Gardening: 2013–2015

[heidih]

djyee100 - my lemon verbena looks the same- sort of "bald". I love it as an iced tea as well as with seafood and chicken and in SEA curries. My mint all looks like it is time to start over but a neighbor has a great mint patch going as he waters more than I do. I just need to confirm he is not using any unfriendly products. I know he is cool with my harvesting for cooking use. I do need to try to revive the chocolate and the orange mints since they are more special (as with your lavenders) - so will pot up bits of them and "nurse" through this miserable weather - 50 overnight lows with mid 80's days and no moisture in the air at all. (yes roses are in full bud mode.....)

[ChrisTaylor]

Will wait till/if weather settles into a reasonable pattern before starting anything else.

Same here up north in the Bay Area, Heidih. I'm holding off on any new planting until the weather normalizes. For now, I'm cutting back on some plants because of the drought. In the fall I ditched my sage plant, a biergarten sage with extra big leaves that are great for frying. It was too prone to mildew. The basils died off, which is normal. I'll replace the genovese basil, but possibly not the purple basil (I didn't use it much). My other herbs are hanging in there.

I forgot to water my lavender plants for a couple weeks, so maybe I knocked off some of them. When lavender is dormant, it's hard for me to tell if the plant is dead or alive. These are all culinary lavenders (lavandula angustifolia), unusual varieties from the Stonegate nursery in Oregon. Since the nursery closed for mail order last year, I wanted to be sure to preserve these cultivars--they would be hard to replace. Oh well. Meanwhile, an own-root heirloom rose I acquired last fall, Jeanne Corboeuf, shocked me by revealing a bud when I watered it yesterday. My Duchesse de Parme violets are in full bloom, about 3 weeks ahead of time. Their scent is intoxicating. This burgeoning garden doesn't make me as happy as you might think, because we need our normal winter weather and rain.

WinterGarden_3302.jpg

A pic of my winter garden on my front deck (part of it, anyway). From the left corner, clockwise: za-atar, or Syrian oregano; lemon verbena, looking sorrier than ever; marjoram; sorrel with a fistful of new leaves; a couple culinary lavenders (Melissa, Folgate); chives showing signs of life; some pots of Duchesse de Parme violets; an overachieving heirloom rose, Jeanne Corboeuf; Moroccan mint, which grows steadily regardless of cold or warm temps--this one was a surprise.

W‌interGarden_3304.jpg

The book is my bedside reading these days, Vita Sackville-West's Garden Book. The tony English prose of yesteryear can get on my nerves, but I do like what Sackville-West says about plants. I'm enjoying this book in small bites.

Chris Taylor, how does your midsummer garden grow?

Rather well. We've had a string of 40C+ days in Melbourne that most things haven't responded to favourably. Bye bye, struggling chervil. That said, most of my tomato plants--especially the San Marzanos--and the tomatillo plant are doing well. I have a few tomatoes slowly working their way towards redness. Some chillies of various kinds coming into being, too. And most of my herbs are doing okay. Particularly the things like rosemary and savory that seem built to withstand the kind of punishment Australian summers can deliver. I think mulch and nightly watering during the hot spell helped a lot.

I've had very limited success with coriander, of all things. I figured, like mint, that it would spread like a goddamned weed. It doesn't. It hasn't. I've tried various spots in the garden, too. Granted, it took me a while to find just the right spot for mint, too. I might move a coriander plant there and see what happens.

I thought my kaffir limes would bear fruit this year but those flower buds disappeared and were replaced with more leaves. Oh well. Can't hurt for the plant to grow larger before it fruits, I guess.

[KennethT]

I don't think coriander likes lots of heat... I tried growing it in my sunny windowsill many years ago with little success. It gets very hot by the windowsill, and the coriander would constantly bolt and go to seed after a very short time.

[djyee100]

...I thought my kaffir limes would bear fruit this year but those flower buds disappeared and were replaced with more leaves. Oh well. Can't hurt for the plant to grow larger before it fruits, I guess.

Have you seen Kasma Loha-Unchit's article about growing kaffir lime trees? It's on her website. Here:

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/kaflime_1page.html

See paragraph 7 re: fruiting on young trees. (Not good for the tree.)

[KennethT]

So, an update on the windowsill tomato plant...

Here are a couple of pictures, as of yesterday.. you can see how much it's grown in a short period of time!

Today, I finally had the windowsill setup finished, so I trimmed the bottom few branches, and planted the roots and a good part of the lower stem into the rocks. I should have taken a photo of the root zone... it looks fantastic! Lots of growth with tons of fine hairs.

[KennethT]

OK - here's yet another update on the windowsill tomato plant. It's finally big enough, with developed enough roots to allow it to flower... I've also finished transitioning the nutrient formula from a vegetative growth formula (lots of nitrogen) to a flowering/fruiting formula (lots of phosphorus) and it's certainly big enough to train to the string hanging from the ceiling.

