I just ate a bug. And that's not the worst of it. I have a bug on my boob and 3 of them in my hair. Actually eating one probably was the worst of it.
I just got in from talking with some of my neighbours outside and we were viciously attacked by some gnats. They weren't biting bugs or anything but they were swarmy. All kind of flitty and bothersome. Like Bieber fans.
At around 7:30 tonight I sauntered down the street with that very basket of tomatoes you see in the picture above, handing them out to neighbours, strangers ... the homeless guy who lives in the bush. I guess technically he's not homeless, he does have a home, it just happens to be a tarp.
Anyone and everyone got a tomato. It's been a bumper crop. The problem is ... they just don't taste as good as the ones I tasted at Tree & Twig. I asked the owner, Linda about that and she said it was probably my soil. Apparently she has delicious dirt. The amount and types of minerals and nutrients and compost and stuff you have in your soil makes a big difference in how the things you grow in it taste. She's a proponent of Spanish River Carbonatite which is proven to increase the Brix count of what's grown in it.
Blah, blah, blah, who cares, don't understand what she's talking about so I'm going to go play with cheese now. That's what you're thinking right?
All that means is, if you amend your soil with this stuff your tomatoes will be sweeter. The Brix count is a measurement of sugar levels. I learned all about it when I was teaching myself to make Maple Syrup this spring.
So even though this here front yard food patch is barely growed up, I've already started planning next year's garden. And it will include Spanish River Carbonatite.
Settle in. This is gonna be a big one ...
Onto the reveal!
Wanna grow something that produces from spring until fall, has bright colours and never looks messy and floppy? Grow Swiss Chard. It's the tall, upright plants on both sides of my path.
You might notice some bare spots. That's where old vegetables came out, and new vegetables are still being planted.
The famous Amish Cockscomb. The most fantastic flower ever grown. Want some? Buy it from Tree & Twig here.
No idea. If you know what he is ... lemme know. They SWARM the Cockscomb every day.
Remember the Great Green Bean experiment? Well, this is how the pole beans look less than a month later.
This is disaster corner. Welcome to it. I had planted 4 Zucchinis and every SINGLE one of them croaked due to a variety of ailments and pests. The same pests got 3 of my 4 Acorn Squash plants. For hours I hand picked Striped Beetles and Squash Bugs off my plants only to have them up and die from a gross maggoty thing that bores into the stem of the plant and eats it from the inside out. So you don't even know it's there! Vine Borers are vile, parasitic annoyances. Like Nickleback fans.
Just kidding.
About the fans. Not about Nickelback though. Yeah, yeah, you're a big fan. Whatever. They're no Barenaked Ladies. This is about vegetables anyway ...
So I have managed to get a few acorn squash off of this one vine, but thanks to Squash Vine Borer I lost all my other vines.
Update: I have been growing squash successfully for years now in my 40' x 40' community garden. I researched and learned how to prevent and control squash vine borer by literally watching for them and cutting them out of the plants! You can read my whole post covering squash vine borer prevention and control here.
This is the sweet potato patch. There better be sweet potatoes under that patch of vines or there's gonna be a shit show. They take up a lot of space those sweet potatoes.
Green peppers which will eventually be red peppers. We've harvested 2 reds already and have another 15 or so on the 2 plants.
My biggest surprise has been the celery. I will never go celeryless again. Think about it. How often do you buy a bunch of celery, use a few pieces and then let the rest of it wither then turn slimy in your crisper? Always. You always, always do that. Or maybe I always, always do that. Regardless, growing celery is the perfect solution. I go outside, pull of a few stalks and let the plant continue to grow. I've been doing this all summer long and it thrills me every single time. Also, celery from the garden is so crunchy it feels like the earth is moving underneath you when you bite into it.
Tomatoes. Yup. Even though I don't really like them, I grew 4 varieties of tomatoes. It's my way of trying to like them. And growing them really has increased my appetite for these little suckers. I ordered all of my seeds from Linda at Tree & Twig, OTHER THAN one variety. I decided I really wanted to grow Black Krim tomatoes. They're dark, dark tomatoes with a hint of saltiness to them. So I ran up to my local organic seed store and grabbed a packet of Black Krim seeds. They were the tomatoes I was most looking forward to. I sold and gave a bunch of my Black Krim seedlings away, but kept one for myself. I waited all summer for it to start producing tomatoes. And it did. That plant has produced more tomatoes than I could ever possibly eat. It's about 8 feet high and COVERED in ... not Black Krim tomatoes. Apparently there was some kind of mixup on the seed store floor which resulted in me growing some boring, round, flavourless tomato.
