Beginning to harvest

All of a sudden, the broccoli raab is ready! I picked and rinsed about 7 bunches and will pick more this afternoon. The individual plants are not that big, but the leaves are a nice deep green and each plant has small buds that look and taste like broccoli. Once the buds appear, the broccoli raab should be harvested as the florets quickly turn into bright yellow flowers. These flowers are edible, but it signals that the plant is moving past its prime.  For dinner last night I sauteed the broccoli raab in garlic and oil, added a couple of sausages, and sprinkled it with parmesan cheese.  Yummy! Broccoli raab is a bitter green that has a strong, nutty taste that I love. It is a good source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as potassium, calcium, and iron. Good and good for you- what could be better!

I also picked arugula and spinach and  rinsed  it  for tonight's dinner. I bagged up the extra and put it out in the garage refrigerator for friends to buy.

It was a busy weekend out in the garden. Nancy weeded a large area and transplanted the eggplant. Judy transplanted the zucchini and summer squash and Marilyn planted the beans. I planted the pumpkin and watermellon along the perimeter fence. The leaves of these plants will get huge so I planted them in the good rich soil of the garden and will train the vines to grow outward into the yard. 

I finally marked off a central path that bisects the garden. I will try to keep mostly on the path when getting around the garden and try to avoid stepping all over the place which is compacting the soil everywhere.

The landscapers cut the grass and dumped it on the compost pile. I added wood ash and leaves as I continue to build the pile. It is about halfway to being 4 feet tall at which point I will let it sit and cook for the summer. I'll start another pile for the new weeds and garden debris.

The tomatoes look a lot happier in their new, larger pots. I put up sturdy stakes and began transplanting them to the garden. I removed the lower leaves and planted them deep to encourage vertical roots to develop all along the stems which will anchor the plants.  I'm not sure how many to plant and of course my 'more is better' instinct is urging me to plant more.  I can feel myself caving because really, can you ever have too many tomatoes?

Nancy was busy transplanting peppers when I left for work this morning. It is a beautiful sunny day and I hope to pick up where she left off as soon as I get home!

Planting push

The extended forecast looks good which means I can prepare to move the zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, tomatoes, watermellon, and pumpkins outside to the cold frame for a couple of days and into the garden this weekend. Once these plants germinate and break the surface of the soil, it is amazing how quickly they grow in the trays. It is fun to watch their progress in the poly house where they seem to grow several inches each day.

I will also plant string bean seeds directly into the ground. I have maxibell bush beans, a french filet variety, and fortex, a pole bean that likes to be supported.  In the past I have made teepee trellises out of bamboo which serves as a good support for the vines and also provides visual interest. I will be on the lookout for bamboo poles in the next couple of weeks.
 I need to be mindful of where I plant as I am in danger of closing myself in from the outside. This weekend I will mark off a central path that will provide access in and out of the garden. I have been walking all over the garden and compacting the soil everywhere I step which is not good.

 I mixed up another batch of seed mix and seeded a tray of cucumbers and another tray of red and green lettuce. I have begun harvesting, just a few bags of greens at a time, including some arugula and the first baby leaves of spinach, but there should be a lot more to pick by next week. By the end of next week there should also be red lettuce, bok choy, and perhaps some broccoli raab. I spoke to my friend Leah at the Farm and their vegetables are a little bit ahead of mine. However, they have almost everything covered in row cover which acts as an insect barrier, and also creates a warm microclimate for the vegetables which speeds up their maturation. I didn't use row cover this year because the flea bettles haven't found me yet. They will, but hopefully not for a couple more years.

I've noticed a bit of yellowing on the vegetables in the garden which indicates a slight nitrogen deficiency. I suspect the nitrogen has been tied up because of all the organic matter that I applied to the garden in the fall. As a remedy, I applied fish emulsion which gives the plants a boost and helps them to green up. Now that my garden is a manageable size and just outside my back door, it is easy to inspect the plants each day for subtle changes in leaf color and quickly fix the problem.

 

They're in!

We spent the weekend cutting, painting, and pounding dahlia stakes at two foot intervals along both sides of a central path on the east side of the garden. The stakes look like soldiers standing in formation, but will disappear into the lush foliage once the plants become established and start to grow. There are still more tubers "eyeing up" in the poly house, but I will resist the temptation to squeeze more into the bed and will instead pot up the extras to and give away or sell to unsuspecting friends and neighbors.  I have worked hard nurturing the dahlias. By July they will begin a spectacular three month display of color that will continue until the first frost. I am ready to be dazzled.  