Here's a photo from a distance showing the whole plant sitting in the mid-afternoon sun (plus the magenta hue of the LED plant light):

This is a close-up of how the vine is trained to the string:

And finally - an early pic of the first flower cluster - the flowers will probably open in a day or two, ready for pollinization with my electric toothbrush:

[ChrisTaylor]

Nice.

Just last week I made cooked salsas with some San Marzanos and tomatillos. The San Marzanos were hitting that overripe stage so I had to think quick. The salsas, especially the tomatillo one, were pleasant enough with some tortilla chips.

My Zimbabwean bird's eye plant has produced a lot of fruit. Going to make some hot sauce today, I think. There isn't quite enough fruit to make a sizeable batch of sauce and my other chilli plants are a ways off from producing anything, so I'll have to cut the bird's eyes with something else.

[KennethT]

That's cool... I wish I had more space so I could grow more stuff... although, I have a problem growing "determinate" plants - ones that grow, then fruit, then die - since it's only my wife and me, I'd rather not go through the seasonality of all the fruits ripening at once and then we've got to eat only that for a few days, or find other uses or give them away. The great thing about indeterminate plants (like the heirloom tomato) is that it fruits relatively slowly, over a long period of time (like a year), so we can have a continuous supply of tomatoes - like 3-5 per week, which is perfect for just the two of us.

[Jaymes]

Thank goodness my lime tree is blooming its little heart out. I've had great luck with citrus.  Got two calamansi, one Meyer lemon, one kaffir lime, and one Mexican lime.  They're all making me very happy. 

[Smithy]

Jaymes, I envy you those citrus trees! If I ever move (permanently) south, one reason will be so I can have my own citrus and Mediterranean herbs. It isn't just the fruit, it's the lovely perfume of those blossoms! There's nothing like it. I hope you're educating yourself about potential citrus diseases, particularly this one, and monitoring your trees' health.

[Jaymes]

Jaymes, I envy you those citrus trees! If I ever move (permanently) south, one reason will be so I can have my own citrus and Mediterranean herbs. It isn't just the fruit, it's the lovely perfume of those blossoms! There's nothing like it. I hope you're educating yourself about potential citrus diseases, particularly this one, and monitoring your trees' health.

 

I do keep a close eye on them.  For example, my kefir lime has something, so I took the leaves to my local nursery and bought the recommended remedy.

 

As for wishing for citrus and thinking you have to live in the South, that's not true.  My citrus trees are all in pots - large pots to be sure, but pots nevertheless.  I've had them in every climate imaginable (including the middle of Alaska), but when I'm in an area with harsh winters, I just bring them in for the winter.

 

Everybody's favorite know-it-all, Martha Stewart, has talked about how she has lemon trees in pots on her estate in the Northeast.  True that she has an actual greenhouse to put them in during the winter months, but I never did.  I had things like back-porches, and large living-room windows. http://www.themarthablog.com/2011/02/my-thriving-citrus-collection.html

 

Seriously, if you'd like to try a citrus, I'd suggest you start with a small calamansi.  They're so easy to grow and the blossoms are beautiful and aromatic and the fruit is tasty and versatile. http://www.examiner.com/article/calamansi-a-great-citrus-fruit-to-know-and-grow

Edited April 8, 2014 by Jaymes (log)

[KennethT]

I do keep a close eye on them.  For example, my kefir lime has something, so I took the leaves to my local nursery and bought the recommended remedy.

 

As for wishing for citrus and thinking you have to live in the South, that's not true.  My citrus trees are all in pots - large pots to be sure, but pots nevertheless.  I've had them in every climate imaginable (including the middle of Alaska), but when I'm in an area with harsh winters, I just bring them in for the winter.

 

Everybody's favorite know-it-all, Martha Stewart, has talked about how she has lemon trees in pots on her estate in the Northeast.  True that she has an actual greenhouse to put them in during the winter months, but I never did.  I had things like back-porches, and large living-room windows. http://www.themarthablog.com/2011/02/my-thriving-citrus-collection.html

 

Seriously, if you'd like to try a citrus, I'd suggest you start with a small calamansi.  They're so easy to grow and the blossoms are beautiful and aromatic and the fruit is tasty and versatile. http://www.examiner.com/article/calamansi-a-great-citrus-fruit-to-know-and-grow

Exactly... I've been growing a dwarf bearss lime tree in my small NYC apartment for years now (there are some photos in other threads). It has never been outside... and right now, I have a tree full of limes at this very minute. And like Jaymes said, anyone can do it anywhere... check out four winds growers - they are a nursery for dwarf citrus trees and have almost every variety imaginable. The trees are dwarf because they ahve been grafted to dwarf rootstock - but they bear full sized fruit.

My apartment is pretty sunny, but nowadays, it's pretty inexpensive to get a 100W LED grow light to give it supplemental lighting. Get a 200W light and you could grow it inside a closet!

[Smithy]

Jaymes and Kenneth T, thank you for the encouragement on the citrus! In fact I did have a potted dwarf mandarin that flowered beautifully for many seasons but never produced fruit worth tasting. It expired some years ago, no doubt due to some mismanagement on my part. Maybe I'll try again, and go for limes.

