Snow

I do love snow-covered trees.
 

After several weeks of snow/melt off/rain/freeze cycles, we finally have some REAL snow!

We're up to 6 or 8 inches now, and it's been snowing all day.

 

It seems to be sticking around, too.

Happy winter!

 

p.s. I haven't even set foot in the back yard in over a month.

I'm pretty sure all the plants back there are doing fine without me.



Winterizing Chore List

I just heard that there's supposed to be some snow NEXT WEEK! AAAHH!
So, here's what all needs to go down before that happens:

[Update: So, most of this got done just last Saturday (11/17) after all the snow had melted!


1. Remove all cushions from outside chair/bench and store in shed.  DONE!
2. Store grill in shed?  DONE!
3. Remove flowers from pots and store pots in shed.  DONE!
4. Clear out hoses and store in shed.  DONE!
   a. cover outside faucets with the styrofoam things.  DONE!
5. Finish pooper-scooping the slope (for the last time!) 
      **Not done. It has been so rainy that the hill is a muddy mess. I haven't attempted to get back up there to finish this job. Maybe in the spring.
6. Finish clearing out the garden, including tomato cages to shed. DONE!
7. Plant garlic in garden.  Done by my Joy School kiddos: 10/18/12
8. Plant bulbs.  See post: The Great Bulb Countdown!
9. Clean up/put away any remaining tools/toys/bikes, etc.  DONE!
10. Mulch back flowerbed, new raspberry bed, around the dogwood in back of shed flowerbed.
     **Still need to mulch. Maybe tomorrow if I get a chance?
11. Plant seeds from Collette on slope, wherever else.
     **Didn't plant any seeds yet. Probably could just go out on the garden wall and scatter some to the wind; see where they end up.

Let's get on it!

First Snowfall

Snow came!

We hadn't finished our winterizing chores yet. EEK!

Everything was covered up....for a day or two at least.

sumac 

slope grasses

those blooms are still trying, despite the cold! 

You can see how much it has already melted off--this was just a few hours later.

Yes, this also illustrates that we still need to finish winterizing! 

 Oregano and basil

Mockorange loveliness.

Garden Evaluation: Tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, zucchini

Bottom Terrace

Rosemary, Oregano, Basil: bottom left

Planted: rosemary/basil (May 28), oregano (wintered over from last year--YEAH!)

Variety: Rosmarinus 'Roman Beauty', Basil 'Superbo'--classic Italian basil

Yield: Plenty for all of our cooking needs.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None that I noticed.

Finished: basil is done; here's hoping rosemary and oregano make it on through another winter.

Comments: Bees absolutely loved the oregano. Once I let it flower, it was covered with bees every time I went out there. Early summer I cut it back by half and it grew back more full and bushy.

Rosemary tripled in size over the summer. I hope it lasts until next year! Basil did very well. Maybe if I get a dehydrator I will think about drying some herbs next year. (Although, if we get a hot dry spell again like we had this year, I could do it outside probably.)

I like the idea of having that be my "herb corner." It was handy to pick from when cooking, since they were all in the same place, on the bottom within easy reach. Hopefully the garden expansion project next spring won't uproot them all.

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Marigolds: interspersed throughout bottom bed

Planted from purchased starts.

Comments: I decided to plant them between the tomatoes, thinking they would get enough to sun to grow and be pretty. Nope. The ones out in front did awesome and looked really pretty. The ones between were scrawny and you couldn't see them anyway, once the tomatoes got going. So I moved them over to where the cucumbers and zucchini were supposed to be, in an attempt to fill in the bare side of the terrace. Marginally successful. Next time I need to put them in front or on the sides.

Tomatoes: bottom middle

Planted: May 28

Varieties: Brandwine (heirloom), Early Girl, Oregon Spring, 2 Sungolds

Yield: Good amount for fresh eating, plus some to supplement salsa making.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: Didn't notice pests. I had to keep them watered through the dry spell.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: The Early Girl vine gave us a tomato at the end of July, which was awesome. I think having the cages to keep them up off the ground made them ripen earlier (since the sun could get to them.) I'm not sure if it was Brandywine or Early Girl, but one of them in the back produced about 3 humongous tomatoes, and that was it. I'm starting to think it was the Brandywine. They may have been awesome, but we ended up throwing them away, because they were cracked and started to go bad before we could use them. So, not sure I would do Brandywine again.

I liked the 'Oregon Spring' variety. Although it was supposed to be determinate, it continued to produce tomatoes until frost, just not as many as it did that first time. They reminded me of the 'Cougar Reds'--smaller, heart-shaped, good flavor.

'Sungolds' gave us just the right amount of cherry tomatoes for snacking on. I think the 2 plants was just right.

