Some Stuff N' Stuff

Lettuce is in

2010-06-14T18:07:00.002-04:00

Lettuce is in, as well as garlic scapes. Time to make salad and give lots away:)
Gave my brother the radish which he seemed to enjoy. Lettuce has been to Karen's, mom's and my own fridge thus far. I really like the mix of green lettuces I got this year, except I might get one without arugula in it (and just get a packet of arugula separate from the other greens). It seems the arugula grows taller and grabs all the sun away from the smaller red and green lettuces. The mix is tasty, but I need a little more greens and reds to go with the spicy arugula.

The beans are growing nicely, the onions are getting plumper and the garlic is looking a little better, though not nearly as strong looking as last year.

The tomatoes are looking small and a bit weak, and something ate the tops off them a little while ago (birds?). The taxi tomato is looking great however, which was the biggest of them all before getting planted. Mainly it's the Romas that are looking kinda sad and tiny... hopefully they'll perk up in warmer weather.

The 2 basils and hot pepper are doing well. I plucked a few flowers off the pepper to see if the plant would grow bigger first, then get to the flowering. And the cukes are off to a great start...

Lettuce Bed

Lettuce

Lettuce Flowers

Tomato plants

Giant Radish & Garlic scapes

Dill Flowers

Bean Flowers

Cukes

Garden so far

Pre-Memorial Day Planting!

2010-05-25T16:35:00.003-04:00

Yes it's true. Against my own advice I've planted all my warm weather crops before the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day Weekend. I purchased all my seedlings at Mahoney's this year:

- 6 pack of Roma Tomatoes
- 6 pack of Sweet Cherry 100s
- 1 Thai Dragon Hot peppers (NEW)
- 1 Thai Basil
- 1 Sweet Basil
- 1 Taxi Tomato (YAY)
- 3 pack of Cucumbers

Today is hot and sunny, about 90˚F. I went gardening around 3pm and the sweat was dripping off my nose the whole time as I dug, hoed and planted. I took advantage of the hose and cooled down a number of times and drank from it. A few teenagers had a better idea and cooled off in the spray fountain across the street in the kiddie park. I have to remember that's there the next time I need a full body cooldown.

The lettuce is looking great, and the beans have all sprouted and are growing big leaves. The onions look a little thirsty, so I watered everything. I even have a surprise radish or two that wandered over from my neighbor's plot. They got a few of my wandering dill, so the free exchange is complete.

A whole new year

2010-05-10T19:16:00.011-04:00

Seed Packets

From Pemberton:
- 1 Burpee "Garden Beans" Stringless Green Pod (seeds)
- 1 Burpee "Mesclun" Salad Mix (seeds)
- 6 Yellow Onions (seedlings)
- 6 Red Onions (seedlings)

From WF (2009):
- 1 SOC "Mesclun Salad Mix" (seeds)

Garden time beckons with warmer weather, rain showers and the occasional frost warning:) I took advantage of the warm weather 2 Fridays ago to plant lettuce and bean seeds, as well as yellow and red onion seedlings in the garden. After planting, I topped it all off with compost that was recently dumped at the end of Osgood St for the gardeners. The water had been turned on recently on so they all got a nice bath.

The garlic I planted last fall was sprouting in a range of degrees, from heathly and strong to weak and meak, to not there at all. Laura and I bought 3 or 4 different kinds of garlic, all of which escape me now. Thankfully I planted plenty of bulbs, so I should have about 12or so plants to harvest this July/early Aug. I met a bunch of nice neighbors passing by and one fellow gardener while I was there.

Garlic a-growin

Wild lettuce & dill growing (I got rid of most of this)

At home, I planted some Kentucky mint in a bowl on the newly rebuilt porch. I'll be back soon to see how things are progressing!

Garden watered

Up to my eyeballs in tomatoes

2009-09-01T22:14:00.001-04:00

Part of the harvest

Well, I guess I asked for it. After years of "not getting enough" tomatoes, I planted a few Romas and Early Girls and viola - I have way too many damn tomatoes... and I love it. Last week I picked over 50 tomatoes, not including cherries. This week I must have picked at least 50, plus 2 pints of cherries.

Two-toned, two-lobed freak

I slaved away in the kitchen tonight making chilled tomato and red pepper soup, fresh garden salsa and a pasta salad with cherry tomatoes. I have tons more to freeze or do something with before I head up to Maine for the week. The pic above is the leftover tomatoes I haven't cooked yet, not including the ones in the freezer.

I also had a modest harvest of 3 small squash and a couple large handfuls of green beans (the second coming). There are still purple flowers on the beans, and the basil flowers are still attracting tons of bumble and honey bees. There are a few onions left in the ground, and the cucumbers are pretty much done. Time to plant some new lettuce and another crop of green onions.

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Chilled Tomato and Red Pepper Soup
(epicurious)

Ripe summer tomatoes are perfect just as they are. Simply chop them up, mix with jarred peppers and a few other ingredients, and you've got dinner. For a vegetarian supper, round out the meal with an assortment of cheeses and crackers. Craving something a little more substantial? A platter of smoked salmon, relishes, and breadsticks would be great with the soup. For dessert, offer figs drizzled with honey

• 2 1/4 cups tomato juice
• 1 1/3 cups finely chopped tomatoes (about 2-3 tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup (generous) finely chopped roasted red bell peppers from jar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon prepared white horseradish
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• Generous dash of hot pepper sauce
• Fine sea salt
• 4 1/3-inch-thick rounds soft fresh goat cheese
• 6 grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• Additional extra-virgin olive oil (for drizzling)

• Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl; whisk to blend. Season soup to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled and flavors blend, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

• Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Top each with 1 goat cheese round.

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Fresh Garden Salsa

• 10 tomatoes (plum), halved and seeded
• 1/2 medium red onion, minced to 1/2 cup
• 1 jalepeno pepper, minced
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• salt
• tortilla chips

- Chop tomotes into 1/4 inch pieces, transfer to bowl
- Add onion, chili, garlic, cilantro and lime
- Season with salt, mix to combine
- Let stand for 15 minutes

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Tomato Pasta Salad

• 1 box farfalle pasta, cooked
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 jar of artichoke hearts, plus 1/3 cup of the liquid
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced basil
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 block of feta cheese (fresh)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• s&p

- Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well together.

2009-08-17T19:36:00.002-04:00

Vacation return harvest

Finally, a year I come home from vacation and I actually have tomatoes... maybe this delayed rainy start isn't all that bad? (actually the squash plant might have some sort of fungus - some of the squashes are dying and the plant has powdery splotches on a few leaves). Otherwise, the plant is ginormous, taking over the sidewalk and still fruiting.

Brandywine

Monster squash plants eats the sidewalk

The cucumbers are still plentiful, though small and fat... almost stunted. The romas are doing great, as are the cherries. I even got two Brandywine and an Early Girl, which oddly, are the least mature.

Garden view

Romas

Cherry plant

The lemongrass grew about a foot since I left, the basils are big and the onions are starting to sprout flowers so I better use them up soon. The green beans are flowering again, I wonder if I'll get more?

Lemongrass and basils

Bee on the basil

Summer is IN

2009-07-28T19:39:00.013-04:00

The squash takes over

The garden is finally happy & productive.

The tomatoes are coming along though still very green, I picked 2 cucumbers, lots of green beans, and checked in on the squash plant, which is huge. Lots of baby squash are growing, nothing quite ready for picking. I also grabbed a red onion.

Slugs persist

Baby squash

The yellow onions are getting big and are starting to crown, not sure if they're supposed to do that when ready or what. I cover them up with soil when I see that, though it may be time to pluck them out more often, it's been about 90 days now.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

The dill seeds are starting to turn brown, though most are still green and almost 5 ft tall. The basils are doing well, should pick more of that soon. The lemongrass is much happier with the heat.

I think the aphids are finally gone, though their damage lurks. I plucked many of the effected leaves, leaving spindly Early Girl plants (though the new growth looks promising). The tomatoes will be very late this year, hopefully I'll be home to enjoy them before my Labor day vaca.

Cucumber flowers

I've been making a shrimp green bean curry to use the beans, as well as a squash casserole with garden squash, onions, garlic, beans (as well as peppers and last year's garden tomatoes which are frozen). I also made a fabulous chilled cucumber soup with dill and lemon juice.

Green romas

Green brandywines

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Cucumber Mint Soup
(adapted from Martha Stewart)
* 3 cucumbers, peeled and cut into chunks
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 cup water
* 4 scallions, diced
* 1 cup fresh mint leaves
* 1/4 cup fresh dill
* Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Blend cucumber, garlic, yogurt, lemon juice, and water in a blender, puree until smooth.
2. Add scallions, dill and mint leaves and puree briefly. Season with salt and pepper, and add more lemon juice if a tarter flavor is desired.
3. Chill until ready to serve (2 hours).
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Today's collection

Garden view (camera lens not wide enough)

Holy squash

2009-07-20T21:34:00.006-04:00

Overflowing plate

I visited the garden on a lark and discovered I haven't gotten rid of the aphids, and the squash plant was planning on taking over Osgood Too. I was able to reverse the squash's evil plans, but the aphids carry on destroying the weak links of my tomato plants (the romas & cherries look like they'll hold their own).

First big garden bounty

I peeked under the squash plant during the tense negotiations and found what appeared to be a giant yellow submarine, but no, it was just an hugely-grotesque summer squash fruit. Yikes! I twisted it off the vine and picked another large squash, and left a little baby one to get a bigger & meaner. I guess I know what I'll be grilling for lunch tomorrow.

From the land of the giants...

I was happy to find lots of healthy and tasty green beans. They are hard to pick off, but worth the effort. The basil is enjoying the heat, and the cherry plant is flowering like crazy. I have one cucumber under all those vines, but I left it to get a little bit bigger. I picked a few red onions though it seemed early, but the tops were down and I didn't want them to rot. The yellow onions look like they'll be huge come harvest time. The garlic is all picked and cured. I hope to roast that along with the onions and yellow submarine. The ˘ is very tall, and just starting to form green seeds. It looks lovely as it sways in the breeze.

Serious squash slices for roasted veg casserole

Still battling Aphids, rain finally stops

2009-07-14T22:55:00.007-04:00

Bean Fowers

Green Beans

Phew, I think it's finally summer. Yes it's July but it's felt like May or even Septemer at times. The 24 days of clouds and rain seems to be over, and the garden is slowly picking up where it left off.

Garden view

To my surprise, I have beans (and bean flowers). They're not ready to pick, but soon! The summer squash plant is getting large, and I already have a mini squash under there, with lots of others starting to grow. The dill is as tall as me, and the onions look ready to go (red), but I'm going to let them sit there longer. I pulled up all the garlic, the last head being the biggest and whitest. The basil was looking good so I pulled a bunch of leaves off for a stir fry.

Summer Squash

In the back, the cucumbers are dying for some heat, and I think the netting I put up is helpful (though my garden now has the look of an old sea shanty).The Romas & Cherry are doing well with 1-2" green ones, the early girls are looking okay (no fruit, lots of flowers), but the poor heirlooms are struggling against the aphids (though there are a few big green heirlooms growing, I wonder if I'll get much later in the season from them).

Last Garlic Head

The other neighbor's gardens are doing well, black capped raspberries are in, grapes are making some headway, and I pulled a ton of weeks this week (though I didn't have many between plants since I put down all that hay.

Aphid & damage

tomatoes

Romas

Heirlooms

Cherries

Cukes

View from tomatoes

Beans

Bean Flowers

Bean Flowers

Dill

Aphids, oh my!

2009-06-29T21:20:00.005-04:00

Garlic harvest

The garden:
After being absent during the 2 week rain deluge I came back to discover a blossoming garden of aphids! They're all over the tomatoes, squash, and even the cucumbers. Some plants seemed more effected than others, but I'll be sure to spray them down with a soapy mixture to keep them off (apparently they dislike nasturtiums and mint).

