A baking and gardening journal. Mostly.
by A.J. Coltrane
Previous post here.
The zucchini are bouncing back nicely. The cucumbers, peppers, and patty-pans are finally getting into gear. The tomatoes are going nuts. Yesterday provided this:
Which made for the first taste comparison among the tomatoes. A “caprese” with goat cheese and balsamic:
The store bought tomatoes lost. They lacked the acid and character of the home grown.
by A.J. Coltrane
Previous post here.
There are issues with the zucchini, and I think there is more than just one thing wrong with them. The symptoms:
1. The patty-pan leaves are more yellow overall than it had been. (It was never as dark as the cucumbers or the cocozelle.)
2. The cocozelle has fruits that are rotting from the blossom end. I cut off four bad fruit yesterday.
3. Sometime in the last week white mold appeared on the cocozelle.
Which is kind of strange, because the cocozelle has produced seven pounds of fruit in the last few days. I thought it was ramping up for the summer.
My totally stab-in-the-dark diagnosis is that the fruits are experiencing blossom end rot caused by a calcium deficiency. (Which I’m pretty sure is correct after looking around the interwebs.) I’m also of the suspicion that the plants need fertilizer. I dosed the feed tube with a 14-14-14 granular fertilizer and calcium nitrate last night. In retrospect, that’s a double dose of nitrogen, which will be either good, bad, or indifferent, but, why not? I also pruned the heck out of the two plants, removing all of the really yellow leaves, as well as the most beat-up older leaves and the leaves with a lot of mold. The intent is to let more air and sunlight in, and to try to make it so that all leaves are getting more optimal use. Finally, I sprayed the plants with an organic mold inhibitor. The aftermath:
Zucchini from the back:
Onto “sunnier things”.
by A.J. Coltrane
Previous post here.
Midweek part of the cocozelle zucchini plant broke most of the way off:
So this mass was cut off, including two pounds of small zucchini:
by A.J. Coltrane
The Glacier tomato:
Maybe I just missed it yesterday. It’s hiding well.
Previous post here.
by A.J. Coltrane
Previous post here.
…And Lo, it became unseasonably hot in the urban garden. And the lettuces spoketh: “Man, that’s about enough of this $#%#$!”
If it’s a cool-weather vegetable, it’s done until summer has passed. That includes the parsley, cilantro, dill, and lettuces.
The flip side is that the summer vegetables are all doing great. The cocozelle zucchini plant has multiple squash going. The tomato plants are almost six feet tall. Everything is either blooming or ripening, or both.
The pics, starting with the first two zucchini. The one on the left is ~6″, the one on the right is 8+”.
by A.J. Coltrane
Previous post here.
The tomato and tomatillo plants are growing in every direction, so they got some twine to try to organize the chaos. The cabbage worms look to be at least briefly defeated, but the aphids have now found the purple basil. The lettuce and dill are gradually fading, though it was still a good harvest this week. The cilantro and parsley went ballistic and received big haircuts. The first peppers have made their appearance.
The pics:
From the back door of the garage:
by A.J. Coltrane
Rolling along. Previous post here.
Our neighbor Kurt has started EarthBoxes! (It’s like a disease, only healthier.) His first post on the subject is here. We share an interest in low-labor container gardening it seems.
Well really, I just try to avoid weeding whenever I can.
The tomato plants got a bird net over their cages this week — four of the six plants are now producing fruit. (The Glacier, Stupice, Siletz, and Sungold. The Roma and Brandywine are holding out, which is to be expected.) The zucchini and brussels sprouts got staked with Ultomato cages. I like the idea of the Ultomato cages, and I’ll be looking to buy more parts either in bulk or on clearance at the end of the season. I know that the “arms” are available as a 36-pack, though I’d buy more at the right price. Getting a good deal may require a little digging.
Among the recent dishes to be partly or fully composed of Earthbox ingredients includes a bunch of green salads, guacamole, pico de gallo, dill “crusted” salmon, caprese salad, and grilled bok choi and scallions. The grilled bok choi and scallions were served with chicken kebabs marinated in greek yogurt, lemon, and Tom Douglas’ Bengal Marsala rub. Very tasty! Also this:
Photos of the plants:
by A.J. Coltrane
The herb garden that came with the back yard has proven to be in a far from ideal location. We’ve had good success with Earthboxes in the past, so yesterday I ordered 10 more direct from the company, to go with the two that we already have. With shipping these came out to $31 each. (Retail on the Earthboxes with casters is about $54 — foregoing the casters and buying direct saves around $20 per unit.)
The nice thing about the Earthboxes is that they’re basically self-watering. There’s a reservior at the bottom of the box, and the water is drawn up to the plants by capillary action. Basil seems to love it, though I’ve killed it every time I’ve tried it any other way.
The plan is to “terraform” a very sunny slope near the house and group the Earthboxes on the former slope. (It’s steep enough that it’s kind of a hassle to mow anyway, so… two birds with one stone!) I’m leaning towards leaving the slope terraced, rather than leveling the whole thing out, which leads to the next point…
I also plan to construct or purchase some sort of a low-slung greenhouse/ tall cold frame to (hopefully) extend the growing season and increase yield, though a terraced slope is going to mean either constructing a custom greenhouse or figuring out some other funky solution. Once I have the greenhouse I can start throwing more money at cool techie stuff like this.
So…. what to plant? Recommended:
2 per box: Artichokes, Eggplants, Tomatoes, Zucchini
4 per box: Cucumbers, Melons, Squash (vining)
6 per box: Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard, Greens, Herbs, Hot Peppers, Strawberries
8 per box: Beans (bush), Flowers, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Okra, Salad Greens
10 per box: Beets, Onions, Spinach, Turnips
12 per box: Beans (pole), Carrots, Corn, Garlic, Peas, Radishes
I’m figuring at least four tomato plants (two boxes) and at least 6-12 basil (1-2 more boxes).
Other than that…. suggestions?
FlatbreadGarden 