I think we had the right amount of plants for fresh eating this year. If we're going to make salsa again next year, we will need to plant at least twice as many to get enough ripe at all at once. Although, we found out that they freeze really well!

Cucumbers: bottom right

Planted: May 28

Variety: Bush Pickle

Yield: about 6 cukes. Total.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: These plants were quite sickly this year. Not sure if it was putting them in the same place as the cucumbers last year, or what.  We had 2 hills, 3 per hill. Of those, maybe 2 plants made it, and yield was way low. Maybe next year I'll move them up to the middle terrace and see if they do any better.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: (See problems/diseases, above.) I liked the size of the cucumbers we did harvest, there just weren't very many of them. I may try a different variety next year, though, since I've pretty much decided that we don't eat enough pickles to make it worth it to can them. So maybe a slicing variety that grows a little longer would be good.

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Zucchini: bottom right

Planted: May 28 (1st try), June 27 (2nd try)

Variety: Fordhook

Yield: ZILCH!

Pests, Problems, Diseases: Um...they didn't grow.

Finished: before they got started.

Comments: Usually zucchini has garden take-over plans, but this year I couldn't even get them to come up! Not sure what the problem was. I planted the first time with maybe 2-year old seed. Nothing. So I bought new seed and planted again. Still nary a leaf to show above ground. Did something eat them? Was it the soil? I really couldn't say. So last year we were swimming in zucchini and this year we had nada.

A Little Bit of Snow

I just found these pictures (Jan 2013) and realized I had never posted them.

You have to squint a little bit to see it, but this was the first official snow of the year, I believe. Although it didn't stick this time, the real stuff came down a few days later.

You can also see what's left of the garden, and the big pallet of blocks to expand the garden next spring.

Garden Evaluation: corn, beans, sunflowers, nasturtiums, and peppers

Top Terrace

Corn: top left

Planted: May 28 (1st try), June 27 (2nd try)

Variety: Sweet corn, Early Choice Hybrid, 66 days to maturity

Yield: 1 ear was going to be full-sized, but a little helper picked it before it was ready. All the other ears were picked right before frost, and were very small and not developed.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: I made the mistake of planting some old seed I had left from Missouri. Only one plant came up. So I replanted, but by then, we were a month into the growing season already, which is short as is. So, not surprisingly, my corn was late to tassel out. I saw tassles on corn all over town a good 2-3 weeks before mine got there.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: If I try corn again next year, I will be sure to plant new seed from the beginning. Looking back, I'm sure the month-late start was why we didn't get a harvest this year. Takes a toll, especially with first frost a good 3 weeks earlier than last year. 

I planted them much closer together than the package suggested (more like 6-8 inches apart instead of 1 foot), but that didn't seem to cause any problems that I could tell. I watered 2-3x/week for an hour each time during the hot days of August and September. 

Not sure I will try again. Even if we had harvested one ear from every plant we would still only have around 12 ears. Once again I'm reminded that to get a decent corn harvest, you need a lot of space. Although, there are plans afoot to extend the garden, so maybe I would have the space after all. Still undecided. 

Purple Beans: top middle

Planted: May 28

Variety: Royal Burgundy

Yield: enough to keep the kids happy eating fresh, plus enough for a few meals.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: Kiddos loved these! This picture of Jacob says it all. They ate them fresh like crazy, and also liked them cooked. I'm sure part of the reason for that was due to their color change once cooked. I want to put in more next year, just to give them something to pick and eat that is so good for them! And perhaps, with a few more planted, we would get enough for meals, with enough to freeze as well.

Green Beans: top right

Planted: June 27, to replace peppers

Variety: Tenderpick

Yield: with the purple beans, enough to keep the kids happy eating fresh, plus enough for a few meals.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: Not as popular for kid-picking as the purple beans, but still routinely nibbled on by little helpers. Good flavor picked small, tough and stringy picked large. Wouldn't mind planting more of these next year as well.

I STILL want to try planting some beans for drying. Maybe I will order some this winter. I'm sure I will need to separate them from the fresh bean patch, otherwise my little ones probably won't let any reach the dry stage.

Sunflowers: top left, behind corn along the wall

Planted: May 28

Variety: Waooh

Yield: One big pretty bunch per plant, with some 1-2 bigger flowers, and several smaller.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: Don't put them behind the corn next time. Most of the time, they were completely hidden and only peeked through when in full bloom.

Instead of planting them in a line, I think next time I want to devote a section to sunflowers of a few different varieties. I'll bet they would have more impact that way and look awesome!

Didn't last very long in the vase--maybe 5 or 6 days.

 

Nasturtiums: top terrace, all along the front

Planted: May 28

Variety: Fordhooks Favorite (fragrant, climbing)

Yield: Very beautiful, cheerful little flowers in shades of orange and red and yellow. Continued bloom all summer to frost.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: beginning of October

Comments: We rubbed the seeds with a nail file before planting and they all came up! Really liked the scent, although mostly could only smell it when picking beans.

