Garden News

The summer garden is in full swing. While I've had some set backs; the dog eating some plants, a couple stink bugs eating the 'matos, a few plants getting burnt in the sun, sprouts not sprouting, things are going fairly well in my little seventy square feet of city dirt.

When I dug up the ground that was covered with creeping grass and a multitude of weeds and laid down my simple garden frames, I knew I was in for some weeding since I didn't use anything to kill off the unwanted growth. So far it hasn't been too bad. Some stray grasses and weeds poke through here and there, some worse than others but a quick pull and they're gone. If I stay on top of it, it's really not a problem.

But somewhere during the earth turning and seed planting, I got an unexpected surprise. A shoot came up near the snap peas and lemon grass, a place I didn't plant anything and I didn't know what it was. It didn't look like a weed.

I have very limited plant knowledge but this didn't seem to be something I wanted to yank out just yet. It wasn't close enough to harm the other plants by choking them out so I let it be. I could always pull it later. Plus I had a fair idea of what it could be.

It grew. It vined. It got little flowers on it. And yesterday I found this.

And this.

These are the kind of funny things that happen when you garden with kids and don't crouch over them, watching like a hawk that they do everything exactly as you tell them. Seeds get planted that you don't know about and you get plesant surprises in the form of baby watermellons. Watermellon being one of Emmy's favorite food groups, I'm really hoping these babies thrive and she gets to savor the labors of her works. Even if they weren't what was intended.

Drive Thru Lunch

Fresh from my front yard.

It's nice when you can walk outside and pick up lunch on the way from the mailbox. There is romaine, bok choy and some various lettuces (arugula and something else I think, I can't remember what I planted).

These little guys were ready to go. It's not much but it is a start. The front guy is a teeny zucchini that was getting stunted underneath the rapidly growing plant. The strawberry got gobbled up by Max. The broccoli and tomato will join the greens above. I had hoped for a few snap peas but it's getting too hot and the zucchini is taking over their spot. The other snap peas that are in a pot got dug up by Leeloo. Naughty dog but I still love her.

For those of you that are new to the blog last year was a disaster in the garden. I didn't even get what I harvested today during the entire year. Blight prevailed on everything. Harvesting from my own patch of Earth is more fulfilling that I thought it'd be.

There is something...connective about filling bellies I care about with stuff I grew. It seems much more nourishing and filling. Something just plain out right about it all.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

My Garden Grows

I realized I haven't posted much about my garden since we had the influx of aphids. So, here is one. As far as I can tell, the ladybugs did the trick. I haven't seen damage in the garden. The weather has been consistently getting warmer, a sure sign those hot summers are quickly round the bend. The strawberries and broccoli are loving the weather.

Which means I think I might even get in a small harvest fairly soon. Though I have to look up the correct time to harvest broccoli, some has gone to flower so I think I messed up... The blueberries aren't ripening as quickly as I think they should so there's another thing on the list to check. Perhaps they'd do well with some sort of fertlizer? or not?

These are the zucchini I started from seeds. They're doing really well. Again, a lot of hope that I'll be shopping for produce in my front yard in the next few months.

The new tomato plants are flowering and this one has some little guys already. They're really close to the ground though so I'm a little concerned they won't make it. The three tomato plants really, really, really love the bunny poop I've been shoveling around them every other week or so. Duncan's earning his keep. Speaking of the bunny, he's getting a shave as soon as I work up the nerve to do it. soon.

 

The fig has new growth as do the romaine. The lower right corner is the size I bought them at (why those two aren't thriving I'm not sure. Again, mental note to check that.).

Speaking of growth (the segues just keep a'comin'!) Leeloo is getting huge. Well, huge for a puppy. When we got her the last weekend in February she was about eight pounds. Now she's about thirteen. Using a Tonka Truck as reference (is there any better way?) here are her before and now.

And just because this isn't loaded with enough photos...

Tomato parade

Remember a few weeks ago I told you about the secret Florida growing season that happens in the winter? I had counted thirty seven plus tomatoes on my cherry and beefsteak vines. That's just two measly little vines. They're troopers, I tell ya. Well, the little known growing season has one drawback, it actually does get below freezing when the weather happens to get cold down here.