[Hassouni]

Exactly... I've been growing a dwarf bearss lime tree in my small NYC apartment for years now (there are some photos in other threads). It has never been outside... and right now, I have a tree full of limes at this very minute. And like Jaymes said, anyone can do it anywhere... check out four winds growers - they are a nursery for dwarf citrus trees and have almost every variety imaginable. The trees are dwarf because they ahve been grafted to dwarf rootstock - but they bear full sized fruit.

My apartment is pretty sunny, but nowadays, it's pretty inexpensive to get a 100W LED grow light to give it supplemental lighting. Get a 200W light and you could grow it inside a closet!

 

Very useful, thanks!

[KennethT]

Just an update - I picked one of my limes to make limeaide... I got literally 1/4 cup of juice from 1 lime!

[huiray]

 

My tarragon also dies back each year and comes back bigger and bushier the next year.  It is, however, in the ground next to the deck in the remains of a tub so the wooden "walls" around the clump do protect it a bit.  My thyme and sage, in pots, also come back but they too are on the deck.  I found over the years that in my case it's the more "basic" ones - e.g. the sage is "standard" sage, the thyme is English (culinary) thyme which are more successful at overwintering themselves.

 

I was worried this past cruel winter would do in my tarragon patch.  I'm quite pleased that it made it.  :-)  Pic is of part of the patch this morning after clearing debris, cutting down the previous growths (left on for additional winter "protection") and removing the decayed remnants of the wooden barrel that was helping to shield it somewhat.  I'll have to take positive action to replace the wooden "shield" this coming winter, probably just a simple decent mulch would do.

[Kerry Beal]

The tarragon patch I had in my last house survived everything!  It was more invasive than mint.

[gfweb]

I grow my herbs in pots. Keeps down the invasion and the dog can't pee on 'em.

[scubadoo97]

The herbs are bouncing back after the winter slump.

Homemade sub irrigation planters

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have only an apartment balcony, but I planted a new variety of stawberries a couple weeks ago and there are already two fruit.  (And lots of catbirds watching.)  I'm wondering if my lavender made it through the winter?

 

I bring my rosemary bush inside over the cold season, and for the past two years it has been blooming in my dining room the entire winter/spring.  The down side to that is that she is too pretty to eat.  I have to buy rosemary from the store since I am very fond of it.  And I can't get in or out the door.

[fvandrog]

We ate this years first produce from the garden, both the rhubarb and french sorrel were ready for a first harvest. The rhubarb went with some ginger into a confiture for fresh Belgian waffles; the sorrel will be part of some nice omelettes for tonight. 

 

For some reason the radishes seem to be growing exceptionally slow, so we'll have to wait for them a bit more than usual.

[dcarch]

If you like beet greens, seed some beets in a pot and you can keep cutting beet greens. Beets don't need a lot of sun.

 

If you have a garden and you like ramps, next time when you buy ramps, just eat the tops and plant the bulbs. You will have your ramp patch.

 

dcarch

[GlorifiedRice]

My Szechwan pepper bush died over the winter cause the planted had a cup on it the didnt drain...

;(

[djyee100]

 

A pic of my front deck garden in late spring. The culinary lavenders (lavendula angustifolia) are in full bloom, both pink and purple varieties . The lemon verbena seems to have gotten over an awkward adolescent phase--it's almost attractive these days (centerish in the pic, behind the lavenders). On the right side, the large container plant is my kaffir lime tree, now about 6 ft tall. You can see a few low branches and leaves.

 

Except for the sorrel (not pictured) and the chives (front row, half hidden), the rest of my herbs were trashed in March, as I took extreme measures to end a whiteflies infestation in the garden. Rosemary and thyme will be replaced eventually, so will oregano and marjoram, and I'll buy my annual basil plants, too. As for the rest--chervil? tarragon? anise hyssop? Deciding which new plants to buy is probably more fun than actually buying them.

 

Starting to bloom, my lacecap hydrangea (hydrangea macrophylla, top center of pic), a refugee from my tree-shaded back deck, where the deer roam and were eating this plant alive before my eyes. The rest of the plants in the pic are mostly roses, a couple bud-grafted roses on the left side of the pic, and the own-root heirloom roses, young 2-year plants, on the right side of the pic. The roses have finished their first flush of bloom, and they're resting before rebloom these days.

 

[Ader1]

I've tried Sichuan Peppercorn Ice-cream and it was fantastic.  I ate it when in Chengdu at the Chef Wu's Family kitchen restaurant.  Look it up.  What an experience!

 

Another dish I use it in is Da Pan Ji.  I'm not sure if they would be put in the dish where it originates from but it was in the one I had in Chengdu and it was delicious.

 

 

 

My Szechwan pepper bush died over the winter cause the planted had a cup on it the didnt drain...

;(

 

I've got one of these trees.  I've had it a couple of years now and I've collected seeds from it which I tried to germinate.  I had no luck at all.  I've also taken cuttings with the same lack of results.  I've tried putting them in the fridge and scarifying them but nothing.  And the results were the same with the seeds I bought in China.  Any ideas?