I didn't notice the aphids at first glance, and picked 3 of the garlic heads that seemed ready to go. I also clipped the tall scapes that grow out of the garlic plants. I picked some lettuce and weeded that area again. It's suddenly being taken over by the giant summer squash plant, which I didn't put there. I don't mind it, I just don't really eat squash... at least not until this year.

The dill is starting to bloom, the cilantro is toast, and the basils are doing well. The lemongrass is toughing out the wet and relatively cool weather. The beans are seem to be enjoying the rain, are getting taller and are just about to sprout little baby beans.

The neighbor's garden is getting funkier by the visit. Mop handles, coat racks, metal curtain rods... you are not safe from becoming a part of Osgood Too! The choices seem to be working out nicely for the gardener.

Neighbor's garden

The porch:
Today I ate one delicious strawberry, and had to throw 2 away due to mold (darn rain). The scallions are doing well in the bowl, growing to 12" in height. They are not particularly thick, but the bulbs aren't round like years past so that's a plus!

Upon returning home, I whipped up an garlic scape pesto which was delicious, except I couldn't eat most of it since I can't chew cud. I should have cut the garlic scapes sooner, as they were too tough to eat, even where pureed (I think some cows would have enjoyed them):

Garlic Scape Pesto
Serves Two

1/2 lb fresh garlic scapes
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large pinch of salt
black pepper
1/3 cup walnuts
2 tbsp oil
lemon juice to taste

- Chop the scapes into 1 inch long pieces.
- Add 2 tbsp oil to a heated pan and add the scapes.
- Add salt, pepper, and pine nuts and saute for a few minutes over medium high heat until the scapes begin to soften and the nuts turn golden brown.
- Add immediately to the work bowl of a food processor and add remaining 2 tbsp oil.
- Blend well until a smooth paste forms.
- Add more salt or some lemon juice to taste. This will coat 1/2 lb of pasta.

Eversweet Strawberries

2009-06-22T21:56:00.009-04:00

Berries & granola from last week

The porch:
Yes, I grew those suckers in 7 weeks on my porch from seedlings. I love them 'cause they're huge, are the most delicious strawberries I've tasted and it took very little effort on my part. (Thank you heavy rains and cool weather.)

Gardener of the month - Jen!

2009-06-09T14:35:00.004-04:00

East Berkley Gardens entrance

The garden:
I visited my friend Jen's garden plot at East Berkley Gardens in the South End of Boston this past Sunday. I've never taken a close look at these urban gardens, so it was a pleasure to take walk around, view individual plots, and get to know it better.

Jen had a plot in the C row, abutting the public alley. This was her first full season gardening at the plot, which is about 10ft x 12ft, a bit bigger than my own. Hose outlets were spaced throughout the rows, and some recent improvements (with help from City Year) include wider access paths and new perimeter fencing.

Morning watering

As Jen and I entered her gated plot, I noticed she had an abundance of arugula, lettuce and radishes ready to harvest, as well as newly planted basil, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and spinach. Also growing were mint, peas, squash and marigolds. Her husband David had made raised beds, which helped to organize the garden nicely. She talked about making slanted arbors for cucumber vines and for growing lettuce under them - nice idea!

Jen in garden

Many of the plots in East Berkley Garden are used by Chinese residents from nearby Chinatown and the South End. These plots tend to have horizontal arbors created with a variety of found materials so their bitter melons have a place to grow and hang. Wire refrigerator shelving, old fencing, rice sacks, wood planks, broom handles and the like are pieced together to create several fascinating rows of squatter-like housing through the block, which used to be a row of dilapidated townhouses back in the 1960s. That morning, many Chinese women and men were out watering their gardens, harvesting spring crops and planting new seedlings for summer.

Cage-like garden plot

Some of the gardeners don't grow vegetables at all, but instead used the small spaces as a city oasis; growing flowers, grass and adding chairs and tables to relax in. These were some of my favorite plots, though many of the vegetable gardens with a cage-like feel were interesting to peek into to see what was growing behind all the material.

Quiet oasis

Tomatoes in the ground, lettuce on the plate

2009-05-27T21:35:00.009-04:00

First home-grown Mesclun Salad

Newly Planted (from Mahoneys & Pemberton)
- 4 Early Girl Tomatoes
- 3 La Roma Tomatoes
- 2 Brandywines
- 1 Sweet Cherry 100
- 1 Italian Basil
- 1 African Blue Basil
- 1 Lemongrass

The garden:
The plantlings were looking a little meager after leaving them unattended to harden over Memorial Day weekend. I took them inside the past few nights since the temps were dropping close to 40, and today I finally planted the tomatoes, basil and other warm weather crops in the garden. I read transplanting is best done on a misty, overcast days, so as to not shock the youngins with too much sun... and that was exactly today's weather.

When I first got to the garden, I noticed I was the only plot full of weeds... what's with that anyways? I grabbed my new garden hoe/rake Monster Tool, hacked it up and composted the weeds. After planting everything, I covered it all in a thick coating of compost and watered it down. Can' wait for the mulch to arrive so I can really mitigate the weeds. I'll probably buy my own brown mulch later this summer, just to ease my mind.

Before leaving, I picked the mesclun lettuce mix for a salad. That seed packet says it includes Arugula, Osaka Purple Mustard, Mizuna, Komastuna, Green Wave Mustard, and Persian Garden Cress. All are kinda spicy and very tasty. I also picked some dill for a German cucumber salad for ladies night. At home I cooked up some chicken kababs sans-receipe and it was pretty good! Here's my best guess at what it was:
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Zesty Chicken Kababs
- 1 chicken breast, cut into 1x2 inch chunks
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp oil olive
- 2 tbsp cajun spice
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp honey

Directions:
- Whisk together oil & lemon juice in medium-sized, non-reactive bowl
- Add chicken pieces & top with cajun spice, toss to coat
- Marinate in fridge for 30 minutes
- When done, remove chicken from bowl and thread onto 2 wooden skewers
- Top skewers with oregano, cumin, garlic salt, ginger powder, pepper and drizzle with honey
- Bake for 10-15 minutes on 425˚F.
- Broil for additional 3 min for a crispy finish.
- Top onto Mesclun salad (see recipe below)
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Mesclun Salad
- Mesclun salad greens
- 1/2 of a granny smith apple, cut into matchstick pieces
- 1/8 cup walnuts, broken into small pieces
- 2 tbsp blue cheese, crumbled

Salad dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard

- Combine all ingredients and whisk till smooth

Hot weather and bean seeds

2009-05-22T10:07:00.013-04:00

Bean planting in May

Trip to Mahoney's & Pemberton
My annual pilgrimage to Mahoney's was fairly uneventful, going alone this time and only picking up a 2 Brandywines, 1 Red Cherry, 1 African & 1 Italian Basil, 1 Lemongrass, and 1 Tarragon. I also picked up a packet of green bean seeds for planting. They seem to be cleaned out (or not carrying) any multi-pack veggies, which makes for an expensive seedling shopping experience.

I then visited Pemberton and picked up a 6-pack of Marketmore Cucumbers, La Roma plum tomatoes and Early Girl Tomatoes.

Identifiers from Mahoney & Pemberton seedlings

Bean planting in May

Newly Planted (seeds from Mahoneys):

- 1 seed packet of Bush Green Beans (garden)

The garden:
While it may be a little late to plant green beans, I had space where the peas used to be and I decided not to plant the infamous Garden Salsa hot peppers this year since i still have tons in the freezer. The beans looked like uncooked red beans only marbled in color. I planted about 18 seeds, 6 inches apart. These are self-supported bean plants, so no trellising needed. (I noticed another neighbor's pea plants were eaten by birds, it looked like 2 or 3 survived.)

After planting I watered down the garlic, onions, dill, cilantro and mixed lettuce and the new bed of beans. I look forward to planting the tomatoes and basil next week. Also, a new lock was added to the garden door. So now only spry fence hoppers will be able to steal our veggies.

Mixed lettuce

Garden

The porch:
The strawberries are flowering enthusiastically both on the balcony (more so) and on the front door porch.

Strawberries flowering

The green onions are coming along, though they look a little skinny and waifish. This reminds me that I need to buy some organic fertilizer to "juice" my potted veggies.

May flowers, pea problem

2009-05-11T14:06:00.011-04:00

Strawberry flowers

The porch:
The strawberries and green onions on the porch are doing very well, despite the lack of rain and my lack of memory. The strawberries on the doorstep aren't growing quite as fast, but I'm leaving them there to see what happens in the end (will the berries be smaller, grow longer into the season, will it matter much at all?)

Burppe green onions in bowl

Strawberry on doorstep

The garden:
The mesclun lettuce, garlic and onions are coming along just fine.

Garden in full

Mesclun lettuce mix

Onions

The peas, however, may not make it. Not sure what the deal is , but I seem to have no luck with peas.
UPDATE: After a little bit of reading, I think the culprits are sparrows eating the tender leaf tips, leaving me with stubby and leafless pea shoots.

Pea problem

Unknown plant (seed escapee from neighbor across the way)

Left side: Garlic, dill, onions

Right side: Lettuce and peas

Garlic and watering pot

Garden overhaul, spring planting

2009-04-27T16:33:00.019-04:00

Finished as of now

Newly Planted (all from Pemberton):
- 2 6-pks of yellow & red onions
- 2 3-pks of strawberries (porch)
- 1 seed packet of Burpee green onions (porch)

The garden was in disarray as I uprooted it adding compost, a brick border and onions to the plot.

When I first arrived, I double-checked the water in Osgood Too which was not turned on. I went over to the other garden, got their water going and filled up 2 watering cans which I carried over to my plot. In order to get the compost from the end of the street to my lot, I grabbed a lawn bag and filled it about 1/4 full. I carried it back and dumped it on top. Though I used a spade to churn up most of the soil, I also grabbed a rake from Osgood, and used my new Franken-Hoe which worked like a champ!

Onions (yellow and red)

In the middle of all this, I remembered about the wheel barrel and borrowed the unlocked one to carry over some leftover white bricks (thanks to Laura). It made for a quick and more permanent border on both sides, and I'm now able to use the stakes that were my previous border markers. Finally I planted my 12 onions plants (picked up from Pemberton). I also met Bryan, a neighboring gardener originally from Utah, who borrowed the wheel barrel after me.

Strawberries in pot on porch

At home, I planted 2 pots of strawberries (4 plants) and a big bowl of scallions. Since I grow them by seed and they mix in easily with weeds, I thought putting them on the porch far and away from weeds was a brilliant idea. We'll see if that's the case, though it may be a bit hot for them there. I might also plant some under the tomatoes later in the year.

Mixed loose-leaf lettuce

Snap peas

Checking in on the plants from last week, the peas are spouting and the lettuce is too, yay! I have to suppress the dill and cilantro in the left front, but I'll keep a section just behind the garlic as a small free-growing section.

After 3 hours in the garden and some time at Pemberton with my discount card, the day was a success! The minuses was the major dirt in my shoes and a sunburn on the back of my arms (I knew that was going to happen, but I did nothing about it - duh).

Garlic is up, peas and lettuce are in.

2009-04-14T17:31:00.014-04:00

Newly Planted (both from Whole Foods):
- 1 seed packet of Cascadia Bush snap peas
- 1 seed packet of Mesclun salad mix

Visited the garden briefly today. The garlic sprouted and are looking hardy at 7 to 8 inches high. The dill and cilantro are starting to sprout too, all over the garlic space actually. I threw some compost down, dug up and raked out the right front side. There were lots of large worms enjoying the soil, one was so huge I gasped and jumped back slightly when i saw it. Afterwards, I stamped it down a bit and erected 2 towers of peas and planted 4 rows of loose leaf lettuce.

Soon I'll plant some onions seedlings in the garden. This year I'll try growing scallions in a bowl on the porch (where the weeds aren't as ferocious).