Many of those green tomatoes were sacrificed to the season. Six 'mato's made it.  One was a beefsteak.

I'm just so gosh darn giddy about the few that made it I got a little silly taking photos.

Which I suppose is a little sad because it's barely enough for one large salad...

...for just me. But these six beauts are what it's all about. That funny little feeling I get harvesting even the meagerest of crops. It makes me happy. Fulfills some primal thing in my bones.

 
Plus they're the reddest, prettiest things I've seen in a while. Left to ripen on the vine instead of prepicked before their prime. I should have snapped a photo of them next to the gigantic pale one I got at the market.
 

I don't even mind that the beefsteak was a bit stunted. He had a hard time but still made it to the plate.

I suppose that's all we can ask for in life.

We have worms

We've had them for about six months. They're contageous, too. At least to a certain type of person.

Homesteading in the city can be a hard thing. Especially when you're working with the few square feet of dirt we have. Our entire lot is about 30 wide by 100 long and it's got a house, shed, and parking on it. That leaves little for the myriad of outdoor activities we try to persue; playing, hanging laundry, water collecting, hammock swinging, gardening and last but not in the most least, composting. It's not feasible with the large collection of wild animals in the city and the limited ground resources to have a large multi-tiered compost area. That's where the worms come in folks.

While I'm still learning the quirks of tending natures composters, we've successfully raised hearty fat red worms in our front yard. We've had to pluck out grubs that infiltrated and clean out the bins when ants invaded. Finding that right mix of greens and browns can be tricky. So far, I've found that my mistakes haven't seemed to harm my wormies. Though I worry about the upcoming cold. The weather's finally turned chill. The photos were taken today.

It started out with a black tiered bin specially made for our purpose and two pounds of worms, shipped to me live off ebay (you really can get anything online) in coconut coir for under $20.  I feed them about once a week or whenever I have scraps. Worms can eat half their body weight in organic matter in a day. Doesn't sound like much? What if you have three to five pounds of worms wriggling in your bins? See, that's a lot of table scraps, people.  Usually, the days I process fruits or veggies for freezing or dehydrating is feeding day. I don't have a large enough outfit to compost everything we dispose of...yet.

These quiet garden helpers hang out inconspicuosly in the front yard on what is supposed to be a dining table that gets mostly gardening use. There is no smell and they really need very little attentions. Every couple weeks I empty out the bottom drain and feed my plants safe, natural liquid fertlizer.

It can be fairly inexpensive depending on the set up you choose -and there are many and varied to pick from - but be sure to remember the make and model if you need to expand your set up. I found our set up on sale with free shipping, I think it was somewhere around $70. I added a few more bins later on (that's why it's helpful to remember the brand/type you bought!). The worms proliferate all on their own after your first batch. If you end up with too many you can help a neighbor set up their own wormery or use them for bait. It's a great way to make your own organic fertilizer, dispose of scraps and maybe even throw in a homeschooling lesson.

If I've piqued your interest in starting your own worm farm here are some helpful links:
http://www.redwigglerworms.com/
http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/worm-composting.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Tray-Compost-System-Factory-Terracotta/dp/B000S6LZCS
http://www.savvygardener.com/Features/worm_composting.html

My Butterfly Garden

Seeds have been bought

Yesterday night I got a reprieve from tugging along 5 kids while shopping. It's amazing how quickly things can get done sometimes. I dashed through Borders looking for some Solstice books (If you're looking let me save you time, they have NONE in the store), popped into Whole Foods for Emmy's Kwee-wee (kiwi) and wadermewen (watermellon), strolled through the turmultous Target for a couple odds and ends and then headed over to Home Depot to check out tomato stakes. The ones I have are getting quickly swamped by those luxurious vines.

I didn't find the stakes I wanted, they must have come from Lowes, but I did oogle their seed displays and, quite alarming for mid-December, potted veggies and herbs for over twenty minutes. It was a plesant surprise to see the three racks of seeds including a very nice Organic section. I had been buying my seeds through Peaceful Valley and have had good success with a fair number of them. The snap peas that are going nuts are from there as is the hearty cherry tomato vine. These seeds are either Burpee or Ferry Morse and besides not being able to resist purchasing those colorful packets of wonder, I get a military discount to boot.

