Gardening: 2002-2009 Seasons

[lovebenton0]

off-topic:  with all this TX rain, my herbs and maters are leaping out of the ground, but the caterpillars are also making themselves known.  Not to mix dogma, but if you say a quick prayer before committing wormicide, does it mitigate any bad karma associated with the crime?

If it doesn't jess, it should!

I know what you mean about wormy pests -- or something else I'm not catching in action. Several of the borage were coming along so well -- I snitched a few leaves myself the other day, yummy mild cucumber flavor. Today when I went out to check on the little tasties, they had been chomped to the ground. Something is at the top of my list.

Nothing else in the same bed was even touched. Maybe they make good bait also!

Hmm. The California nectarines lose the crop if it gets too cold after budding, but the trees generally survive anyway unless it's a long hard freeze. Unless a dwarf nectarine is much more tender, your tree will probably do all right - just no blossoms or fruit this year. What a bummer! Yes, do cut her back and see how she does. I'd suggest fertilizer (or compost) of some sort, too.

We topped the nectarine today. We had already composted her -- first order in the spring for everything -- and mr fed her along with the rest the other day even though she looks like a stick. I'm still hopeful.

Edited May 16, 2004 by lovebenton0 (log)

[andiesenji]

I know what you mean about wormy pests -- or something else I'm not catching in action. Several of the borage were coming along so well -- I snitched a few leaves myself the other day, yummy mild cucumber flavor. Today when I went out to check on the little tasties, they had been chomped to the ground. Something is at the top of my list.

Nothing else in the same bed was even touched. Maybe they make good bait also!

Slugs love borage, it attracts them like beer. I grow my borage in pots with diatomaceous earth surrounding the base of the pot.

They are only active at night so you might go out with a flashlight two or three hours after dark and check. If you find slugs kill them. If you see their trails put out some slug traps.

I carry a large salt shaker with me and sprinkle them with salt which is an instant killer.

[andiesenji]

Gardening has always been one of my favorite activities. I have an extensive herb and vegetable garden. Because of arthritis much of it is now in large containers or raised beds and I need help with the heavy stuff but I still enjoy it.

I have some answers for various questions.

Re: horse manure for composting. To kill the seeds in it all you need to do is spread it in an even layer, no more than about 10 inches deep. Cover it with clear plastic sheeting (drop "cloths" from your local paint shop works well. Stake it down all around or weight edges with bricks or rocks. Two weeks of sunlight will pretty much "cook" any weed seeds that are in the manure. Remove the plastic, let the manure dry out for a few days then add it to your compost.

I have a regular compost tumbler, also two large worm composting bins outside and one inside for kitchen scraps. The worm castings are super for container gardening.

I am located in the "high" desert in southern California. It gets cold in the winter and summer temps can be well over 100. There are a lot of adjustments one has to make for gardening in these conditions. One advantage is that many of the most popular herb plants evolved around the Mediterranean area and the climate here is much like that. Rosemary grows like a weed. Dwarf plants grow to the size of regular plants and the regular ones are enormous. Sweet bay, Laurel nobilis, is not supposed to grow here because winter temps can get to single digits but mine have done well outside with minimal protection.

I have no problem with drainage - sitting on 600 feet of sand over the Mojave aquifer in this ancient seabed. If I want to grow something that likes a semi-moist setting I have to construct a separate mini-climate. I am able to grow marshmallow and similar plants.

The nearly constant wind is a problem. Combined with high temperatures it can suck the moisture out of plants in very short order.

Shade cloth works as a wind screen as well as providing shade, just have to mount it on a trellis vertically.

Containers can bake in the sun and cook the roots of plants. However it is simple to set a plant pot inside a larger one and fill the space between with a barrier that can be as simple as sand and shredded paper (I take all the shredded paper home from the office) or vermiculite, then soak this with water when the temps exceed 100, evaporation keeps the inner pot cool.

For things that I want to leave in the ground over the winter (such as ginger) I simply buy several bales of straw, break them apart and cover the bed with several inches of the straw.

