' I had envisioned.
The frame is now in, but in order to leave enough room for a path, I had to put it pretty close to the old beds. This means I'm going to have to remove all the dirt from the other two beds and move them slightly, which I kind of needed to do anyway since the new fence shows just how crooked I put them in the first time.
The more I work, the more I realize needs to be done. I can't wait for the depressing part of the season to be over and the harvesting to begin!
The new fence is shorter and lets in more light. (Let's say we wanted it that way, and not that we were too poor for another privacy fence. That's the ticket.) I'm hoping this means a little less shade in our backyard and more sun for our garden(s). We expanded our fence all the way to the property line, which opened up some space for another raised bed, right in the prime sunny spot of our yard!
Farmer Nacho helped me procure supplies, top soil, leaf gro, etc. from our favorite local garden center but was smart enough to flee town right after we unloaded it all. I went at the building alone in my garage, learning many lessons, most of all, I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN SHOP IN HIGH SCHOOL. Stupid other electives - what good are you to me now?
I had a couple of pieces of leftover wood I never got around to using last year. I recommend 10"x2"x8' for beds. (Yes, I probably did that in the wrong order. Figure it out.) You can make one long bed or do a nice 4'x4' bed too.
One piece of wood turned out to be warped pretty bad. Rather than stopping what I was doing and getting a new piece from Home Depot, I just though I could make it work. Due to this and many other misteps along the way, I've ended up with more of a 6.5'x4' bed that is slightly trapezoidal rather than the 8'x4' I had envisioned.
The frame is now in, but in order to leave enough room for a path, I had to put it pretty close to the old beds. This means I'm going to have to remove all the dirt from the other two beds and move them slightly, which I kind of needed to do anyway since the new fence shows just how crooked I put them in the first time.
The more I work, the more I realize needs to be done. I can't wait for the depressing part of the season to be over and the harvesting to begin!
November 11, 2010
In Remembrance
How quickly you can go from just a couple of bugs to OH MY GOD APHIDS HAVE TAKEN OVER OUR BATHROOM. And just like that, the pepper winter shower garden experiment has come to an end. It's a shame, as I was finally getting some of the long awaited Jamaican Hot Chocolate peppers.
Not only were the bugs just plain annoying, but they were killing the plants. The leaves were dropping off and/or being eaten. There are so many that I don't even think it's worth resuscitation efforts. If only a couple aphids make it back inside, we're doomed. Not to mention my mom is coming to visit in a month, and I wasn't quite sure how she would shower around the peppers.
This was less about having peppers growing through the winter (and in huge quantities next summer); I don't even like peppers very much (except you, beloved Jalapeno). It was more about being able to deliver peppers to friends and proudly say, "I picked this while I was on the toilet yesterday." Because who doesn't love a nice toilet pepper (not to be confused with toilet paper, because that could end very, very badly).
Not only were the bugs just plain annoying, but they were killing the plants. The leaves were dropping off and/or being eaten. There are so many that I don't even think it's worth resuscitation efforts. If only a couple aphids make it back inside, we're doomed. Not to mention my mom is coming to visit in a month, and I wasn't quite sure how she would shower around the peppers.
This was less about having peppers growing through the winter (and in huge quantities next summer); I don't even like peppers very much (except you, beloved Jalapeno). It was more about being able to deliver peppers to friend
August 22, 2010
Prize pupil
Due to several clumsy mishaps, I had no idea what varieties I planted where on our farm. I was hoping I could figure it out after they bloomed, but I'm probably only 50/50. Some are very obvious - due to freak sizes or color - but others I'm stumped.
I have one variety of tomato that has been producing consistently and rapidly. It is great for sauce and salsa. Almost perfectly round, it tastes like nothing I can buy in the store. I envision planting at least 50% of next year's farm with nothing but this variety. Thank goodness for google and the record of seeds I bought. I now know without a doubt my star student is the Arkansas Traveler. Finally, an heirloom tomato that doesn't suck!!
Speaking of tomatoes that suck, I actually pulled some plants out of the ground this weekend. They were taking up too much space. The losers had end rot, too much cracking, or I just didn't like the taste. Good bye, orange banana and friends. Hope the squirrels like you more than I did.
I have one variety of tomato that has been producing consistently and rapidly. It is great for sauce and salsa. Almost perfectly round, it tastes like nothing I can buy in the store. I envision planting at least 50% of next year's farm with nothing but this variety. Thank goodness for google and the record of seeds I bought. I now know without a doubt my star student is the Arkansas Traveler. Finally, an heirloom tomato that doesn't suck!!
