Mulching the External Border and an Accidental Harvest

I was able to make it to the plot today for a few hours' labor while the kids were taking afternoon naps.  Since year two of our residence in this plot, I've wanted to try to deter weeds from needing to be pulled.  My thinking is that if I can prevent them, I won't need to waste time weeding them and can spend my time working on the fun stuff.

Since I'd weeded the entryway a few days ago, I wanted to get newspaper and mulch down.  Luckily, I had a crate of newspaper all nicely stacked and taped together for easy application still left in my garage.  In no time at all, I had the newspaper down and ready to put down mulch.

A short time later that mulch was done.  I then tackled weeding the border to the external path then put down the mulch over top.  I didn't use newspaper since it's an eternal area.  32 cubic feet of mulch later and I was finished.

Just as I was finishing Wifey and the Two Kids (hmm.....sounds like a 70's disco band) arrived to see how things were going.  Unfortunately, I hadn't told The Boy that I didn't want anything picked since I didn't think anything was really ready.  As a result, an undersized bell pepper met its untimely demise.

The accidental harvest:

• A single 2" long, 1.5" wide bell pepper

Harvest, Snow Pea Trellises, Leaf Cutters vs Sprouts

Another day, another trip to the plot.  The Boy came along and helped me with a good bit out there.  We planted more radishes among gaps where some hadn't germinated.  We also planted more Daikon radishes.

We also trellised the snow peas.  I'm glad we got that done when we did.  The snow peas were starting to wrap around each other.

One thing that got me a little concerned is that one of the brussels sprouts plants is being attacked by leaf cutter insects of some sort.  I need to look into what's attacking it and how to best deter it.  Oh, the wonders of trying out new plants.

The harvest was mighty successful.  Once again, I found green beans growing where I thought they'd be done and the tomatoes were another good harvest.  I also pulled some of the Egyptian Walking Onions for a batch of kimchi I'm going to make.

The tally:

• 1 lb 9 oz tomatoes
• 1.3 oz green beans
• 0.2 oz cayenne peppers
• 6 oz carrots
• 6 oz walking onions

Harvest, Brussels Sprouts, Lettuce/Snow Pea Weeding

I had some time yesterday evening to go to the plot so off I went!  One big reason is that Wifey bought some organic Brussels Sprouts starters at a local farmers' market and needed them planted.  With the tomatoes and peppers still doing well and the other fall produce (transplanted Egyptian Walking onions, shallots, Daikon radish, snow peas, and lettuce) having already been planted I was pretty stumped about where I was going to plant them.  Also, having never grown them I quickly read up on what was needed; I was shocked to learn they need 24" of space.

Thankfully, we had inherited a few faux terra cotta pots from a neighbor of ours so I took two out to the plot to assist.  There is now a pot next to the gate (see pic) and another in the back left next to Audrey 3 (aka the moonflowers), one planted next to the compost bin where snow peas had been, one in a tomato box on the other side of Audrey 3, and one in the former bean box where I'd removed the trellis.  Unfortunately, one is still homeless and residing in our kitchen until I figure out a home for it.

Once all the festivity with the brussels sprouts was finished, I tackled weeding the lettuce and snow pea box.  I'd done a fair amount a week or so ago, but hadn't been able to finish.  More accomplished.

Once everything was watered, I harvested some tomatoes and cayenne peppers.  I got home just in time to turn the tomatoes over to Wifey who was working on canning some.  Unfortunately, in my haste to deliver everything, I neglected to take a picture or weigh everything.

The tally was:

• 8 San Marzano tomatoes
• 4 cayenne peppers

Harvest, Weeded Entry, Plastic on Border

This evening my benevolent Wifey looked the other way while I went to the plot for about an hour and a half.  I really wanted to make some headway on a few things I've been wanting to get accomplished. Tonight, I attacked weeding the entryway so I can put down newspaper and mulch over top once and for all.  I also sunk one of the pieces of sheet plastic along the fence border I share with our Korean neighbor.

As I often do when out at the plot, I weeded along some of the box borders.  I came across a volunteer Cosmos plant that has come up along the bean box next to the watermelon box.

I hadn't planned on harvesting anything, but as the sun was setting many of the tomatoes looked quite red.  Despite my thinking earlier that there weren't any tomatoes worth picking, I picked some after all.  I also came across some small beans that were growing.  This is further incentive for me to try to have two bean crops next year -- one from May to July and another from late July through September.

The harvest:

• 15.6 oz tomatoes
• 1.8 oz beans

Wifey's Photos

As I mentioned earlier, my wife takes some pretty nice pictures with her iphone.  Some day I can only hope to take pictures as attractive as hers.  She really has a good eye for this stuff.

