October 22, 2012

Crepe Myrtle tree brightens up in our front yard.

Garlic row.

Our third crop of broccoli at the new place is finally approaching the quality that we achieved in the old garden, where we would routinely see broccoli heads a foot across and larger.  The head shown below was still growing when we photographed it, and it did reach 12 inches.  It has taken 2.5 years to amend our subdivision soil with compost, leaf mulch, and a cover crop of red clover in order to boost fertility to the point where it really pays to grow organically.  There are nine heads this size ready to harvest now, and what we cannot eat fresh will be blanched and frozen for later.

A cabbage head or two could be harvested also; they weight about five pounds each and are still growing.  Garlic is shooting up.  Red clover is beginning to turn our future corn patch from brown to vibrant green.

Not much else is green, however, and our attention is turned upward to trees of many types that have caught the hint that it's autumn!  Morning temperatures have consistently been in the mid 30's F on our hill top, and sunny warm days to follow are excellent for creating anthocyanin in leaves, the pigment that gives them their flaming red-orange colors.  If this weather pattern continues, we are in for a very colorful show by early November.

Broccoli head, 10 inches across.

October 15, 2012

'Packman' hybrid broccoli is very close to full maturity.

Our crop of fall vegetables is racing to maturity, just six weeks after transplanting.  But everything else is winding down; our garden is pretty much the way it will stay for the next four months through the winter period, while we take a welcome rest.  Red clover seed has sprouted across our future corn patch, and it will continue to green up until heavy frosts come with regularity.  Garlic has sprouted thin green spikes up to six inches tall.

Cabbage heads still need a few weeks of growth.

It is looking like we will be enjoying a broccoli harvest this week; the large heads a hand-span across are still firm and thriving in these cooler days of October with no noticeable damage from worms of the cabbage moth.  We've left them uncovered to receive maximum sunlight in these waning days as they mature; it's so nice enjoying fresh produce knowing there were no pesticides used - only our homemade compost.  Broccoli cheese soup sounds like a perfect complement to these cooler fall days!

Roses have returned for one last show - a rare thing of beauty before November drains all the color away.

Roses last until frost.

May 14, 2012

Organic broccoli harvest.

Broccoli is in season; though cabbage worms and other pests have chewed holes in the leaves, nylon hose "socks" pulled over these developing crowns have organically protected the harvest for our enjoyment.  A hoticultural extension agent told us that broccoli, more than any vegetable in the supermarket, absorbs pesticide and stores it.  Supermarkets provide pest-free broccoli at a cost.  This organic broccoli is worth all the effort we put into it; from this harvest alone we froze six quart bags for future use and enjoyed all we could eat fresh.  This particular variety will continue to produce sizeable crowns all season long.

Sour cherries frozen for later use.

The rest of our sour cherries all ripened at once.  We picked, pitted, and either ate them fresh or froze in quart bags for future use.  It's a lot of work picking and pitting, but we think the result is worth the effort.  Next year, we will plan ahead for cherry jam.

Pea pods are growing from abundant flowers, the first set of sweet corn is about four inches tall, and the main summer vegetable garden is growing up.

The summer vegetable garden.

May 7, 2012

A head of broccoli six inches across.

We've enjoyed a week of "tomato weather."  All seed planted last week popped up in about three days and is rapidly growing; our summer vegetable garden is taking shape with some harvests in the very near future.  Broccoli heads are now six inches across, protected with nylon hose tied at one end and fitted over like a sock to keep out cabbage moths and their hungry little green worms.  It should double in size this week, and we expect to harvest some by the weekend.

Green beans sprout in rows.

We gathered a last spinach harvest before tilling to make room for pumpkins.  Peas are in flower and will be filling out pods before we can blink an eye.  Some tomatoes, too, are starting to flower.  They are now pushing over two ft. tall; we caged them and staked with conduit pipe; one variety, "Amish Paste" is known to grow more than 10 ft. tall.  We pounded a whole 10-ft conduit pipe in their cages (had to get the ladder out to do this!).

The last spinach harvest.

One half of the sweet corn was planted on Thursday evening.  With temperatures in the mid-to upper 80's F and supplemental sprinkling, it has sprouted on a fast track.  The garden is going to green up as we watch this month.

The garden in May.

June 6, 2011

Broccoli plants have been dragging their feet, but they finally showed some button heads that are steadily swelling in size.  In years past we've grown a single head of broccoli that was 16 inches across, so we'll see how they do this year.  Little green worms are always a problem in warm weather, and no one wants to chomp down on a tender floret and see half a worm wiggling out of the excavated side!  Too bad bugs can't read "No Trespassing" signs.  One organic way to save the broccoli for ourselves is to cover each developing head with something like an old leg of nylon hose, which "grows" with the plant.  Cut off a section of hose, tie the top end shut, and pull the nylon "sock" over what you want to protect.  This works with almost any crop, from peppers, tomatoes, and melons, to corn.

We admit, we do not follow space recommendations on the back of seed packets; it is possible to squeeze a very large harvest out of a very small space if soil, sunlight, and watering conditions are right.  The average size backyard garden has shrunk considerably in past decades; 300 sq. ft. is the current average.  (We have 2,000 sq. ft., but two thirds of that is planted with space hogs corn and pumpkins; our spring garden was 375 sq. ft, and our main summer garden is 500 sq. ft.).  Years ago I remember seeing large gardens of row-run crops with tiller-wide footpaths in between, presumably to aid cultivation.  We grow many plants "up" to help conserve space.  This technique prevents many soil-born diseases that can splash on sprawling plants.  We push all our plants together and even grow melon vines in between so that by July barely an inch of ground will be visible beneath the green.  It looks a little wild, but it helps keep soil cool, and there is no room for weeds.  There's no room to step, either; it's like a game of Twister trying to harvest melons!  Most plants that require daily harvest are on the perimeter and are accessible from the lawn and foot paths.
 

Zucchini are rolling in as have several more pea harvests.  Melon vines have started running; lettuce is still mild and a new crop is growing.  I've had to cover the blueberry bushes with netting to keep birds from eating our fruit:  scare tactics like pie tins, cd's on a string, and fake owls and snakes may work for a day but are not as reliable or as effective as bird netting.  Cherry and apple trees must be too small to fruit this year, and our peach trees have about one peach each, so we will have to rely on local u-pick orchards until our trees mature a little more; it's exciting to see how rapidly they are growing this year.

 

We've appreciated some positive comments from neighbors on the garden; they've told us it's beautiful, and they believe it's a great teaching experience for children.  If you've followed these posts you know an organic garden doesn't just happen, but after months of planning it's a reality, and we are feeling the benefits.