Oh yeah, peppers: top terrace, right side

Planted: May 28

Variety: Italian Yellow Bell

Yield: Nothing.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: Something chomped these right down within the first couple of weeks, and I chose not to replace them.

Finished: mid-June

Comments: Next year I may try peppers again, some hot and some sweet. I still want to see if the warming groundcloth works, before I give up on them completely. Perhaps I need a garlic clove cut in half and buried next to them as well, especially now that Diamond is out of the picture for bunny patrol.

Garden Evaluation: peas, potatoes, onions, carrots

Middle Terrace: Spring Veggies

Peas: middle left


Planted: April 3
Varieties: Super Snappy, Sugar Daddy, and Little Marvel

Yield: Not enough for a meal, but plenty for eating fresh. Of course, that could be because my little ones went out to pick and eat peas daily--sometimes twice a day. So I'm satisfied. I'm actually thinking of planting more next year so they can pick as many as their little hearts desire.
     It just so happened that some of them dried on the vine, as well, so I also harvested some pea seeds to plant next year.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: Some had a disease, I think, because only a few peas would develop in the pod and they looked a bit withered, but not sure what that was. Most did fine.

Finished: end of August--probably more like middle of August, really, but the kiddos would find a few here and there through end of August.

Comments: These did great! I think the majority of what came up was Little Marvel, the shelling pea. There were a few with edible pods, but they were few and far between. Maybe I will do both next year, with a little better separation or labelling, so the kiddos know which is which. They kept trying to eat the tough shelling pods and having to spit them out.

Also, they took down the supports, pretty much. So I may need to try wood stakes with string next year, so it can be a bit more sturdy. Thinking of putting these in on the top terrace next year.

Potatoes: middle, middle

Planted: April 3

Variety: Yukon Gold, russet, plus 1 red and 1 purple variety

Yield: Maybe 10-15 pounds? Enough that we needed to process them (frozen) so they wouldn't go bad.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: Some of the tops died off way earlier than the others; not sure why. At least one of the hills didn't grow any potatoes at all. We dug up the original seed potato pieces in the fall. I think they had too much competition from the carrots, perhaps.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: I like planting potatoes. Harvesting them is even more fun! Jacob helped me with the "treasure hunt" this year. I wouldn't mind planting more of these next year, too. As long as we have the freezer space for them, they are great food storage. We eat them so much, that I'm not at all worried about using them up. Russets were fine, but I think Yukon Golds were my favorites, as far as flavor/texture.

Carrots: middle, all along the front

Planted: April 3

Varieties: Scarlet Nantes (short, fat) and Tendersweet (long, skinny)

Yield: Lots! We ended up with 10 quarts frozen, I think. Plus several to eat fresh.
Pests, Problems, Diseases: Nothing too bad. We left some in the garden too long and they got huge and split. Also, some of the huge ones appeared to have been eaten by bugs (although maybe that was just the insides of the carrot coming apart?)

Finished: August 29
Comments: These were great fun this year! We picked some of the biggest, longest carrots I have ever seen! Another bonus with carrots: they can be eaten at any stage. So when Jacob would pull some up "to see if they were ready" we just washed them off and ate them. Thanks to my little planting helpers, we had tons of carrots packed very closely together. I ended up thinning them a couple of different times.

I have never had carrots do this well, so that was satisfying. I liked having them all along the front of the bed, too, since I had to keep working on them (thinning, mostly) throughout the summer. It was convenient to have them right there. I think I will repeat that plan in next year's garden.

Both varieties had good flavor--sweet and not bitter. Of the two, I liked the Scarlet Nantes best, because they were so chunky it was easy to pull them up out of the ground, and easy to peel them, even for the kiddos. Tendersweets tended to break off when I was trying to pull them up, so then I would have to dig far down and grab onto the broken part.

Onions: middle right


Planted: April 3

Varieties: White Ebenezer, Yellow Stuttgarter

Yield: About 1 big orange basket-full.
Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: Several of my onions flowered this year; I don't know if that was good or not. When I was cutting them up, the ones that did had a really tough inner core that had to come out. I wasn't very sure when to harvest them, actually. So I need to read up on that some more.

Also, none of them got very big. Most were about tennis-ball sized or smaller. When we cut them up, they were strong! I used the food processor to dice them for freezing. Even double bagged, they made my whole freezer smell like onions. They add a lot of flavor to soups and such, but wow! Not for any kind of uncooked recipe.

It has been very handy to have them in my freezer, along with the potatoes and carrots. Since we don't have any kind of cold storage setup, I have been happy with that alternative.