Veggies and Zucchini

*I started this post on Monday but due to a series of (mostly) uncontrollable events, I'm finishing it tonight.* I was just about to go outside and get some pictures for this post when it started raining. Now that I'm writing the post, the rain has stopped and the sun is coming out. Oh well. On to the veggies!

The current Zucchini count is 5 with more on the way. Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen posted her 10 favorite Zucchini recipes - the one with Spinach and Basil Pesto sounds really good. I'd also like to try making ratatouille.
The Cucumbers and Melons are doing surprisingly well. Cucumbers never grew very well at the old house, and we never tried melons. (These were the free seeds from Baker Creek) I had to put up some chicken wire to keep them out of the peppers, and now they've grown across the path and are growing up the fence. They have a lot of blossoms, so I'm expecting a large harvest.

The tomatoes are growing s-l-o-w-l-y. The current average size is between a golf ball and a softball. The grape tomato has several fruits and is also growing slowly.

Peppers- the sweet peppers are starting to set tiny fruits. The hot peppers are not very happy. The Sweet Cayenne are doing well and each plant has one 5-7" pepper on it. The Santiago are trying to set fruit, but not working very hard. The Hot Portugal just look droopy. Maybe the rain will help them.

The first planting of beans has flowered, I planted another square, but the seeds aren't germinating very fast. I also had to replant more than half my carrots, and I think a bird took a dust bath where most of the seeds were planted.

For some reason I planted my garlic too deep. I have smaller bulbs than I expected, but they will probably turn out just fine for cooking. (Picture soon!)

The Sugar Snap Peas are pretty much done. We got enough to have them with dinner twice. They are good plain, but saute them in some homemade Italian dressing, and prepare to be amazed! I use the mix here and then mix it up with Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar.
That's all for now!
Sarah

Spring Chores

Tuesday was a nice, warm, sunny, busy day. I spent the morning re-planning the vegetable garden. Baker Creek Seeds sent me two free packets of seeds, and I had to work them into the garden plan. After lunch, I planted my snap peas - I bought an heirloom variety from Lowes. I covered them with chicken wire to keep the birds and chippies from eating the seed, and covered the wire with heavy plastic to help warm the soil faster.
While I was out looking around the veggie garden, I noticed that the chippie had dug a hole right outside the fence again. I filled it in with dirt, and placed a large rock over it.

While inspecting my bulb garden, I noticed that there was a lot of gravel in it. We think that when the gravel for the driveway was put down, the leftovers got dumped in the side yard. I spend a few afternoons every year picking out the bits of gravel.
After picking gravel out of the garden, I trimmed the Russian Sage plants. The one on the side of the house looked really healthy, so I cut it down pretty low. I left the one that we moved a bit taller; partly because of the wind, and also because my Mom lopped off the top of it after it was moved.

After coming inside, I promptly came down with a cold. Due to my cold and the weather, I haven't been able to get back out to see how things are growing. From inside, it looks like my garlic is growing an inch every day.

Most of my seedlings are growing well, and I should have the last flat started in the next few days.

~Sarah

Mini Garden Makeover

Yesterday my Dad and I added some compost, manure, peat moss and topsoil to my flower bed. I started by pulling up all the annuals that were dead and then worked at moving the mulch to the side and dug up perennials as I came to them. It was a good opportunity to do some rearranging, so I took advantage of it. The Horehound finally got planted in a paint can- I first mentioned this in August -Dad and I discovered that it's very difficult to punch a hole in a plastic paint can. Anyway that's taken care of now and one less thing to worry about. I also figured out why my Valerian has not grown much this year - it got pushed out of the soil and was trying to grow in the mulch. It is now firmly in the ground, but it remains to be seen whether or not it will survive the winter.

On Monday I gave my Mrs. Benson tomatoes a major trim. I'm trying to encourage them to produce and ripen tomatoes instead of flowering and growing leaves. I noticed the peppers are also flowering. I've gotten quite a few seeds from my beans. Next spring I'll test for viability and decide whether or not I should buy seeds or use what I collected. The garlic has been planted, as have some bulbs called Puschkinia libanotica. I haven't researched them yet, but it has a pretty white flower and blooms in March or April.

Speaking of bulbs, I did errands with my Mom today, and we bought some Hyacinth bulbs and Anemone bulbs. After we got home, I spent the rest of my evening sorting flower seeds. Mostly Calendula and Salvia. Wouldn't it be nice if all seeds were as simple to collect as bean seeds are? My Mom loves it and I've been saving the seeds for her for a few years now. It's so tedious to pull all the flowers open to see if there's a seed inside. I'm really starting to dislike Salvia. A lot. So, if anyone has a better way to collect Salvia seeds, please let me know.

Farewell~
Sarah

Tomatoes & Zucchini: Taking Over The Kitchen

The tomatoes have started ripening, and the blossom end rot seems to have cleared up. I've gotten quite a few seeds from not-quite-perfect fruits, and last week I made pizza sauce for the first time. It came out really well, and I will probably make more since the fridge is rapidly filling with tomatoes.
A huge windstorm came through last week and four of the Mrs. Benson tomato plants and cages fell over. All of the peppers fell over too. None of the plants were damaged, although one tomato fell off and got smashed. The garden is now criss-crossed with string: the tomato cages are tied to the fence in several spots, most of the peppers got tied to the tomato cages, I had one tomato cage left over and was able to slip it over one of the plants and tie it to the fence. It's a little difficult to get around now, but hopefully nothing will fall over.

My garlic arrived and I can hardly wait to plant it. I can't find any specific date to plant but most of the websites I looked at suggested mid to late October, so it's on my calendar for October 15-27. The variety is Sam Loiacono and I ordered it from Underwood Gardens. It is grown locally by a family in Canandaigua, NY.

Yesterday I found a large hole in my garden, presumably made by my chippy friend. I'm trying to think of something to cover his hole with since I'm getting awfully tired of filling in his hole every day. I also pulled up the zucchini plant because what little fruit it was producing would rot at the end before it got very large. Besides, I still have 5 zucchini in the kitchen that haven't been used and several cups of shredded zucchini in the fridge. I'd better get busy cooking, and finding some new recipes to try!

Farewell~
Sarah