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Asparagus..... the journey begins

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 1:17 am

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to grow asparagus, is to make a long term commitment. I, for some strange reason, have decided to embark on this idealistic journey. It is a seemingly simple decision; I really really like really fresh asparagus, I really like to garden. Looks good on paper, let's launch the new plan in two weeks. The confident, adventurous gardener that I am, I could use a good challenge. and oh the benefits of harvesting a few weeks worth of the most tender, succulent spears a man could ever hope for.
I will surely enjoy reading this in a year or two, when I may find myself cursing the very thing I was once wishing for.
here are some of the very first sprouts of the very first year. and then a few shots of the rest of the spring garden.
I think i will do a couple different things to control weeds. First. since this part of my garden is the least fortified with any mulch, compost or the like, I will plant a living mulch - clover. I will build up the rows and bed them up a little bit as the plants get bigger. finally use straw to help as well.









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may garden work

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 4:11 pm

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This could possibly be one of the prettiest over all spring seasons I can remember. The south is notorious for moving from winter right into summer!! this yeas it has been cool, it has rained regularly at least once a week for the last month or so, with each rainfall bringing at least an inch or two at a time.
that being said it makes for a very beautiful and healthy spring garden!!! i love digital photography!! take as many pictures as you want, delete then ones that don;t come out good and the rest make for great blog shots!! here are some of my lettuces




this is going to be a favorite here!! freckles Romaine is the variety!!


I hope to update you soon with more good news! i was given some asparagus crowns, i planted 4- 25 ft rows!!! the weed control may be tough since it will be organically grown.
i also planted 24 tomatoes this past weekend. 18 San marzano- a paste variety for sauce!! 4 "Cherokee" purple 2 "brown berry" black cherry tomatoes.

Last year I made a blog entry for my giant pumpkin initiative. I managed to kill them all. I am pretty sure i over watered the plants. the funny thing is, I grew amazing long Island variety pumpkins out of my compost pile. where i had composted some rotten ones the previous year. the ones that grew out of my pile I never watered, never did anything to, as a matter of fact I walked over stepped on and broke off many of the vines because they were in the way. So this year I replanted "Dill's Atlantic giant". and I am planning on not doing too much with it.
let it go and see what happens!!
onto other more light hearted things more pictures!!!
including my herb garden which is in its third year.


carrots


herb garden pictures






HAPPY GARDENING!!!

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On strawberry Jam

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:10 am

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today was a fun day! I processed 25 pounds of strawberries today. turning them into 17 pints , 2 half pints, and 1 quart jars. there were 18 pints, but one of them cracked in the water bath during processing. ( I have had that happen from time to time)
I got all my organic berries as "culls" the ugly ones the farmer picked out before packing them. he gave them to me after I ever so humbly asked him what he would do with the ugly ones.... and asked if there were any available.
and here we are.

I took a few photos of the process. I used pectin. I like the fact it cuts down the cooking time in half. I do see a value in not cooking the berries to death. they seem to taste better, and certainly the jam is not as dark.

here is my process, which is ever evolving. the last two times I made jam it came out syrupy. it was not thick enough for a Sandwich; which by the way is my real motivation for the Putting up of jam, my peanut butter sandwiches are so much better than when I use store bought jam. It is also quite good on oatmeal... but we cannot go on about its never ending usefulness..

recipe called for crushing the berries, to release some of the scant pectin in strawberries, I ran them through the blender lightly. chopped them a bit. It worked well and left me chunks of fruit.

It has been said.. do not rush the jam making process or double your recipe, it will adversely affect the setting of the jam. Easy solution, use two pots!!! if you can handle stirring two of them rapidly.

Looks like I got a good set this time! Follow the directions!! All components need to be in their prescribed proportions for a good "set".


look at all these jars!!! finished the day with 3 splatter burns on my hands and 2 gallons, 3 quarts all together. during the processing phase in the water bath, i lost one jar when the bottom cracked off as mentioned before.

this ought to get me through the year........ I hope!!!