The Harvest

Made it to the plot after a weekend away.  Everything needed watering and I suspected that tomatoes were in dire need of harvest.  They were.

While I watered, Wifey meandered around and took pictures of some of the plants.  I'm quite thankful for three reasons.

1. The camera on my cell phone stinks as I've mentioned before.  
2. She has a good eye for what would look good as a photo.
3. When I'm at the plot, I'm generally focused on what needs to be done rather than appreciating the beauty that's there.

I'll upload her pictures in another post.

The Harvest.

The tally:

• 1 lb. 5 oz tomatoes
• 1.3 oz green peppers
• .4 oz cayenne peppers
• 1.2 oz beans
• One 5" long carrot
• Two 1.5" long carrots
• One 1" long carrot

Does gardening pay off? Part 2

A month ago I did a blog post detailing an inquiry I have about whether gardening pays off in the wallet.

I did a little better price checking earlier this week during my lunch break.  I made a trip to the MOMs Organic Market closest to work and recorded current prices for produce similar to what I'm growing.  Bear in mind that this is getting to the end of the prime growing season for much of what I have in the plot.  It's notable that they only carry organic produce, though. 

Here's what I found:

• Garlic - $7.99/lb
• Shallots - $5.99/lb
• Watermelon (similar in size to what I grew) - $7.99/ea
• Green Beans - $3.99/lb
• Roma Tomatoes - $3.99/lb
• Bell Peppers - $2.99/lb
• Note: For comparison's sake, a pepper that was approx 3" x 4" long weighed in at 1/2 lb.
• Radishes - $6.99/lb
• Daikon Radish - $1.99/lb
• Scallions - $1.79/ one-half lb

Some of the prices are close to what I found in my research last month.  Some are a bit off which is partially attributable to change in growing season and the fact that much of what I found in my online searches weren't organic produce.

Once I'm done with this year's growing season, I'll do a final post including a screenshot of my spreadsheet.  When I do that post, I'll also show the prices I ended up using in my calculations.

Daikon Growth and Another Harvest

It had been a few days since my last plot visit so I meandered out there this evening.  I'm happy to report that the lettuce and snow peas are still growing.  No picture, but the snow peas are in need of trellising.  I'll have to do that this weekend.  The Daikon radish I planted recently is also coming up.

I also had a pretty decent harvest.  A number of peppers (cayenne and bell) are starting to grow and there are still a number of tomatoes on the vine awaiting reddening.

The totals:

• 1 lb 10 oz tomatoes
• 0.4 oz beans (I'm shocked that a few plants are still producing some)
• 0.8 oz cayenne peppers
• 39 ground cherries from the single plant that's left
  

An Evening Harvest

I went to the plot last night with the idea of picking some veggies and remove one of the remaining two bean trellises.  I ended up chatting with a plot neighbor for a bit so the trellis work didn't happen.  I ended up deadheading marigolds, rerouting some of the tomatoes on the watermelon trellis, and doing a little weeding in the boxes.  I was particularly impressed with the sunset (definitely getting to be Autumn) and how the moon looked against the tomatoes some of which are every bit of 8' tall.

The harvest was rather small.  I'd be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed.  I shouldn't be surprised, though, considering how thoroughly we went through everything over the weekend.  There are still a number of tomatoes ripening on the vine as well as peppers (cayenne and bell) on the vine.  In a few days, they should be ready.  I was also surprised to see a number of bean flowers on the trellis I'd planned on removing.

The haul included:

• 8.9 oz tomatoes
• 0.9 oz beans
• 0.3 oz cayenne peppers
• 19 ground cherries

Harvest, Planted Carrots & Daikon & Radishes, Lots-o-Work

It's hard to believe, but I made THREE trips out to the plot today.   It was great weather and Wifey humored me in my attempts to make some progress preparing for winter and planting Fall crops.

Today's accomplishments included:

