270 replies to this topic

[Kouign Aman]

lots of cucumbers, a couple zucchinis, several japanese eggplant, and 4 of the best cantelope I have ever eaten.
The latter were from a volunteer vine that grew out of the compost pile.
Its fun to watch them develop. The strange fuzzy fruit were mysteries to us until the webbing formed, overnight.

Tomatoes all summer long. A bunch of those also volunteered from the compost pile. Looked like 2 plants of 'brown' tomatoes, and the rest were teh grape tomatoes from a Costco party tray. They were better picked fresh from the 'vine' in the sun. Better still were the currant tomoatoes that came from Toliver's mother's yard a year or so back. We saved a few seeds and they grew again. The small person ate many many many.

A new favorite is Green Zebra. Absolutely delicious. Ripe when bright orange w green stripes. What a kick to have on a plate!

The carrots recovered, and a second crop were planted. Its still a thrill for most of our small guests to pull one, wash and eat it on the spot.

We've gone nuts and started new tomatos from seed in mid-August. They are flowering now. In theory, white, pink striped, orange, yellow, red and brown cherry tomato varieties.

Planted 6 pumpkin vines, not one bore fruit.

As always, the growing was as much fun as the eating. And as always, I'm glad our ability to have full bellies does not depend on my skill and luck in the garden!

[Toliver]

Better still were the currant tomoatoes that came from Toliver's mother's yard a year or so back. We saved a few seeds and they grew again. The small person ate many many many.

Thank you for posting about the currant tomato plant living on. I am so happy to hear that they've made a little someone happy and I know my mom will be thrilled with the news.
I'm surprised they aren't a more popular plant (eg, used in classroom gardens) since they're just the perfect size for the little ones to eat.

I have a friend who had no luck with pumpkins until the year a volunteer popped up on her compost pile (like your cantaloupes). Go figure!

[Raoul Duke]

So what are you all planting for fall/winter?

[Kouign Aman]

My fat hindend in a chair, far away from weeds, gloves and shears ????
Seriously, I am toying with the idea of a winter garden - peas/beans etc.
But I have my doubts we'll get anything started in time.

What about you, Raoul Duke?

[heidih]

I started collards, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and some type of choy in a "curbside treasure" kiddie pool. The leaves have added goodness to a recent butternut squash based soup. I keep seeing those cute but naughty white moths flitting around. Hoping the migratory birds will eat them before they lay on the leaves and create lace.

[Kouign Aman]

You may have to help the birds by picking off the caterpillars and leaving them somewhere visible.
The little orange moths destroyed our sunflowers. We had gorgeous flowers which is what we were after, but the caterpillars ate thru the seeds before they could fully develop, so we didnt get sunflower seeds.
On the other hand, we got lots of tiny little caterpillars, which is almost as good at our house these days.

Did you fill the kiddypool w sand or soil?
(I love that curbside treasure hunting!)
I HATE slugs, so leafy vegetables need a tightly controlled environment in my world.

[pedie]

We spent the weekend putting in the winter garden: Fava beans in two areas to improve the soil and plus...I love favas...with a little chianti! Snap peas and snow peas, chinese cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, some lettuces, and GARLIC! I also sowed some arugula seed in an area where it can just go wild. I am fighting the birds for my seeds. I actually saw them trying to dig up the peas I planted. The squirrels have also been very aggressive this year...getting my heirloom tomatoes because I left them on the vine for "just one more day!"

[heidih]

I filled my kiddie pool with garden soil and planted along the guidelines of "Square Foot" gardening. At least the hyperactive raccoons do not like veggies....RIP goldfish... I think having even a little bit of garden out there makes us more creative because we want to use the results.

[Kouign Aman]

Crazy cherry tomatoes are still setting fruit.

I HAVE to get off my derriere and plant some peas in the 'soil free' garden, after I move it away from ground squirrel territory.

[andiesenji]

I am reopening this topic because after a lapse of a few years I am again gardening but on a smaller scale than previously.

