Garden Evaluation: Herbs & Vegetables

Bottom Terrace

 

oregano, covered in bees

 

Oregano: grew like crazy this year! We cut off the stems in June, dried the leaves, and ended up with 3/4 of a quart. I divided it way back this fall and gave some of the starts away. The bees absolutely love it! I need to find room for it up front in my "bees and butterflies" garden.

Oregano = bee heaven. 

 

Rosemary: 2 varieties: 'Madelene Hill' and 'Salem'

Overtaken by the oregano midsummer. We didn't dry any, and I haven't done anything to protect it this winter. We'll see if it survives.

 

Basil: 2 varieties: 'Purple Ruffles' and 'Sweet Basil'

Overtaken by the beans. We did use it several times in recipes. The purple variety was a bit spicier, and added a nice dash of color as well. I might try these in a pot next time, just to give them a little more elbow room. 1 of each type of plant was plenty for how much we used them.

 

 

Onions: Mixed yellow and white.

These grew fine, without pests or diseases. They all stayed quite small. I don't know if that was due to lack of nutrients, or what. In any case, I'm on the fence about planting them next year. I use them often to cook with, but having to peel 5 or 6 very small ones to equal 1 regular-sized gets old fast. Maybe if I figure out what I'm doing wrong I'll give them another shot. If not, onions are pretty cheap at the grocery store.

 

 

Peas: 2 varieties: 'Little Marvel' and 'Super Sugar Snap.' 

The Sugar Snaps didn't come up, so I bought new seed and replanted. Second time around they did fine. They both produced well. I don't know that any made it into the house. I need to allot twice the space for peas next year (garden expansion project #2 is in the works--woohoo!).  I liked the flavor of the shelling peas better, but I think the kiddos liked eating the pods of the Sugar Snaps.  I wouldn't mind doing 2 packages, 1 of each kind, next year.

 

 

Beans: 2 varieties: 'Tenderpick' and 'Royal Burgundy'

Can't get enough purple beans! Having planted one whole package of them this year, we actually had enough for the dinner table a couple of times. I want to do some low supports for them next year. Even though they're the bush bean variety, they tend to flop over. I think they would do better up off the ground more. Plus, they would be easier to pick. The regular old green beans did fine, too, just not nearly as fun for the kiddos to pick!

 

Tomatoes: 'Cougar Red' x 4, 'Sun Sugar' x 2, 'Oregon Spring' x 2, 1 roma

Very poor showing this year. The soil in the new addition must not have had enough nutrients. Several handfuls of small tomatoes is all. Since I did not can any tomatoes or salsa this year, next year needs to be a bigger crop. Soil will be amended!

 

I had to add this picture of the Topsy Turvy planter, because I kept forgetting to include this tomato plant in any updates all summer. Which is about how I did with watering it, too. The planter wasn't my favorite--since I had plenty of herbs planted elsewhere, I didn't use all those extra holes. So they let soil and water stream out every time I watered. And since I'm so short, the cold water would usually run up my arm or splash down my front. No harvest from this one. Not that I'm holding a grudge or anything, but next year this nice little hook will have a basket of flowers hanging from it.

 

Tomatillo: Ground Cherry 'Little Lanterns'

This was fun and a little different. They were supposed to mature to orange, according to the tag, so I was surprised when they all turned purple. These were also very very small and slow to mature this year. I realized that, other than fresh salsa (which they were too small to use for this year), I don't have any idea what to use these in. If I plant another next year, I need to look up some recipes!

 

Marigolds: planted amongst the tomatoes. Also did poorly.

 

Middle Terrace

 

 

Potatoes: 3 hills of purples, 6 'Yukon Gold'

We must have had 2 varieties of purples, but I don't know the names. The bright purples had white flesh, and the darker purples had purple flesh. The kids didn't want to eat the darker purple ones, so I don't know that we would do those again.

Potatoes are great fun, especially at harvest time. A couple of things we would do differently next year: put seed potatoes in a sunny window, in an egg carton, to sprout them prior to planting.

Let them stay in the ground until frost.

Our 9 hills produced enough to share with friends. We didn't end up blanching & freezing any this year, and we just ate the last of them about a week ago. The itty bitty ones are perfect for throwing in with a roast in the crockpot, but I wouldn't mind having some grow bigger next year (hence leaving them in the ground until frost.)

I could see doubling the potato patch next year, but if so, I would need to get a better cold storage system figured out.

 

Carrots: 3 leftover seed packets from years past: 'Scarlet Nantes,' 'Tendersweet,' and 'Royal Chantenay'

Since these ended up here, there, and everywhere, I can't speak to the different varieties this year. Processed 6 quarts (frozen) and still have some in the freezer. They grew well, with no pests or diseases to speak of. I would like to do a big patch next year. They freeze so well and we eat them often. When buying new seed, I will probably go with the 'Scarlet Nantes' variety. 

 

Beets: No luck with the beets this year. Died long before any were ready to harvest. Not sure what happened there.