CHEERS!!!! and happy berry season!!!!


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spring 2008

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:22 am

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It was exciting to get planted this spring.
My soil is far better now than when I found it. after a summer cover crop, and the application of 1/2 inch of home made compost. The dirt was dark and spongy when I Tilled it. Rain has been plentiful and the "drought" we had is in effect over, It wasn't as bad as most might have you believe. A good start, yes but to my dismay, the bugs have found me. I grow organically, no chemicals!! I don;t really even spray organic pest control. I may have to though.
This photo is of my Tatsoi. I love it, it's so buttery/smooth and sweet to eat. raw in salads, or lightly wilted on grilled ..... well, anything! Flea Beetles found me this year, I have never had to deal with them before.

this is one i deemed good enough to take a picture of. A total failure this year. But that's good, right. i grew it because i love the challenge of learning a new plant, how it will react to what i feel is good care. I have more seed, I'll try again this fall.

the next few shots are of the overall spring garden.
3 types of Beets
5 lettuce varieties
2 types of carrots
sugar snap peas which germinated poorly this year. perhaps 75%, which for 2 10 foot rows, is a bit much for my liking.
i am also trying salsify this year. its an annual that is harvested for its root. its called an "oyster plant" i have cooked with it before. its crunchy, mild, nutty. not unlike the texture of a water chestnut or a sun choke. the flavor isnt too much like either, however. it has germinated well and seems to be off to a good start.
i tried red onions from seed, may not be the best decision i have ever made. ive got a couple from the first planting, and maybe 10 from the second planting. perhaps a dozen total, in a 15 ft row.






the peppers and tomato seedlings are patiently waiting their turn.
more to come!!


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on spring gardens and orchids

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:33 pm

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early march and 70 degrees.. makes a fellow want to work the soil. i got my garden tilled this past weekend. it is looking good, this is my third year working this plot. after cover crops, composting and organic fertilizer, its is now looking more like good garden soil, rather than the red "martian" clay i turned over 3 seasons ago. I have a friends' greenhouse i use to start the early items. I have a few lettuces, tat soi, red onions, and heirloom variety of purple cauliflower ( Violetta italia) and an experiment of spring brussels sprouts , of which i do not expect much, as it gets too hot too fast around here. but hey i got 300 seeds so why not try 10 or so.



and now for something completely different........
my orhpan orchid has fully bloomed. 8 flowers this time!!! I would have never believed i could have gotten so many!!





happy gardening!!

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WINTER 2008 AND ORCHIDS

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:21 pm

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Well here we are in the supposed depths of winter in 2008. however here in the sunny south it is 75 today. which always makes me want to get started thinking about spring gardens.... so i just had to get a few seeds atarted yesterday. for a spring crop this year i have moved over to almost all "heirloom seeds" i am trying to grow varieties i have never grown before.
These will include "Violetta Italia " Cauliflower, a purple heading cauliflower, (of course when cooked it will turn green) i started some lettuces , romaine, and red deer tongue( butterhead variety) and some onions and Brussels sprouts.
the brussels are more of an experiment as it usually warms to quickly here in the southern US to grow them as a spring crop. but hey where is the harm in trying 8 plants to see what happens.

the ground is too wet to work over in my garden and I will be taking my soil samples to test the ground soon.
This past summer i cover cropped 75% of my garden with Rye and with field pea (forgot the name just now) and that has really added alot of spongy organic material to the soil.
onto a different topic. My orchid has bloomed for the second time in a year!!!! bot did i finally find the right place for this to live!!! here are some photos. all the blooms have not opened yet. when they do I will certainly post more photos. lastly i left the old growth stem from the last flowering period on the plant. I had heard or read that occasionally they re-bloom. Well they set 3 more flower buds on that stem. so far they are considerably smaller blooms, but since they aren't opened yet, hard to tell.
Happy Gardening!!!





