Spring is around the corner...

It's been 5 months since I've blogged. To be honest, I lost my mojo when autumn came. We got 2 new household members in October, then the holidays hit, then the snow and frankly, I've been pretty holed up. But the days are starting to get longer and I'm getting a hankerin'.

I did manage to kill my worms over the winter. I'm not sure if I should have taken them from under the sink when it got colder or if being under the sink with several household chemicals did them in, but they ceased producing castings and then...well, kinda dried up. I'm going to hit it again, this time with a larger bin hoping to be able to harvest castings in time for our spring planting.

I am looking forward to trying my hand at canning this year. I bought a book (which doesn't necessarily predict any activity on my part. I've also got books on raising Alpaca, making soap and keeping bees..none of which I've actually made any motions toward doing)and I'm planning to do tomato sauce at the very least. I've got this fantasy about having people from all over the community come and bring their harvests for "Put Up Days" where we all prep and can and freeze to our little hearts' content and then trade off goodies. Doesn't that sound fun?

D

End of the Season

Almost everything has been pulled up from the garden. The only thing that is left is peppers. I would say that the garden was a success - at least tomato-wise. Thanks to Bill for making it happen. We're considering putting in some lettuce to see what it does over the next few weeks, but mostly we're done for the year.

All in all, I can't say that we saved any money by having a garden this year. Bill had many more peanut butter & tomato sandwiches (yuk)than he would have otherwise, and we've got some dried herbs.

Next year, fewer tomatoes, more bell peppers, broccoli and sweet potatoes.

Ode to Squash

We had our first garden casualty - if you don't count the cilantro eaten by the critters, that is. Bill pulled up all of our zucchini plants this evening due to a white, moldy issue on the leaves. We had tons of blossoms but no zucchini ever made it past the 2" mark. I'm disappointed since the kids seem to love it so much.

We do, however, have a buttload of tomatos. We've eaten a couple of the Golden Jubilee already and used a few of the grapes in a 'stir fry' kind of thing that we put over pasta. The Mr. Stripey's are turning out to be exactly what I read they would be - a waiting game. There is fruit but nothing is near being ready to eat.

I'm planning to harvest worm castings very soon as I've got about 2 inches of castings in the bottom of my 'high tech' container (a bin from Big Lots). Stay tuned - I'll post pictures of the wondrous worm poo.

D

Garden Update - I can't wait to eat!

Cayenne Harvest

This is our first pepper that's ready to eat. We've got several varieties - this one is a Cayenne.
Just in time for Fajita night! Bill will be the only one trying these peppers.
Here's what the pepper will go on - Pollo Adobado from Dos Hermanos, our local Mexican grocery. YUM!
Careful, Bill!
Is that a little sweat I see beading up on your forehead?

Pictures

There pictures were taken a little over 2 months after we started the garden.

Future Mr. Stripey Tomatoes (Hopefully)

Bell Pepper

Golden Julilee Tomatoes

Baby Zucchini

Cheyenne Pepper

Another Bell Pepper

Small Planters

Main Garden

Pictures

Here are some pictures that were taken on June, 20, 2009 of our first garden. It was a little over a month since the plants were put in the ground.

Main Garden: Zucchini, Red Bell Pepper, Golden Jubilee Tomato, Mr. Stripy Tomato, Yellow Grape Tomato, some other hot Pepper, some other type of Bell Pepper

Small Planter: Basil & Sage

Farthest Planter: Thai Basil & Bell Pepper

Middle Planter: Jalapeno Pepper & Cayenne Pepper

Nearest Planter: Greek Oregano

There is also a small planter not in the picture that has Thyme.

Some more pictures are on the way (assuming my camera still works)