So Sorry, Safeway

Do you know the absurd amount of tomatoes I buy at the grocery store during the non-growing season? I know the produce code for vine-ripened tomatoes by heart. #4774.
Well guess what, Safeway shoppers? My fingers won't be tapping that number for the next several months.

Today I harvested the year's first tomatoes...and they are beautiful. In fact, I can't recall tomatoes from years past being so big and healthy. I picked two beasts from the Celebrity plant, two from the Patio plant, and three from the Supersweet (the name is fitting, too).
Nothing better than starting a Tuesday off with fresh garden tomaters.

Mulch Ado About Nothing

So much for spring. Now that summer is officially here, so are the hot temps and high humidity. My lawn isn't one to enjoy this time of the year, but the garden is flourishing. That is, as long as I stay on top of things and give it all the attention it needs.

Drooping Leaves on The Acorn Squash Plant Means It Needs Water

The culmination of heavy early season rains, high temperatures, longer days, bigger plants, and fruit on the vines has the garden very, very thirsty. No longer can I go a couple days between watering. In fact, this week the garden is almost needing daily water. Although I don't mind getting up fifteen minutes earlier everyday to yank out the hose, I need to find ways to make the water go further. (Remember, the best time to water your garden is in the early morning!!!) And with vacations coming up, I'm not going to be around everyday to water.

So here are some steps I took today that may help our plight to quench the garden.

1) Continue to prune- I cut away some low-hanging branches, yellow-colored leaves and branches, dead vines, etc. By eliminating these dying parts, the plant no longer must worry about providing for these leaves. It can focus water and nutrients to the healthier plant parts and developing fruit.

2) Pick mature veggies/fruit- If there are veggies ready to pick...do it. Again, this is one less thing the plant must provide for and keep its attention on other developing fruit.
3) Add more potting mix- Over time, some of the potting mix can erode away from watering and things like squirrels digging holes in the pots. As the plants get bigger, I also see small roots exposed from the soil. Adding more mix raises the soil level, adds support for the roots, provides more nutrients, and cools off the older potting mix.
4) Feed the plants- It was time for the garden to get its two week feeding. With the fresh potting mix layer, the nutrients will not filter to the bottom and eventually out the pot. The new mix will hold the nutrients and give the plant roots more opportunity to utilize the nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous.
5) Mulching- This is the big step. I'm hoping this will solve most of my watering and heat problems. Mulch is extremely valuable in the garden. First, it keeps soil cool in the summer heat and warm in cooler season temps. Second, it helps keep moisture in the soil from evaporating in the daytime sun. Third, it holds water and slowly dispenses it into the soil or ground. Knowing this, I ran to the garden center and grabbed a large (but cheap) bag of shredded wood mulch. Make sure when buying mulch not to get stuff treated with chemicals or a colored-dye.
After the new layer of mix and feeding, I spread a thin layer of mulch in the pots with the larger plants. I showered the mulch down to cool it off and keep from absorbing any moisture and nutrients underneath.

Mulch can provide other great duties such as preventing weed growth and warding off pests. Plus, it looks nicer than dried up dirt.
My suggestion: get out in the garden now and spend a good, long morning preparing your garden for the long and hot summer season. Trust me, a little work now can save you a lot of work down the road.

Batten Down The Hatchs !!

Yeah, yeah... you're telling yourself, "Hatches is spelled wrong, dummy." In this case, I intended to not spell it with an 'e'. When I write, 'Hatchs', I mean hatch chiles. And authentic hatch chiles can only be found in one place: Hatch, New Mexico. Brought from South America, chiles evolved around the turn of the 20th century when New Mexican ranchers and horticulturists interbreeded different pods to create a heartier and tastier chile. They're used for many things and in many recipes. Green chile stew is my favorite.

Enough with the english and history lesson.

With the plants growing to full size and fruit forming on branches, Mother Nature and gravity will start taking a greater toll on the plants. I've found pepper plants need the most help in supporting their own weight.

When I first potted the plants, I inserted long stakes for support. This allowed the roots to grow around the stakes rather than the shock of jamming stakes into mature root systems later on. Now that the plants have grown, this weekend was my chance to utilize that support.

I use twine to wrap the stalks and large limbs to the stakes. It's pretty simple to do. I prefer to use a figure-8 method. Just wrap the twine around the stalk, cross it, wrap around the stake, and tie a knot. I think it provides good support but won't strangle the plant to the stake. It also allows room for the stem to grow bigger.