For the fall, I have a 1.5 packages of peas leftover and 2 lettuce seed packets.

Next year is here!

2009-04-11T16:23:00.008-04:00

Layout 2009

With my CSA over and some spring warming, I've started to get ready to rock the garden and plan a layout. I reviewed my "what to plant/what not to plant" notes from last year, and re-learned a few things I forgot.

Lately, the weekends have been rain-drenched garden poopers. While it was supposed to only rain this morning, its nearly 5pm and it's still raining. I took advantage of the crap weather by going to Whole Foods and Pemberton to buy some seed packets. Here's what I got:

Seeds for spring

WF:
- 2 Organic Mesclun Salad Mix
- 1 Organic Cascadia Bush Snap Peas (edible pods)

Pemberton:
- 1 Burpee "Super Snappy" Peas (edible pods)
- 1 Burpee Scallions "Onion, Evergreen Long White Bunching, Mild Scallion Flavor"

It should be interesting to see which of these seed packets grow better, or taste better, or if there's any difference at all. I also have some Arugula from last year I will plant from seed, as well as red onion seedlings.

Apparently my first year of growing green onions were from a Miracle Grow seed packet. They were the best and biggest scallions I ever had. I should go find some more of those, maybe H.Depot has them?

CSA - Farm Share

2009-01-19T17:28:00.002-05:00

My weekly winter farm share (half of what's in the box)

My friend Karen and I are sharing a small farm share from Enterprise Farms in Whatley, MA. Each Wednesday, one of us picks up a box full of veggies from a Davis Square, Somerville location. Later, we get together and open up the box like kids opening a present at Christmas. Kale, cabbage, oranges, avocados, sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, fresh herbs - even pecans and cranberries have shown up in our share, with something different each week.

Next year

2008-10-20T23:14:00.004-04:00

Now that my garden is done for the season, I'm thinking about next year and I want more diversity!
- For one, I want:
- Non-heirloom & heirloom tomatoes, including cherries and globe tomatoes.
- A few red potato plants
- More lettuce types (arugula and romaine)
- Some beans, maybe some peas (if I can get them to grow this time)
- Some mint and tarragon, plus dill and cilantro
- I've got to grow the african basil again, as well as the nasturtium (both could go on the porch, with another basil in the garden)
- Garlic, onions and scallions
- I'm going to have to dig up the far right corner and dump in all new soil, since everything dies over there

Uprooting the Garden - Planting Garlic

2008-10-19T21:31:00.003-04:00

I went to the garden with one garlic bulb in hand, ready to uproot my very weedy garden and plant some garlic. I broke the bulb apart into 6 big cloves and planted each one root-side down in the front left part of the garden. I put up a little barrier to let other know not to step there.

I also uprooted everything in the garden, except the still beautiful African Basil. I couldn't kill the thing, as bees were enjoying it... and it looked so pretty. I picked the last of the peppers, and made several debris piles and scattered them throughout the garden.

Guess that's it. Over 2 gallons of hot peppers in the freezer will keep me from buying any at the grocery store for a good long time.

Green Tomatoes - things to remember for next year

2008-09-23T17:56:00.007-04:00

Seems like every September, I'm left with many green tomatoes. This year is no exception, however the Old German heirloom is doing it's best to eek out a few pinkish tomatoes before the first frost. The Red Brandywines weren't quite as prolific, but the plants are still in decent shape. The yellow one had some nice tomatoes, but not a ton, and the Oregon Spring was probably the biggest disappointment, giving me about 4 tomatoes all season (and they weren't anything to write in the blog about). So that leaves me with the best fruit of all , the Golden Jubulies my brother gave me - i think he bought them at Kane's, your basic hybrid tomato. The cherry sun golds were also a disappointment. This year's plant from Mahoney's didn't produce nearly as many fruit as the sun golds from year's past which I buy from Pemberton. Next year I should plant some hybrids along with the brandywines, like Romas and another red globe fruit, just to satisfy my love for fresh tomatoes.

The garden salsa peppers are their usual self, growing like crazy, even now. Can't beat those babies, I have 2 gallon bags of them in the freezer which should last me over a year.

The African basil was a pleasant surprise, growing ginormous and pretty in purple. The basil did okay, but next year I should plant them in partial shade to make them last longer.

Cucumbers did great and are still producing. I hope to grow them the length of the fence next year (doubling the number). The 6 Romaine lettuces did very well (next year, I should plant arugula after the romaine), and the experimental dill/cilantro plot did too - though I should move them to the back. The 6 red onions were awesome, look forward to doing more of those next year, maybe double. September is the month for great Concord grapes, the garden raspberries this July were great too.

Tricking out the phone

2008-09-17T13:31:00.003-04:00

My cell phone is a simple device. It allows me to call people and people can call me. People can even IM me or text me on it, and I can do the same with it. It doesn't take photos, or surf online, or get my email. Just a basic cell phone.

It's simple silver color - which I like - has begun to lose it's luster and recently I felt the need to trick my phone out by covering it with a magazine image of something I like.

The first cover was a picture from a furniture design magazine: it showed several "bad art" pieces framed on a wall. I especially loved the sad clown and naked lady image.

The new phone cover is more slick, with a Russian poster theme. I didn't cut it to really fit the phone that well, and it's a bit daunting to look at.

Still...going...

2008-09-15T10:14:00.007-04:00

That is the biggest tomato I've ever grown. About 6" inches across and a deep reddish-pink, I plan to bake/stuff it for lunch.

The garden these days is in tatters and I'm embarrassed to take photos of it. The grass is knee high and the tomato plants look like they've been bathing in acid, many of the leaves yellow and withered. The fruit however is slowly turning red, and orange, the cucumbers are finally finished (I still had 8" ones in late August), and the hot peppers are still kicking with lots to pick. I decided not to plant arugula, having lost my appetite for plant care. The African basil is absurdly large and making for some great flower arrangements in the kitchen.

Concord grapes grown in abundance on the fence, tart and refreshing after a warm day. Zinnas grow in the plot next to mine, a colorful and welcome presence. There's a garden party thanks to Laura this Thursday.

Tomato time

2008-08-19T00:18:00.004-04:00

Back from vacation - and for the first time - I timed it right and actually got a bounty of tomatoes upon my return. I have quite a selection of tomato varieties ot eat, Oregon Spring, Yellow Brandywine, regular Brandwine, Golden Jubilee and Sun Golds (lots of yellow/orange this year). A few cucumbers and a bunch of hot peppers made for an eventful return. (The neighbor's zinnias are quite nice too.)

What happened here?

Tangle of tomatoes

Hot peppers

African Basil (bolted tops)

Sun Golds

Brandywine (still green)

Zinnia

Zinnias amoung the cilantro

Cucumber vine

Everything is finally in

2008-08-07T18:39:00.004-04:00

- Cucumbers (still lots of them and 7-10" in length). Many babies still on the vine.
- Hot peppers (lots, long & straight, some curly - all about 6-8" in length)
- Tomatoes (a handful of Sun Golds, a small Oregon Spring, several medium sized Golden Jubilees, and one giant Brandywine (about 5" wide).
- The Italian basil is on the outs, but the African basil still adorns the kitchen as a fine floral display.
- Dill & cilantro seed is ready to harvest
- Getting lots of red onions about 3-4" in diameter. Actually, I'm holding back from picking them so that I can enjoy them all summer long. I let the stalks dry out at home and I eventually cut them off with scissors before use.

First Tomato

2008-07-31T17:22:00.004-04:00

Let it be known - the first of my tomatoes this year was picked on July 30th, 2008. It was one of the Golden Jubilees from my brother & dad. Medium size, and a yellow-orange color. I wasn't really sure if it was ripe, initially I thought they would turn red...but then I realized it would only grow to be yellow. I threw it into my cous cous today and never took a photo. There will be plenty of those soon - as I also got my new camera.

Murder by Mother Nature

2008-07-24T11:58:00.006-04:00

Mother Nature, why do you hate my tomato plant so?

After a particularly windy and raining night, I walked onto the front porch to check out the few plants that live there. My mouth hung agape as I found my tomato plant broken, stem hanging over, green tomatoes and all. Oh, my poor plant! The thing was hanging by a literal thread, and when I gently touched the stem, it fell off in one piece onto the porch floor. I picked the large green tomato and tossed the stem into the greenery 2 floors below. Left now is a stump in a pot, and a fairly healthy and unharmed basil plant.

Back to the jungle

2008-07-23T16:39:00.004-04:00

After a week in the woods, I came back to a mighty harvest of veggies! The African Basil was overflowing with purple flowers 3" high. This little plantling has become a thigh-high shrub with tons of beautiful purple/green leaves. The other two basil plants had lots of large, green leaves to pick off, and the hot peppers were ready in record time. I picked about 15 of those off, with lots of smaller ones left behind to grow. I also carried out an armful of cucumbers and 2 large red onions (which matured in only 60 days).

I collected the basil to make Basil Soba Noodles again and went over to Laura's with Karen for another Garden Dinner Night. We also enjoyed Mint/Raspberry mojitos (after several trips to the garden and store), a squash casserole, a large hunk of meat and sauteed beet greens and chard, and for dessert, a delicious raspberry-rhubarb crisp.

The other gardens look like jungles as well, with squash plants overflowing the plot boundaries and cucumber vines taking over anything vertical. The dill some of the cilantro has gone to seed, so I hope to collect the dry, brown pods if it ever stops thunder-storming (tornado warning in Taunton right now).

Before I leave...

2008-07-10T20:22:00.003-04:00

Went to the garden to water it and eat a few community raspberries. Everything seems to be doing well and an onion is ready to be eaten, but I'll let it sit since I'm headed north for the week. This seems a good stage to leave it, since I can't harvest much other than basil - it's mostly just a sit and wait till August.

I also took note of the porch basil & tomato, which are growing a a little faster than the garden ones. The nasturtium is finally flowering, as the leaves lose their luster and perfect dome shape.

End of June/Early July: A Retrospective on Thunder & Lightning

2008-07-02T17:35:00.006-04:00

I can't remember the last time we had 2 weeks of daily thunder and lightning storms. I love this sort of weather, mostly because it's exciting, but also because it waters the garden quickly and efficiently - and then goes back to being somewhat sunny and humid - perfect tomato weather!

Today's thunder & lightning show was exceptional at least here in Somerville. The sky darkened rather quickly, and before I could look out the window, the wind whipped up very strong, and soon rain and pea-sized hail fell in a torrent. The rain was horizontal actually, everything went gray and even white at times. It was alot like a microburst of snow we had one day this winter. The whole shebang didn't last long, but one lightning strike was very close, as the flash and thunder were nearly simultaneous...ambulances and firetrucks jumped into action soon after.

I visited the garden and noticed the winds had pushed around the cilantro and my neighbors' squash plants. Other than that, everything seemed pretty normal and well watered. I picked some African basil, and mint from a friend's garden for a meal I'm making with Tony (Soba Pesto Noodles). I went to the Davis farmers market too and bought sugar snap peas, pea pods, Asian scallions, apple mint - all for the dinner, and some raspberries for myself. Mostly a locally grown meal, or the veggies and herbs anyway, w/exception of the meat and noodles.

Goodbye weeds, hello vegetables

2008-07-01T16:58:00.018-04:00

Finally, last week, I took a small hand-held rake to the entire garden. The weeds were helpless against the rake, and I laughed somewhat manically as I churned up the rich, black dirt beneath. After about 20 minutes of this nonsense, I piled the refuse into several "extermination piles" about the garden to show any future weeds I meant business.

A week later I've returned, finding only a small amount of weeds who dare test my sanity. I managed to hand-pick these in short order while checking out the finer details of the garden. I'm also finally getting a handle on the super-macro function of my camera, three years into it's purchase.