• Screened a good chunk (approx 1.5' depth) of the compost bin to remove residual vegetation that hadn't broken down this year.  This was done so I could replenish nutrients in the soil and avoid needing to buy more topsoil and/or leafgro.
• Removed the three ground cherries from the larger of the two boxes, replenished some of the soil in the box from the compost bin, planted Daikon radish seeds I purchased last year in their place, and fertilized all that.  It'll be interesting to see if there'll be anything to harvest before things get overly cool.  Might also give me reason to look into trying row covers.
• Filled in the areas I where I removed marigolds for Wifey last week with soil from the compost bin.  I then planted carrots in those locations.
• Added some radish seeds in the new radish box (formerly a cucumber box where the cucumbers didn't grow) then fertilized.
• Added some bone meal to a few volunteer tomato plants where the tomatoes weren't ripening.  Also added bone meal to the cucumber plants.  Nothing got beyond flowering in the one box this year.  I figure I might as well experiment and see if a lack of phosphorous was the problem.
• Watered everything.
• Picked all the green beans off the pole bean trellises.  Shelled most of them for drying and attempts to grow with next year.
• Cut down the pole beans in the box next to the runner beans then broke down the trellis.  I threw out the bamboo since it was dried out and brittle.  The fence material was saved for next year, though.  What a great find and free, too!
• Did a bit of weeding here and there.  Low on my list of priorities for today, but still necessary.
• Removed a marigold from the box next to the compost bin for Wifey's landscaping at the house then transplanted it in a pot on the porch.
• Installed two pieces of the 1/8" thick plastic along the fence I share with the Korean gentleman next door.  He has mint that keeps coming into the plot.  Hopefully, this will deter it somewhat.  I still need to add more, but this is a start.

It was a good day  Lots of progress made.  I feel accomplished.  Also, during one of the trips, Wifey took the kids and dog for a walk out at the plot site.  She said that our plot is roughly the 4th best looking one out there with the other three belonging to people who have a lot more time and experience than I/we do.  I take that as quite the compliment.  It's also nice to know that our plot is attractive and is pretty successful and I have a lot more to learn.

Lastly, I really didn't want to pick anything given we picked a lot of items Friday and a bit yesterday, however, The Boy can't help himself and wants to be helpful by harvesting items.  It's nice that he wants to be involved.  The bounty for today:

• 3.3 oz tomatoes
• 0.9 oz beans (this will be the last pole bean crop for the year)
• 0.4 oz cayenne peppers
• One 2" long green pepper
• Four 1.5"  long carrots
• Roughly 40 ground cherries (donated to a food kitchen during the 2nd trip to the plot)

 

Harvest, Transplanted Walking Onions, Shallots Planted

Wifey, The Boy, and I made a whirlwind trip to the plot this afternoon.

Wifey planted her shallots in the bed formerly occupied by the sunflowers.  The Boy picked a harvest of carrots, ground cherries, tomatoes, green peppers, and snacked on some green beans that couldn't have been enjoyable.  They were beans I was saving in an attempt to use them for planting next spring.  While they did that, I added some topsoil in the flower box I cleared out yesterday and turned all that over.

Shortly thereafter, Wifey transplanted some of the Walking Onion bulbs that had fallen on the ground and started sprouting.  I fertilized all of the newly planted items, added bone meal around some of the tomato plants where the fruit wasn't turning red, dead-headed a bunch of marigolds, and supervised some of the picking The Boy was doing.  Sorry, no pictures of the boxes with the shallots and onions planted.  Didn't think they looked particularly interesting.

Quite a lot was accomplished in 20 minutes!

The tally:

• Eleven 1" long carrots and four 2" long carrots
• Two 2" long green peppers
• 1.6 oz tomatoes (three of them)
• Two ground cherries

Harvest, a Mantis, Fall is Upon Us

I made it to the plot for a bit this evening.  Between a need to harvest after a few days and the need to start preparing for fall planting, it was really necessary.  I'm still trying to sort out everything I want to do for fall planting, but I know I want to transplant some of the Egyptian Walking Onions and Wifey has some shallots she purchased at a farmers market.  She said that the small amount she purchased was only 50 cents, surprisingly.  As a result, I planned ahead and had a contractor trash bag for the contents of the sunflower box and the smaller flower box with the Cosmos and Nasturtiums in it.

It was pretty neat (although not shocking) to see a decent sized (approx 5" long) Praying Mantis as I was clearing out the flower box.  I enjoyed watching it do its thing for a few minutes before it went on its way looking for a new home and I resumed clearing out the boxes.

The harvest was about as good as could be expected given it's toward the end of the summer growing season.  At least the tomatoes are continuing their resurgence.

The tally:

• 1 lb 12.4 oz tomatoes
• 0.7 oz cayenne peppers
• A bunch of ground cherries
• One 3" long carrot
• One green bean

Harvest, Late Bean Crop, Planning for Next Year

With the weather being very dry for the last few weeks, I made a trip out to the plot to water earlier this evening.  Unfortunately, the hose died very near the sprayer due to development of a split.  Thankfully, I had a Swiss Army knife with me.  I cut off the end and proceeded to just use my thumb to diffuse the water stream when I needed to.  Considering the hose was pretty cheap (both cost and quality) when we bought it a few years (3?) ago, I'm not surprised at the failure.

