Cucumber Succeeding...So Far

IMG_2276, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

Cucumber is doing quite well here. They are in a pretty good bed - sun in the AM, shade in the PM which is what I've heard plants want. I feel the same way sometimes. Anyway, they are overwhelming a serrano pepper here and some lemon verbena which I suppose I should move. Hmmmm...

The seeds for the cukes were quite old so it was nice to get some plants. Some animal seems to enjoy pinching off or eating the flowers, but I think a few cukes are making it. We planted them years ago as well...but they were overwhelmed by some insect, so we took a break. Hopefully, we will get a few cucumbers and we will have found another squirrel and bunny immune crop.

Volunteer Sunflowers

IMG_6326, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

Didn't plant these guys, but I like 'em. So do the finches...and bees...and sometimes the squirrels will take a flower or two. This year they have stayed away, perhaps because this guy is so close to the doorway and walkway. We had about 10 sunflowers last year, so it is hard to believe that only two seeds made it. If you want any seeds from these popular plants, you will need to put a paper bag over the head at some point -least that's what I have heard.

My nephew and niece in Seattle recently fooled their dad by secretly planting a bunch of sunflowers around the garden. They popped up and stole all of the sun (what little there is in WA) from the veggies. Poor Toby! So...if you have kids, and you garden..,control your supply of sunflower seeds.

Why Grow Your Own - Reason #1

IMG_2111, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

This here is a list of ingredients from an elementary school lunch. Look what we are feeding children. Michael Pollen said if your grandparents wouldn't recognize it as food, you probably shouldn't eat it. Oh...and by the way, this is the "recipe" for peanut butter + jelly.

By the way, one of the funny details about this PB Jamwich Thing, aside from all the ingredients, is that it has NO CRUST. Yup. Bread without crust...it's like fruit without seeds...oh wait, I think we make that, too. Here's the thing. Crust is an essential part of the whole bread making process. Just like seeds are a natural and essential part of fruit. So getting rid of it is just plain weird. Will we raise a whole generation of kids who can't eat crusts? 

Still Life with Onions and Peppers...and deer skull

IMG_6288, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

Yep - that is a deer skull. A good friend gave me that years ago. Squirrels and other varmints have whittled down the antlers for some reason. All of 'em are perched atop the rain barrel which is why there is chicken wire underneath.

Grass to Greens: Edible Landscapes

It's an idea that is big and getting bigger. Lose the lawn and plant things that look good and are edible. You can see a little of it in my neighborhood and I think it is really catching on in various cities. Not everyone has time for the set up and the learning curve involved, so it's great to see businesses dedicated to helping people make the switch from lawn to food. Grass to Greens in Asheville, NC is one such business. If you are in the Asheville area, check them out.

Enchanted Eggplant Forest

IMG_2282, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

How many eggplants can you find in the enchanted eggplant forest? Click on the pic to see a picture with their locations revealed.

Yup...we may have overplanted. This bed also has a bunch of peppers and broccoli...all of which seem to be immune to bunnybirdsquirrel attack.We planted three kinds of eggplant - regular, japanese, and rosa bianca. So I better start finding some good eggplant recipes.

Flowers from Reed Franklin

IMG_2279, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

A kind of smaller flowered black-eyed susan. They are from my cousin's yard and are doing well...aside from a bunny attack on one which killed it. I have two plants left, doing well. I am hoping they spread and prosper as a living memorial to Reed. They are great plants for feeding birds...especially finches which seem to have evolved to eat these things - their coloration is perfect for hiding in black eyed susan beds. They even have a black dot on the top of their heads that mimics the dark center of the flower.

At times, I have cut off the seed heads, but recently I heard (from Mike McGrath's excellent podcast) that leaving the seedheads on longer can help birds even more. Even if you don't like watching birds, they are good for eating bugs that might attack plants.

Harvest Time!

IMG_6319, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

Got just one zucchini. Squirrels and birds keep stealing the blossoms. But I dug up just one tiny corner of the potato bed and got a bunch of potatoes. There were a surprising number of white potatoes which were just some grocery store potatoes that I planted. The onion here is a red onion from the Maine potato lady. Both potatoes and onions are good since they are immune to attack from bird, bunny, and squirrel.

I am leaving the bulk of the potatoes in the ground until needed. I feel like I heard or read that they will store better in the ground than in the house. We shall see. Oh...one more thing. I let the potatoes flower. I did a little investigating and found mixed benefits to pinching off the flowers. One source suggested you might get 10% greater yield which isn't much and so I figured, why not see the flowers and let the bees have a little pollen.

Tomato Roots Growing

IMG_6298, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

I cut off two tomato branches and tried to root them in a glass of water. Got the idea from Square Foot Gardening. One died, the other, plum tomato pictured here, made it and is now planted in the garden. Free tomato plant!

Guest Photographer

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

We took a trip a while back, and one of our neighbors decided he should take some pictures of our front yard as it was blooming. He didn't want us to miss anything. I was glad because, once again, I had forgotten to get any pics of the blooming cactus. Thanks Michael!

The prickly pear cactus is native to the Virginia and mid-atlantic area and bees love it. It is easily propagated by just removing a leaf (?) and placing wherever you'd like a new cactus. In fact, I recently sent my nephew, Ian, a few leaves across the country via the USPS and I think he is trying to get them to start in a  pot.

At the very bottom is a Yucca in bloom. Also native. 

Inspiration #2: Mom and Dad

Here we are around 1966 I reckon. Mom and Dad have always encouraged me to do just about anything I wanted...within reason. One summer I got it into my head that I wanted to have a garden, perhaps after visiting Reed. I asked if I could turn this weedy rectangle out back into a garden. They said, "sure!" The goal was to turn over about 200 square feet. Pretty small bit, really. I worked and worked and only got blisters to show for it. But it was my first attempt and one thing gardeners know is that you learn from every failure. So thanks, Mom and Dad, for giving me the go ahead way back when. It was another significant moment on my journey toward my current obsession with plants.

Rooting Tomato

IMG_2262, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

According to Mel Barthalomew of the Square Foot Gardening Cult ( yup, I said it!) you can and should cut off extra tomato branches to send strength to the main line and then you can root the branches and make another plant for a later harvest. Well, we shall see. It hurt me to cut these things off. Very sad.

One other thing, I loooove the smell of tomato leaves. Delicious.

Eggplant Looking Egg...Nope...Can't Do It.

IMG_2261, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

I wonder why people don't grow more eggplant .Like tomatoes, they seem to do well here and squirrels can't eat them - too tough. Also - I think they are a great looking plant with interesting flowers. This year we went a little crazy and planted about 8 plants.

Here's the best eggplant tip ever courtesy of Toby (brother-in-law) - slice em up and grill them outside and then make homemade Baba Ganoush. It has a kind of smokey flavor that will make all other Baba bow.

Jalapenos

IMG_2256, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

Peppers looking good. The Jalapenos seem to have a head start on the sweet peppers. I wonder how big they'll get.

The Problem with Mammoth Snow Peas

IMG_2259, a photo by Pike-uliar Gardenings on Flickr.

The problem with mammoth snow peas is that they are mammoth: 5-7 feet tall. When Bambi left for a work trip she left me vital instructions: "don't forget to eat all the snow peas." WEll, it sounds easy enough, but these guys are about 7 feet tall now and in a foot high raised bed which ...according to my calculations makes them 8 feet tall. So...picking them is not a simple matter, Nevertheless, I will endeavor to persevere.