The romaine lettuce, as phenomenal as it was in both size and taste, is finished. Meanwhile the dill & cilantro has grown up to my chin and have started to flower. The hot pepper plants are small, but one has already produced an immature but 3' long pepper! The African basil is alot like the Thai basil, as it has dwarfed the Italian basil in size and beauty. The cucumbers, which have a stranglehold on the fence & twine, are just starting to produce some small flowers and inch-long fruit. They threated to take over the tomato area, but I foiled their plan & beat them back into submission. I'll have to keep an eye on those guys...next time I'll give them a little more room to grow.

Speaking of tomatoes, I decided to to get the twine out and set up a trellis system, stringing the twine between the stakes and boxing in the tomatoes. This should help hold up the tomatoes as they grow, just like tomato cages. All the tomato plants are flowering, some have produced small, pale green fruit, though I've noticed some yellowing of the bottom leaves, which is not happening with the porch tomato. (The basil on the porch is doing great, as are the nastursiums - though no flowers yet).

The onions are coming along, though I expect at least another month of waiting before I can harvest.

Stringed tomatoes

Garden path

Cucumber vines

Baby tomato

Dill

Basils

Basils

Cilantro flowers

Baby Cucumber

Pepper flower

Osgood Garden

2008-06-22T21:09:00.003-04:00

Last Wednesday I went to the garden for another ginormous romaine lettuce head when Laura once again walked by to say hello. I also met Pete, my gardening neighbor in Osgood Too, and Tony was there to take some pictures of all the action.

We went with Laura to see her garden over in Osgood Garden, which is shadier than Osgood Too. Her garden looks well organized and newly mulched, I especially like the purple spotted basil.

Garden Dinner Party

2008-06-18T13:08:00.007-04:00

I invited my gardening comrads to come by for a Lettuce Party and the gals were all for it. I instituted the theme of Lettuce, but our dinner included other early crops as well.

Before the dinner, I visited my garden after a week of abandonment to pluck a head of Romaine (though Laura was kind enough to watch it for me in my absence). Everything sems to be growing well (except my failed peas), but most especially the weeds. Why is it I'm the only gardener with weeds as my predominant crop? Could it be the hay I use, or not enough of it? I threw my arms up and got busy weeding...wondering where to score some more hay, or whether I should just ditch it all.

Twisting head of lettuce from the garden is surprisingly satisfying, which worries me slightly. They are so huge it's hard to find where the lettuce meets the ground. With both hands on either side of the head, and my feet firmly planted rather stoutly, I twist my upper body in a counter-clockwise direction and *snap*, the head pops off and the root ball is left in the ground. It sort of feels like I'm snapping off a person's head, but much easier I would suspect, minor all the gore and resistance. Not that I'm into that you see.

Anyways...I took my lettuce home and got the place ready for the dinner party. Laura came in with some arugula, local bread and solar powered cream beer. Karen brought some leftover pesto wheat pasta she made and rhubarb crumble (the rhubarb is from her garden). I made a grilled chicken caesar salad with the romaine.

The dinner went on through a lightning storm and much conversation. By the time it was over I was pooped from all the activity and chatting. The gals and I hope to continue the garden dinner parties into the upcoming months and mid summer crops. More updated to come!

Plants on the porch:

A month of Lettuce

2008-06-10T14:02:00.003-04:00

I keep forgetting to bring the camera to the garden. The Experimental Herb Patch (EHP) is prospering and the lettuce is outdoing itself, putting the other seedlings to shame for miles around. And it's pretty tasty too. I gave one head to my parents, one to my brother (who was equally impressed), and one home for myself and the roommates.

General Update:
It's been crazy hot here. 4 days of 90+ degree heat has made many a hardy New Englander cower in the relative coolness of their homes. My house however, is not so cool. With a 90˚F temp reading inside, and 90+ outside, what can one do but install the AC early and cower! Putting aside the human suffering, the heat seems to make the garden plants happy, especially the plants on the porch (basil, tomatoes and nasturtiums), which are basking in even hotter temps due to the blacktop porch flooring.

Peas are not doing that great, but everything else is coming along. I noticed the sun gold tomatoes have something funky going on with the leaves. A slight discoloring, almost a rusty look to them, I'm hoping it's not a disease and they will do ok without any intervention.

Gardener of the Month

2008-06-02T10:49:00.007-04:00

Today I've decided to highlight a Somerville gardener, friend, and neighborhood posse member, Karen D. She recently became a backyard gardener, enjoying the largeness of a recently built boxed-in bed.

This winter I sat down with Karen, Laura (another gardening enthusiast), and Erik (the maker of the boxed-in garden) to talk about growing from seeds, what to plant & when, etc. After our talk, Karen bought a bunch of seed packets, Erik got working on the box, and Laura and I studied up on the plant book for our community gardens.

I finally visited Karen's house & garden this weekend, and upon walking on the front porch I immediately noticed the orange and pink Lantanas (I didn't know they could grow big enough to be hanging plants!).

We went out back to the garden, and I was in awe of the well-built box and neatly ordered rows where each set of seeds or seedlings were planted.

Some very well-trained peas were making their ascent along a chain link fence in their arrow-straight row (Karen & I both bought peas seeds at the same place/time. Though I bought 2 varieties, one of which is not doing nearly as well as these babies).

She also had baby lettuce greens & a gourmet mix popping up in front, as well as swiss chard, spinach, and onion seedlings sprouting up. Several tomatoes, peppers, and herbs were waiting to be planted, and nearby were some empty spaces left for cucumbers (and something else which I can't recall).

Karen also gave me the tour of her other yard plants, including the hydrangeas, pesky rhubarb & morning glories, and strawberries.

Thanks for showing your garden, Karen. You're off to a great start, can you believe this is her first year doing vegetable gardening? Looking forward to a "lettuce dinner" this summer...I'll bring the romaine and cilantro!

Gardening isn't for sissys

2008-05-27T12:22:00.010-04:00

The seedlings survived hardening, and now that Memorial Day is here, I planted the tomatoes & other warm weather crops under sunny skies and warm temps. Just before I started, my garden neighbor and friend Laura came by to see how my garden was growing. Not much to report, though the lettuce looks pretty good (and should be ready to pick in early July) and the herbs & onions are coming along just fine. The peas are a little slow to start, I wonder if the warm weather is a good or bad thing? Not sure what I'll plant in July when the lettuce is done. Maybe some more cilantro, or a fall weather crop? Can't say I really eat many fall weather crops...I'll have to think about that some more.

I started by planting the cucumbers and added a set of trellising. I got this idea a few weeks ago, since I didn't think the peas or cucumbers will be able to reach the trellising on the fence on it's own. So I tied a number of strings to a garden stake, buried the stake in front of the veggies, and tied the other string ends to the vertical trellising on the fence. Now the climbing vines can grab the new trellising that runs right over them. The idea is that they will continue to grow along the lower trellising and eventually reach the vertical strings. I'm pretty sure this will work, and I can even slide the knots up as the vines grow taller - a feat of creative engineering in the mid-day sun!

I continued the gardening madness by planting all the tomatoes & peppers. I saw a bunch of worms as I dug, always a good sign. Not too many weeds to contend with, which also good...but it's only May. I plan to buy another cherry tomato plant, as well as some basil. Later in the day, my brother gave me some yellow tomatoes he couldn't fit in his garden (which were actually given to him by our dad). So it looks like I'll have plenty of tomatoes varieties year!

It was so warm & dry I must have watered the garden 3 times before leaving. I saw one of my other neighbors planting some more and watering her onions and other leaf-type crops. I visited Laura as she was planting, but was so hungry and tired I didn't stay too long...I had another weekend cookout to get ready for!

(Notice a blurry spot on the photos? That's what's leftover on the inside of the lens from dropping my camera in the water last weekend.)

Addition: I also planted a Golden Jubilee tomato plant from my dad (yellow, medium sized), as well 2 Italian basil plants, and one African Basil plant (new to me!). I also planted some stuff on the porch, including another Golden Jubilee, Italian Basil, and the 3 nasturtiums.

Seedling Shopping

2008-05-21T13:48:00.012-04:00

Just before Laura and I went on a pilgrimage to Mahoney's to buy warm weather crops for our gardens, I made a quick visit to Pemberton in Cambridge to pick up my infamous Green Salsa Hot Peppers and herbs. Although the green salsa peppers were in great shape, I didn't like the look of the Tarragon or any other herbs they had, and they didn't have any sun golds for sale. Satisfied with my single purchase, I returned home and soon got picked up by Laura.

When we got there, we b-lined it straight to the vegetable section since we only had one hour before they closed. We instantly got caught up in the many tomato heirloom varieties. The descriptions & packaging get more and more standardized as these become popular (no more popsicle sticks with hand-written names on them).

Tomatoes were my main priority for being at Mahoney's, here's what I got:
- 2 Brandywines (heirloom)
- 1 Yellow Brandywine
- 1 Old German (heirloom)
- 1 Oregon Spring (early producer)
- Sun Sugar (cherry tomatoes)

I also bought:
- 1 Nasturtium (in a 3 pack...a new thing in the seedling world)
- 1 Cucumber (also a 3 pack)
- 5 wooden tomato stakes

Other things I plan to buy:
- 1 Basil (for porch)
- 1 Thai Basil
- 1 Tarragon (for porch)
- Sun Gold cherry tomatoes (heirlooms at Pemberton)
- Mint (maybe?)

The herbs I was planning on buying, both Basil and Tarragon, we're looking pretty rough, as were the Taxi tomatoes. So instead of buying those, I decided a revisit to Pemberton next week would be best. And although Laura and I talked about splitting some 6-packs of veggies, we ended up choosing own stuff to grown, and we didn't really buy many 6-packs anyways. The two guys in Mahoney's were cracking me up, calling out maturity dates to one another for approval, reading odd bits from the bottom of pots, and at the register, comparing the cheap price of gardening to that of the high price of sit down therapy (gardening being therapy for some of us:)

At home, I placed the seedlings out on the porch for a week of sun and hardening (And I don't know who this "Chef Jeff" character is, but I'm hoping he makes some good seedlings 'cause I bought 3 of those brand.)

Seedings on the porch

May showers...

2008-05-14T11:00:00.006-04:00

There's been just enough rain in May to keep me from visiting the garden. But after two days of sunny, dry conditions, I went to take a peek and do a little watering before a doctor visit. Everything seemed to be doing well, and the peas are slowly making there way up towards the string. The lettuce is looking heartier, yet the onion stalks seem a little thin. The hay is keeping things moist below for the tomatoes I hope to plant next week. The dill and cilantro are growing together quite well in my experimental plot. We'll see what happens as they fight it out in the coming weeks for space & light.

Romaine lettuce

Red Onions

Cilantro & Dill

Peas

Garden view

Neighboring garden

April Warming

2008-04-29T22:52:00.004-04:00

It may be April, but it' hasn't felt like it. Dressed in a long sleeved shirt and jeans, I was sweating it up on the urban farm Saturday as I turned over the soil, mixed in the compost, and covered the whole thing with hay/mulch. I planted a few early season stuff like Romaine lettuce, red onions, and pea seeds (two varieties), all from Pemberton. I put up twine for the peas, and staked out where everything else will go. I can barely wait for the annual pilgrimage to Mahoney's so I can pick up the warm weather crops and get a-planting.

Garden without mulch

When I came to clean up the garden a few weeks back, I lined the sides of the garden with old & broken tomatoes stakes. It helps define the garden a bit better, and I'll buy some new stakes for the tomatoes. After reading through my Burpee book later that evening, I've decided to string additional 45 degree angle twine over the peas, as well as twine strung between the tomato stakes for extra vine support. That should eliminate the need of lots more stakes, those sicks aren't as cheap as one might hope!

New seedlings

One thing I realize I'm not doing is rotating my crops around the garden. I figure if I move the tomatoes closer to the path, I won't be able to see into the garden come July. I guess I could plant them all along the east side of my garden, but then I'll shade out my own crops 1/2 the time...what to do! My dad doesn't rotate his crops year to year, and all seems to go ok over there. At least on the right I have all new crops, the dill was moved to the left, maybe I'll move the peppers to the left too and the basil to the right. I'm not sure how important it is to rotate these crops vs the heavy feeders like tomatoes, but it must be better than no rotation at all.