Having lost a considerable amount of weight over the past two years, I now have far more energy than I did and the gardening does not seem so much like an impossible task. My knees are still a bit "iffy" but as long as I avoid kneeling or squatting, I am okay.

All of my new vegetable gardening is in containers. Several tomato plants, eggplants, cucumbers (different varieties), summer squash (zucchini, crookneck, etc.), kale, chard, onions, carrots, radishes, lettuces, beans (both bush and pole), peas (pod and sugar snap), and various herbs and a couple of exotics (Yacon plant ordered from Nichols Garden Nursery in Oregon) and something called "summer cilantro" which is supposed to resist bolting in the summer heat.

Also strawberries, more about these later because I have purchased some rather interesting pots which are due to arrive today and which are supposed to be a more efficient way of growing.

I have been taking numerous photos as the garden has progressed but there are so many that I really have to narrow it down to just a few to post here but will have more of them in my photobucket album.
I'm posting a couple of teaser photos.

A note about the anise: This specimen was originally planted twelve years ago and just keeps coming back, with little or no attention every year.

How about other California gardeners? Anybody doing anything interesting?

[heidih]

I planed radishes for the first time and did not thin them properly. The upside is that the crowded plants that had no room for a fat root used their energy in the leaves. I have been enjoying the more tender greens in salads and the tougher guys in a spring pasta. The eggplants are setting fruit. I have eaten one cherry tomato (great flavor) and the laden Early Girl has one getting awfully close to bright red. The peas were a little sparse (only one plant), but were good in the spring pasta. Green beans and arugula are looking healthy and the chives are trying hard. I have harvested young crookneck squash and am looking forward to the later planted zuchini flowers to be fried as a treat. In terms of fruit I am happy to report that the plums and nectarines are walnut sized and the grape I thought I over-pruned has many lovely clusters forming. The big shocker was the avocado that came from a seed and has pea and olive sized fruit developing.

[Toliver]

The big shocker was the avocado that came from a seed and has pea and olive sized fruit developing.

That rocks! I hope it grows and prospers.

My mom still has a potted tomato plant from last year that continues to bear fruit. Granted, the fruit stayed green through the winter months but now that the sun has returned, the fruit is finally starting to turn.
She's also decided to give her Topsy Turvy tomato planter another try this year.
Best o' luck to ya, Ma!

[andiesenji]

The big shocker was the avocado that came from a seed and has pea and olive sized fruit developing.

That rocks! I hope it grows and prospers.

My mom still has a potted tomato plant from last year that continues to bear fruit. Granted, the fruit stayed green through the winter months but now that the sun has returned, the fruit is finally starting to turn.
She's also decided to give her Topsy Turvy tomato planter another try this year.
Best o' luck to ya, Ma!

So far my Topsy Turvy tomato is way behind the others that were planted in deep pots at the same time.
Same variety (Early Girl) and from the same six pack as the others and they were all the same size when transplanted.
I do have it in a protected area, where it can get sun but not so much of the wind. (It has been very windy the past couple of weeks and started out nice today but about eleven a.m. the wind came rolling in.)

Edited by andiesenji, 26 May 2010 - 01:59 PM.

[andiesenji]

And here is my report on my new "strawberry towers" - a compact and efficient way to do a lot of gardening in a very small space.







Each of the Agro-Towers Grow Pots has six sections and they fit together in a sturdy stack 3 high with no center post but with a center pipe or post, anchored in the ground can be stacked higher.

I saw a brief segment on one of the shows on the "Green channel" about these in use on a deck garden (Manhattan Beach) and also on an apartment balcony (West Hollywood) and since they are a California company, decided to give them a try.

I purchased twelve and have four more to fill with my remaining strawberry plants and am anticipating ordering more as I have some other ideas.

The quality of the materials in the pots is exceptional and I anticipate that they will last for many years.

The usual disclaimer, I have no connection with the company other than as a customer.

[Kouign Aman]

As always, Andie, you are an overachiever. What a garden!

We had one currant tomato overwinter, and bear. The small person claims the little tiny fruits are now as sweet as candy. Since she eats a lot of candy, she's qualified to judge. I dont rate any of the fruit, so cant confirm.