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out what is going on with my tomato seedlings. I seeded both of the above trays on the same day. The tomatoes in the tray on the right are thriving where those on the left seem to be languishing. All of the growing conditions were identical except one. The trays are different. The tall, healthy green plants are in black plastic trays whereas the small, skinny, weak ones are in the white styrofoam, the same trays that I use to plant almost everything else. The black plastic trays are slightly larger which may be making a difference. Or, perhaps the black is holding the heat better. I'm really not sure. But, today I transplanted a lot of the weaker looking tomatoes out of the styrofoam and into 3 1/2 inch pots which should help. I probably could have skipped this step as it is almost time to move the tomatoes outside, but I want the plants to be a good size with nice strong stems when I plant them in the garden. This will help to prevent transplant shock and increase the chances that I will have a good harvest later this season.

Field trip

I spent a lovely day with my Mom at the end of last week visiting two of my favorite gardening spots. First we drove out to Riverhead to the Peconic Herb Farm where I picked up a lot of interesting plants for my topiaries. They had a wonderful selection of fast growing, small leaf plants including, creeping Jenny, a chartreuse round leaf vine, some variegated ivies, and small leaf thyme. I am hoping to work on the rabbit and seal forms this weekend. Peconic Herb Farm is definitely worth a visit. It is fun to stroll the grounds that are located along a river in Calverton, Long Island. They carry a large selection of common and unusual herbs, trees, vegetables, roses, and perennials, as well as pots, books, seeds and fun stuff for the garden. Click on http://www.prherbfarm.com/ for directions and to learn more about the the many interesting programs that are offered there.
Next we drove to Southampton where we stopped at Lynch's nursery. Lynch's has an incredible inventory of annuals for pots, planters and beds. It doesn't matter when you go, chances are good that they will have what you are looking for. And the prices are reasonable. We could have shopped for plants all day, but my car was filled so we called it quits and went out to lunch. It was a great way to spend the day!
Back at the home garden, I started placing the dahlia stakes and figured out that I have room for almost 200 dahlias! For the plant supports I bought electrical pvc at Home Depot. I asked Larry to cut each piece of pvc into three sections (about 40 inches long.) Then I painted each piece dark green, placed them in the garden and began planting. So far I've planted about 20 dahlias (Nancy helped with the first 10.) Only 180 to go! I will need some help painting the rest of the stakes and getting the remainder of the plants in the ground. Hopefully some of my gardening buddies will stop by- hint, hint!

Topiary fun

I am working on planting topiary forms for a garden club show that is scheduled for September. I have several forms including this swan, a large seal balancing a ball on its nose, a small bear, and 3 different sized  globes.  I plan to shape and train plants on the forms so they will be covered by the fall. The wire forms are covered in chicken wire and then stuffed with potting mixture and a combination of spaghnum and sheet moss. I insert rooted cuttings through the chicken wire directly into the moss where they will take hold and start to grow. The trick is to keep the form moist and well fertilized throughout the growing season. Nancy helped to plant this swan with some beautiful small leaf Elfin thyme. She also brought over some ivy that we will start on the seal. Keep your eyes open for small leaf, fast growing, or vining plants that might do well growing on a form. Herbs, succelents, and ivys all do well. It will be fun to watch my topiary animals come to life this summer!