Bad pic of self-sown cilantro, dill, and rocks!

Garden with mulch, seedlings and temporary stake placement

Things I've Learned, Series 2007

2007-10-02T12:57:00.000-04:00

I'm bored with the garden and it's nearly over anyways, so here's a series of Things I've Learned, day by day. I figure I can come back to this list and relearn a few things, in case I forgot...

October 13
Try not to step on the business end of a garden hoe.

October 12
Always wear earplugs at rock concerts; you're not as young as you used to be.

October 2
Don't eat BBQ ribs at your desk; the temptation to lick the keyboard is far too strong, and that would be gross.

August Days

2007-08-20T22:11:00.000-04:00

Today I found more cukes growing, this time on the string Tony added while I was away - nice going Tony! Some orange cherries were ripe and I picked a few brandywines too. Most of the tomatoes are green right now, so I'm just waiting for the next wave of red ones to make roasted/stuffed tomatoes and cheese. The tomatoes are getting taller - but not as tall as the first year when they grew right past the stakes and taller than me. However, the sun gold cherry is a mass of vines and leaves intertwined with the surrounding plants. It may be the best growing plant I have aside from the monster cukes and hot peppers. I now have more of those than I know what to do with - a gallon bagfull is already in the freezer!

Tomatoes abound

2007-08-07T09:14:00.000-04:00

I've got a bottomless bowl of cherrys to contend with each morning - both heirloom orange and red. The brandywines are ripening a few a day, though this year they aren't as red - they tent to have a yellowish top to them, while the bottom is an orange-red. They're ripe however and taste great.

The cukes have slowed down, all the obscene male flower fruit grew first - the smaller female flowers are fruiting now, producing more average-sized snacks.

The green salsa peppers are out of control. I picked about 20 today, froze most of them, some are in the fridge and others still are in the basket o'plenty on the table.

The basil is started to shrivel up already, they flowered while I was away and never really sprung back after pinching those off.

It's blackberry time in Lincoln/Concord, grapes are getting there but not ready yet.The farmers markets still have great lettuce, tomatoes, onions, blueberries (still), and now peaches and corn too.

Morning visit

2007-08-01T08:43:00.000-04:00

A quick visit to the garden for a little watering and to collect some veggies after being away for a week.

What's doing well:

Tony put up some strings to help the cukes grow vertically - thanks Tony!. They're sort of taking to the idea, they tend to wrap around other cukes vines at this point, and they've strangled some cosmos to get a leg up. Lots of cuke flowers on the outside of the fence, not sure if they'll ever mature to anything worthwhile, might pinch a few back and see what happens.

All the tomatoes are a-coming and doing great. I've collected some red and orange cherries, and my first 2 brandywines. Lots of long and hot salsa peppers too.

Dill is doing great. It's not as tall in years past but I suppose it's because I sprinkled all the seed in one spot and never weeded them out. Still, it's one of my favorites in the garden to look at.

Thai basil is huge and prospering, such a pretty plant to grow. Would be a great decorative pant - I should grow it on the porch next year.

Not so well:
The Italian basil is doing ok, not as good as ones in the past however.

I have one lone cosmo flower, the batch is very short this year - though there's still some time for them to kick into gear.

The green onions from Burpee are a disappointment. The bulbs grow very large and round, while the green stalks end up stunted and thin. I had some great ones 2 years ago, different seed packet...need to find out what that was.

Collection for the day

Other notes:
Cilantro has gone to seed, last week actually. Many of the sections are brown and will fall soon. The communal raspberries are about done, not many other gardeners ate them.

Land of the ginormous cucumbers

2007-07-31T09:53:00.001-04:00

Cherry tomatoes, green salsa peppers and cucumbers.

Shapes and sizes

First bounty from 7/21

2007-07-29T19:03:00.001-04:00

Raspberries, cuke and green salsa peppers.

Cuke and neighbor.

Getting the grow on

2007-07-08T17:37:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness for over the counter, pain-relieving drugs. You wouldn't have known my stiff neck brought me to tears just one day previous as I watered and pulled weeds in the garden this afternoon. I felt like an old lady in a prescription drug commercial; all sore and in pain one day, but after some over-dubbed sales talk and drug swallowing, she's stooping down to garden, smiling and clutching a bottle of miracle pills in one gloved hand, cut flowers in the other.

I was feeling so spry I jumped over the fence per my usual Dukes of Hazard style. After glancing around, I noticed the raspberries were already turning dark pink and my cucumbers were growing right throught the fence, and were a bit parched. I watered everything down, restaked some tomatoes that were falling over, and pulled a few stray cilantro plants.

Everything seems to be growing very well, and the heat this week should only add to the spurt.

Tomatoes are abudant and light green, lots of flowers still blooming too. By the time I left, the cucumbers perked up considerably and a gusty winds blew in from the northwest.

Weed Central

2007-06-29T10:59:00.001-04:00

So I forgot to bring my camera again, you'll have to put up with my drawing in the meantime. Trust me, it's a jungle over there. Since we clearly don't buy enough hay for everyone to keep the weeds at bay, its a weed pulling party every time I arrive to water. Maybe I'll get up off my arse and buy some hay and quit complaining, but right now it's more likely that I'll just complain. I'm hoping it gets too hot for weeds and they'll just give in. I'm piling the remains along the sides of my garden to show them who's boss - but it doesn't seem to be doing much good - they just keep growing.

Speaking of growing, the veggies are doing well with the sudden 90-97 degree heat we've had the past few days; the tomatoes I planted - plus the new zebra? i think) are producing little babies, the basil (thai and genova) is looking healthy and the peppers look like teenage boys, all tall and lanky. The cucumbers (hybrid) are out of control, little feelers latching on to everything except the stakes I put in for that purpose. I put in some smaller ones today - they're able to wrap around those a bit better.

The green onions are losing the weed-fighting battle, although I rip as much out as I can in that area when I visit. I also tend to rip green onions out along with the weeds, but they seem to survive the replanting process. The dill looks like a carpet of soft furr I'd love to roll in, if only it were a bigger patch. The wild cilantro is 3.5 ft tall and has already bolted & bloomed.

The wildflowers in back are mostly cosmos and sweet peas, some other flower is growing well in there too - seems like it's about to blossom. I may have ripped out some wildflowers unknowingly, its hard to tell what's a weed and what's a wildflower in the early stages... and I'm a little overzealous in pulling out unknowns. I have to remember to hold back on the wildflower watering, I'm told they 're best when left alone and even ignored (especially the cosmos).

Time to plant the donuts

2007-05-25T10:29:00.000-04:00

It's warm again - headed into the 90's today - a bit warm for late May but I'll take it, since I just planted tomatoes and other warm-weather plants in my garden. Tony and I went to Mahoney's and Pemberton Farm yesterday to pick up seedlings, seed packets and flowers. The place was hopping with retirees, stay-at-home moms, and work-from-home (but not right now) types (me & Tony).

I picked up 4 brandywines, 1 red rose, & 1 cherry tomato plant, as well as 2 basil plants, 6 green salsa peppers and seed packets for green onions, dill, wildflowers and cosmos. I also got some cucumber plants and sweet pea flower vines, rosemary, kentucky colonel mint, and a hanging plant for out front.

I returned to my garden after lunch as planted and watered and laid hay over everything. I kept the onions and cilantro that was growning on its own - dill was sprouting but I uprooted it to make room for other plants...I have seeds for that anyways. I still have room for one more tomato plant, so I'll buy and plant one soon if not today.

I forgot to put stakes in yesterday, so I put those in this morning. All set to grow!

Garden down time

2006-11-16T18:17:00.000-05:00

Today, I had the duty of jury duty. But when we were let out early, I took advantage of the above average temps (in the 60s) and tore the garden, or what was lft of it, down.

I was surprised to see some many orange tomatoes on the ground. The chives seemed to self-promote itself abudently, as well as the oregano. I grabbed some tools from the shed and dug up the aforementioned shrubs as well as the weeds and lemongrass which were easier to rake than to pull up by hand. The tomato plants came out easily, as did the comsos - a few of which were still in bloom. I dug up all sorts of large worms that seemed to be enjoying themselves before I came along. I spyed on several spiders and slugs living under the leaves of various dying vegetation. I threw what I could into the composter, while the rest ended up in a large pile in the back of my garden. I'll let it rot till next spring, at which time I'll compost.

Now I've got a clean slate once again, ready for next year's crops. Overall, I have to say this year was a little dissapointing. TThe cosmos hardly bloomed and the smmer was so short, I didn't get as many tomatoes in time. Many died on the vine, hungry and sunlight-starved.The peppers were weird, I don;t think they were jalepnos as they were labeled. However, the lemon grass was a fun thing to grow, the tomatoes I did get were delicious, and I had lots of basil and more scallions than I could handle. Next year I'd like to plant all heirloom tomatoes. They are hands-down the best tomatoes I've eaten.

Trip to S.E.Asia

2006-11-15T08:45:00.000-05:00

Hello all,

I finally went on vacation after many years of putting one off. I decided to go big and went to Cambodia, Thailand and Laos with a group of running buddies. Our initial excuse was the HHH Interhash in Chiang Mai, Thailand, but our activities and interests lead us far beyond running as we explored golden trimmed temples, walked through ancient stone cities, treked to hill tribes in a tropical jungle, enjoyed elephant and river raft rides, were titilated by the lights and ladies of Bangkok, soaked in the ambiance of French Colonial architecture, and enjoyed a peaceful recluse on a breezy tropical island.

Below are 3 of the emails I sent from afar, starting from the first one I sent:

_____________________________________________________________

October 24, 2006
12:03pm local time
Siem Reap, Cambodia

Subject line: Greetings from Cambodia!

Hello All-

Please pardon the group email - but I only have one afternoon left in
Cambodia before I take off for Thailand.
Everyone should visit this place, its amazing to see, the people are
wonderful and the food - well, is nothing short of amazing - and cheap!
Actually everything is cheap, and haggling is the national game. Still
hard to believe I'm here in a 3rd world country since many here in Siem
Reap speak some English and use American dollars for just about
everything. Went to he infamous Angkor Wat yesterday, truely amazing.
You get to climb all over everything, too bad I didn't bring my
climbing shoes:) The guesthouses are very clean, and the sound of motos
& tuk tuks are as ubiquitous as the sound of prayer music in the
morning. It's very hot and dusty, Many poor children selling cheap
items for their family - some as young as 3 years old. Far too many
landmine victims making their way around, doing as best they can to
survive. It's heartbreaking since you can't help everyone you see. I've
talked to a few who have been this way for over 20 years, they were
sweeping for mines when it went off beneath them. Many have children
and their own special bikes. Overall, I'd come back in a heartbeat.
Nightlife is lots of fun too, since Siem Reap is a tourist town. Lots
of other European and Australian, Chinese and Japanese- very few
Americans.

Going to get back on the bicycle and peddle around town
some more to see the city - the best way aside from the tuk tuks
(motorized rickshaw). Traffic is hectic but you get used to it - they
dont drive fast, but there aren't stop signs as I can tell:) OH
Cambodia!

All the best,
Julie

_____________________________________________________________

October 28, 2006
8:50am local time
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Subject line: Running, shopping, and old men in Thailand.

Hello again from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

It's nice to stay in one place for a few days. Our hotel is located
right outside the east gate of the city, which is a fairly happening
place. The city has an old wall with gates and a moat around it. The
walls are pretty much gone except over here by the east gate and at all
the corners. There's a night market a short walk away - where hundreds
of stalls are teaming with people and cheap trinkets. Last night we
went down there and I found my earrings, the very ones I was wearing &
bought in the States, at one of the stalls. The prices are less then
what we would pay in the states, and then you bargain down from there.
So I'm not likely to buy many things in Thailand, why should i when I
could also buy them at my local Target or Pier One with a 400 percent
marketup??