If I gave/sold you a Black Krim I'm sorry if it turned out to be a boring, round, flavourless tomato. If you DID end up with a Black Krim ... drop a few off on my porch.
Dinosaur Kale. Still doin' well after 3 months in the garden plus because of it's blue tinge it looks great too. Kale is especially good when it's grown in cold weather so I'm going to plant a couple of more plants and try my luck at some winter kale.
The last of the carrots. These will be carrot soup by tomorrow.
And these will hopefully be full grown carrots by the end of October or so. I tried to plant succession crops with anything that does well in cool weather. Things like carrots.
And beets.
I still have a fair amount of beets in the ground, but I want to make sure I have beets to store for the winter so a couple of weeks ago I planted a bunch of beet seeds where my lettuce used to be.
And since my lettuce is all gone, of course I had to plant more lettuce.
Another succession crop I'm trying is peas. Not a single pea from my first batch made it into the house. I sat in the dirt and ate the peas. All of the peas.
One of the plants I was ridiculously excited about growing was potatoes. SO excited. I experimented with a few ways of planting them to see which one worked best. Some of the vines have already died back completely ...
I couldn't help myself. I had to scrape away the straw and dirt to see if there actually were potatoes under there.
Be still my heart. There were.
French Fingerlings
Kennebecs
So the front yard vegetable garden I was worried the neighbours would shun me for has done the exact opposite. I visit my neighbours more, dropping off extra produce, I talk with them more as they walk by and ask questions, I hear about how at first they were sceptical but have decided next year they're going to have a front yard vegetable garden too.
If I could get a Nickelback for all the people I turned into Beliebers I'd be rich.
You have inspired Hubs and I to incorporate veggies into our front yard landscaping. Though we have deer and rabbits and squirrels and chipmunks along with the occasional possum and raccoon to deal with. Love the suburban wildlife. :-D So now I am off to research critter repellants that can be used on veggies.
That's great! Not the part about the deer, rabbits and squirrels etc ... but the garden. You'll love it. It's SO much more fun than growing shrubs. Good luck! I'm no expert but I'll answer any questions you have. ~ karen!
I just came across yr site through pinterest. Amazing stuff! Did u know that sweet potato leaves (young shoots) can be eaten? They are amazing! I used to go to my late grandmother's backyard and 'harvest' the sweet potatoes shoot. Just take up to 3-4 leaves. My nanny stirfry them with some shallots, garlics and prawns and a bit of chillies. Drool~
Hi Lin! Glad you found my site. I didn't know the leaves were edible until people started to let me know. I'll give them a shot next summer! ~ karen
Oh, Karen, how I have missed thee. Sitting by myself at a restaurant waiting for a friend and just laughed out loud from a couple of your lines in here, garnering some looks. Screw 'em. They're probably Nickleback fans.
I planted way too much swiss chard this year, but discovered that my chickens luuurrrve it so they get 5 or 6 big leaves of it every day (they don't eat the pretty red stems, just the leafy bits). Then I had a stroke of genius and discovered that they make a fabulous arrangement in the house- just 5 huge stalks of it in a tall glass vase is really striking.
I have a question about your celery- I tried it out this spring, and while it stayed leafy and even grew new leaves for a while it never really grew. So I got tired of watering it and yanked it out. Is it just slow to grow, or what? Did you plant seeds (I just plopped the cut off end of a store-bought bunch in the ground. Maybe that was my problem)?
Hi Stephanie - Hah! I used chard in this arrangement ... https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/vegetable-flower-arrangement/ Lasted forever. I think planting the root of the celery may have been your problem. I didn't grow it from seed. In fact I had no intention of growing celery, but I saw some at my local grocery store's nursery and bought it on a whim. It turned out to be a great investment. Incredibly crunchy, very prolific and tastes naturally salty. Love it. Try buying seedlings next year. Easy as pie to grow. Not that a pie is particularly easy to grow. ~ karen!
I probably got the idea of using chard from you. I find that most of *my* ideas are actually things I saw somewhere and then forgot about, which then resurface and I think I'm brilliant. So thanks for that idea, because it was a great one! Thanks for the tips on celery, too. I probably got the idea to plant the butt of a store bought bunch from pinterest, which is a hotbed of crappy information, and also really yummy cookie recipes.