It's not plastic surgery, folks, but it does a pretty darn good job of keeping things from sagging.

The June Monthly Update

The Garden: June 19th

Can someone please tell the Guy upstairs to go ahead and turn off the water spicket for a couple weeks...at least until we go to Colorado for a week in July?

I always enjoy a good rainstorm. Being a kid from Colorado, I always welcome moisture. Drought is all too common in the Southwest. But this wet spring has been a tad ridiculous. It's starting to hamper the garden. Sure, it loves water, but the garden needs sunlight to use that water in photosynthesis. Here's the monthly update on the plants.

• Acorn Squash-A handful of blossoms popped up a couple weeks ago and last weekend I found the first squash forming. It was a very light green color; a stark contrast to the deep green color of mature acorn squashes. Maybe the color changes, but I worry the lack of sun may be an issue.
  
• Albatross Bell Peppers- Fruits have also developed on Albatross. But something is amiss. They are a very light green color and look almost dead-on similar to the fruits growing on the Romanian sweet pepper plant in the same pot. Is it a sunlight problem? Was I duped by a misplaced label at the garden center and bought what I thought was a bell pepper plant? Does the presence of another pepper plant cause this plant to change attributes and mimic its neighbor? There will be some investigation into this.
  
• Jalapeno Peppers- A half dozen peppers are fully mature and taste great.
  
• Romanian Sweet Peppers- The plant has grown nicely and has several fruits growing quickly.
  
• New Mexico Espanola Chiles- The Espanolas are quickly growing up. Several blossoms have developed but I pinched them off. Yesterday's mid-day storm was too much for one plant to handle and the force of the rain knocked the plant over. It doesn't appear the stalk was damaged. So this weekend will involve tying all the plants to their stakes.
  
• New Mexico Heritage Chiles- The plants look very healthy. I pinched the blossoms on the Heritages as well. The plants are still too small to support large chiles.
  
• Bush Whopper Cucumbers- Some blossoms have popped along with a few extremely small cucumbers. I expect in the next week or two to be making cucumber/feta/dill salad.
  
• Celebrity Tomatoes- There are a couple HUGE tomatoes chillin' on the vines. The celebrity uses more water than the other tomato plants so far. I'm guessing some warmer weather this weekend will get the ripening process started on these whopper -sized 'maters.
  
• Mr. Stripey Tomatoes- The plant potted last has now become the tallest plant in the garden. It is about a foot taller than the tomato cage. Early this week the first fruits appeared.
  
• Patio Tomatoes- Still bushy, still growing tomatoes.
  
• Supersweet 100 Tomatoes- Did I get the runt of the litter when I bought this plant? I can't figure out what the deal is with the supersweets. I see a ton of blossoms, but very few fruit. It doesn't look sick, but not all that healthy either.
  
• Finger Carrots- I clearly overplanted the carrots. I probably need to pull half the crop out for any chance of decent sized carrots this season.
  
• Lisbon Onions- Doing their thing. Probably overseeded.
  
• Dwarf Gray Sugar Peas- It's the tail end of the harvest for the peas. I had about 5 days of solid picking of pea pods. There are two full Ziploc backs of sugar peas in my freezer. The vines are quickly dying in the heat. I give the peas two more weeks before they completely die. I'll reseed sometime in August.
  
• Rutabagas- Now slugs have moved into my rutabaga boxes. These have been a lost cause. I may pull 80% of these this weekend and see if there's any hope of saving them.
• Salad Mix- We've had some great salads with this lettuce. The leaves were huge and had a slightly bitter taste. But it tasted great with some homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

The Fruit File

• Blueberries ('10 Harvest)- Growing the fastest of the two berry plants.
  
• Raspberries ('10 Harvest)- Still growing nicely.
  
• Strawberries- Had two little strawberries. Not much to offer this year.
  

The Herb Honor Roll

• Basil- I've really kept my eye on the basil. Daily pruning of buds and blossoms has kept the plant healthy. The basil has been outstanding this year.
  
• Chamomile- Still going.
  
• Chives- I've cut this plant way back. Haven't used it much lately.
  
• Cilantro-Had a couple nice cuts from it. It has grown tall and flowered. Doesn't look at all like the stuff in the grocery store.
  
• Dill-Very healthy looking and really tasty. This is prime dill time.
  
• Lavender-Zzzzzzzz
• Oregano- The oregano is going great and providing a great taste for a weekly homemade pizza.
  
