lessons learned from the field

as i watched the final (sunny) sunset of this week while listening to the chatter of the kingfisher, i contemplated this past season's garden and the lessons i have learned...

1. smaller is better for me...at least when it comes to gardening...i dont have time (apparently) to deal with my city garden and a fairly large (for me) vegetable patch in a community garden: square foot gardens are the answer.
2. containers also appear to be my forte´ when it comes to edibles and i got a fair amount of food out of my pots...some died in the drought, though.


3. self watering containers are good.
4. self watering containers are good, but other contraptions didnt work that well for me. my fancy upside down tomato planters were weak...

i dumped my spring potato bag after there was nothing in it at the end ( i have since replanted for a possible fall crop)
...my weed blockers didn't work.

5. figure out the edibles you really need and grow them prolifically. work edibles into every possible nook and cranny, because fresh foods rock.

6. get vertical.

7. compost rules...bottom line: it rules!

the mid atlantic red fruit festival

seeds to schools has a benefit tasting,-the red fruit festival- tonight 6-8 featuring local farmers and chefs downtown in the golden triangle...tickets will be available at the door or online. make it a super hot downtown city night starting with a free concert at woodrow wilson plaza followed by this celebration of the tomato!

garden fantasy: smashed!

well, my vegetable garden in the field is becoming a worse failure than last year's epic one, and here is the pepper pic to prove it. i dont even know what happened to them, but the deer have neatly trimmed all tomato foliage and fruit above the cages...and the corn too is nibbled down low...the onions have disappeared...i saw the bugs that ate the cantaloupe and pumpkin vines...the sweet potatoes melted...this field sucks! i used weed barriers everywhere, but no poisons. ugh! i have seedlings ready to go in, but i am rethinking it. i hate giving in, but i might have too. the sad part is i would starve if i were dependent on this garden for actual food! luckily, my square foot garden, raised beds and planter boxes seem to be doing well: onion, arugula, flat leaf parsley and mixed greens are producing well...i collected squash blossoms the other day and a couple of yellow crooknecks today...the first yellow pear mini tomatoes are ready and the larger varieties are growing (no color yet, though). i have yellow beans! and basil! so, that is sort of a happy ending, right?

men at work

i never see women at my vegetable garden plot: not sure why, but it's true. maybe they know something. today all the mens worked the field. not hard enough though: i'm calling in the farmer for a deep plow, otherwise these weeds will be taking over in a few days.

fall harvest from my 'square foot' garden

whereas my large vegetable garden which i worked so hard on was a complete failure (again), my august-planted square foot garden seems to be something of a success! i have been harvesting arugula for small salads and sandwiches for a couple of weeks, but today i plucked out radishes, a little sunburst squash and some pear tomatoes (volunteers: the ones i planted are red and covered in worm holes). also, the swiss chard looks great, and i have onion sprouts! this is very encouraging: i think i will be thinking small again next year.

today's menu includes stuff from the garden!

with all of this year's personal gardening disasters, there has been some success! the square foot garden i planted ten days ago is doing quite well (?). im not sure why: its august, 96° and we haven't had rain in a while, but i'm just going with it! i thinned the arugula and used the micro-greens along side tomatoes grown in sandy loam from my coastal virginia farmer o'bier to top off today's tuna-fish sandwich: super yummy! not sure if i can do anything with the beet greens i also thinned: i will let you know!

what vegetables should i plant in july?

my vegetable garden is in shambles...again. it has been the second driest july since records have been kept. i missed two weekends of maintanance: the bugs ate the potatoes to skeletal form; i guess the actual potatoes dried up due to lack of water; the deer ate the 'bright lights' swiss chard; the onions and leeks look ok, but they are ensconced in weeds; i had mulched the tomatoes, so no weeds, but the deer trimmed all their new growth; i cant find my sweet potatoes. one surprise, though: i have two very large 'moon and stars' heirloom watermelons! the mister wants to abandon the whole project. i have done this too long, however, and am unwilling to give up! so...i am going to try and salvage this growing season by planting some fall crops right now: i have a whole box of unused seeds. i need some help and inspiration, though. found some on youtube (of course!) via gardengirltv. she has some great ideas and makes it sound do-able. back to the field!

thank god for the farmer's market

my tomatoes in maryland are non-existant...and still not red in virginIa, but farmer obiers grows amazing fresh produce...the sweet potatoes i bought from him last week turned into incredible gnocci with a a fresh tomato sauce. mmm....

my container gardens

i have a few things growing in containers and raised beds. i put 'top hat' blueberries in 12" pots below crook neck yellow squash sitting on the deck of my shed. these huge pots reclaimed from a construction site hold 30 strawberry plants each: some grub-type-thing is eating the berries. i have a bunch of heirloom tomatoes in my raised beds that i started from seed: they look good! my carrots, i dont know...i am not very good with carrots.

my vegetable garden

i am determined to grow all of my fruits and vegetables! ok: that's a bit lofty: i am trying to grow some of my fruits and vegetables. this is the third year working my plot in virginia. the first year, i staked out 50 feet by 50 feet of sandy loam, put a strawberry pyramid in the center and central paths forming a cross with a round about the strawberries. i lined the paths with a thick mulch of loblolly pine needles. i plotted out on paper my plan and inserted all of the seedlings. the first potatoes were fantastic! then we got 11" of rain that drowned my pink and blue popcorn. the deer ate my tomato and pepper plants. i was away for a couple of weekends, and the weeds took over the strawberries: i never found them! so i abandoned it. last year, i started potatoes on valentine's day, followed up with seedlings later and the farmer came and plowed everything under, including the strawberry pyramid. so, i abandoned it. this year will be different though: i can tell! i started seeds early. we bought a walk behind tiller to help with the weeds; there are still a lot, though! i have walking onions, leeks and sweet onions. the tomatoes havent been touched by the deer yet. the potatoes had a lot of bugs, but i smacked them off and they werent around this week. the mustard is still kicking. the cabbages are growing, but i am not really sure how they are supposed to look. the swiss chard looks amazing! my moon and stars watermelon looks a bit anemic, but is still alive! some of the sweet potatoes dried up, but most are sprouting. the arugula and italian parsley have past: i need to replant them. the radishes (which were delicious) went to seed: i am going to save it for next year. the carrots didnt make it.