Anyways, trail running in Thailand is like trail running in RI or MA,
but with 90+ degree heat and humidity like you've never, EVER, known
unless you've run in the jungle before. It's so ridiculously hot in the
sun, you seek out the shade form a distance and look forward to getting
there, even if it only lasts a few seconds. I've finally learned my
lesson and started pacing myself at the start. I been running with a
Camelback (oh you American!) which has been helpful. Drinking water
here is like breathing - you do it constantly without thinking or
you'll die. Wearing a hat is essential, and wearing wicking fabrics are
useless. The jungle smells wonderful: jasmine, eucalyptus, other
tropical flowers. We've run past teak trees, which I've never seen
before, and tons of other plant life that's new to me. If you like mud,
steep hills, rice paddies, trip wires, sugarcane, palm trees,
waterfalls, cows, and the random Wat or two -Thailand's the place for
you to run.

The people who have attended the Hash running event here in Thailand
(6,000 of us) are mostly white men - average age is about 50-55. Many
of them are older than that - up into their 70s and 80s. Many or Brits
or Austrailans, and since we're nearby, many Malaysian and Indionesian.
There are so many grey heads in the crowd, I wonder if I'm in the right
place sometimes. These guys have a great sense of humor and sharp wit,
it's a pleasure to run with them.And they're not as slow as thier age
might lead you to believe - these guys are veterans and can kick some o
the younger folk's butts (ahem, me incluuded).

Yesterday we went to an paper umbrella making company - not the ones you
put in your cocktails, but the ones you might use to keep the sun off
you or use on your patio. It was staffed by mostly women, they do
everything by and from carving the umbrella spokes, to making the
paper, to painting the designs. They offered to paint anything for a
few baht, so we had out hats, camera cases, and shorts painted with
dragons and other designs. Can you say tourist?? Ugh...

Off to the northern hill tribes tomorrow, we're staying overnight with
the Lisu tribe and hiking around in the mountains in one of the
national parks. Headed to Laos after that, more in a few days.

-Julie

I am getting email from people, even though you may be getting an error
message kicked back - so thanks for keeping me in touch with what's
happening on your end.

_____________________________________________________________

November 4, 2006
6:36pm local time
Bangkok, Thailand

Subject: Gastronomic adventures in Laos, river rides and mountain treks in Thailand, and Ko Samet Island

Hello all,

Each of the three adventures mentioned in the above subject line deserve
their own email - however I wasn't privy to such access with exception
to Laos, the email I wrote there was deleted and I gave up on the slow
connection.

Elephants, River Rafts and Trekking in Thailand:
I'm back from a week(?) of adventures in Thailand, Laos and Ko Samet.
It's Saturday I'm told. Its warm but not oppressive - in the 80s and
smoggy. Since last wrote, we ran one more run in Chiang Mai which was
hot but lots of fun, got up early the next morning into our van and
drove north to Doi Chiang Do National Park, where we would ride on
elephants through a stream bed, ride bambo river rafts, and finally,
trek a few hours up the mountain side to a Lisu hilltribe where we
would spend an night. The elephant ride was short but sweet, it's not
something you want to do for much more than hour anyways. Some of teh
gys in our group got to ride on the neck, where the guides sit. These
elephants are more wild than trained, eating anything in sight and
stopping whenever they felt like it. We had a ball taking photos and
watching our guides turn red in frustration at their inability of
controlling the animals. The ride dropped us off at a hilltribe village
(different from the trek we would later take) where we were encouraged
to buy handicrafts and try betel nut (spicy, weird head rush - stains
your steeth something nasty after prolonged use). We fed the elephants
banana bunches, peels and all, and made our way to the river rafting
site.

The rafts were long and narrow, 2 people to a raft -sitting in the
middle- with a guide steering from the bow with a very long bamboo
pole, which he would stick intot he bottom of the river and push us
this way and that. Kinda primitive but it got the job done. We relaxed
and enjoyed the mountain scenery around us as the guides raced each
other down the river. The river had a little speed to it, but it was
generally slow and relaxing withoutbeing boring. We got tot he endpoint
in about an hour and had lunch under a thatched roof and chatted withe
owner in English, who had a taste for the Bee Gees.

After that we got a ride in an open air truck (as were most of our local
transport rides) to somewhere in the mountains of Doi Chiang Do National
Park. We met our 3 guides who hiked without breaking a sweat in flip
flops and jeans, while the rest of us sweated heavily in shorts, trail
shoes and tshirts. It had to be at least 90 degrees in the sun as were
most days in Thailand.When we got to the village, the air was cool and
the locals were wearing warm western clothes. We had dinner and
couldn't take our eyes off the amazing jagged mountains before us. The
Lisu picked a great place to live. We had a cultural dance show which
we participated in, amoungst the pigs, chickens and babies all around
us. They even had some smalltime firworks that can be bought in markets
and set those off after the show. 3 other tourists from Chiang Mai were
there, 2 were musicians andbrught a guitar, they were partial to Simon
and Garfunkle so were sang along with them. We also got a taste for
some thai folk music which the other guy sang to us. We slept in modest
thatched huts, on th ground in sleepnging bags. It was quite a night to
remember.

Roosters don't crow at first morning light - they tend to start at 3am.
Did I mention how much I dislike roosters now? Anyways, we got a ride
down teh mountain the next morning (its a touristy trip afterall) and
got in our van and headed to the airport and caught our flight to Luang
Prabang, Laos.

Laos:
Sad city. Overrun with european tourists, the locals seem tired of
catering to them, and seem fairly beat in general. I caught a lovely
case of "Bangkok Belly" just before leaving Thailand, so my time in
Laos is tainted by this experience. We did offer food to the monks and
the rest of the group ran one afternoon while I massaged my stomache
and slept. I really don't have much to share about it, except the
bathrooms are fairly well equipted with both western style toilets and
paper - thank goodness.

Korat & Ko Samet, Thailand
After Laos we flew to vientiane (sp?) and drove to Korat, a two-bit hell
hole not worth much mention. We stayed in a nasty guest house, one of
the only ones we were able to locate in our research. I awoke at 5am
the next morning (we had to leave very early to ccatch our boat ot Ko
Samet)to a parade of ants above my headboard, walking down the wall
towards the bed. I go the heck out of there and we headed off to the
sea.

Ko Samet was everything I hoped it would be, basically a secluded island
where I would do absolutely nothing for one day. The beach we stayed on
was littered with broken coral pieces. Very few tourists were around,
weather was gorgeous, a light breeze cooled me off under the shade of a
tree on the white sand beach. A tire swing hung nearby. We made friends
with a black dog who roamed the beach. I read my New Yorker and missed
home, thinking back on everything ive seen, from diverse cultures,
sounds, smells and landscapes. The people have been nothing but
wonderful, helpful, kind. We took a walk to see the sunset, had dinner
and went for a night swim. As I went to bed early, stomache still
grumbling - I've only been able to eat plain white toast, white rice
and the blandest of bland foods. Most of the men in the group were up
singing late into the evening except one - who went missing - all we
knew if he showered and headed off in the direction of some other
resorts without telling anyone where he was going or when he would be
back. He didn't return for our schedled 7am breakfast the next morning,
and everyone was concerned. He had a habit on this trip of leaving us
late in the evening, returning in the morning with colorful stories, so
were we accustomed to his behavior, and he always returned on time for
our morning breakfast or departure. You don't know someone until you
live with them you often hear, I would addd traveling to that
statement. We gathered his things and left him money, several notes,
and numbers to call. We though maybe he was waiting at the ferry for
us. We got there, but he was nowhere to be found. Despite his poor
judgement of leaving without telling anyone, he's a resourceful guy who
can take care of himself. But concerned and worried as we were, we
contacted the tourist police on the mainland and planned for a search
party - although not wanting to jump to conclusions too early. We
continued to call the resort office on the island to check in with him
as we headed on to catch our scheduled ride, and at 11am we got through
to th front desk and heard he picked up his things and was on his way
back to Bangkok by bus. We were all terribly relieved to say the least.
What we had hoped happened to him had happened: he overslept, had no
watch, rushed to get back from the north side of the island but missed
breakfast, the ferry, and of course, us. This was the lowest point of
the trip. I just saw him about a hour ago at our hotel here in Bangkok.
He feels awful, like a jerk for worring us all - and rightfully so! We
thought up a few new nicknames for him, this won't be something we let
go of for some time. We're all just glad he's ok and in one piece, and
I personally plan to chain him to the hotel room doorknob this evening.

I think that should do it. I'll be back in 2 days time with a zillion
photos which will take forever to organize and update. Looking forward
to returning home to kitty, family and friends.

-Julie

More photos from the trip are here:

Cambodia: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julielepage/sets/72157594365730844/
Thailand: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julielepage/sets/72157594366965656/
Laos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julielepage/sets/72157594365599048/

End of summer crop

2006-09-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Still going...

The garden is growing strong, most of the hierlooms are finished, except for the Zebra Striped - still plenty of these. Baked tomatoes w/pesto and cheese have been a great lunch/dinner/anytime meal. The Celebrities have more to go, and I picked some lemon grass today. It's not as big as the stuff in stores, but it smells fantasic and looks pretty good to me. The dill is going to seed, and the single cosmo plant is going nuts while the rest stand without any blooms whatsoever. Green onions are in full tilt now, so I'm scrambling to fins dishes to use them in.

Lemon grass & basil along garden path

Hot peppers

Dill grows in Somerville

Celebrities

Lone cosmo

Today's bounty b ag

More bounty

2006-08-17T19:45:00.000-04:00

Today's pluckings

Ah the sight of ripe tomatoes on the vine! Harvested a bunch of brandywine's today along with basil to bring to a friend's BBQ, also some zebra stripes, a jet star, scallions and hot peppers. The scallions on the left side of hte garden are from a different seed packet then the ones on the right side. The left ones are all squirrely and curly on the green parts, with big onion bulbs at the bottom. The right side are more typical - I think those were the Burpee seeds. The brandywines were delicious with basil, fresh mozzerella cheese, basil flavored olive oil & dried oregano on top.

Back from vacation and I still have tomatoes

2006-08-15T23:54:00.000-04:00

Garden View

Today's Bounty - My first 2006 tomatoes

Finally a little heat gave the tomatoes some get-up-and-go. Hopefully there will be lots more sunny days, and warm ones, because as far as I can tell, things are maturing on the late side this year. Not surprising with all the rain and cool weather in June. The Green Zebras, being green, were left on the vine by my helpful friends who watered my garden while I was gone. Looking forward to eating them, I wonder if my brain will trick me into thinking they taste unripe...?

Crazy peppers

The jalepeno plants are especially strange - they're huge and very light green - they don't look much like jalepenos. Most of the other tomatoes are green - but healthy in size so its just a matter of time. Lemongrass is growing tall - but I dont know if it will be big enough to harvest by the end of August. The scallions are plentiful but smallish - the basil & oregano are huge, the thai basil is getting big but the leaves overall are small. The dill is short and sad, but I still love to see it in the garden.

Lemongrass

Big upset - the cosmos haven't flowered at all. Not sure what the deal is. Too much rain early - not enough later - no idea what happened. All I have is stalks of cosmo fluff with no blossoms, except for the ones that sprouted up from last year's seeds that, against all odds, made their way to bloom-dom.

Garden View

What's with the weeds?

2006-07-26T17:08:00.000-04:00

I seem to have a weed issue. Maybe it's the rain, maybe I should have put the hay down earlier...whatever it is...it's driving me nuts. It seems I go to the garden, pull up weeds for 1 hour, and go home...every 2 or 3 days. I have grass (very hard to pull out), some kind of attractive plant that spreads out wide and flat (easy to pull), and other variants of the above. I guess I can let up from the muscle-building leg squats, seems I do plenty in the garden (I may also be giving an interesting show to the Osgood St neighbors).