LOL. Agreed on Pinterest. Pretty pictures though. ~ karen
Thanks for the pics Karen! Our garden has suffered from the lack of rain we've had (not had!). We watered, but prob not enough, as we worried about our well. Oh well, next year.... Your pics were great and thanks for sharing them!
No problem. The only reason my vegetables made it through the drought was the fella. He installed the sprinkler system in the front yard. I had it on a timer to go on once a week for an hour. Just enough to keep things alive. ~ karen!
I am again amazed at the difference between locations. That Four-Toothed Mason Wasp isn't called four toothed for nothing. North Texas is full of wasps. Stay away from them. The sting is nasty.
We plant sweet potato vines for decoration. When we pull them up in fall, we get potatoes.
We also use kale to decorate our gardens. I never actually thought about eating it.
Wonderful soil. Did you have it trucked in when we weren't looking? I have to use a grub hoe and tiller to get anywhere with my soil even with the compost. It takes years to get soil like that here.
I wish I was one of your neighbors! I'm jealous of them. Also, that last line = pure genius.
I yearn for a garden! Too much shade here although herbs and lettuce do fine. Love your garden.
Gorgeous garden! My mouth watered seeing the green beans and new potatoes. I didn't plant much this year as I can raid my daughter's any time I feel like tottering down there. Her peppers are just now coming on strong after a horrible hot summer. Even the bedding plants I put out look like the dickens. They have pretty much just sat there and decided to commit plant kamikazee. Burned up if you don't water and cooked when I watered. Days of 110 to 112 made it a losing year. You can make sauce out of your kind of tomatoes and can wonderful salsa. Have you tried Mrs. Wages seasoning packets to make salsa? Wonderful stuff. Deedra has canned lots of jars of sauce and salsa. However, they can eat it almost as fast as she makes it. She feeds 3 men, one of them a teenager so nothing is wasted. Have you ever seen a 4 ft mum plant? I haven't until now and it has grown so tall and has one tiny bud. I can't figure that out at all. It's an old plant that has been normal till now. How's the search for the perfect fridge going? What ever you buy is going to be obsolete by the time it's delivered. My new Better Homes and Garden's mag shows the new sparkling white ones cause steel is out. It could drive one crazy staying up with fads. So I don't!
I grew many of the same crops this year in my front yard garden and had a mixed bag of results. I had the same problem with my zucchini as you had with your acorn squash. Lost three of them to vine borers. I got one HUGE zucchini from the remaining vine before it, too, succumbed to the evil borers. Won't be planting any more of those. My potatoes were small but I still have some in the ground so I'm hoping they get bigger. My carrots and tomatoes were BIG, peppers were few and small, broccoli was impressive and my onions were gorgeous. I'm waiting on an order of garlic to plant this fall for next year's harvest as per your post on planting garlic in the fall. Fingers and toes crossed. Thanks for a wonderful blog.
- Gitana the Creative Diva
Thanks for reading Gitana! ~ karen
I think the idea of growing celery instead of finding that grayish soft bag of what used to be celery in the back of the produce drawer in the fridge is brilliant. I will try it next season.
Question: how many sweet potatoes do you think you will get from that patch you photographed near the top of your blog post? I want to know how many I should plant to plant as I have never grown them before.
Sarah C. - I have no earthly idea. Not a clue. This is my first year growing sweet potatoes, but I plan to do an end of season count of many of my vegetables for you and sweet potatoes will be on the list. I planted around 9 slips or so in that one area and several more in burlap sacks around the yard. CAN'T WAIT to see what I get. ~ karen
Weeeee! Yay, thanks for replying. I you had better bet that I will be waiting for that result. I hope they turn out wonderful. :)
That is almost exactly what our sweet potato plant looks like. I almost don't want to dig it up for the sweet potatoes because it looks so pretty.
I have to say, you have inspired me so much since I've been reading your blog. Things that I've always said I would, I have actually done now. Planted a garden, canning...I haven't tried the yogurt tampon, but you just never know what's around the bend.
Thanks Shauna. It's a very strange thing to know I'm inspiring people to do stuff. (even though that's entirely the point of this blog venture) I'm thrilled people are taking the cue and doing things they've always wanted to but never got up the gumption to do. Yay for canning! ~ karen
My celery did great last year, but is a bit slow this year. Those squash borers got all my squash as well. Zucchini, winter squash, pumpkin etc., but I hunted them down with a pocket knife, sliced and diced and saved about a dozen plants, losing only 3. The vines have now taken over the garden like the blob. The chicks keep jumping the fence and have eaten the tops to my beets and carrots, so it will be a blind harvest. Those girls are lucky I love them!