• Parsley- Looking good and nice to have for recipes.
• Peppermint-Doing great...may have to make some iced tea
  
• Rosemary- Haven't used it much, but the rosemary looks good.
  
• Thyme-Continuing to grow thick. May have to try it in some scrambled eggs this weekend.
  

Muy Caliente!!

Look what Rosetta Stone has taught me to say!!!

My first batch of jalapenos is raring to be harvested and used in a batch of guacamole (along with some cilantro over in the herb aisle next to the parsley). Last week I plucked my first pepper to taste. The surprising part of the first 'peno was its tightly packed seeds and white flesh. The seeds were much smaller than what I've seen in grocery store peppers. I do know the heat of a pepper is packed in those seeds and flesh.

I bucked up and tried the first bite seeds, flesh, and all; might as well find out how hot a punch they are packing. The first five seconds were intensely hot...but it quickly calmed. I thought the flavor was great. The rest of the pepper ended up on some homemade nachos.

So the only lesson I can give here: if you don't want the jalapeno's heat, cut out the seeds and white flesh before consuming. Me? Let's get some chips and avocados and have us a fiesta.

Channel Your Inner-Barber

There's nothing like a clean shave or haircut to get you feeling good and put a little bounce in your step. Well, think of it the same way for your garden plants. Sure we want our plants to be one with nature, be in harmony with mother earth, etc. But let's not go overboard into the dirty hippie category.

A great garden is a groomed garden. The weather is warming up so the plants are taking off and sprouting all new directions. Now is the time when you have to start putting a lot more effort into keeping your growing plants looking sharp. Did I say sharp? What a great segway into...

Tip #1: Have a sharp set of garden/kitchen shears. Personally I have a set of Wusthof kitchen shears from my knife set. They are sturdy and perfect for the garden. I think they cost about $30. A good pair of shears makes pruning and harvesting very easy.









Tip #2: Look low. I find it's important to keep your plant well groomed at its base near soil level. The lower leaves and branches can be a nuisance for a couple reasons. Pests and disease can can live on the ground. If your plant has leaves near or touching the surface, that creates a freeway for unwanted entities to hop on your plant and cause problems. Second, more leaves and branches that exist on the plant make the plant work harder. By cutting off weak or diseased leaves, the plant can focus on sustaining the stronger leaves and production of fruit.









Tip #3: Look high. As plants shoot upwards, look for things like suckers growing on tomato plants. Same with the bottom leaves, eliminating suckers and other damaged leaves allows the plant to focus nutrients towards the strong leaves and fruits. As for root plants, you want to clip off the tops of the plants. For example, with onions you want to clip the green shoots to about 3 inches in height (below pics). Clipping the tops tells the plant to focus on the root system, which in the case of onion plants is the actual onion. The same can apply to other root veggies.









Tip #4: When it comes to herbs and leaf plants....pick, pick, pick!!! The more you cut or pick off your plants, the faster and larger they come back.

This weekend I went to town with the cutters on the plants. I always comb my tomato plants for new suckers to pinch. I trimmed the base of all my pepper species (middle pics), cut off the white blossoms and stunted bottom leaves on the basil (top pics), sheared off half the onion tops, and picked a ton more sugar peas. Jalapenos are growing fast, the tomatoes are getting bigger, and the cucumber/squash plants have blossomed.

It's a fun time in the garden!!!

The First Pickin' of Peas

Forget Waldo, Where the Peas?

Just before the skies opened up and Noah floated down the Capital Beltway tonight, I ran out to the garden and harvested our first batch of gray dwarf sugar peas. It was only a week or so ago we saw the first purple blossoms drop in favor of very small pods. But tonight, there were almost two dozen pods looking to burst at the seems.

Picking peas can be a bit of a task. First of all, there's a very short window for prime plucking. If you wait a day or two too long, they may lose their sweetness. They get starchy and lose that yum-yum taste. Like most other plants, the longer you wait, the slower the plant will take to grow new fruits. My garden bible (The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch) says the opportune time to pick the pods is when you can feel full-sized peas inside and they do not feel hard. If the skin of the pod is smooth, it's ready to pick. Some peas are picked when the pods are full sized but still flat. But in the case of our sugar peas, the peas have to be full and round.

I didn't pick enough for two servings at dinner. But I'm hoping by tomorrow afternoon we'll have enough to secure a healthy portion on our dinner plates.