Someone busted the back of the tool box a few weeks back, though it still locks and nothing's missing that I can tell. I'm not sure why someone would punch (guessing) the back of a box that contains a shovel and some expired wildflower seeds.

The Osgood raspberry bush had some ripe berries to pick the other day, and I had some in my cereal this morning - delicious. Nothin to harvest from my garden yet with the exception of basil. The cosmos on Summer street have flowered, but not mine, not yet.

Who added the grow juice?

2006-07-18T22:46:00.000-04:00

Holy Heck!

The garden exploded over the last few weeks - what will all the rain, and now the heat...or maybe it's been a while since I visited? I didn't really have to since the rain took care of the watering issue.

So it looks like the tomatoes are doing well, jalepenos are coming along too. The cilantro is way past due as is the oregano. The dill and lemongrass are very slow this year - I suppose I kinda killed the dill by accident a few weeks back (I dug it up without realizing it)- I thought it would rebound but, guess not.

Jalepenos growing skyward

No flowers on the cosmos, but they're getting tall! And I have a few onions to speak of - though I usually just let them sit there all year. Oh and the scallions are coming along, a little slower than expected. One of the seed packets grew in very curly, whereas the other is pretty much straight like you would expect.

Sweet Basil

Thai Basil

Onion

Cosmos

Garden View

Another week, another photo

2006-06-13T16:06:00.000-04:00

Sometimes visiting the garden is just busy-work: watering, take a few photos, and wishing it could happen a little faster. The flowering of the chives and cilantro did make it a little more interesting, but overall not much has happened in a week's time. I did notice a bunch of human & dog prints in my garden. So I put up some branchy bits along the front of the garden to keep folks and dogs from wandering in from the wrong locations. The weeds are catching up - hopefully we'll get some mulch soon.

Scallion Seedlings

New Branchy Walkway

Left Side View

Front View

Cosmos and Poppies

Cilantro Flowers

Chive Flowers

Leaving the garden

Slowly Coming Alive

2006-06-12T12:41:00.000-04:00

Photo op date: 06/06/06

Just Planted

The garden is planted...and the weather almost feels like summer after a moody month of rain, rain, and more rain (about 25" in May - another 6.5 " the first 12 days of June!)

Garden Contents:
6 Celebrity Tomatoes, 2 Brandywines, 1 Yellow Zebra, and 1 purple something or other. Also 4 Jalepenos, 1 Sweet Basil, 1 Thai Basil, Lemongrass, Scallions (2 seed brands) Dill, Cilantro (from last year's dropped seeds, and perennial Chives, Oregano, Onion.

I also planted Poppies and Cosmos along the fence.

Out of focus onion flower

Just tiny things for now

Scallion seedlings

Chives cut back

Early surprises

Side view

Time to make the veggies

2006-05-25T10:03:00.000-04:00

Garden perennials

Finally, that time has come to scout the garden centers and pour through my Burpee book for interesting veggies and herbs to grow this year. I already planted some poppy and cosmo seeds, as well as dill and scallions. Those should be sprouting sometime next week.

Seed packets

I dug up the garden a few days ago. It seemed as though I had planted rocks this fall cause I had tons of little pebbles all over the garden. If I were interested in growing rocks, I'd be doing pretty good. Alas, I tossed them to the side and along the front of the plot for a little home spun decor.

Onion budding

The usual perennials were up, including the onions and cilantro from the previous oer of the plot, chives & oregano I got from my father, and dill. The sage bush looked as though it was spent, so I dug it up and plan to put in some lemongrass or something else instead. I also plan to plant more tomatoes than last year, and scratching the bell peppers. Those things gave me nothing but grief last year.

Leaving the garden for the day

Gardening down time

2006-01-22T18:43:00.000-05:00

Winter in New England means an end to my garden...but not to fun with in the outdoors.
You can catch some of the action in photos as I post a sampling of my winter hikes and other activites online at my web site or on my flickr page

Otherwise - I'll be back in the garden come May 2006.

Still kicking in October

2005-10-05T22:48:00.000-04:00

garden slowly expiring

It may be the month of all things autumn, but the garden isn't ready to call it quits just yet. The tomatoes eeked out bunch of green ones when I wasn't paying attention - so I may have to bring those in soon before the frost gets them. I pulled out all the shallots which are yummy. The basil is pretty much done, as is the oregano. The sage and hot peppers are still going strong, and even the red peppers are growing a few...maybe the best of the year. Fianlly, the scallions are just about picked out, and the cosmos are wasting away one by one, stalk by stalk. Sadness fills the air - and soon I will be hacking it all down, cleaning up whats left, and putting plans together for next year's layout. So glad I hooked up with the community gardens, it's been a great first year.

dying cosmos

big green tomatoes

parting garden shot

September Summer

2005-09-02T09:27:00.000-04:00

The air is cool & the sun is slanting in the sky as it rises for the day....signs that fall is on the way. There are still many tomatoes on the vine - some green, some orange, none of them ready just yet. I picked about 20 ripe ones yesterday, as well as a few bell peppers that somehow survived the pepper plague nmany others succummed to.

I pulled the cilantro out - seeded the area with its own seeds, we'll see what happenens next spring. I also pulled the dill out, but kept the seeds for myself. The green salsa peppers are still kicking - lot sand lots of those this year - even the jalepeno, the one that looked like it would never make it, has produced a few peppers.
I cut back the chives, and the onions are still teasing their way up. The green onions are almost gone now - can't believe they lasted all summer! And the cosmos are huge - taller than I - maybe 6.5 feet now!

Back from vacation....

2005-08-29T17:41:00.000-04:00

....and the tomatoes came in while I was away - thanks tomatoes! Now I know - tomatoes come in 11 - 14 weeks after planting. Next year I want to get 2 Brandywine and 2 Taxi tomato plants, some Plum and some Celebrities - and no red peppers.

I probably picked about 15-20 tomatoes on the 11th week, 30 tomatoes on the 12th week, and another 50 more were picked by Tony on the 13th week. I gathered about 25 today on the 14th week (some shown above), still more to go.

Tomato Time

2005-08-15T09:03:00.000-04:00

August heat is in full swing, and the tomatoes are lovin' it! Both my brother and father who live nearby have said the hot summer has been a blessing to the growth of their tomatoes. My dad had to rig up some kind of crazy rope contraption to keep the plants from collaping into themselves and falling over. I saw it for myself, not quiet sure how my dad will get in there to harvest! The only lament I have is the peppers. Most of the bell peppers have fallen off on their own and have a small amount of rot on the bottoms. Some even turned red but have soft spots here mand there - only part of the peppers are edible. Not so sure I'm willing to grow bell peppers again...maybe I'll try something else - like more onions and some cucumbers.

My garden as of Aug 14th:

Walking past the cosmos - well above the fence now!

Lots of blossoms - so easy to care for.

Garden long shot - bustin!

Love those cosmos, neighbors sunflowers in the background

Heirloom tomatoes - Brandywine

Cosmo couple

Cosmos dwarf the van

Some green tomatoes taking their time

Onions slow to come up

Green salsa peppers- lots to harvest

Today's bounty

Another garden shot

And another

Sage and oregano out of control

Dill gone to seed, neighbor's zinnas in the background

Suflower on the corner of Osgood/Granite streets

Yesterday's Bradywine

Yesterday's harvest - taxis too!

Rate of growth

2005-08-10T14:42:00.000-04:00

June 15th, 2005

July 1st, 2005

July 15th, 2005

July 31st, 2005

August 14th, 2005

September 2nd, 2005

October 4th, 2005

First tomato

2005-08-09T14:36:00.000-04:00

No pictures, but I did harvest my first tomato on Aug 9th.
Many more to come.

Personal Garden Tour

2005-07-29T00:29:00.000-04:00

Tony came by to harvest some spring onions and hot peppers - I thought it would be a good idea to take some photos of myself in the garden -- for sense of scale, and since I have yet to get a shot of myself in it. Tony kindly obliged - with more photos than I even knew he was taking!

Hopping over fence - 'dukes of harzard" way of getting in

Everybody loves dill

Looking for basil

Why does basil get all crinkly after a month or so - i dunno.

Tall plants, short girl

See?

Very excited about peppers...

Some story about the Cherokee's that kicked the bucket

Still talking about tomatoes

Can't get enought dill

Isn't it something!

Contemplating about next year's placement

Scenic sunset in Summahville

The weeding never ends...

Who wants scallions?

2005-07-28T18:06:00.000-04:00

The garden has grown better than my wildest garden dreams. I have more green onions than I know what to do with. I just give them out to my garden neighbors, Tony, Sajid, Mom & Dad, the roommates, and just about anyone else I can hand them to. If only the turtle ate scallions, he wouldn't be so hungry.

Here are some photos, and even a movie (viewed mostly sideways - so they're not as fun to watch as I hoped). I'll work on that for the next video set.

Front View

Side View

Walking In

Front Row and Osgood St

The dill is over 5 feet tall now...

The only space I can stand in really...

Dill, glorious dill.

Salsa Hot Peppers - about 5-6 inches long so far

Cosmos and bell pepper plants below

Tomato Plants - those stakes are 6 feet high - more like 5 feet since they're stuck in the ground - so those'em tomatoes are taller than I...

Tomato close-up - brandwine heirloom still green

Bell peppers close up - still green - about 4-5 inches so far

Cosmos

Cosmo close-up

Looking back at the dill and sage

Today's scallion harvest

Scallion close-up

Also, basil, hot peppers, and raspberries

Movies: Garden Movie I
You will need to turn your head sideways for the first 2 parts of 3 - I'm working on NOT doing that next time:)

Cherokee Purple takes the low road

2005-07-19T13:39:00.000-04:00

Another lovely, early morning of gardening...but it turned a bit sour when I noticed mites, or maybe aphids, on the Cherokee Purple tomato plant. It was the only plant (aside from the frostbitten jalepenos...my bad) that looked like it might keel over soon enough. It wasn't dead, at least not yet. The pests were all over the plant, and starting to spread to 2 other plants, so I decided to nip it in the bud and upheave the plant altogether. It's too bad, I was looking forward to purple tomatoes, but not at the cost of having to remove all those pests...and maybe other plants getting caught up in the madness. The plant looked pretty bad from the get-go anyhow. The good thing about removing the plant is the 4th pepper plant will be getting some more sun, now that the Cherokee isn't towering above it.

Speaking of pests, the peppers have something trying to eat at the leaves, but it's not that bad right now...some kind of flying bug or beetle I suppose. Everything else is clam-happy, even the cosmos are budding. I harvested a few more taxi tomatoes and a huge bunch of green onions. I ran into one of the gardening neighbors, and made sure I got a handful of fresh raspberries from the communal shrub before leaving for home.

The garden is bustin...

2005-07-15T14:40:00.000-04:00

The garden this Friday - July 15th - 2005

Everything is growing at full speed. The tomatoes are growing strong - have flowered and formed some small green baby tomatoes already. The peppers, to my surprise, are growing with vigor, as you can find a handful of green peppers under each plant. The one remaining cilantro plant is flowering nicely, the sage and oregano are out of control, the chive plant is chillin', and the dill is heading for the stars. The green onions are impressive, and tasty to boot. The basil is coming along nicely, and I picked one taxi tomato already. The cosmos have not flowered yet, so I'm not sure if thats ok, or if they are a little late. I am careful not to really water them at all - just letting the rain take care of them.

The onion plant I cut back, removing all the crazy mid-level onions that were growing in mid-air. I see a few onions underground, trying to pop to the surface, so thats' good news.(08/15/05 - feeling pretty silly looking back at this - as I now know this is not a weird thing that happened, but that this onion plant is supposed to grow this way - duh! The other ones growning more normally are a more common type of onion...now I know.)