Patti - I think next year I"m going to put pipe or something around the base of my squash plants. I can't stand thinking of a squashless garden. I can (barely) deal with the beetles and the squash bugs but the vine borers ... once they get in ... unless you're really fast and lucky ... you don't have a chance. You did a good job saving that many! ~ karen
'bother thing you can do on concrete patios is fill burlap bags with soil and plant potatoes in those. And go to McDonalds and get one of their gross plastic 5 gallon tubs and punch holes in the lower sides and use for planters on the concrete!
Karen - do you get deer in the front yard?? I do even at my city place, so wonder what I could put out there that would survive their browsing? They would LOVE the chard and kale, I know they eat peppers. They leave the tomatoes and potatoes alone, as they are nightshade plants. Mmmmm. It's an idea!!
Kathy - I don't get any deer but my mother gets them in her backyard. I have chipmunks to content with. So far all they seem interested in are my yellow pear tomatoes. Which I have so many of I wish they'd invite their friends for dinner. ~ karen
We are zone 5....
I would have never imagined growing celery!
Oh you'll be fine! Put celery on the list for next year. ~ karen
AWESOME! I will!
I'm jealous. In my neck of the woods (GTA) the frosts (well colder weather is starting) way earlier in the mornings and it has immensely affected my veggies. Especially lettuce and carrots. My plants are pretty much like Yeah I'm done, go rake your soil. What's the secret to your peppers? Mine are the size of golf balls.
Alex - No secret to the peppers. I have 2 plants and one has big huge peppers like you saw and the other one has peppers about the size of my fist. They're loaded and all turning red but the size difference is huge! Same variety, planted side by side. Very weird. ~ karen
LOVE the pun!
I wonder if I can grow celery here in Spokane.....we have a really short season. How does it do in cooler weather? I DO always do what you said...use one stalk and the rest goes to waste!
Barbie - What zone are you? I'm sure you'd be fine. It doesn't need a particularly long growing season. ~ karen!
Oh wow!Your garden is gorgeous!
Next year I'm going to cover my whole fence with green beans!!! Yeah!!!
By the way, I love green beans, I pressure canned 97 jars this year.:-)
Raymonde - Um. Holy crop! 97 jars, LOL. ~ karen
Just beautiful Karen..I wish mine look half as good..I got nothing really good this year but tons of tomatoes..big ones and cherry ones..all sweet and delicious..I found something new down here..a squash that tastes like sweet potatoes when cooked..I bought them from some Amish ladies and will be trying them tonight..Hoping they are yummy as they told me!!! If they are I will be going back for more and to find out the name of them which I forgot to ask..Have you heard of these???
Nancy - I have not! If you had an actual name I might recognize it. Is it a type of Butternut squash? Or Acorn Squash??? ~ k
They are sort of an oval shape..about 7" long..light yellow color with ridges like a JOL pumpkin and the ridges have green stripes through them..also a little pumpkin orange in some stripes..inside they are a pretty shade of yellow with strings and seeds like pumpkin seeds?? They told me to slice them in half lengthwise..put open sides down in a little water and bake a half hour -45 minutes..the same way I cook spaghetti squash..I will drive up there in a day or two and see if they can tell me the name..I want to get more sweet corn from them ($2.00 a dozen!!!) and there is an Amish farm I want to go to for fresh green beans..I am so planting g-beans next year as nothing tastes as good as fresh ones..
Found it! http://www.damseeds.ca/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=2176 Lemme know if it's as good as they say. Maybe I'll add it to the list of squash I kill next year. ~ karen!
Well damn girl..I should have known you would find it..lol..I will let you know tomorrow how it taste cause I didn't get to it tonight so I have to cook it tomorrow..Thanks for the info..You are my hero..lol..Maybe we could have a contest next year to see who can kill it first!!
Sorry to hear about your squash. I can totally relate. Last year i tried zucchini and yellow summer squash (from seed). Everything started off great and we were able to harvest two actual zucchinis before it all went to hell and all four plants just died. SO disappointing!
Winter kale, on the other hand, was a huge success! That is the plant that keeps on giving! I just planted more for the fall/winter season along with some more lettuce. Nothing like fresh veggies from your own yard :)