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peppers: a great variety

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:01 pm

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i have begun harvesting my new favorite all around variety of peppers. the Corno DI Toro or "horn of the bull. i grew the red variety last year for fun. The plant was almost 5 feet tall and yielded what were the huge super sweet peppers, almost candy like sweetness. The largest pepper was over 9 inches long and 5 inches around. so this year i planted more...and added the yellow variety.. i set a ruler near the pictures for scale... yes that one is 8 inches long..




until next time!!!!


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the WHOPPER 7/18/07

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:42 pm

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i had to take some pictures of this tomatoes before i eat it all up!! i hope i was able to show the scale of the size of this tomato... 1 pound 7 ounces
biggest tomato I have ever grown.





ok so maybe this was a little over kill with the pictures and all.. but hey its awesome and i am hungry!!!
and you're jealous!!


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over due update

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:25 pm

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well now that sumer has hot full on. I guess a lot has changed. I have mowed and tilled the spring section of garden and planted a cover crop of cow peas and millet to suppress weeds and provide organic matter for the soil. i will then plant that in late AUG for fall lettuces and brussels sprouts and a couple other things.
here are some pictures from current gardening time
i am collecting seed from my spring lettuces this picture shows my butter head lettuces with flowers.

these next two shots are of tomatillos. my first venture with these, the plants are huge and covered with fruit.. very prolific and can't wait to make green salsa.

ohh yeah before i forget... the giant pumpkin project i blogged earlier..... dead!! they all died.. i have tried pumpkins twice here and both years they never made it... ohh well we try and try again....
until next time!!!! happy gardening



here are a couple shots of sunflowers i planted


tomatoes and the related troubles...
DR neal variety. this one yielded me a whopper!! 1 pound 7 ounce fruit...

the tomato patch

san marzanos..huge paste tomatoes... marinara here i come

its not all fun and games i got hit with a case of tomatoe spotted wilt virus. according to folks an insect transmits this disease and it has no cure..
here is what the stages look like
brown , black spots, yellowing leaves

then dying limbs

then the plant goes next

ohh well i lost 5 plants... but over planted so i still have many left.
few random other shots
watermelons

peppers galore again.... anaheims and Corno Di Toro






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garden issues

Category: Garden @ ECO | Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 6:44 pm

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as promised from yesterday i have taken some photos to address my issues in the garden this year .
first ill show you how the cauliflower is coming along, i do not think it will mature at all this year, remember i lost 20 of 24 from the late freeze this year.
some is alive but not doing anything really..

my real concern this year however has been my tomato and peppers. i start my own seeds, they are well over a month old and very small , very yellow and sickly,

as you can see the one in the foreground above it nice an the one behind is a lil droopy

tomatillos are also in bad shape


this next shot if of my remaining peppers

these too are well over a month old and not ready .
this is my mainstay for my garden to make salsa and tomato sauce, this will be a hard pill to swallow if they fail.
so my early hypothesis is that i have bad soil. i bought a cheap potting mix. DON'T do it!!! i think it may be acidic and locking up nutrients.. i watered the remaining peppers with a mix of fish emulsion (SUPER STINKY) today. to see if i can help them along. the tomatillos and tomatoes i planted at that really small size, to see if they do better in my soil which i know is at least more balanced, due to my soil report this year. i hope they kick in and do well. i am babying them so they make it in the soil that early.
now for a lighter entry, the FUN STuff
here is my giant pumpkin mound

this is one of my best raddichio plants i love watching it grow, its pretty


i have been eating out of the lettuce patch all week!!!!

here is an overview of the spring section, beets, snap peas, carrots, lettuces

here is a better look at the beets and carrots, i hope to eat some this next week or two, not really ready...just yet... patience grasshopper!!!

i planted watermelon and my second corn plating this past weekend
corn patch here, first planting 2.5 weeks old, new planting 3 days old


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