Summer 2012

And just like that! The snap of the cosmic fingers and we have full on, hot as hell summer. Blam. Pow. Kaboom. The heat and humidity are outstanding; 90's with not a drop of rain in sight. Those itty-bitty parsley plants? One transplanting fried, turning to crisps, in just hours because I forgot to water them in. This is a very sad thing. Very sad.  So I did it again and am watering twice a day, because I really like cooking with parsley.
I pulled out all the broccoli yesterday morning, cut cabbages, and made way for field peas. Sure wish I liked cleaning house as much as I like gardening. Not really. There's a pained, face to go with that. If I stopped gardening, I would not clean more. When I am gardening, I am learning something. When I'm cleaning, I am bored.

2012 climbers

So here is what I learned this year. Climbing green beans really are the best. There is no bending down to pick them. This is a wonderful thing. Whose idea was it that bush beans are a new, great thing? We  planted both this year, more than once because of the cutworms, and I declare the climbers prettier, easier to pick and just as tasty.
About those cutworms: Full on assault with BT, Neem oil and small twigs pushed in gently near the newly sprouted beans worked.

Our harvest is on! We are picking three seasons of growth reaping Fall plantings of garlic and onions, Spring broccoli, beans, potatoes and Summer zucchini and tomatoes. We've had timely rain, warm days, cool nights and our world is lush and green again. Birds are twittering and frogs are croaking. The fig tree is loaded with fruit, blackberries will soon be ripe for jam and we're hoping for pomegranates.

There are three rooted figs in pots on the picnic table ready to be planted. Any takers?  No apples this year...I pruned them in late winter snipping off the blossoms. Three years and we still don't have a clue what they'll look like or taste like. 

Just in from Scott...The Bunce brothers in Stedman, NC have 2.5 million tomato plants and 80 full time employees. Me? I'm happy with our small-potatoes garden. It feeds us and the neighbors.

How could I have skipped a posting in March? March absolutely pounded me, that's how. Work is so a four letter word. Moving on to happier topics.

The South is having another truly lovely Spring. This year it's all about green. La Nina brought rain, warmth, no freak frosts and our world is now a lovely, luscious green. The birds are atwitter, everything is growing and I am a happy gardner. The lettuce troops on, we planted an asparagus bed, potatoes are up, gifted tomatoes are in the ground, beans are up and the Swiss Chard is fabulous. The garlic is a perennial wonder. These are the progeny of those cloves impulsively planted on a warm Fall Saturday. Six years ago it marked the beginning of my gardening journey. Live well and prosper proud plant!

Magic Fabric

All is quiet in the garden these days. The Zen of Gardening mood has settled on us and we're in wait mode. Though, I have to admit, as I write I feel anxiety to do something. Every time I go to a store, that might have seeds, I look for and buy some if they have them. I may not have a lot of money but I am seed rich. Aldi had packets of for $.50 last week and I went crazy. I have to wonder, am I really going to grow three different varieties of tomatoes from seeds? It could happen. Maybe. At least I have hope. And speaking of hope...
Not knowing that it would be unseasonably warm, but being a person of faith, I became convinced that I could have lettuce all winter using this thin, easy to tear, magic garden fabric. (Remembering that faith is the belief in the unseen or unknown). I caved and spent money on The Magic Fabric. Johnnie's Seeds was my source. Using P Allen Smith's idea, we built 4 x 4 cedar raised beds, used some discarded heavy duty fencing as a frame for the cover, and draped the diaphanous Magic Fabric over to make little greenhouse beds. AND...it worked! We've had a steady supply of lettuce all winter. Cool.
The last bit of hopeful gardening news is...drum roll, please. The fig rooting project is a success this year. Four twigs in a jar of water with green buds and roots are ready to be planted this Spring. Last year was 100% failure, this year 100% success! And the Mission Fig, fig mission, lives on.

Happy New Year, Y'all

What a year, right? I'll leave the political and economic concerns of 2011 for the press to belabor and focus on my small garden. I have opinions about government and banks but I've chosen to Occupy my garden. It is a proactive way to ameliorate the setbacks and stresses of the past few years. As far as our Southern garden grows and goes, it was overall a fantastic year. I am getting better at it and understanding what I don't understand better. Make sense of that! Here is one of the pearls I gleaned this year: you have your soil pH tested not for the blind annual chore that it is but because veggies like a pH of about .....and in our case our soil is too acidic. Well I knew that but I didn't believe it until my butternuts, zucchini and summer squash all failed simultaneously. Now I believe. I sent about an acre of soil to NC State right before Christmas and will hear soon how to fix it. It's free. Duh, me.
On this first day of the New Year 2012, ever a hopeful or superstitious Southerner, we'll have the traditional pork for luck, collard greens for prosperity, peas to honor the frugal living of those who did the backbreaking hard work of farming before us and cornbread 9no flour, no sugar, please) the traditional bread of the South. All are foods our ancestors ate seasonally. Our peas will be cowpeas from Carolina Plantations, the cornmeal is North Carolina grown and the collards are mine. I am oh so tempted to make collard sandwiches a local delicacy of fried corn pone with collards sandwiched in the middle. It is quite good and very filling.
Wishing all a more prosperous new year and the best of luck.

Season's Greetings

Green Is My Garden

Our winter garden is all about the greens. Collards are BIG. Broccoli is the best ever. Wow. Sweet and crunchy steamed with a squeeze of lemon it is a gourmet treat. It's been an altogether fabulous Fall for the brassicas. I planted enough lettuce to eat every day and to share with neighbors. We are all happily eating Buttercrunch, Black Seeded Simpson, Red Sails, Romaine and Summercrisps spiced with Arugula. I am very proud of my lettuces. I grew them all from seeds and transplanted to raised beds with wire covers. Johnny's Seeds row covers are saving them every time the temps go low. Herbs are thriving in the cool weather. I had a crop failure with parsley last year but they are thriving this year in pots. Lesson learned on the parsley. Onions and garlic are up. Mustard and turnips are so-so because I planted them late.
Oh, I left out the kale and Swiss chard. All is well. And so are we.