In the spring the straw is raked up and goes into the compost. Garlic is treated the same.

I plant garlic in the early spring for a late autumn harvest and in September for the following early summer harvest. "Spring" garlic has the same flavor, it is just in a single bulb instead of divided.

[lovebenton0]

I know what you mean about wormy pests -- or something else I'm not catching in action.    Several of the borage were coming along so well -- I snitched a few leaves myself the other day, yummy mild cucumber flavor. Today when I went out to check on the little tasties, they had been chomped to the ground.      Something is at the top of my    list.

Nothing else in the same bed was even touched. Maybe they make good bait also!

Slugs love borage, it attracts them like beer. I grow my borage in pots with diatomaceous earth surrounding the base of the pot.

They are only active at night so you might go out with a flashlight two or three hours after dark and check. If you find slugs kill them. If you see their trails put out some slug traps.

I carry a large salt shaker with me and sprinkle them with salt which is an instant killer.

Thanks, andiesenji, for the slug clue. I'll need help to spy on the slugs (vestibular disorder makes it very difficult to manuever anywhere in the dark!). But my mr is the other gardener in the house and will probably enjoy going out with a flashlight to find and kill slugs! I'll pot the next borage.

Also enjoyed your next post. Our soil base is the opposite of yours -- we're near the "lakes" here (wide spots in the Colorado River) and have rocks and clay to contend with -- but climate in Central TX at the toes of the Hill country can be quite similar. (My two rosemary bushes are the size of VW bugs!) I have been concerned about planting my Bayleaf trees in the ground and still have them potted. We plopped them in larger pots again yesterday to give them one more season in protection. Mine are about five feet tall now. What do you do to protect your Bays over the winter?

[andiesenji]

I have been concerned about planting my Bayleaf trees in the ground and still have them potted. We plopped them in larger pots again yesterday to give them one more season in protection. Mine are about five feet tall now. What do you do to protect your Bays over the winter?

I made some burlap "tents"

actually these are cylinder of burlap which I put around the bays when the weather begins to get very cold at night (late November) but leave it bunched around the base of the little tree.

I have a large bag of leaves next to each tree so that when the news says we are going to have very low overnight temps I can pull the burlap up, stuff leaves into it and staple it together over the top of the tree.

That is just enough insulation to keep it from freezing and still allow me access to the leaves when I need them.

One is in a more exposed area and that one has its own little string of holiday lights which gets plugged in and a large plastic bag (actually a lawn furniture cover) goes over the top when the temps are going to be in single digits. The small amount of heat from the lights is enough to protect the tree from temps that have been as low as 2.

I also have these lights in some of my large pepper plants which are now several years old. These are the chile tepin and pequin which are wild plants and not strictly annual plants.

I kept a tomato plant going through the winter year before last with these lights and a plastic tent. I had brandywine tomatoes off the vine for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[Hopleaf]

But it's war with me and the silly wabbit.

Pewimiter is now secuwe. Maintaining constant wabbit suwveilance.

I actually caught the little bugger camping out under the bird feeder, fattening up on whatever the birds let fall from the feeder.

How do you say Robert, Richard and rabbit without any R's?

Bob, Dick and bunny.

[mudbug]

andiesenji,

Excellent suggestions. You should join us over at the following Forums, you'd be a great asset with your experience...

Vegetables

Herbs

Soil, Compost, Mulch

Vermicomposting

Other Gardening Forums

Edited May 19, 2004 by mudbug (log)

[Hopleaf]

Well, the crawfty wabbits are at it again. One of thwee things has happened:

Eithew

1) the one wabbit I was hunting has thwown a pawty and one of his ingwate guests didn't leave,

2) the one wabbit is hewmafroditic and spawned with itself,

or

3) thewe wewe always two wabbits and I only noticed the one.

Pewhaps I've just been at this wabbit hunting fow faw too long.

[eatrustic]

Has anyone had experience growing Heirloom tomatoes in containers? I'm on the second floor of an old house with a small balcony that gets good sun exposure.

The local farmer's markets have got a whole bunch of 8 - 10" plants with about a dozen varieties of Heirlooms.