Got a VERY late start this year. Put 3 tomatoes in the ground 3 weeks back, including one called "Aussie", a few more in pots, and one in the hydroponic-y thing. Got some bush beans about to flower, lima beans sprouting, and hoping the japanese eggplant will sprout. Have a good patch of corn at 6" high and 3-4 weeks old. Am looking for time and a place to put the purple bush beans and maybe some climbers.
We planted a loufa and a cantelope. We have ~ 15 volunteers that I think will turn out to be cantelope. If so, I have to thin them over the next week, and share the wealth.

Got a new recipe for oranges - 4 oranges: slice off the peel and pith. Slice "thinly" (I use 3-4 mm), layer in shallow pan, bowl or plate. In small pan, heat 3 T honey (I use orangeblossom) and 1 T orangeflower water, and 1 cinnamon stick, simmer 1 min. Remove the stick, pour the syrup over the oranges, and marinate as long as you want. Instant service isnt bad. Next day is wonderful.

[judiu]

As always, Andie, you are an overachiever. What a garden!

We had one currant tomato overwinter, and bear. The small person claims the little tiny fruits are now as sweet as candy. Since she eats a lot of candy, she's qualified to judge. I dont rate any of the fruit, so cant confirm.

Got a VERY late start this year. Put 3 tomatoes in the ground 3 weeks back, including one called "Aussie", a few more in pots, and one in the hydroponic-y thing. Got some bush beans about to flower, lima beans sprouting, and hoping the japanese eggplant will sprout. Have a good patch of corn at 6" high and 3-4 weeks old. Am looking for time and a place to put the purple bush beans and maybe some climbers.
We planted a loufa and a cantelope. We have ~ 15 volunteers that I think will turn out to be cantelope. If so, I have to thin them over the next week, and share the wealth.

Got a new recipe for oranges - 4 oranges: slice off the peel and pith. Slice "thinly" (I use 3-4 mm), layer in shallow pan, bowl or plate. In small pan, heat 3 T honey (I use orangeblossom) and 1 T orangeflower water, and 1 cinnamon stick, simmer 1 min. Remove the stick, pour the syrup over the oranges, and marinate as long as you want. Instant service isnt bad. Next day is wonderful.

Take a tip from the Native Americans, plant your climbing beans between the corn plants. Instant trellis! I think there is good symbiosis between the two as well; I seem to remember my Grand Daddy using them as 'companion plants' like tomatoes and basil grown together.

[Toliver]

My mom's Topsy-Turvy tomato plant already is bearing four fruit and even more blossoms. Unfortunately, she still has it hanging in the same place it's always been which is over the waist-high railing along her patio. It's the perfect height for a night critter to come along the railing and chow down on the hanging fruit just as it's done in the past. I guess some lessons just don't take...

[heidih]

Summer squash is really coming quickly (zukes and crookneck). Eggplants are getting fat and glossy. Tomatoes are suffering from the June gloom. Lots of fruit but ripening slowly. The greengage plums are also coming slowly (picking maybe 10 a day) so that is actually better than a mass ripening and bird/critter frenzy. The arugula and radishes seem to like the somewhat cooler weather and the basil is also happy. The green beans are climbing like mad and flowering. I discussed the uses for my grape trimmings here. The ancient peach tree that was being choked by a nasty vine only has 5 fruits but they are large and already fragrant. Apples and pears are visible but they won't be edible for months. The chile peppers seem to finally be setting. Looks to be a great summer.

[andiesenji]

Here are some photos taken earlier this morning:
the bush beans are blooming but their blossoms are hidden under the big leaves.


This pair of Celebrity tomato plants has set more than twenty fruits.


These Yacon plants are new to me this year and there won't be a harvest for months but they are interesting.


Both my crookneck squash and zucchini are doing well and I have picked enough for two meals.



all my herbs are growing with great enthusiasm.



The tri-color pole beans were planted later than the bush beans but they are now taking off.