Inspiration

Have you read Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?" It is a true story about the author and her family who move to rural Virginia and vow for a year to eat food that they either grow or raise themselves or that has been produced locally. Members of my book club who read it found it to be unrealistic, but to my mind it was pure inspiration. It is well written by Kingsolver, (she wrote another one of my favorite books, the Poisonwood Bible) her husband, who includes facts about the industrial food chain, and their college aged daughter who adds insight and recipes. By bringing us right into her garden and kitchen, Kingsolver gently encourages us to start thinking about the food that we eat every day. I'm not raising all of the food I eat, but after reading the book, I believe that I could. As a country we are so disconnected from the food that we eat. In fact, many of us are no longer able to recognize real food much less know how to grow it ourselves. We have given the responsibility of feeding ourselves to giant corporations. And they haven't done a very good job. Look at all the obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in this country. Is it realistic for us to grow our own food? Probably not, but we should at least take responsibility for what we eat. Eating good food is a choice that we make every day.  And there is nothing better for you food that is picked fresh out of the garden. And, you can't beat the fresh taste.
When I'm not waxing political, I am out working in the garden. This morning I seeded another round of tomatoes. I will have more tomatoes than I have room for in the garden, but maybe I will pot up the extras to sell. There are some good heirloom varieties that are not available in the local nurseries. I also seeded the first of the zucchini, yellow squash and the vegetable everyone loves to hate, pattypan squash. This round squash grows upright and therefore is a lot less suseptible to fungal disease. It is a prolific grower which I suspect is why my friends are not overly fond of it. I think they just get sick of it after a while, but I'm growing it anyway. I will have to come up with some inventive recipes to keep people interested.
I seeded watermellon and Dill's Atlantic Giant pumpkins. This is the variety that produces pumpkins that can grow to over 1000 pounds. I have no illusions about growing a pumpkin that big, but it will be fun trying!
Judy and Nancy transplanted the leeks to the garden and I began moving the dahlias out to the cold frame to harden off. They will be ready to plant by the weekend, but first I have to buy and paint the stakes that will support them.
My little garage enterprise is up and running. Friends are buying the soup and eggs that are for sale and soon there will be vegetables too! It will be nice to add a few dollars to the plus column!
Costs:
Azomite and compost- 29.00
poultry fencing: $62.00

Intoxicating scents

Have you seen the documentary "Fridays at the Farm?" It's a short film, 24 minutes, and a personal essay exploring the experience of writer/ director Richard Hoffman when his young family joins a community supported farm (CSA.) Compiled from nearly 20,000 time-lapse photos, the film follows the director on his journey from being a passive observer to an active participant in the planting and harvesting of produce on the farm. "Fridays at the Farm" has been on the international film festival circuit for the past year and is part of the Green Series on the Sundance Channel. Go to http://vimeo.com/2100402 and type in the password fridaysscreener to view the film right on your desktop. I was moved by it and I think you will be too. Although I am no longer involved in the Farm at St. Peter's, I am still a big supporter of the principles and philosophy behind CSA's.
I've been remiss in posting to the blog this past week because it has been too nice to be inside typing on the computer. However, I'll give you a quick recap on what has been happening outside.
I spent some time weeding, cultivating and pruning the perennial herbs. I trimmed the boxwood hedges and made room for the cilantro, dill, parsley, and thyme that I had started earlier in the poly house. I love working with the herbs and inhaling the scent of rosemary, thyme, and lavender as I brush past the plants. It is natural aromatherapy and I can spend long stretches of time meditating in the perfume scented beds.
Out in the vegetable garden I transplanted collards. Collards are a staple in most southern households, but I had never tried them until last year when I went to Charleston to visit my college roomate and ate dinner in a rib place called 9 bones. The ribs were fine, but the collards, which were cooked in bacon fat and lots of butter, were unbelievable! I know, it probably wasn't the healthiest thing in the world to eat, but it certainly was delicious!  I also transplanted golden beets, purple scallions, and broccoli raab. I planted the nasturtiums along the front fence where they will provide color once the tulips have faded and zinnias along the side fence where I'll be able to cut them all summer long.
I direct seeded Swiss chard which has already germinated out in the garden and seeded 4 trays of tomatoes and 2 trays of fennel which will grow for several weeks inside the poly house.
We weeded the peas and added some poultry fencing to the bottom of the trellises which will give the young vines something to grab on to as they begin their long climb up towards the sky.
We finally enclosed the vegetable garden with poultry fencing that we stapled onto the bottom rail of the split rail fence. Knock on wood, I haven't seen many rabbits around, but the fencing will help to keep them out of the vegetable garden. I still need to buy 12 more rails to complete the fence along the top.
Around the property the azaleas and dogwood tree are blooming. And across the road a purple wisteria vine that I planted 10 years ago along the fence is blooming. I can enjoy its intoxicating scent as soon as I step out my back door.
Chores this week:
Buy pvc pipe at Home depot and paint dark green to use for dahlia stakes.
Begin moving dahlia tubers to the cold frame to harden off. Start planting by the weekend.
Work on planting topiaries with small leaf plants.
Greenhouse: seed zucchini, summer squash, and more lettuce
Direct seed: radishes, more arugula
Transplant: Leeks
Jen's gardening schedule this week: Tues, wed, thurs a.m.,  maybe friday, saturday.
My schedule is subject to change