The weather has been hot, lots of sun , and not much rain. I am watering about every 3 days or so. The communal raspberries are growing swell, a nice treat after gardening in the morning. The weeds are mostly non-existant these days, thanks to some extra hay and not much rain. Everyone's gardens are looking fine, and the grapes are going to be a nice treat sometime next month I hope. I also planted the habernero, hopefully it will do well in the spot the cilantro keeled over.

side view

dill plant gone crazy...

About to transpant this little habernero from Tony....

Peppers are doing swell, cosmos are getting tall, no flowers yet...

The first (and out of focus) taxi tomato to pick

There are those peppers again, can't believe how well they are doing

Peering into the garden center...

Straight on view...

Under the green salsa peppers...I picked (and ate) one the other day - hot hot!

Looking into the Celebrities...

Cilantro gone to seed and flowers - the seeds will come in handy later...

Onion and green onions, green onions are perfect for picking now - delicious and so fresh!

Dil flowering...

One of those Red Beauties - still green and only a few inches so far

Lookin up at the dill and Somerville Osgood neighborhood

Looing up at the Celebrities...

My bounty today - going easy on the green onions since I just picked about 30 the other day.

Grren onion on the composter

Right side view, before leaving garden.

The garden grows...

2005-07-01T22:38:00.000-04:00

This time I took photos without the smudge, thank you very much.
Everything seems to have exploded over the past 2 weeks, the heat has really helped things. I mulched the heck out of the the place on this day - so finally there are few weeds, more room for the real deal. The cilantro 6 pack that I bought bolted and died very quickly, other than that and the jalepeno which succumbed to the cool Memorial Day weekend, everything is doing fantastic. Cosmos havn't bloomed yet, but the greeenery is getting tall. I'm trying my best NOT to water them, I guess they like the punishment.

The photos are all from the 1st of July, but I went today (the 5th) to water after being away for th 4th weekend. The tomatoes are flowering, the taxi tomatoes are getting big but not yet yellow, the dill and oregano are also flowering, even the peppers have some flowers on them...the hot salsa peppers are a little slow in the flowering, but they have grown very tall already and should be ready to pop next week. The sage, dill and oregano are HUGE, not quite sure what to do with them. One of the heirloom tomato plants, the cherokee I believe, is looking a bit strained. The old leaves are all curled up and freakish, but the new ones look ok. I stripped much of the old ones off, leaving enough that I hope it will survive, it didn't look like those leaves were doing much help anyways.

I even had a chance to pick some green onions today which are looking real good. I'm surprised how many of those you can get from one seed packet... I think I got the Miracle Grow green onion seed packet, will have to get that one again. The onion plant is looking something strange, all the onion are growing about 2 feet off the ground from the middle of the plant stalks...onion plants from outer space?...you be the judge.(08/14/05 - I now know that this is an Egyption Onion plant - I was leafing through a friend's garden book and read about it)

Garden Days

2005-06-15T12:35:00.000-04:00

Well, we had some pretty strange weather around here - and the 90+ degree days in June really got the tomatoes on a jump start. I took some photos during one of the hottest dys, however it is currently 50˚ and lightly raining...and its 12:36 in the afternoon. We'll see how the basil and peppers fair after this craziness. Note: It's not your vision, it's mine. Apparently there was a big smudge on the lense while I took these.

The garden front - from the back

Celebrity tomatoes and heirlooms

Scallions from seed packet

Chives from Dad

Bell peppers

Onion plant that was growing upon my arrival - must have been planted by the previous owner.

Just for fun t-shirt design

2005-05-05T08:50:00.000-04:00

Gardening T-shirt design

2005-05-03T13:12:00.000-04:00

Village Life

2005-04-29T11:09:00.000-04:00

Did you brush your teeth today?

2005-04-27T17:43:00.000-04:00

Dorky is the new cool

2005-04-22T13:11:00.000-04:00

I got a little note from an "Anonymous" poster today - someone whom I obviously know from at least 6-7 years ago, by the way they refered to my old car and job. They exclaimed, to their astonishment, that I was a dork. Apparently I used to be cool back when I ran for beer (hashing it's called, and ya I still do that) and drove a very decrepid 1988 Oldmobile Cutlass Supreme. I find some interestering irony in all of this. Having a car of that caliber is not cool at all, it's terribly dorky, not to mention being somewhat poor at the time and cheap, which led me to having that car for as long as I did. So really, having that car was dorky, which turned out to be cool to this person. So you see, dorky is the new cool, or is it?

Apparently the contents of my blog led them to think that this dorky thing is a new phenomenon for me. So, ok, I draw cats, birds and make books, but hey, did you know that I bowl....in a LEAGUE. Ok ya we have beer while we bowl - but I even bought the shoes. I worked at a weather company for Christ's sakes, as if that's not totally dorky. Not to hurt any weather people's feelings, but its a terribly dorky field of science, and I think they will be the first person in the room to admit they can be dorks.

The more I think about it, dorkiness is a nice attribute. Being cool has a lot of pressure, you got to wear the right things, say the right stuff, be at all the cool places, so much to do all for the sake of coolness. I have my own form of coolness, and while it may not include weather maps and decrepid cars it's still cool to me. And...blogs, and reading blogs, is THE dorkiest thing ever, ever, ever! I'll show you dorky...wait till I start drawing some of my teapot collection...

Blind Drawing - Scout the Cat

2005-04-15T17:38:00.000-04:00

Ever try drawing "blind"? Just stare at the subject, not at your paper or pen, and draw. Try to draw without picking up the pen too much as you will lose your place quite easily. Study the subject carefully as you draw, the harder you look, the more detailed the drawing. You get some pretty interesting results. I had this one portrait I did a while back that turned out pretty cool. If I find it I'll post it. Above is a quick one I did of my cat, Scout.

The Making of a Book

2005-04-14T18:11:00.000-04:00

I've been making my own journals/sketch books since I learned how in college. Each one gets better than the last, and I always screw up somewhere along the way. That said, here's the latest one.

When making your own book, you must first select & cut the paper to the page size you want, and arrange them into signatures, or little bundles of pages. The signatures are then stacked on top of each other and sewn together to create 1 bundle of pages. You then glue your spine, front and back cover into one piece, cover it with paper(s) of your choice, and finally, glue the sewn page bundle into the book. Easy-peasy...sorta.

Lots of things can screw you up along the way. This time around, it was the width of the spine. I didn't make it wide enough to really fit the book into its cover, so my book "yawns" a bit, meaning it doesn't close completely. With a few weights and time, it will fix itself. It's an easy thing to keep an eye on when making a book, I was watching the Sox lose to the Yanks at the time, so I guess that says it all.

The cover is made with a handmade paper printed and sewn by an Indian textile designing family. The stitching really makes this paper unlike any other I found.

Inside the book is made of pretty basic textweight paper in various shades of blues, greens and purple. It's so delicate, I'm sort of afraid to use it and get it all dirty, like my past handmade books. But I guess that's what happens with use. I think the next one I'll make is a leather bound book. The leather cover will keep it well protected. And nothin' looks better on a book than a worn out leather cover!

Bird & Birches

2005-04-13T17:10:00.000-04:00

Pennants are flying

2005-04-12T23:36:00.000-04:00

Finally, we can lay to rest all the 2004 hooplah. Big banners cascaded down the ol' green wall, flags were raised, rings were handed out, and people shed a tear. Oh, and the Yanks appeared to be paid off during the fantastic beating by the Sox. Happy to see Rivera, and the fans, with a sense of humor during his introduction on the field. He's a great player no matter what people may be saying these days. No time for drawing today - hopefully tomorrow!

It Never Rains in Southern California

2005-04-08T11:37:00.000-04:00

I just rediscovered this song and had the most intense feeling of nostalgia for it. Which is weird, cause I never lived in anywhere but in New England, so I don't know why I suddenly crave to hear this song...here it is in case you missed it too, and if you never heard it before - boy are you in for something...

LISTEN - MP3

Got on board a westbound seven forty-seven
Didn't think before deciding what to do
Ooh, that talk of opportunities, TV breaks and movies
Rang true, sure rang true ...

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours

I'm out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self respect, I'm out of bread
I'm underloved, I'm underfed, I wanna go home
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours

Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it?
Had offers but didn't know which one to take
Please don't tell 'em how you found me
Don't tell 'em how you found me
Gimme a break, give me a break

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours

-Albert Hammond

Lil' birdies

2005-04-07T13:56:00.000-04:00

Spring is calling, the little birdies are hoppin.

Tubin'

2005-04-06T21:16:00.000-04:00

The Daily Drawin' says it all, really.

A long day in front of the computer, sox beat the empire ah-la evil, and now for a little pasta with tomato cream sauce...what, you want the recipe you say - why sure!

Tomato Cream Sauce (with or without vodka)
2-3 tbsp butter
4oz pancetta or prosciutto, diced
1/4 cup of vodka (if using)
------------------------------------
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
------------------------------------
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
dried basil
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

Directions:
- Heat butter in large saucepan till it bubbles
- Add pancetta or prosciutto and stir for 2-3 min
- Add vodka (if using), stir, let the alcohol burn off (about 1 min)
- Add garlic and onion and continue to stir for 3-4 min
- Stir in tomato can and cream, lower heat and simmer for 5-7 min, stirring often
- Add in basil,red pepper flakes, season w/s&p, heat 1 min more and serve over penne or other favorite pasta

Enjoy!

Ode to April

2005-04-05T13:09:00.000-04:00

Jellyfish/Space Invader V.1

April, as I see it, is a heck of a lot better than March. March in New England, has to be one of the most schizophrenic months as far as weather is concerned. The days go something like this: snow storm, rain, brief period of sun, week of overcast clouds, fog, rain, snow storm, cloudy, snow flurries, etc...

April, however, makes it almost worth the wait. First there's turning the clock back to get another few precious hours of daylight. Then there's the start of the baseball season (although this year's start was, as predicted, yucko), and things are starting to warm up. No more piles of black snow to get your car stuck in, lots of water running on the ground everywhere, crocuses and tulips and starting to sprout...and the hashing is better than ever. Tons of mud to get a sneaker stuck in (and all over yourself), lots of high rivers to cross, and the occasional torrential rain storm to really kick it into high gear. The guys in RIH3 are loving it, as am I.

Game Day

2005-04-03T12:25:00.000-04:00

Couldn't quiet hold back till Monday afterall. Hopefully, today's game of the Sox vs the Yankees won't be rained out...it would be a shamelful dissapointment to delay the much awaited match-up. Although, I have a weird feeling we might drop this game pretty badly. I don't know if it's because I'm unimpressed with Wells, or if the Unit is the main scare-factor (oh and that Sheffield guy...yikes). Either way it should be interesting. I'm afraid I may be marking and "L" on the calendar for this one, though.

It's the Weekend baby

2005-04-02T20:21:00.000-05:00

See ya Monday
...sloggin in the rain (spring here already?)
-page

Shoppin' at the bastard

2005-04-01T10:59:00.000-05:00

This is the food store that I often shop at in Somerville, Johnny's Foodmaster. I nick-named it " the bastard" back when I lived very close in proximity. I called it that because, even though it wasnt the best place to go, I went there anyway since it was so close. I always came out cursing the place since they never had certain things I was looking for (asian food staples). Now I live a little bit farther away - and there are other stores closer to me - but I continue to travel the distance to go the bastard, the place grew on me, what can I say? Prices are pretty cheap - and I still can't find the asian food things (I go elsewhere for that stuff) but the place is a classic! I used to work at DeMoulas Market Basket as a teen ager in high school, or "the basket" as it was commonly known by it workers...so I guess I have a thing for old-school grocery stores.

Just Born - Fresh New Blog Here

2005-03-31T14:52:00.000-05:00

What am I doing with a blog? Well here it is - nothing special just yet, hope to have some scibbles and things up soon.