I'm looking for varieties that are good raw and with Buffalo Mozzarella and that produce over a period of time as opposed to bumper crop city.

Since these babys can at a minimum grow 5 -8' high I'm wondering how feasible even a couple of plants would be. I'm up on staking and cages etc. so I just need to know if this is going to be a worthwhile project.

[snowangel]

If I were going to do container heirlooms, I'd be tempted to either get the biggest damned pot I could, or better yet, a big, deep Rubbermaid container. Poke some holes in the bottom and put down a layer of rock in the bottom.

I'd give it a whirl if I were you. Container are cheap, great tomatoes are priceless.

[snowangel]

This coming weekend, two of my greatest gardening buddies are going to come over and we're going to take a serious look at the yard and where to put what.

This yard is very different than that at our former house. Not only is the soil different, but there are a lot more trees, and now that they are almost completely leafed out, I think it's time. I had originally intended to watch for the whole growing season, but the urge for dirt under the nails is strong.

In the meantime, I have been tackling the yard, or what will be the yard. The back is one almost-solid mass of dandelions and dead spots. I think I'm going to actually go against everything I believe and take chemicals to the dandelions. I hate to do it, but if anything is going to have a fighting chance in this yard, it's what probably needs to be done. I could spend the next 5 years -- day and night -- pulling and get nowhere. The former owners merely blew the leaves into piles which they left for years. I've had to do some pretty serious tree trimming. I guess they only mowed once or twice a summer. There is effing rock everywhere. Now, I understand that some people really like landscaping rock. I am not one of them. There are tons surrounding this house. I'm gradually getting rid of the rock out front (bucket by bucket, putting it on the side of the garage where nothing will grow). Just yesterday, I saw that one of our neighbors got a big load of rock. I bet they paid money for it. Had they asked, they could have had rock enough to last several lifetimes -- for free. I guess I'm just a tree, dirt, grass and plant person.

But, I did take the chain saw to the sucker and sick trees, so there is some sense of gratification.

In addition to lack of things to check on each morning in the yard, I am sad that this house has been so neglected (inside and out) over the past few years. The former owners were not good stewards of the earth nor the home. Our neighbors are delighted to see owners here who are working to make this house what it should be. And, I can already sense that this house is happy to once again experience love.

[Basilgirl]

My boyfriend just planted 130 tomato plants.

[jschyun]

Well, the harvest is in. Here's today's pics:

R-L: The ridged zucchini (Costata Romanesco) is excellent in soup (we put it in duenjang jigae) because it doesn't get all mushy. The round light green squash (Rond de Nice) are great in hobak jeon, a.k.a fried squash rounds, because they have a sort of soft creamy texture and they're round and big so it's less work to cut them up and make them. The yellow and green squash (Zephyr) is great as fresh eating, cut into sticks. We likes it with kochujang, but I haven't had a chance to try it that way, because they get eaten fast. The dark green round one (8-ball) is not as good as the other round one, but I got the seed in trade and wanted to try it.

Not pictured: Also growing what appears to be a dark green zucchini (Verte de Maraicher) that I got from a guy in Belgium. And a Korean squash for comparison with the others (Early Bulam) but those aren't ready yet.

Oh and I had a Black Cherry tomato today. I took the pic after I ate it. I also had a Dr. Carolyn yellow cherry tomato, but it wasn't as good as Black Cherry. Oh yes, I am saving seed from this plant!

Wow, I wish I had enough time and space for 130 tomato plants. As it is, I'm not doing a particularly good job with my approx. 15 plants.

Edited May 27, 2004 by jschyun (log)

[Hopleaf]

My boyfriend just planted 130 tomato plants.

Hope he lives on a farm.

[Basilgirl]

My boyfriend just planted 130 tomato plants.

Hope he lives on a farm.

Nope, less than an acre in suburbia. I guess he likes to pretend it's a farm, though.

Actually he informed me it's 140 tomato plants.

[fredbram]

My boyfriend just planted 130 tomato plants.

Hope he lives on a farm.

