270 replies to this topic

[Kouign Aman]

Thanks. Sounds like the problem is Grey Spot. I removed all affected foliage ... so far, so good. There's new clean foliage on that plant and the others appear to have remained clean. One tiny tomato...

And..... :hooray!: I spotted bees in the yard yesterday. Appears they came with the sunshine.

Brusselsprouts up to 4" and ready to thin. Garlic a foot tall, peppers-cilantro about an inch, basil from seed, just setting the set of leaves after the cotyledons. (The munchkin covered them with sand which they did not like). Basil transplants doing well, ditto tricolor sage. Potatoes replanted and still a complete bust. We've just not had enough sun, Im thinking. Lots of buds on the mini-lime. Flowers on the apple tree. Hey, its a garden! As the weeds have also noticed... time to renew that little battle.

editted. the brusselsprouts are ready to thin, not thing.

Edited by Kouign Aman, 10 May 2006 - 11:40 AM.

[Toliver]

The bee's have made a resurgence around here, too. Apparently the Chinese Mites that decimated the bees of the California wild these last few years have either been overcome or have gone elsewhere. There were four recent reports of bees taking up residence in residences around here. Not a good thing for humans but a good sign regarding the comeback of the bees.

As for the sunshine, it sounds like you have the typical May Gray for San Diego. Are you near the coast? My mom lives in Santee (inland San Diego) and usually gets sun by about 10 or 11am. My brother lives on Mission Bay and sometimes doesn't see the sun for a month in May or June (June Gloom).
At least if it's May Gray, then you should have more summertime sunshine after it's over. Better to get it out of the way earlier than later.

[Kouign Aman]

That's it - the marine layer. Keeps the watering down, at least! Does your mom want some brussels sprouts sprouts? I'm going to have to thin them this weekend.

[Toliver]

That's it - the marine layer. Keeps the watering down, at least! Does your mom want some brussels sprouts sprouts? I'm going to have to thin them this weekend.

Thank you for the offer. I asked her but she said she is going to just stick to tomatoes this year. A little boring but what can you do? She is set in her ways.
She mentioned earlier this year about planting herbs but I guess she's forgotten about that. So no fresh basil with the tomatoes.
Ooh, unless I sneak some into a pot when she's not looking. Hmm, now there's a thought...

[eje]

[...]
On the positive side, I plucked a couple of the Nintoku Giant fava bean pods, briefly blanched them, peeled, and served them dressed with olive oil, salt, and pepper. 
[...]

These did turn out to be very tasty favas.

The beans were near lima bean size, a little brighter green than regular favas, and quite tasty.

The plants were also enormous, and, as promised, heavy bearing. We had 4 good fava bean meals from my 4 plants and gave away quite a few to friends. Finally cut them down just last weekend.

My only regret is I did not stake the plants, and they sprawled all over my plot preventing some of the other winter crops from getting proper amounts of sun.

If you are looking for a winter crop, have some room, and like favas, I recommend you give them a try.

~Erik

[Kouign Aman]

Tomatoes still blooming their hearts out and still being mostly ignored by the bees. A couple small tomatoes have set. Sigh. I may move the plants over to my neighbor's yard, which is resonant with bees.

Bought beefsteak termaters at Trader Joe's and gave them an extra couple hours of sun in the kitchen windows. They did very well in BLTs for dinner. They'll help tide me over.

Basil tried to bolt this weekend! Lots of basil-flower buds drying now.
Time to reseed cilantro altho the first round isnt yet big enough to harvest.
The tricolor sage is very pretty. I sense brown-butter and sage pasta in my near future.
Any idea why my narrow leaf sage died off after a happy 9 months in a pot? Does it need lots of water? (It seemed like a dry climate plant to me).

Erik, thanks for the info on favas. Are they what the english call "broad beans"? If so, I shall stick some in dirt this fall.

Toliver, how are your mom's tomatoes looking for 4th of July? I wish you the best of luck.

[eje]

[...]
Erik, thanks for the info on favas. Are they what the english call "broad beans"? If so, I shall stick some in dirt this fall.
[...]

Broad beans and Fava Beans are the same species, Vicia Fava.

Actually a species in the "Vetch" genus and an "Old World" legume.

I'm not sure about variety differences between various countries.

The next thing I really want to try is fresh Lima Beans. I hated these when I was younger, and am curious what they would taste like to me now.

~Erik

Edited by eje, 01 June 2006 - 11:26 AM.

[Toliver]

Tomatoes still blooming their hearts out and still being mostly ignored by the bees. A couple small tomatoes have set. Sigh. I may move the plants over to my neighbor's yard, which is resonant with bees.

