End of the Garden Year 2015

I know, I was supposed to keep everyone up to date and appraised on how the garden was going this year. Life, of course got in the way every time I thought about sitting down and writing. So now, it's November and the gardening year is past done. I can at least give a look back and provide an overview of how the year went.

For the year overall, the higher than usual heat and lower rains made things difficult. It was a constant struggle to keep the garden from completely drying out and getting absolutely nothing. As it was, if I missed a day or two of watering, the plants started to wither and I would have to try and get them back to something resembling normal. The rains finally came in September, but it was really too late to do any good. And it was a good thing I decided to leave a portion of the garden 'fallow' as they did finally come out to paint the house. They were able to do what they needed to do without endangering the plants.

For specific plants and results I'll start with the seeds. Green beans did well again, I think they seem to be the most adaptable of the plants. We were able to get a fair amount, and it was a nice compliment to our meals. Peas? Again, we got some but not a lot. It may have been the weather, or some other factor that seems to limit the yield. It was enough to add variety to our meals. The carrots were somewhat of a disappointment. They never really got going and so it was a continuing struggle to just keep them from dying. Onions? They also never really got going. I'm not sure what the issue was with them, but I think we can try those again the next time around.

Now for the plants. Tomatoes did fairly well this year, considering they generally do not do well in this part of the country. We got a number of tomatoes to add to our salads. The peppers actually produced a couple, but due to the constant fight for moisture, the flavor was not the best. Lemon cucumbers were the best producers of the bunch, and it was an interesting change from traditional cucumbers. We were only able to get one decent sized spaghetti squash, with two other tiny ones. It is waiting right now for a final decision as the vine it was on died before it was really ready. It may ripen, or it may rot.

As a final bit, this year was a mixed bag. We didn't get as much as I hoped, but that was more due to the weather causing problems than anything else. However, it wasn't so bad that I want to give up on it completely. Some different plants next year, and maybe even changing the direction of the rows of seeds might make a difference. Who knows?

Going to my happy place

Well, even though there are any number of things I could talk about, and waste everyone's electrons on my opinions (and who really cares about my opinions at this point when it's so much after the fact?) about those things, I'd rather spend my time talking about my garden. It's probably better for my blood pressure and health at this point to talk about that rather than politics or government. Besides, my opinions on both would probably shock people, and I don't want to deal with that. So, it's off to the garden we go.

And how are things growing right now? I'll start with the seeds I planted. As far as the beans go, they seem to be growing really well right now. The peas and onions are not doing quite as well as far as their amount and rate of growth, but the peas are at the point where they are beginning to produce pods. I was able to pick three pods the other day. So it looks like I will be able to at least get some peas to eat the same day. The onions appear to be at least holding their own. We'll get at least a few, and we should be able to enjoy them. The weather (which has been hotter and drier than other years) seems to have negatively affected them, at least in the growth department. The carrots are spotty, as usual. One of these times, I'm going to get a better turn out from them, but not this year. Still, some fresh carrots will be good in the fall.

Plants? The tomatoes seem to be holding their own, and given how what seems to be the conventional wisdom regarding growing tomatoes I'm very happy. We've got about 8-12 small tomatoes and they seem to be ripening. Again, not really enough to do much with, but enough we can enjoy them in a salad or something similar. The lemon cucumbers seem to be growing well, and they've started producing. I think I should have read up on them more. The consensus seems to be that they are very prolific in their fruit development, and I've got three plants. I guess I should be happy I didn't buy more than that. And finally the spaghetti squash. They seem to be quite content in spreading out. They appear to be attacking the lemon cucumbers, at least in this picture they seem to be. I've seen a few flowers, but no fruit yet.

With the dry weather, I've been going out on a fairly regular basis and watering the entire garden. This year, it's really been a requirement to water the garden, with the heat and lack of precipitation in order to prevent them from drying up and dying. It would be nice for some rain to come and help, but in the meantime I guess will continue on and see what comes.

Oh, no. The crazy man's at it again!

What do I mean by this? Well, specifically I mean that I've started up the garden again. I know, they are supposed to come and paint our house (it's a rental), but I've heard nothing, seen nothing, so as they say 'damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!'

I did play it a little cautious, as I decided to expand the area of the garden to allow for more items but at the same time I decided to leave the area closest to the house empty in case they do decide to show up and paint. Here is a picture of the current garden area after finishing planting, and one of the garden from two years ago (when I did this the last time) to show the difference.

