Back from the Dead

Lord.  Have any of you tackled that crazy flu that’s been going around?  Whenever I’ve had the flu, there’s been one day when I feel like I’m going to die, then 3-4 days of ickiness.  Well, this was a doozy.  My mantra was “I’m going to die”, and I repeated it hourly for 7 days.  Ridiculous.

Luckily, I have the world’s most patient nurse, so was able to send out for Gatorade and Fudgesicles (the only things I could stomach).  Unfortunately, I then got him sick, so had to reverse roles for another week.  Sheesh.  Thank god that’s over, and next year?  Flu shots for everyone!

I haven’t quite gotten back in the kitchen (currently littered with empty Gatorade bottles, numerous straws and Dayquil packaging), but I have been able to take advantage of this lovely weather and play in the garden.

We planted the east side full of melon and winter squash, mulched the whole lot and started the waiting process.  I can’t wait to see what works, what doesn’t, how they all look – we’re planting a lot of new and interesting stuff this year from Baker Creek Seeds, so the experiment continues.

The west side you’ve seen, but now it’s chock full of tomato seedlings, scattered among the broccoli, and the front is full of summer squash, pumpkin and fennel seeds.

Just as we have risen from the depths, I expect these seeds to do the same (we’re very metaphorical around here)…

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Blank Canvas

Aside from these beautiful, happy broccoli, Lynelle and I now have a blank canvas on which to plant. Chris snapped this picture as we came home from the gym last night – it gives a sense of our new space. The back bed is still going strong, with those strong artichokes, nasturtiums and cauliflower, and I’m starting to clear out some of those winter veggies.

We’ve already planted some tomato seedlings in amongst the broccoli, figuring that when they’re coming up, the broccoli may be on its way out – we’ll see how that works out! The rest will go according to the plan .  I started some melon and squash seeds, all the while knowing that they don’t like to be started.  They apparently can’t take the stress of transplant, so you’re supposed to direct-seed them into the ground.  Well, I couldn’t wait, so I tried it anyway.  I’ll test the prevailing garden wisdom – I’m sure that’ll work out fine.

My garden approach is guilt-free, because I fully expect to kill everything the first time I attempt to plant it.  That way, when some plants grow and thrive, I’m thrilled.  It’s all a learning experience.

I’m encouraged by all the gawking from people passing by – we’ve had many people come by and say that they’ve become inspired!  It is a little disconcerting to look out your front window and see strangers staring at your house, but ultimately exciting.   Time to get to growin’!

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Planning

It’s gonna be a good summer.

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Diggin’ It

Whew.  And I thought the first part was ambitious!  After spending a leisurely afternoon at our local coffee shop thumbing through seed catalogs, my neighbor and I decided that we’d need more room. We’ve got to have somewhere for all those melons, squash, beans and greens to go! Behold, the progress:

 

Broccoli already planted, even before we’re done.  As you can see from this picture, we’ve got quite an addition going.  Since this was taken, we’ve finished this side and have moved on to expand the garden on the far side of the pathway.  I’m quite pleased with the pathway that we created from broken pots and a few Home Depot pavers:

The after picture is still to come – we’ve got about 3 feet left on one half of the lawn to dig, then comes the borders.  If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t been posting much lately, this is the answer!

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Too Soon?

I couldn’t help myself, and started summer seeds today.  January, right before a huge storm – brilliant.  But, I figure, it’s San Diego – how much colder could it get?  My neighbor and I have decided that the garden is ready for a massive expansion, so we’re taking out another big patch of lawn.  I’m hoping these will be ready to take center stage in a couple of months…

Plus, how cute is this IKEA greenhouse?  I’m summer-smitten.

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I’m Gonna Git You, Sucka

Before this season, I didn’t know what suckers were on plants, and now I’m obsessed with searching for them.  As the tomato plants grow, they produce side stems or suckers which, if left alone, will grow just like the main stem.  They’re the shoots which grow directly in the angle of two other shoots, cutting a 90° angle into two 45°s.  They’re fine in theory, but they take energy away from the main stem, causing smaller tomatoes that take longer to grow.  Can you spot the two suckers in the above photo?

At the beginning of the season, I was more vigilant about pinching these off so that my fledgling plants would have all the energy they needed to produce plenty of fruit.  Maybe I could slack a little now, since they’re already well established, but it’s become habit.

 

So, I’ve taken to pinching the suckers off while I’m playing search and destroy with the hornworms (who have grown to OBSCENE sizes, by the way, and are responsible for the bare stems in the first photo)…

I don’t even know what to do with these, outside of squeal and point.  They’re terrifying, really well camouflaged, and can decimate a plant in a day.  Bastards.

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Monster Melons!

Quit your filthy thoughts – I’m actually talking about melons here. 

Taken a mere 5 days after this picture:

It’s taking over, along with 4 or 5 smaller friends!

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The Cutest Thing You’ll See All Day

Right?  The watermelon has pretty much taken over the front bed, creeping into every available space.  I figure it’ll keep weeding to a minimum in that area, so I’ve been letting it spread.  Had I thought ahead (as every story about my burgeoning gardening skills starts), I would have planted the melon closer to the house – I’ve been reading up about training melons up a trellis, simply creating pantyhose slings for the fruit, and it sounds so space efficient and clever.  Maybe next year.  The plant seems happy though, as we have lots of these little babies sprouting up all along the vine.

Awww….

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Hold, Please

I’ve been a little distracted lately, so haven’t been posting very much.  A new quarter started so I’m teaching again, work is pretty busy and the rest of my time is taken up with caterpillar war.  The important things.

Because there’s been so much happening outside the kitchen, I’ve been throwing together old favorites and easy improvisations, none great enough to share.  I may have made another carrot cake.  Or two.  What?  Totally rich in beta carotene.  Don’t look at me like that.

The one accomplishment I’ve made in the kitchen this week is to put together single-serve meals for a friend who’s been under the weather.  Nothing says love like mini lasagnas, right?

You can look here for the recipe.  Other than that this weekend, I’ve been taking a cue from Norman.  My position of choice at the moment looks a lot like this:

Zzzzz….  See you on the flip side.

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Garden Progress

It’s been a while since I’ve shown off the front yard – this is what it looked like in front of our house just a couple of weeks ago. Even though this picture doesn’t show scale very well (the tomato plants are getting huge!), this is what it looks like now, chock full of tomatoes, peppers, onions, wheatgrass, catgrass, radishes, basil and marigolds:

The other side (in front of my neighbor’s house) is not quite as impressive as of now, and this picture doesn’t do it any favors! I’ve been planting in stages, so there’s no real flow to what goes in this bed.  As of now it’s got artichokes, a blueberry bush, cucumbers, watermelon, bush beans, tomatillos, some new corn seeds, cantaloupe and our three rogue tomato plants (they just appeared this season out of the ground).  I’m planning to punch this side up with some color as well, just as soon as I get to the nursery again.  The benefit to using marigolds is that they’re good for keeping caterpillars away as well as making the front yard more presentable. I had a neighbor stop by yesterday and ask “Do you have any vegetables growing, or just flowers and plants?” That felt great, because it shows that an edible garden can be just as presentable and beautiful as any other front yard landscaping. Anyway, back to the bed – can you see my interesting discovery in this picture?

Norman might be in there all day, depending on when my neighbor comes home.  She’s none too pleased.

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