 



Spinach: 'Tyee'

We liked the spinach. We left on vacation for a week in June, and that was about it. It finished before I was ready! I may try a few varieties next year just to see if there are any that really stand out. I wouldn't mind doing a bigger patch of this as well, and freezing any we don't use right away.

 

 

Cucumbers & Zucchini: None of these did much this year. I think we harvested about 4 zukes and 2 cukes. Give or take. I had to beg for some from friends to even make zucchini bread. Not that I had to beg too hard. ;) Once again, I think the soil in the addition is to blame. Next year should be better, as we will amend it heavily in the spring.

For next year, I want to try a slicing cucumber, rather than the bush pickle.

 

Broccoli: 6 plants

I'm not doing broccoli next year. After the main heads were harvested, I just couldn't keep up with it. The side shoots were small enough that it would take 2 or 3 pickings to make a meal and they kept flowering before I got out there to pick. Plus, I got all squeamish about the bugs, when I realized you're supposed to soak them in saltwater for at least 30 minutes before cooking them. PLUS, there was some that went bad in the fridge and let me tell you what--rotten broccoli stench is enough to put you off eating entirely. It was disgusting.

So in the end, we will just buy the frozen kind and be happy that we don't have to deal with it.

The kids might miss it, since they got to raise a cabbage white butterfly from a caterpillar.

It's going to be okay, though. Really.

 

So, with expansion #2 in the works, next year I want to add:

sweet corn: yes, I'm going to try it again!

pumpkins & gourds: for jack-o-lanterns and for decorations

sunflowers! I missed having them in the garden this year

beans to dry

possibly lettuce, celery, leeks, or sweet potatoes

 

If you made it all the way to the end of this marathon post, you deserve a reward.

Preferrably something chocolate.

Gardening With Kids: Raising Butterflies

I have very fond memories of raising monarch butterflies, as a kid.

We had a whole patch of milkweed down in one spot on our Idaho farm, and there were always caterpillars to be found. My mom would help us get them all set up in a jar, with holes punched in the lid. We put fresh leaves in every day, and watched with delight as they eventually formed their chrysalis'. When they emerged, it was magical!

We would let them sit on our fingers, and "teach them" how to fly, by slowly moving our fingers up and down, as their wings dried.

 

By the way, Carolyn, over at This Grandmother's Garden, has recently posted some beautiful pictures showing this whole process.

 

So when my kids wanted a caterpillar for a pet, I had an idea where to go. No, we don't have any milkweed, unfortunately. We decided to head out to the broccoli patch.

Judging by the number of cabbage whites flying around, I was fairly certain we would be able to find a couple of candidates.

 

Sure enough, we found two: one big, one little.

They named the big one Jack and the little one Annie.

We got them all set up in their new home in a jar, much to the kids' delight.

Well, Annie didn't make it.

But Jack thrived and eventually made a tiny chryalis that stuck right onto the glass!

We were all impressed by that.

 

After about a week or so, my oldest came running out of his bedroom one morning, saying that there was a butterfly in the jar!

"Wow! Awesome!" he said.

Jack had emerged and was flapping around.

We knew we needed to get him outside to some nectar soon.

Butterfly on right.

 

Two attempts to get a picture of Butterfly Jack inside the jar were only marginally successful, as you can see.

Butterfly on left, broccoli leaf on right.

 

We took Jack outside and opened the lid.

Off he fluttered above our heads and away out of sight.

So long, Jack!

May you enjoy what's left of the broccoli patch.

Vegetable Update

The soil in the newer part of the garden wasn't the best for growing vegetables, as it turns out. And since I don't often think about fertilizing (usually I mix in a load of compost in the spring and call it good), I was not fast enough on the uptake to help these poor plants along.

 

 The zucchini has yet to flower.

It looks kind of lonely in that big old space I allotted for it.

Cucumbers near by are just barely starting to produce.

 



Broccoli still big and bushy.

I'm a bit disillusioned with broccoli, ever since I learned you're supposed to soak it in a saltwater brine for 30 minutes after harvesting, to kill off the bugs.

So...that means we're eating dead bugs now?

Yum. I guess.

The broccoli doesn't mind my discontent, however.

It just keeps right on producing side shoots.

The tomato plants are struggling along.

We've gotten a handful of very small tomatoes.

There will probably be several more handfuls by frost.

Nothing like 9 plants should be producing, though.

 

I didn't take pictures of the beans, but they are still going strong.

Tomatillo plant is covered with little fruit, but I do mean little.

Nothing remotely close to picking yet.

Carrots ready to harvest.

Potatoes and onions will be ready soon, as the tops are all dying off.

 

Not as much as we had hoped, but we're still getting some here and there.

Yes, those are strawberries on the right-hand side!

Which reminds me, I need to put in a berry patch update...

 

Of Whites and Greens

The color scheme in my back flowerbed is supposed to be peachy pinks, oranges, and soft yellows. So I was surprised to notice this mini-scheme going on:

 

The yellow 'Topaz' roses, which are really only yellow in bud, then open up to a creamy white, plus

the 'White Heaven' lilies standing tall behind the rose bush.