I had to tear myself away from the robust 6-8" potted plants. They called to me "Crystal, you know you want to expand! We're already hearty and a good bit grown!" I envisioned heading out today and giving them homes in the empty container I have sitting all composted and ready for tenants. Somehow I resisted their lure. Which is good because we aren't out of the impending cold weather yet. I'm waiting to see how my garden does after that first hard frost rolls through. I'm assuming we'll get at least one this season. They'd also have been sitting on the porch for goodness knows how long since it's raining today and we're going to be busy this weekend.

I do realize you can plant in the rain. The issue is that I have lots of "helpers" that would want to join me and we're already fighting colds.

There is something about a packet of seeds that does something to that certain type of person. Perhaps its the anticipation of getting dirty while you work in the sun. Maybe it's something much deeper than that. A soul knowledge that roots us in the Earth, telling our bones that these little things can grow to sustain us. It's humbling really, to think at a point in time, before grocery stores and frozen foods, people relied wholly on their care of these wee beans. Amazing, really.

I picked up some old standbys; dill, summer squash, zucchini, bell peppers, butternut, canteloupe and lavender. Adding in some new friends to the mix; lettuces, carrots, watermellon and broccoli.Some I have grown before but some sort of garden plague had distroyed. We'll be starting much much earlier this season to hopefully pull in a crop before the summer comes. Next will be plotting and making new "earth" boxes (homemade ones) to house the upcoming harvest. We'll see how a year under my belt will benefit the coming crops.

Maybe it's not so bad.

Yesterday I posted about my prolific tomatoes. At the time I had guestimated two dozen. I hadn't actually counted them. To be honest, I thought I was exaggerating a little. So, today I went out, armed with camera, to take a photo of these quickly ripening gems Total count, folks? Thirty seven. And that's including three Beefsteaks. Holy cow. This past year I collected about that much though the entire season. I counted myself lucky to have gotten those wee cherry 'matos to fill a pint box my very first year on my singular vine. At some point that vine is going to get it's very own post with me being all existential.

After the summer of fighting those damnable shield bugs -whom I still have nightmares about chasing me- then getting hit with the stink bugs, nearly drowning and then scortching in the drought I had pretty much thrown in the towel for the year. I still tend the garden but it doesn't take near as long and there's not much happening. At least until recently.

Lo and behold, Florida has a winter growing season. With all my loudly vocalized annoyance with the heat, I bite my tounge when I lay eyes on those container gardens. So far we've had fair rain and sunny days. Sometimes the wind gets a bite in it. But the thing I relish most is the lack of those bastard bugs. Yeah, it's hot here. Yeah, everything is still green and probably always will be, but hell, maybe I'll just have to swallow down the bitching avid complaining with my iced tea because heck if I'm not over the moon about it.

Snap Pea Soil Leviathan

 

Like visions of Mary in crazy things, tell me this doesn't look like a dragon.

IKEA for the homestead

Who would have looked at Ikea and thought "I could get some great homestead stuff there" but

the uber-modern blue and yellow beacon is chock full of homesteading surprises. Part of the allure of Ikea is the design concept of working effectively and efficiently in small spaces; a

concept well in the heart of a homesteader. Like many fancy, overpriced city apartments, Homesteads generally run on the smaller side, combining work functions in single spaces. Homesteading and Urban life also parallel in economics; finding the least expensive and best usable item for the space available. "Going Green" is a concept that spans both environments

and is no stranger to Ikea. Limited packaging, reusable bags, and sustainably made products are inviting for any homestead.

But whether your homestead is city limited or rurally spread, Ikea has a lot of great items that

will assist you in your day to day. Here are a few of my favorite homestead items.

ANTONIUS

Height adjustable clothes dryer

$14.99

The best idea for hanging laundry on a rainy day. Spacing saving design; lower to hang clothes and raise up to dry, store it raised up and you can hang laundry virtually anywhere in your house without taking up valuable floor space. Some ideas are over the tub, over the kitchen sink, on a screen porch. Just remember that wet clothes can drip! And don't forget the clothes pins! IKEA also sells the best I've ever used, 50 pack for $1.99.

