Ouch! Winter Hits Hurt
Down here in the foothills of San Diego its not unusual to see temps dip below freezing on some nights... in February. Unfortunately, during the last three weeks of autumn almost every night has dipped into the low 30's (and some nights into the 20's). Most of my subtropicals can survive a few nights of frosty weather, but not weeks of it. Pretty much everything is now fried. Fried plant gallery Now I'll just have to whack it all back, mulch and hope an early spring.
Thanksgiving dressing from the herb garden
The herb garden is about done for the year, but not so done that I can't get everything I need to season our homemade stuffing. Manged to get plenty thyme, rosemary, celery, parsley and sage. Now to dice it up and add it to the croutons I made from some leftover French bread the Mrs. made earlier this week.
Garlic sprouts in early November
About a month ago I planted some hardneck garlic for spring harvest. Here's what it looks like a month later: I planted both rows on the same day, but curiously, the garlic on the left, which is from a local grower, is already up and on its way. The garlic from Maine has yet to appear.
Jack o’ Lantern in waiting
It's Halloween, and time to haul one of the last pumpkins up to carve it into a Jack o' Lantern. This one looks pretty good. Follow-up: turns out this one was bigger than I thought. 45lbs worth of Jack o' Lantern coming up.
Garlic Planting Time
Ordered some hardneck garlic last month from Pinetree Garden Seeds and it's finally here. I figure if I plant it now, right around spring we'll have fresh garlic.
Big Duck, Small Pond
WHy go to the duck pond with all the other ducks wen you can have a water dish all to yourself?
Late summer harvest
Summer still has a month to go, but the garden is starting to look tired. All the heat and sun has the spring plantings kicking out their last. I won't be planting anything new until mid-September when fall crops will have a better chance of surviving. In the meantime, I'm happy that we're still harvesting grapes, tomatoes, squash, peppers, lemons and limes.
Best Pepper Pickling Recipe
Pickling your peppers, whether sweet or hot, is a great way to preserve their flavor and be able to enjoy your garden bounty long after the season is gone
How the Herb Garden Grows
In early March I decided to create an herb garden by rounding up a bunch of plants that were growing wild in various locations around the yard. To start I moved a catnip seeding, some oregano and a parsley volunteer. A month later I added some thyme, summer savory and a sage. And a month after that I added a tomatillo volunteer and and a marjoram shoot I found. At some point in May, a Blue Jay decided to add a sunflower or two (scrub jays are famous for stashing seeds and forgetting where). Looks like everything is [keep reading...]
Perlette Table Grape
I bought a dozen 1 year old table grape vines from Peaceful Valley Farms last year (a real deal at just $5 a vine). Last year they didn't do much. I let them run wild and get established. This past winter I pruned and trellised them and have tried to keep them trained on the trellis. Looks like the work is paying off. This is a bunch of Perlette table grapes. I've also got Concord and Black Monukka clusters ripening away. Can't wait to try them. Next year I'm going to see about investing in some wine grape stock. A [keep reading...]
Ouch! Winter Hits Hurt
Down here in the foothills of San Diego its not unusual to see temps dip below freezing on some nights... in February. Unfortunately, during the last three weeks of autumn almost every night has dipped into the low 30's (and some nights into the 20's). Most of my subtropicals can survive a few nights of frosty weather, but not weeks of it. Pretty much everything is now fried. Fried plant gallery Now I'll just have to whack it all back, mulch and hope an early spring.
Thanksgiving dressing from the herb garden
The herb garden is about done for the year, but not so done that I can't get everything I need to season our homemade stuffing. Manged to get plenty thyme, rosemary, celery, parsley and sage. Now to dice it up and add it to the croutons I made from some leftover French bread the Mrs. made earlier this week.
Garlic sprouts in early November
About a month ago I planted some hardneck garlic for spring harvest. Here's what it looks like a month later: I planted both rows on the same day, but curiously, the garlic on the left, which is from a local grower, is already up and on its way. The garlic from Maine has yet to appear.
Jack o’ Lantern in waiting
It's Halloween, and time to haul one of the last pumpkins up to carve it into a Jack o' Lantern. This one looks pretty good. Follow-up: turns out this one was bigger than I thought. 45lbs worth of Jack o' Lantern coming up.
Garlic Planting Time
Ordered some hardneck garlic last month from Pinetree Garden Seeds and it's finally here. I figure if I plant it now, right around spring we'll have fresh garlic.
Big Duck, Small Pond
WHy go to the duck pond with all the other ducks wen you can have a water dish all to yourself?
Late summer harvest
Summer still has a month to go, but the garden is starting to look tired. All the heat and sun has the spring plantings kicking out their last. I won't be planting anything new until mid-September when fall crops will have a better chance of surviving. In the meantime, I'm happy that we're still harvesting grapes, tomatoes, squash, peppers, lemons and limes.
Best Pepper Pickling Recipe
Pickling your peppers, whether sweet or hot, is a great way to preserve their flavor and be able to enjoy your garden bounty long after the season is gone
How the Herb Garden Grows
In early March I decided to create an herb garden by rounding up a bunch of plants that were growing wild in various locations around the yard. To start I moved a catnip seeding, some oregano and a parsley volunteer. A month later I added some thyme, summer savory and a sage. And a month after that I added a tomatillo volunteer and and a marjoram shoot I found. At some point in May, a Blue Jay decided to add a sunflower or two (scrub jays are famous for stashing seeds and forgetting where). Looks like everything is [keep reading...]
Perlette Table Grape
I bought a dozen 1 year old table grape vines from Peaceful Valley Farms last year (a real deal at just $5 a vine). Last year they didn't do much. I let them run wild and get established. This past winter I pruned and trellised them and have tried to keep them trained on the trellis. Looks like the work is paying off. This is a bunch of Perlette table grapes. I've also got Concord and Black Monukka clusters ripening away. Can't wait to try them. Next year I'm going to see about investing in some wine grape stock. A [keep reading...]