 

A symphony of whiteness.

Okay, more like a duet.

But still, it was pretty!

 

As for the greens...

More broccoli harvested.

I didn't have it on my menu for another week, but it was already perilously close to going to flower.

So, I ended up processing it (soaking in brine to kill off bugs, then chopping, blanching, freezing).

 

 

Now I've got two more heads starting to flower that need chopping off pronto.

They look too far gone to save, though.

I need to point my little foragers toward the broccoli patch, to help me keep up with it. 

 

Vegetable Garden Update

Overall, I have been quite pleased with the garden so far this year.

Bunnies have stayed away--not sure if it's the neighborhood cat who makes a pass through twice a day, or the garlic cloves I cut and stuck into the squash mounds.

Either way, I'm glad we have not anything munched yet--by animals, that is.

 

Bottom Terrace

 

Tomatoes and tomatillo growing slowly.

My tomatoes are all looking rather shrivelled.

They did get frost-nipped early in spring, and I'm wondering if that's effecting them now. I've been making an effort to water them extra deeply, but their leaves are still mostly curled up rather than flat. However, some have green tomatoes on, and most have blossoms.

We'll see how much it affects the harvest. 

 

The tomatillo has been loaded with blossoms ever since I planted it, but I haven't seen any fruit forming yet.

 

 The big bush on the left is oregano.

I whacked it off by about half a month ago, and then dried all the leaves in my dehydrator. (Couldn't let them go to waste!) After they were dry, we crumbled them up into a bowl.

We ended up with about 3/4 of a quart jar full of home grown oregano.

It's even organic!

My husband said the price for organic oregano is $144/lb (he looked it up.)

Now we want to weigh our finished product and see if we can become rich!

 

The beans (in back) are about to take over the basil in front.

I may need to transplant the basil for it to survive.

 

Not pictured: the 2 rosemary plants behind the oregano.

They are still alive and seem to be growing fine.

Holding their own, anyway.

 



 Peas!

So, my pea trellis hideout didn't quite work out the way I was hoping. There's no space for the kids in there! That's okay. They still go out several times a day to pick the fat ones.

Or sorta fat ones. Or whichever ones they can find.

With a week of picking behind us, nary a pea has made it into the house.

 

Even the baby has learned how to pick peas.

He toddles over, grabs the first pea he sees, and gives it a good yank.

It's a little hard to teach him which ones are ready, since he can't even talk yet.

At least he's getting some fresh vegetables in his diet.

It's all good.

 

Several of the ones on the left side of the trellis have a disease of some sort, which makes the pod fill with a white substance, and many of the pods are deformed and small.

I used some old seed this time, but I will definitely have to start with all new next year. 

On the right, the sugar snaps are just starting to come on. I had to replant them, so they're a few weeks behind their fellows.

 

 The onions.

I cut off all the flowers this year, in hopes that the onions themselves will grow larger.

They're looking pretty good.

Haven't picked any yet to bring in, but I probably could.

 

Middle Terrace

 



The potato patch is doing much better than it did last year.

I probably need to mound up more dirt under all those bushy leaves.

 

Spinach and beets have all been yanked out.

We didn't harvest any beets this year. The leaves were all shrivelled and dead about the same time the spinach started to look ragged. Not sure what happened there.

 

Carrots are getting big and crowding the broccoli.

(Or is it the broccoli crowding the carrots?)

By the way, I really like the contrasting leaf shapes and colors.

 

This was the broccoli we had for dinner tonight.

It was tender and sweet.

We have harvested one other bowlful about this size, as well.

 

The plants that we cut off the first broccoli heads from are now producing lots of little heads on side shoots. So I'm hoping we'll continue to get a harvest for the next few weeks, at least.

 

This being my first year growing broccoli, I'm impressed.

It's has been hardy, easy, and tasty.

Like with most things in my garden, I'm already scheming to put more in next year!

 

 Cucumber making a start.

I'm going to train this one away from the giant broccoli patch, once it starts to spread.

Otherwise, we may never find the cucumbers!

 

There was a second hill in back, but it has not survived.

The ones in front are the 'Bush Pickle' variety.

Likewise, my zucchini has had a really slow start this year.

Hey, at least it's growing.

Last year I couldn't even get it to come up.

I'm wondering if I need to give it some extra compost or something.

This is zucchini we're talking about here--usually it has garden takeover plans.

I'm hoping these next few weeks of consistently warm weather will give it a jumpstart.

 

Top Terrace is the berry patch now, so I'll have to make separate report on that.

 

Last but not least:

 



Pea patch in the weeds.

I gave the kids the extra pea seeds that didn't fit in my garden this year, and they planted them in the dirt mound/weed patch next to the garden.

Well, would you look at that!

Their little plants are loaded!

They were so excited to have their own plants to pick from.

I'm amazed that the plants even survived right there.

Yay peas!