If your blooms aren't setting fruit yet, you can always self-pollinate them without the bees. I'm assuming your plants are either staked or have a cage on them. You can always whack the stake with a mallet or give the cage a tap or two for each plant. The shake should be enough for the flowers to self-pollinate. Good luck with that! My fingers are crossed that your blooms take that next step soon.

Toliver, how are your mom's tomatoes looking for 4th of July? I wish you the best of luck.

The good news is that she has two plants producing fruit like gangbusters. I'd be surprised if some of it doesn't start to turn a lucious red before the 4th. She needs to put up some sort of fencing around the pots, though. If the fruit turns, there are plenty of deer or other critters near her home that will make a meal of the tomatoes quicker than she can pick them.
The bad news is that May Gray seems to have turned into June Gloom. This morning she said it was actually foggy during her morning walk. Fortunately, she's far enough inland that the sun usually breaks out by about 10am but that's only on the good days. I'm hoping the run of June Gloom will be far shorter than the 18-day run of May Gray that San Diego had.

[Octaveman]

All these posts are from people who love to garden and take pride in the fruit it bears. There's also the freshness factor in growing something yourself and cooking with it. But there's another factor that I don't see being touched upon and that is growing something out of a financial necessity.

Kaffir lime leaves cost $30/lb at stores and $75/lb on-line. Then there's also lemongrass. Grocery stores are charging almost $1 per stalk and online retailers are asking about $1.50 per stalk. I've never been good at keeping things alive other than my cats and my family but I'm working toward turning over a new leaf so to speak and bought a kaffir lime tree to love and nurture. And I'm also considering planting a few stalks of lemongrass too. Anyone know the process for that? Can a pot be used? My mother who is an avid gardener brought me about 6 pots of various herbs to keep going and use on a regular basis. So I'm giving this gardening thing another shot.

Cheers,
Bob

[eje]

[...]
And I'm also considering planting a few stalks of lemongrass too.  Anyone know the process for that?  Can a pot be used?  My mother who is an avid gardener brought me about 6 pots of various herbs to keep going and use on a regular basis.  So I'm giving this gardening thing another shot.
[...]

Lemon grass is easy. Get a few fresh looking stalks from the grocery store, preferably with as much root attached as possible. Put them in a tall vase in a sunny spot. Soon, they should start to sprout roots. When you start to see new green growth at the top, plant them in container with some loamy soil and keep them moist.

Not sure about sun; but, you may need to give them some shelter from too much direct sun. It's a tropical plant, so with plenty of water, heat and humidity, you should have a good size patch before the end of the year. Frost sensitive, though, so you will need to bring it in for the winter or keep it in a greenhouse, depending on your exact zone.

~Erik

Edited by eje, 01 June 2006 - 01:23 PM.

[Priscilla]

[...]
Erik, thanks for the info on favas. Are they what the english call "broad beans"? If so, I shall stick some in dirt this fall.
[...]

Broad beans and Fava Beans are the same species, Vicia Fava.

Actually a species in the "Vetch" genus and an "Old World" legume.

I'm not sure about variety differences between various countries.

The next thing I really want to try is fresh Lima Beans. I hated these when I was younger, and am curious what they would taste like to me now.

~Erik

We are having very good luck with favas too, this spring here in Southern California, our first time growing them. I attribute the success almost entirely to the seeds, from Bountiful Gardens, who also sold a seed inoculant that I am sure helped a lot. Never had good luck with shelly beans or peas before.

Also growing Bountiful Gardens lettuce, from a mixed-seed package but I think one is their Bronze Arrow, perhaps the best lettuce ever, and of which I will get a discrete package. But, all good. Just now planting another round.

[Octaveman]

Put them in a tall vase in a sunny spot.  Soon, they should start to sprout roots. 

Put them in a tall vase? With water? Do I trim the top? If so, how far down?

When you start to see new green growth at the top, plant them in container with some loamy soil and keep them moist.

What's loamy soil?

[eje]

Put them in a tall vase in a sunny spot.  Soon, they should start to sprout roots. 

Put them in a tall vase? With water? Do I trim the top? If so, how far down?

When you start to see new green growth at the top, plant them in container with some loamy soil and keep them moist.

What's loamy soil?

Yep, tall vase with water. Just like flowers. Keep it topped up with fresh water.

I've never trimmed the tops, I guess you could a bit, if they looked ugly.

RE: Soil. They like rich sandy soil and plenty of water. Regular potting mix is probably fine. When you get to the planting them part, you might want to stick some bamboo stakes or chop sticks in there and tie the lemon grass to them, to help keep them from falling over. They tend to be a bit top heavy until they get their root system more established.

Here's a good link from yougrowgirl.com:

How to grow lemongrass from a store-bought stalk

edit - added link.

Edited by eje, 01 June 2006 - 04:31 PM.

[Octaveman]

Cool!!! Thanks.