I worked the ground up as follows: I tilled, then raked to remove the grass and moss. Then I went over it a second time with the tiller and again raked to complete the moss and grass removal (along with quite a few rocks. I think I found where they put all the rocks from when they built the house). I then went over it a final time with the tiller and raking to complete the rock removal (ha! I should know better. Growing up, I worked the same area for over 13 years and still came up with rocks). After that, I then put in the seeds and plants for this year. It ended up being a bit later than last time (by almost a month), but the soil was warmer, which I think will help in the long run.

What is on the agenda for this year's crops? It's going to be a mixed bag as usual. I've stuck to some of the standard vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans) for seeds. I've added some onions. They're 'super sweet' onions (not Walla-Wallas, and not Mayans as best I can tell) for some additional fun. And what about the plants? I've stuck to tomatoes and bell peppers. I'm hoping the additional space (both in the garden itself and between the plants) will allow the plants to do better than before. I'm cautiously optimistic about those. I've got some cucumbers (lemon? Never heard of them, but we'll see what happens) and spaghetti squash. The zucchini were gone by the time I got to buying plants, and the spaghetti squash will be helpful to me, as I can cook them and use them instead of pasta.

As with two years ago, I'll try and update you periodically so you can see how my garden grows. (wait, wasn't that a verse in a nursery rhyme?)

How I Learned to Stop Grumbling and Love Politics

Once again, I’ve decided I need to sit down and write something for this blog. I really can’t say why it takes so much effort sometimes to sit down and write. It’s not that I don’t have something to say, there are a lot of things I could comment on. Maybe it’s just the effort of trying to get my thoughts together to the point where they’re somewhat coherent. Anyway, I’ll hit a couple of big news stories and add my commentary. That should be fun, no?

I’ll hit the political side of things first. It appears the 2016 Presidential campaign season has begun in earnest. Major names officially declaring they’re running include (but certainly will not be limited to) Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson. If you’re curious about whether or not your favorite candidate is running, you can go to this site. 

My thoughts? It’s really early, so most of the candidates seem to be in a pack and not breaking free. Two of the more interesting choices so far are Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders. Why do I find Rand Paul interesting? To me, he’s attempting to claim the mantle his father had in the last two Presidential elections: that of the Libertarian who speaks to the individual freedoms this country was built on. It plays well to a certain percentage of the electorate, but doesn’t bode well for the general election. He’ll fire up the partisans, but not much else. I’ll be curious about his candidacy’s effect on Republicans. Sanders? To me, the interest centers on the fact he is a self-identified Democratic Socialist. Right now he appears to be playing the part of a Rand Paul for the Democrats, where he appeals to the partisans but that’s about it. Depending on how well he does, he could be the first identified Socialist since Eugene V. Debs ran in 1920 from prison to receive a significant portion of the vote. Personally, I think there are too many people who are still allergic to the term Socialist to vote for him. But I think it will be an interesting barometer of how our society views itself to see how many people agree with him to the point of voting for him. Again, I don't see him winning the nomination, but he could pull the Democrats farther to the left than usual.

Police in general seem to be sinking fast, as you can find mention of incidents involving police and how they treat people almost daily. Baltimore seems to have been the focus this last week, with the Freddie Gray incident, indictment of six police officers, and the riots after the funeral. It’s an unfortunate situation when people feel the need to express their disappointment, rage, and frustration in that way. On the other side, no matter what the situation you treat people as humanely as possible. The appeal of ‘can’t we all get along’ does apply to both sides. At the same time, you cannot discount the grievances of the citizens, or the concerns of the authorities. We’re all part of the same society, and we need to strike a balance. And that is something that is sorely and sadly missing at this point.

There are other things I could probably read, think about, and comment, but those are the two biggest. For me personally? Since it’s spring I’m trying to get the house and yard set for the summer to include a re-start of the garden. It’s been difficult since we didn’t do anything last year while waiting for the painting that never happened and the garden area grew back over. Additionally, I'm trying to expand the space to allow for more plants. We’ll see how that goes. I’ll get a picture in later, once I’ve got it set.

End of the Garden Year 2013

 

     It actually happened around the 4th of October (that’s when the frost hit the plants), but I haven’t taken the time to sit down and assess the gardening this year.  But, I figure I can take the time now, after all the plants were pulled, the ground tilled (yes, I’m in at least good enough condition to till – with lots of breaks) and I can start thinking about next year.