Nope, less than an acre in suburbia. I guess he likes to pretend it's a farm, though.

Actually he informed me it's 140 tomato plants.

And what does he plan to do with the 1,000's of tomatoes? Do you have a really big freezer?

Jeez, we just worked our way up to 16 plants, and I haven't quite used up the puree that I froze last year.

You're scaring me.

[snowangel]

Well, in between rain showers, we did it today. Exercised that little clause I put into the purchase agreement on our former house "reserves right to go back and get a rhubarb plant."

When we pulled up, the new owners where there, and stated "take whatever you want." Good thing I brought far more containers than would house one single rhubarb plant. It is obvious that they aren't gardeners, so I liberated as many things -- largely parts of plants -- but in a couple of cases, more than "just a bit." But, they will be well loved and well tended here. We filled up the back of a truck with bits, pieces and whole lots of the perennials I so lovingly collected and tended over the course of 18 years. As I dug and pulled, I recalled when and with whom I collected all of this stuff. Remembered to whom I gave slips of this and that. Remembered who and when gave me slips of this and that. Over the course of almost 2 decades, this garden had become an integral part of my life -- not just in terms of green growing things and the place, but the people who have formed that patchwork of my life.

So, when we returned to our new house, I spent the rest of the afternoon heeling in some of the plants in one of the VERY neglected parts of the back yard (as in no grass).

And, took out a couple of garden hoses and have been playing with garden shapes and places.

We do need to put a fence in (back yard, to keep Heidi safe), and may actually forgo yet ANOTHER weekend at the cabin to get the fence in (reserving that late June/all of July/all of August warm weather warm water time for the cabin); I'm hardpressed to start tilling and working stuff into the soil until the fence is in and I can see what things will look like with the fence in place.

I will intermingle herbs, perennials, annuals and vegetables. My dad bought me several heirloom tomatoes which are happily growing in very large pots on his deck, but every time I see them, I can sense that they beckon for me and my yard.

I can't begin to describe how wonderful it was today to get dirt under my nails and mud all over my legs. Fingers in roots. When we returned with the bounty, Peter looked at me and said "mom, you have that old sparkle in your eyes." It has been a very long winter, in more ways than one, and to dig was...WOW.

[lovebenton0]

I have been concerned about planting my Bayleaf trees in the ground and still have them potted. We plopped them in larger pots again yesterday to give them one more season in protection. Mine are about five feet tall now. What do you do to protect your Bays over the winter?

I made some burlap "tents"

actually these are cylinder of burlap which I put around the bays when the weather begins to get very cold at night (late November) but leave it bunched around the base of the little tree.

I have a large bag of leaves next to each tree so that when the news says we are going to have very low overnight temps I can pull the burlap up, stuff leaves into it and staple it together over the top of the tree.

That is just enough insulation to keep it from freezing and still allow me access to the leaves when I need them.

One is in a more exposed area and that one has its own little string of holiday lights which gets plugged in and a large plastic bag (actually a lawn furniture cover) goes over the top when the temps are going to be in single digits. The small amount of heat from the lights is enough to protect the tree from temps that have been as low as 2.

I also have these lights in some of my large pepper plants which are now several years old. These are the chile tepin and pequin which are wild plants and not strictly annual plants.

I kept a tomato plant going through the winter year before last with these lights and a plastic tent. I had brandywine tomatoes off the vine for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Thanks! I missed this wintering advice for my bayleaf trees earlier. With a big, old, shade-tree liveoak growing through the center-cut hole in our back deck I have no shortage of leaves when I want to gather them. I pack them around a lot of my container plants to help them through the summer heat/rapid evaporation here. It does help.

I have a mystery squash we have been doodling our noodles over in the TX Garden thread. The tag said "zucchini" but it's not like any zucchini I've grown before. Elongated, but fat, and with dark green base color, a bit stripey with lots of almost white speckles, yet still from a bushy plant. Good about half-size of a typical spaghetti squash, and the same shape. The inside is creamy white, thin-shelled. We love it -- been great grilled. I plan to save some seed. Here's one still ripening on plant.