[Kouign Aman]

Happy days are here again! :chortle: The sun came out, the bees came over, and there are swellings on the tomato plants (and a bazillion baby limes-to-be on the dwarf lime tree)!!! There was much dancing in the garden.

I transplanted the extra brussel sprouts sprouts.... I now have 28 plants. I may become the only person in SoCal history to take a bag of extra brussel sprouts into the office to give away

Planted some ancient little peppers - probably 300 seeds in the pot. Now waiting to see if any germinate (very low odds. These peppers were about 15 yrs old).

Lemon grass... what a great idea!

[Toliver]

Happy days are here again! :chortle: The sun came out, the bees came over, and there are swellings on the tomato plants  (and a bazillion baby limes-to-be on the dwarf lime tree)!!!  There was much dancing in the garden.

I transplanted the extra brussel sprouts sprouts.... I now have 28 plants. I may become the only person in SoCal history to take a bag of extra brussel sprouts into the office to give away

Planted some ancient little peppers - probably 300 seeds in the pot.  Now waiting to see if any germinate (very low odds. These peppers were about 15 yrs old).

Congratulations on your swellings and transplants!
In regards to the peppers, my brother visited a chile pepper festival recently and discovered a lot of the dried pepper displays had "orphan" seeds at the bottom to which he surreptitiously helped himself. He's planted some and is now waiting to see what grows. Is there a time limit for dried seeds? Perhaps soaking them first might help.

[Kouign Aman]

Thanks!

Perhaps soaking them first might help.

HEre's hoping! That out of season rain of a week or two ago is what inspired the planting. I was cleaning out the stuff stored outside, and found these little old dried up peppers swimming in their container. Fingers crossed.
And best wishes for your brother's efforts.

I used to have the parent pepper plant on my desk at work. First time I had sex with a plant was to keep those little peppers growing. It would flower like mad, but (go figure) no bees inside the building. So pepper production relied on me and my trusty pencil tip.

[Kouign Aman]

Was given cuttings of African basil a couple weeks ago. They've got roots and one has survived a week in soil so far. The other two will "go dirt" soon. The cilantro will be ready for a large batch of Independence Day salsa, tho I'll have to use Trader Joe's termaters. No red yet on 'my' babies.

Whats going on in your garden?

[Toliver]

My mom told me she had harvested some of her tomatoes that had turned a good shade of red. She said she was surprised, though, because the fruit is really hard. She is attributing it to the lack of sun thanks to the May Gray/June Gloom in San Diego. So her kitchen windowsill is lined with tomatoes finishing their ripening.

[Kouign Aman]

Caprese salad with home-grown basil on the menu for tonight. Im so excited. And in month, we can use our own termaters as well (tonight, they're Trader Joe's).

The cilantro is trying to flower. Its fascinating - this plant has three different leaf shapes: the cotyledons ("seed leaves"), the flat-leaf we are so familiar with, and a lacy leaf that comes off the flowering stalk. Im letting 3 plants go and harvesting the rest for salsa etc. I've never seen a third leaf type on a plant before. I guess after harvest, I'll move this pot into the shade to slow down round two of flowering.

Peppers and brussels sprouts survived transplant, altho' the ones still in the parent-pot are doing best. The garlic died back. This gardening stuff is fun, and its taking less time than I had feared. Next year I shall be completely out of control in the spring.

[Kouign Aman]

Coriander is forming, peppers ditto.
Tomatoes expanding, still solidly green. Way behind last year, even tho they were planted earlier and began blooming immediately. Lots of 'em, tho! :)
Basil has been munched several times in ensalada caprese.
The munchkin is clandestinely harvesting the tri-color sage for snacking.

[Toliver]

Houston, we have tomatoes!
I posted some pics on the main Gardening thread here.
My brother has lemon cucumbers up the wazoo. Funny thing is he can't eat them since they give him heartburn.
As you can see by the picture, they're quite seedy. Last year I had bought lemon cucumbers from a vendor at my local farmer's market and they were nowhere as seedy. In fact, the seeds were almost like a hothouse cucumber so I was surprised at the difference in the lemon cucumbers my brother is growing.
His yellow zucchinis are just now coming in as are his tomatoes.
To go off-topic, his tuberose are also getting ready to bloom. Their tropical fragrance is amazing.

[hapacooking]

23 Heirloom plants all doing very well. Mostly exotic Black tomatoes, yesterday's fruit count 145! First Harvest Today!

Pimento de Pardron chile 10 plants, first harvest was two weeks ago

New Mexico Big Jim Chiles are slower, no fruit yet

Serrano, Yellow Bell amd Poblanos all doing okay no fruit yet

Arugula - abundant

No apricots this year because of the rain I think

Lemons are abundant

I also tried to grow Wasabi this year, its a bit difficult to grow but I am making moderate progress.

