The lettuce has done very well this season. The copper collars did a great job keeping the slugs off for the most part. It is getting pretty hot weather-wise, but luckily the plants all headed up before then. These are the last two heads ready for picking. The peas are mostly done too. Time to move into the summer crops. I picked 2 cucumbers today and the beans are coming along quickly. I like the harvest changes as the garden makes its way through the season.
Archive for the ‘My Garden’ category
Lettuce celebrate
June 20th, 2010Garlic is ready
June 20th, 2010
It has been a long time since I’ve posted anything here. Not because there isn’t anything happening in the garden- just to opposite. Quite a bit is happening. And all is just on the verge of hitting full production. We’ve already had a steady stream of lettuce, 2 cabbages so far (I am making some sauerkraut) , boatloads of peas, Kale, Swiss Chard, some carronts, many strawberries, and plenty of herbs. I picked the first garlic today. It looks like some zucchini will be ready later this week.
Lettuce get started
April 30th, 2010
The lettuce transplants are growing well. They have a ways to go before harvest. But the spring planting of greens has already been supplying our dinner salad needs. These are some red Iceburg lettuce that did very well for us last year, and so far are growing well this year too. Hopefully my new copper collars will keep the slugs out of them — nothing spoils a nice garden salad like a couple of unwelcome dinner guests!
Red Leaf Lettuce
April 2nd, 2010
It was so nice today to finally have some sunny, warm weather. It is starting to feel more like spring. I’ve been hardening off the lettuce plants this week and planted them today. Last year this red leaf lettuce did very well — it grew great, was tender and sweet. The only real problem was the number of slugs who seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. It was a pain to pick them off, and there was always the fear that one would sneak through and provide an unwelcome tasty morsel in the salad! This year I’m going to try using copper collars to keep the buggers off.
Spring Horseradish
April 2nd, 2010An article in this week’s New York Times got me thinking about horseradish. That and the arrival of passover, with its bitter herbs and all. Our neighbor Patricia has a pile of plants growing in her garden. So after plying her with a dinner of slow cooked rosemary chicken, wheatberries and spring greens (fresh from the garden) we went horseradish hunting. She wasn’t quite sure where it was (nice to see I’m not the only one who forgets exactly what is planted where!) but after poking through the leaves we came across one good bunch. Horseradish is the kind of thing that once it gets growing it spreads quickly — she was happy to share (the dinner helped.) We got one root for the passover dinner tomorrow and another piece to plant in the herb garden.
In The Garden – Growing Your Own Horseradish – NYTimes.com
OUR horseradish roots looked so innocent when they arrived in the mail last spring. Just little brown sticks, about eight inches long and as narrow as pencils.
1992 Summer in Virginia
March 27th, 2010
In the summer of 1992 we were living in Fairfax Virginia. I had my first ‘grown up’ garden — the first since high school days. The plot was in a community garden space. Because I was new in the group I was assigned a spot way up in the back. But it worked out well because I got a slightly larger plot. And I didn’t mind hauling my grass clippings up there to mulch. It was a great garden year — fabulous broccoli. I even grew okra (it was the south after all!)
Leo often accompanied me to the garden, helping to pick produce, eating green beans off the plant, and picking from the raspberry bushes growing wild at the entrance. What a cute little guy!
New Onions
March 25th, 2010
Garden Tools
March 24th, 2010
My typical garden session consist of carrying tools around the garden, setting them down somewhere, losing them, looking for them, etc. This year I decided things would be different! I purchased a really nice pair of Felco Pruners, and one of those tool caddies that fits around a plastic pail. Now I can move around more organized — nothing is perfect but it is a nice improvement.
The best purchase was a nice, comfortable, durable set of garden gloves. No more cheap, torn, cotton gloves for me.
Tracks in the snow
March 19th, 2010
I saw these tracks and thought they looked unusual. After consulting the field guide I first decided they were gray fox tracks. But then I talked myself out of it, deciding they were more likely one of the local cats. But last week, driving out around 10pm guess what ran in front of the trucK? Sure enough, a gray fox. So I was right!
Bronx Botanical Garden Orchid Show
March 8th, 2010
Leslie and I had a great time at the Bronx Botanical Garden viewing this year’s orchid show. What an overwhelming experience. The sheer numbers of perfect plant and flowers is amazing. I can barely keep my handful of plants looking good — here there were dozens of perfect specimen of just one variety, and dozens of varieties. And they all were displayed amidst the regular trees and displays that are a regular part of the conservatory which gives a nice feel for how the orchids grow in the wild. Check out the full set of photos.
It was a little crowded. If you plan to go, and can manage a day off during the week, I highly recommend it. The gift show has a great variety of orchids for sale along with orchid how-to books. Everything to get you started down the path!