Anyone know what this is?

[tanabutler]

It looks like a Ronde de Nice hybrid, lovebenton0. Ronde de Nice are usually round, but they have those markings.

Ronde de Nice seed package from Renee's Garden.

P.S., Ronde de Nice are wonderful, if you can grow them. They've got a slight hint of vanilla in their taste. Very faint, but especially flavorful with herbs.

[lovebenton0]

They are wonderful. I sliced in wheels, grilled them over open flame with sweet onion slices and baby yellow crookneck slices then tucked them all in a foil puch with a squeeze of lemon and lemon basil. Fantastic!

Thanks, tanabutler. We're closing in -- so far they also look similar to Magda Korean squash and somewhat similar to tatuma, however the coloration is off for both of those according to my experience with tatuma, and looking at pics of Magda.

Having no trouble growing them so far! We've eaten two, have two more in the basket now for dinner, and about seven more growing quickly at various stages on the two mounds. Not to mention the babies popping out of the blooms.

Lots of Japanese eggplant coming into the kitchen also. Time for a veggie dinner.

[Basilgirl]

My boyfriend just planted 130 tomato plants.

Hope he lives on a farm.

Nope, less than an acre in suburbia. I guess he likes to pretend it's a farm, though.

Actually he informed me it's 140 tomato plants.

And what does he plan to do with the 1,000's of tomatoes? Do you have a really big freezer?

Jeez, we just worked our way up to 16 plants, and I haven't quite used up the puree that I froze last year.

You're scaring me.

We have two chest freezers in the basement...and we will be having BLTs every night for dinner...the garden is located at a house that he rents out, so the tenants better like tomatoes too!

I tried canning them the last time he did something this crazy, but I didn't do a very good job. I will try again this year.

[andiesenji]

Regarding the "Mystery Squash"

It is a hybrid, called Hurakan F1

Zucchini gray type

Harris Moran holds the patent

http://www.harrismoran.com/products/squash/hurakan.htm

[slbunge]

I tried canning them the last time he did something this crazy, but I didn't do a very good job. I will try again this year.

In my opinion, canning is the way to go. One recommendation: get a propane-fired burner and do the boiling outside. Seems like the tomatoes are always hitting during the hottest weeks of the late summer when you don't want all that heat in the kitchen. Since tomatoes tend to be right on the line of acceptable acidity for long-term storage using hot-water bath technique, be sure to add a little lemon juice to each jar.

Nothing like pulling a jar of summer off the shelf to make tomato sauce in the dead of winter.

[lovebenton0]

Regarding the "Mystery Squash"

It is a hybrid, called Hurakan F1

Zucchini gray type

Harris Moran holds the patent

http://www.harrismoran.com/products/squash/hurakan.htm

Thanks, andiesenji. Mystery solved. I posted your quote in TX Gardens thread.

Delicious squash. I would recommend it to zucchini growers.

[snowangel]

My boyfriend just planted 130 tomato plants.

Hope he lives on a farm.

Nope, less than an acre in suburbia. I guess he likes to pretend it's a farm, though.

Actually he informed me it's 140 tomato plants.

And what does he plan to do with the 1,000's of tomatoes? Do you have a really big freezer?

Jeez, we just worked our way up to 16 plants, and I haven't quite used up the puree that I froze last year.

You're scaring me.

We have two chest freezers in the basement...and we will be having BLTs every night for dinner...the garden is located at a house that he rents out, so the tenants better like tomatoes too!

I tried canning them the last time he did something this crazy, but I didn't do a very good job. I will try again this year.

Canning? Why bother. Do the easy thing. Just toss the ripe tomates into the freezer. Skin on. Take what you want from the freezer, run under water and the skin pops right off. Plus, you can take out just what you need. Why stand over a hot stove in hot weather steaming up the kitchen when you could be out having a cocktail, smoking ribs, doing something summerlike?

My grandmother was liberated once she got the chest freeze. No more canning tomatoes in 90 degree heat with 90% humidity at 2:00 in the morning.