Radishes, onion, corn, carrots all doing fantastic. Cucumbers are flowering.

Chives, thyme,, oregano, rosemary, tarragon, sage, cilantro, basil, dill and parsley all growing like mad

Strawberries and blackberries are abundant, Raspberries and Blueberries are not doing very well this year

Have fun.

[Kouign Aman]

The basil is shot. All three pots have flowered and the leaves have gotten tough. Still tastes fine but the texture is unpleasant in Caprese etc. Time to collect seeds and start afresh, in a shadier location. These pots can serve as bee-bait next to the termaters. Its a bummer because I really wanted to use our basil on our tomatoes (ah well. Its not like we keep a milk buffalo in the back yard for the cheese. I can buy basil too)

The sage is looking fine... it looked so small and overwhelmed in its pot when first planted, now Im wondering if I should get it a larger home.

Tomatoes are reddening :jump for joy:. The Beefsteak plant has only two, both green, both getting huger each day. Two planted Early Girls are abundant and showing color (2 are scarlet.... sooooo close). One volunteer appears to be Early Girl too. Yellow pear tomatoes are few and young. The heirloom (cant remember type) is holding onto a small crop of midsized still green tomatoes. I'm wondering if there is still time to put in more plants, with the way the weather has been.

The orange peppers - the potted plant is carrying large fruit - still dark green. The transplants are flowering madly.

Brusselsprouts - wow! I had no idea how wide those plants get.

The cilantro is also shot. Now waiting for the seeds to ripen. Next crop will get a shadier locale.

Found seeds for the yard-long beans.... where to plant? Such a fun question to ponder.

About a bazillion baby limes formed, but only 3 have remained on the dwarf tree.

Most exciting - we moved the potted guava/feijoa tree this spring and after 3 happy but flowerless years, its blooming madly and I saw one little swelling baby fruit starting to form.

[Kouign Aman]

BLTs with homegrown tomatoes last night - the first harvested this year. Oh joy! Early Girls - sweet and delicious.
One beefsteak fell off and is ripening in the window.

5 assorted plants will not be enough. More will be planted next year!

Just planted seeds for :
carrots, basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro. Gambling on the length of summer.

[Toliver]

BLTs with homegrown tomatoes last night - the first harvested this year. Oh joy! Early Girls - sweet and delicious.
One beefsteak fell off and is ripening in the window.

5 assorted plants will not be enough. More will be planted next year!

Just planted seeds for :
carrots, basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro. Gambling on the length of summer.

If you're inland, you might make it.
Congrat's on your harvest!

My mom just discovered the dreaded black bottoms on some of her tomatoes. She's taking the appropriate steps to combat it but is disappointed nonetheless. She says she going to work on prepping her soil better next year.

[eje]

I've been a bit depressed about gardening this summer, as earlier I found out that the city will be demolishing and re-terracing the community garden I participate in later this year.



Though, I guess it is nice to start over every once in a while. Hopefully they will give us some of the nice rich composted dirt they make from the citywide composting program. Just need to figure out where to transplant the perennials I want to keep.

Have harvested the first Sweet 100 and early girl tomatoes. I think the heat this summer has helped to make these extra tasty.

The Naked Ladies (Amaryllis belladonna) are flowering!

[Kouign Aman]

The orange peppers are ripe, sweet, beautiful and delicious.

4/5 newly planted pots of seeds have sprouted. I foolishly didnt label so cant yet tell if its thyme or oregano that didnt germinate - maybe by Sunday I'll be able to figure it out.

The tomatoes are nearly done - we've eaten half the crop and the rest are going to go fast, but there arent many new flowers, nor much green fruit.

The guava is covered in little fruit-swells. An object lesson in how a plant reacts to the right amount of light.

Anyone know why the passionfruit vine might be unhappy and yellowish?

[Toliver]

Anyone know why the passionfruit vine might be unhappy and yellowish?

Googled "gardening passionfruit vine yellowish" and got this Australian FAQ on homegrown passionfruit vines and their problems:
"Passionfruit: Solving problems in the home garden"
The answer to the yellowish-ness may be a typical passionfruit virus called "Passionfruit woodiness virus".

[Kouign Aman]

Many thanks.

All the little limes but one have fallen off. That one is growing well.

Thyme is hanging in there, barely. New crops of basil & cilantro are coming along well and ready for harvest. I pruned the older basil plants and they are leafing in well, so its fresh homegrown basil on the termaters this weekend, and a nice lemon/cilantro sauce for the meat.

I had to replant the oregano but now I see life.

The carrots came up fast, but they are not getting bigger. The potatoes have me mystified.
Gardening is good.

The passionfruit is rootbound and needs feeding.