Speaking of tomatoes that suck, I actually pulled some plants out of the ground this weekend. They were taking up too much space. The losers had end rot, too much cracking, or I just didn't like the taste. Good bye, orange banana and friends. Hope the squirrels like you more than I did.
June 23, 2010
Random report
It was 99 degrees today. 99!!!! My tomatoes may soon cook themselves. I don't know what this heat does to tomatoes, but it can't be good.
Due to the heat all my gardening is done by the light of the moon, and I still come in drenched in sweat laced with potting soil. This update would be much improved with pictures, but no go at 10 pm.
I had to abort some peppers and tomatoes tonight. They were just growing terribly. Really this blog could be a what-not-to-do if nothing else. Let's just sum it up and say -
1. Drainage is important. Your plants can be too wet. Even when it's 99 degrees.
2. Miracle gro moisture control mix is totally worth it. I used some organic bullshit that smells like crap and holds onto water way too long.
My raised beds are so overgrown right now. I should've planted half that number of tomatoes in that space, but I just couldn't choose! I can't imagine what it's going to look like by August. I may lose a child in there. Or a dog. Which wouldn't be all bad.
My deck is also overflowing with pots of all shapes and sizes. I even moved a lot of things to the platform around my HVAC system. So little of our yard gets sun and I'm desperate for space! I know my neighbors just love the scenic view of our yard-o-buckets. But it's all cool, because I busted our HOA President for violating our neighborhood rules (which prohibit growing veggies in your front or side yard). If he comes for me, I'll just mention his squash situation.
I have one tomato that's orange. I am so eating it tomorrow, whether it's ready or not. I'm jealous of my farmer friends to the south who've had ripe veggies for weeks.
This concludes your stream of consciousness farm update.
Due to the heat all my gardening is done by the light of the moon, and I still come in drenched in sweat laced with potting soil. This update would be much improved with pictures, but no go at 10 pm.
I had to abort some peppers and tomatoes tonight. They were just growing terribly. Really this blog could be a what-not-to-do if nothing else. Let's just sum it up and say -
1. Drainage is important. Your plants can be too wet. Even when it's 99 degrees.
2. Miracle gro moisture control mix is totally worth it. I used some organic bullshit that smells like crap and holds onto water way too long.
My raised beds are so overgrown right now. I should've planted half that number of tomatoes in that space, but I just couldn't choose! I can't imagine what it's going to look like by August. I may lose a child in there. Or a dog. Which wouldn't be all bad.
My deck is also overflowing with pots of all shapes and sizes. I even moved a lot of things to the platform around my HVAC system. So little of our yard gets sun and I'm desperate for space! I know my neighbors just love the scenic view of our yard-o-buckets. But it's all cool, because I busted our HOA President for violating our neighborhood rules (which prohibit growing veggies in your front or side yard). If he comes for me, I'll just mention his squash situation.
I have one tomato that's orange. I am so eating it tomorrow, whether it's ready or not. I'm jealous of my farmer friends to the south who've had ripe veggies for weeks.
This concludes your stream of consciousness farm update.
March 21, 2010
Suicide mission
Seems my peppers made a suicide pact. My beautiful little sprouts were sunning themselves when they threw themselves over the side of the deck. Some survived the fall, but many were decapitated. Their remains were thrown all about and now I don't know which are the Thai chili peppers and which are the bell peppers. I suppose I will just have to be surprised.
It's been in the high 70s here the last few days so I had everyone out in the sun during the day. I guess I'll just stick with the grow lights until they are all bigger and stronger.
I received the giant seed shipment last week and finally finished planting today. Some of the seeds I planted earlier are already ready for transplant, but I can't find peat pots anywhere. With all this warm weather the garden centers are wiped out.
My vision continues to take shape in my head. Unfortunately my dreams come together faster than my reality. (e.g. the tiller is still in the box it came in.) Good thing I started early.
It's been in the high 70s here the last few days so I had everyone out in the sun during the day. I guess I'll just stick with the grow lights until they are all bigger and stronger.
I received the giant seed shipment last week and finally finished planting today. Some of the seeds I planted earlier are already ready for transplant, but I can't find peat pots anywhere. With all this warm weather the garden centers are wiped out.
My vision continues to take shape in my head. Unfortunately my dreams come together faster than my reality. (e.g. the tiller is still in the box it came in.) Good thing I started early.
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