After a slow start this Early Girl in the TopsyTurvy planter has accelerated its growth and has set a bunch of small fruits.


And here is the tomato "jungle"

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Edited by andiesenji, 21 June 2010 - 11:44 AM.

[andiesenji]

For whoever emailed me about the Yacon plant (had problems with my email this morning, after reading a couple of messages lost everything and had to restore from the 6:15 p.m. yesterday Time Machine backup)

Here is the information from Nichols Garden Nursery from whom I ordered the plants (4).

Yacon Plant info.

I'm anxious to see how they do in the heat of the desert summer here. So far they have done okay with the high winds we have had but I do have then in a protected area, screened by the bay laurel bushes and they are in open shade during the middle of the day.

[heidih]

The yakon plant surely sounds interesting and is quite attractive. Do you think you will have to pot it up to a larger size to get good tuber growth? I will look forward to hearing how it does in your climate, and seeing the cooking results in the Cooking forum.

[andiesenji]

The Yacon plants are in fairly large and deep pots. They just look smaller because of the way I took the photo.
Besides the fertilizer already in the potting soil (Miracle Grow Moisture Control) I am using foliar feeding, which has given me great results in the past with gardening in containers.

[andiesenji]

Sharp comment, KA!

I forgot to mention that I have had great success with growing sunchokes in the same size containers with great tuber production. I haven't grown them in three or four years but the last year I did, I got 8 pounds of 'chokes from one pot.

[heidih]

Wow on the sunchokes- I will have to check that out. My soil is stubborn clay so pots and raised bed are my most cost and time effective option.

[andiesenji]

Wow on the sunchokes- I will have to check that out. My soil is stubborn clay so pots and raised bed are my most cost and tie effective option.

This site has detailed instructions and results

Mine were very tasty, I stored them in a tub of clean sand in the shed and they kept well into March.
(Harvested in early November when the leaves looked mostly dead.

I like the flavor. When I still was working the big garden, I also grew artichokes and cardoons - the latter were constantly self-seeding and I had lots of baby cardoons popping up all over the property.

Edited by andiesenji, 23 June 2010 - 08:30 PM.

[heidih]

Well I adore the cardoons for their foliage and the mini chokes when I let them flower, but the eating part has never really jelled. A gardening aquaintenance just dubbed them thistles (which they are) and said we should walk around the hood and sprinkle the seeds.......Eyore needs to be fed...

[Kouign Aman]

Limes harvested, and new limes on the way.
Oranges still on the tree from last year - the cool weather is keeping them hanging on.
Some of the tomatoes have set fruit, but the majority havent, as we havent had a hot spell since I put them in the ground. :(
Lots of lovely purple string-beans. We'll pick the first ones tonight. 4-6" long, a deep purple color. If they are the same as those I grew as a child, they'll turn green upon cooking.

Lima beans are flowering (planted only a month ago, from seed). 5 little baby loquat trees poking thru the soil.

The best surprise was a peanut plant resprouting, and one lone lettuce from our repeated attempts last year to grow lettuce. One seed bided (bid?) its time and now has become a lovely little plant - salad for one.

[heidih]

Green beans are coming in perfectly- just enough for a serving every day or so. The summer squash continue- I am picking them really young and they seem happy to continue producing. Butternut squash had a growth spurt. One is about 7 inches long with the final bulbous shape in place. Tomatoes would really appreciate some sunny days but the greenies are plump and just need that sun to ripen.

[Raoul Duke]

Pulled out shallots to dry along with some garlic (not shown). Tomato's off to a slow start along with zucchinni. Still have to pull white and yellow onions. The shallots ended up being about 25 pounds. That should hold us till winter.

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[heidih]

Everything from the summer is out except the basils, parsley and mint which I will leave until they look sad, and the Lemon Boy tomato. With the bizarro hot weather in Los Angeles I have been hesitant to start the "cool weather" crops. I did sow radish, India mustard, and chive seeds yesterday figuring the warmth would aid germination. If we stay in the low 70's I will plant seedlings dependent on the garden center selection. I am going to stop replying on them one of these days.