As far as the harvest is concerned, the tomatoes continue to enjoy their resurgence.  I also was happy to finally pull some carrots.  One, in particular, looked very good.  It is (likely a "was" now since I think The Boy was going to have it with his lunch today) approx 4" long and around 1/2" in diameter.  It was so nice that I had to take a picture.

The harvest totals for today were:

• 1 lb 15.3 oz tomatoes
• 1.4 oz beans (mostly from the late planted crop)
• One 4" long carrot, four small carrots
• 43 ground cherries
• 0.3 oz cayenne peppers

In looking at the picture above, the tomato in the bottom right doesn't seem to belong.  Well, it's a volunteer.  In talking to Wifey, we think that it may have been one of the infamous (in her family, anyway) "Robbins Avenue Tomatoes" that are known due to her grandfather supposedly having manually cross-pollinated tomatoes for quite some time (30 years?) to try to create and keep only the largest tomatoes.  They also tend to grow exceptionally tall (7' is the norm).

Also noting in the top harvest picture above is that it shows 4 sizes/types of tomatoes.  The Romas and the single medium-sized were intentional (San Marzano and Old Virginia) that I planted this year.  The smallest and largest were volunteers from last year.

Notes to review as I plan for next year.  
1. When I finally pulled the last bed of snow peas, I decided to try planting a late crop of beans just out of idle curiosity.  I figured it was too late in the season for them to do much, but thought it was worth a shot.  Well, they're actually producing.  I never really helped them out by trellising, fertilizing, or applying the bug dust early on -- I only have been watering since planting them -- but other than some Mexican Bean Beetle damage, they're doing pretty well.

In the offseason, I'll be working on a plan to figure out when/where to try for a late bean crop next year.  I need to identify a crop that I'll be pulling out of a box in late June to then put in a late crop of beans for late in the season.

2. I also need to remember to try to plant carrots and radishes I intend to harvest separately once the tomatoes and peppers get established.  Not enough sun gets to those crops to do good underplanting.

Harvest, Growing Snow Peas and Lettuce, and Transplanted Marigolds

I made it to the plot for a little bit in the early evening.  I wasn't able to water when I went out last night and had to do it today. The radishes, snow peas, and lettuce were pretty thirsty, after all.  The snow peas are noticeably larger with each approx 1" above the soil now.  I imagine The Boy will be particularly excited to harvest those.  The snow peas are on the left side of the picture with lettuce here and there on the right.  The taller things in the middle are, I think, garlic that decided not to sprout until recently.  I decided to leave whatever it is in there just out of curiosity.

A chore on my "Honey Do" list for the weekend was to retrieve a few of the marigolds from the plot to take home for Wifey.  She's working on doing a fall clean-up for her mothers' group gathering in October and wanted some of the marigolds for color.  Filling the role of "Dutiful Husband" is yours truly.  I even was able to spare two yellow plants with a number of blooms left even after I deadheaded a bunch of them.  It's hard to tell size just by looking at the picture, but they're quite large.  Side by side, they must be three feet wide.  The two spanned the distance inside the truck (a F-150) from the passenger side door to the driver's side of the console.

I harvested a number of tomatoes and a bunch of the ground cherries.  The poor ground cherry plants look awfully limp and pathetic.  It must be getting close to the end of the season for those.

The tally:

• 1 lb 2.8 oz of tomatoes
• A lot of ground cherries

Quick turnaround harvest

A plot trip this evening was a rather quick turnaround.  I wasn't able to water due to time constraints, but harvested tomatoes, beans, and a lone cayenne pepper for eating as well as a number of beans for the purpose of using for seeding next year.

The tally:

• 1 lb 15.4 oz tomatoes
• 1.8 oz beans
• 0.2 oz cayenne peppers

A harvest resurgence, snow peas/lettuce/radish sprouts are up!

Made it to the plot today to harvest stuff and water.  It's great to see more tomatoes ripening even if the beans are winding down.  There were also an amazing number of ground cherries to harvest.  Not surprising given the ground cherry plants are dying off now.

The harvest totals:

• 1 lb 9.4 oz tomatoes
• 1.9 oz cayenne peppers
• 2.5 oz beans
• A bazillion ground cherries

While out at the plot, I also was happy to see that the seeds I planted at the end of August are coming up!  In order below: Radishes, Snow Peas, Lettuce.

A Harvest

Made it to the plot to do some harvesting and water.  Nothing especially fantastic to report.

The tally:

• 9.1 oz tomatoes
• 6.3 oz beans
• 2.3 oz cayenne peppers