     As far as the plants grown from seeds, they were overall a success.  We were able to get green beans, peas, and carrots to use as fresh vegetables or to can.  We still have some pints of canned green beans and there are still some peas in the freezer.  We didn’t get quite as much as I might have hoped or wanted, but it was better than getting nothing.

     The plants did not do quite as well.  The green peppers just did not ever get going.  I think it was probably their placement, as they didn’t get quite enough sun to truly produce fruit.  The weather may have also played a factor.  The tomatoes weren’t too bad, we were able to get some for salads, but I didn’t get them caged or staked and the two plants we had fell over.  They still continued to produce fruit after falling over, but I didn’t get them off the plant before the frost hit.  Lost some, but not too many. 

     The cucumbers did OK, we got a couple that we could use in salads, but not enough to consider pickling.  The zucchini did not do very well.  We only got one or two small fruit, and there were quite a few others that spoiled on the plant.  We didn’t get any squash either.  Again, that might have been placement, as I don’t think I gave the plants enough room to spread out.

     So, how am I going to fix this for next year?  I’m certainly not planning to cut down on plants, so the only choice in the matter was to expand.  I decided to mark out where I wanted the garden for next year and ‘busted’ the sod.  I didn’t have enough time or energy to rake the area out, but I’m hoping that will make it easier come next spring.  I’ll also try and have more assistance when I actually start preparing the area.

     The bottom line for this year:  It was a definite learning experience, and there were enough good results for me not to be discouraged.  Next spring I intend to be back at it with an even bigger plot to work with.

Canning

 

Growing up, I assisted my parents for many years canning green beans, wax beans, carrots, tomatoes, applesauce, and pickles.  One of my prevalent childhood memories is sitting in the dining room many evenings during the summer and early fall with the canner steaming and rattling.  The pressure canner we had used specific weights (5 pound, 10 pound, 15 pound) you would put on a steam vent to build the pressure for canning. 

I mentioned a little while ago that I was going to can the green beans I picked from our garden.  We finally processed them the other day.  This was the first time I had ever tried canning on my own.  Finding the pressure canner, jars and lids was not difficult.  The pressure canner we picked up is different from the one I remember growing up is there only one weight (15 pounds) with a pressure gauge to measure the pounds of pressure inside of the canner.  You can still pick up pint and quart jars in stores, as well as lids and canning salt (you don’t use table salt because the minerals will end up as sediment in the bottom of the jar).

For this first go round, we only did 3 1/2 pints of green beans (that was all we had).  It was really weird to do that.  I was always in the cutting and filling of pints and quarts with the different fruits and vegetables we grew.  To actually be the person putting the water in, running the canner and getting them through the process was completely different.

 

We’re hoping to get more green beans (we even picked some up from the local farmers’ market to get additional pints) and carrots (store bought again at this point since my carrots are not yet ready).  To be able to have processed green beans and carrots without so much salt will help us as we try to change our diet.

Continuing down the garden path

 

Well, I’ve given up trying to comment on current events.  I’ve determined I’m either going to say something to offend everyone (shock the room as it were), or work myself into such a frenzy that it’s akin to wrestling a pig (we know how that goes).  So, I’m going to turn back to my continuing ‘experiment’ of the garden.

Right now, the peas appear to be on their last legs (most recent picking was only about a dozen or so pods), so I think we got all we’re going to get from them.  We were able to use them in some salads as well as to a couple of main dishes (stir fry).  We’ve got 3-4 meals worth frozen for later.  All in all, a decent showing.

What is really coming into play now are the green beans.  Here is a picture of the second and most recent picking (not a lot but looks like about 2 quarts worth if I can believe the line on the bowl):

So, what to do with those?  Can them, of course.  We picked up a pressure cooker/canner and some pint jars.  We got 4 pints (3 full and one 1/2 to 3/4 full) so far, and should be able to get some more as we go on. They definitely have potential.

What about the rest?  The carrots are continuing on, but I’m not completely sure how long I need to leave them in the ground – I remember leaving them till about labor day but that was when we were planting around memorial day.  These were planted at least a month earlier.  Tomatoes?  We seem to be getting some, and will have at least enough to accompany a meal, but not much else.  I think the pepper plants are just for show, as they don’t seem to be doing anything other than existing.  The cucumbers are starting to produce as well as the zucchini (why do I keep hearing the theme from ‘Jaws’ every time I mention zucchini?).

Of course I will give a final account once everything is in or done, but as of right now things are going at least as well if not better than I expected for a first year garden.