SYLLING

Fold-away guest bed

$79.99

This bed is great for guests, camping, sleepovers and rv's. Lightweight and easily stored. Would fit under a bed and hang in the back of a closet with ease, even with the matress. No need for a seperate sleep area for guests, cheaper than a Murphy bed and takes up less space. Plus the added benefit of being easily portable, take them with you when you go visiting or want to hole up with sick or expecting livestock!

NEKTARIN

Self-watering Plant Pot

$4.99 to $9.99 depending on size

I can't wait to get my hands on some of these pots! They're basically small "Earth Boxes". They have a pipe that goes down to the bottom chamber to provide water from the bottom up, encouraging the plants to shoot down firm roots to get to the water. The small is 9x9 and the larger almost 12x12 with indentations for carrying on the outside. These would be wonderful for an urban homesteader that has limited outdoor space and great for rural homesteaders to use in greenhouses and kitchen gardens. There is also a larger pot on wheels that is self-watering that runs $19.99 and is round.

IVAR

Wooden, Modular Shelving

Price varies

I can't wait to get my pantry set up with the IVAR system. A wonderful solid, untreated wood shelving system that fits virtually any space. The shelves are adjustable to 1" increments providing the perfect fitting space with little waste. Shelves vary from 17" to 33" lengths and 12" to 20" depths. Storage drawers, cabinet doors, corner shelves, clothes railsand shoe racks make this system virturally indespensable. The photo above isn't from IKEA, it's our diningroom wall set up with IVAR as shelving for books, homeschooling, kitchen tools and emergency supplies. As you can see, we used one desk with a trofast bin and rails to make a desk with pull out drawer and it's own work light.

We're considering using the IVAR for an entertainment center/bookshelf area, our final homeschool room, shelving in the shed and barn and the pantry/utility room.

Have fun shopping (I know I do!) and remember products can be used for more than one function!

Garden Progress (or lack there of)

Black Mission Fig

This being my first year I feel like I'm working with only the troubleshooting garden handbook. I've gotten every kind of issue out there; aphids, snails, assassin beetles, ants, shield beetles, floods, drouts, no germination, lack of polinization and fertilization. So far this entire season I've harvested a pint of cherry tomatoes, about 2tbs dried of basil leaves and dill leaves and that's it. Out of a garden that had cherry tomatoes, a corn stalk (yes, just one), sage, basil, dill, butternut squash, lavender, fig, red and yellow peppers, pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini and lettuces. And seeds that included those plus yellow squash, carrots, beefstake tomatoes, watermellon and cantelope that never even sprouted.

New growth on the tomato vines

A very tiny cucumber

We started the garden using 18 gallon plastic totes we found on sale, pond baskets and pvc pipe to make our own "earth boxes" with organic soil. These boxes work out great except the aphids and ants had a great time in the wonderfully rich soil. Trying to stay organic I used a lot of methods to get the buggers out of there but ultimately had to turn to orange oil based insecticide and bio-chemical based ant granules. Like I said, it's a learning process!

Momma and baby Aloe

If I've learned anything this year it's not to give up. And tried to learn from my mistakes. The season isn't over yet. Here in Florida we'll be going strong for a few more months. The peppers look promising and the basil is growing strong. I have three small 1" or so cukes that I'm holding out hope for and blooms and blooms of butternut squash I'm waiting for just one of those babies to go to fruit. The fig is progressing with foliage and new blooms and tiny cherry tomatoes are making a comeback for a second harvest this season.

Thriving Basil

After dousing the tomato plants with the orange oil based insecticide which really didn't do much unless you drown them in it (in which case, just about anything would have worked, drowning is drowing) a beautiful silver frog moved into the vines and magically, after watching a very plump looking froggie for a few days) the assassin beetles disapeared. Then I couldnt' find the froggie anymore and a few days later, I found this teeny guy hanging out on a leaf. Less than half the size of the other, I'm thinking she left me a baby to plump up on my butternut squash.

Baby Froggie visiting my garden

Red and Yellow Bell Peppers

Overall, this gardening season has been a little disheartening. I have learned lots of information. One of my very favorite sites is http://www.blogger.com/www.homesteadingtoday.com The people there are just a well of great advice and experience. It really encourages me to see more experienced farmers and gardeners,both urban and rural, sharing their stories. The site isn't mainly gardening, but all facets of homesteading. Be sure to check it out!

Butternut Squash Blossoms