tomatoes ripening in the compost bin

A few weeks ago I pulled up the old tomato vines so I could plant winter veggies. The worms in the compost bin are slowly doing their good work on the vines, but something interesting has been happening to the tomatoes. There were a few green tomatoes left on the vines, and over the past few weeks, the tomatoes have been ripening. I ate a few this morning and they were delicious.

happy to see a bee

Today I noticed about 30 or so bees milling around on the rapini plants. Going pesticide-free has so many benefits....

surprised snake! and good Fall harvest

    I've been a bit neglectful of the garden lately. When I looked under the tomato plants, there was a three-foot-long snake looking back at me. We were both surprised and gave each other space. She slithered away in a very interesting way. The first foot or so of movement was fast and made noise as she rustled through the dry tomato leaves. Then she slowed down and moved so quietly I couldn't hear her at all - very cool. I couldn't think of a better companion in the garden. I hope she eats plenty of mice.

   In spite of my neglect, the garden is still producing....

Pineapple Guava

The tomatoes are giving up for Autumn, but the pineapple guavas are ready now. These are native to Brazil, but they seem to be doing very well here in San Diego. You eat them by cutting them in half and scooping out the pulp. They are so sweet!

pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana)

pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana)

still producing great tomatoes

It's mid-September now, and we are still getting lots of great tomatoes. As with the lettuce during the winter, we are getting far more than we can eat.

I've been enjoying having fresh tomatoes in sandwiches, salads, snacks, soups - just about anything. This morning I am giving away a big bunch to various neighbors. It's a great way to say Hi.

rich in figs

This is the first year of a bountiful fig crop. I planted two fig trees in October of 2009. Last year they produced only a few figs, but this year we are rich in figs. I've been experimenting with picking them at various stages of ripeness; they are much tastier when you wait until they are a little soft before picking them.

figs (Ficus carica)

tomatoes, tomatoes!

The tomatoes are ripe now and delicious. Also a few yellow crookneck squash are still coming in. Life is good.

tomatoes

the corn is ripe!

   It has been such a joy to watch the corn grow. It strikes me as miraculous that a tiny seed pushes up the soil, makes green stalks and leaves, flowers, and then makes delicious corn. We've had corn with supper for the last two evenings. Yum!

 

way over my head in corn

It's mid July now and the corn is taller than I am. There are abundant male flowers (the tassels), but very few female flowers (the early ears). This is my first time to grow this type of corn, and I hope to see more female flowers soon.

the corn is reaching for the sky!

     The little raised bed is doing well this week. I planted 30 days ago, and most of the seeds have sprouted. The corn and peas are thriving; the corn is reaching for the sky and the peas are sending out tiny tendrils for climbing.  I'll build a trellis soon for the peas.

The corn looks good. I'm surprised at how fast it can grow.

The tomatoes look fine too, though only a few have sprouted.

The peppers and eggplant haven't sprouted yet. Now it's been over 4 weeks, so I'll replant these.

the corn is sprouting!

I re-planted the raised bed on May 1rst. Over the past week, the metal mesh has kept the digging beast away, and the little corns plants have shot up skyward (well, at least about an inch skyward).

Planting for warm weather

We ate the last of the lettuce last weekend - after giving away heaps of heads to neighbors.

  The spring onions and carrots were nice too. 

The weather is warming up, though, so it's time for summer crops. This morning I planted:

Beets - Bull's Blood
Corn - Stowell's Evergreen
Peppers - Korean Dark Green
Garden Pea - Wando
Tomatoes - Illini Star
Tomatoes - Pantano Romanesco
Eggplant - Diamond

  I planted all these from seed today. Last year, I made the mistake of crowding all the plants too closely. This year I hope to do better by carefully following the directions on the seed packs.  The total surface of the little raised bed is 4 feet x 10 feet.

good day in the garden

Today was a good day in the little back yard. There were good omens of food to come.

The first good omen was the clusters of tiny grapes on the grape vines.

 

Another good omen is the blossoms on the orange tree. The scent is so subtle... 

Also, the lettuce, carrots, and onions just keep on producing.

It's still such a treat to have salad straight from the garden. 

   Things are going well, so I am doing a bit of expansion. Last year we feasted on squash that grew spontaneously from the compost pit. Today I dug a little compost into a new patch of soil and planted squash and melon. I hope these will do as well as the volunteer squash from last year. 

Lettuce still producing

I planted lettuce and carrots on November 27th. We've been harvesting for the past few weeks and have been enjoying both the "rouge d'hiver" and the "amish deer tongue." Both have been tasty and good producers.

I planted the carrots on November 27th also. I should have thinned them more. We've harvested some fine-looking specimens, but some have been too crowded and a bit stunted. Still, they have a pleasant taste and the greens are pretty.

New Grape Leaves

I pruned back the old grape vines a few weeks ago. Now the new leaves are coming in and new growth has already started on the vines. I impressed at the hardiness of the fast-growing plants.

 

Carrots

After epic battles with the diggity beast (yes, we resorted to metal mesh enclosure), we are finally enjoying the first of the carrots.

protecting the little harvest

 For the past month, I've been dealing with a little beastie who keeps digging in the garden. We haven't seen the creature, but on most mornings we can see signs of digging. I tried sprinkling hot sauce around the plants, but the beast kept coming back. We affectionately named it "the diggity beast." Finally I relented and built a little frame and stapled a mesh enclosure around the veggies. The system is lightweight so I can remove it during the day for weeding or harvesting, and replace it during the night to prevent my friend "diggity" from digging up the plants. So far it's been working well. 

salad from the yard

For lunch today we had a salad with all the ingredients picked just minutes before the meal - pomegranate, green lettuce, and red lettuce. Yum!

valencia oranges almost ready to eat

I planted the Valencia orange tree in August of 2009.

This winter, we're having our first little crop of oranges.

 We tried eating one of the oranges two weeks ago; it was still too tart. 

 We'll do sample taste again in a week.

It's early February and a few new leaves are sprouting.

I'm hoping for more growth this year. 

 

Lettuce, carrots, and onions!

The lettuce has been surprising. The "Rouge d'Hiver" has an iridescent sheen that I've never seen in grocery-store lettuce.

 

It's almost too pretty to eat.

 

The "Amish Deer Tongue" lettuce hasn't been growing as quickly as the Rouge d'Hiver. I planted both types to see which one would do better. 

 

 It's interesting that the Amish Deer Tongue lettuce does taste quite different from the Rouge d'Hiver.

 The onions are coming coming along too, but quite slowly.