June 7, 2013

Returned from the last trip to Portland on Monday but immediately fell quite ill for a few days. Today has really been the first day that I've been somewhat back to normal so I haven't had a chance to get back to the garden.
Meanwhile this is the most recent set of photos of the garden.

First harvest of the beets

The tomatoes seem to have grown too big for the allotted 8x4 space this year

Only the kale, chard, and beets remain in this box

Garlic is probably within a week or two of harvesting

I think I made a mistake in the placement of the tomatillo plant as it partially blocks the peppers from the sunlight.

Squash don't seem quite as robust this year though it's still early. Seems like an indication of the health of the soil and maybe placement in terms of sunlight.

The parsley is starting to take off now

May 29, 2013

A couple of trips to Portland this month has kept me from posting but not from keeping the garden up. The tomatoes are busting like I've never seen before, beans coming up, kale, chard, and beets doing well. I got two summer squashes for the back bed and a 'patio' version that I potted. I also got another Bearss Lime that I put into a container and repotted the 'dwarf' tomato into a larger vessel. I moved the parsley into the back thin bed by the hedge.
Trimmed the dead flowers off of the large thyme and cutting back on watering the dry herbs; tarragon, oregano, and thyme.

Next up, when I return next week, more seeds into the trays, as well as seeding in place of basil, salad greens, and lettuce.

April 28, 2013

Planted beans seeds, various Spanish and Italian peppers. As I have a feeling we'll finally be feeling real global warming here in the Bay Area, if the past month is any indication, I figure to take advantage of something approaching real pepper weather this summer.

Parsley seedlings

Early Girl

Carmello

Costuluto Genovese

Sungold

Better Boy

Roma

Greens box

Garlic - having to pull the flowers now

Tomatillo and peppers

Herb pots

Bay laurel tree

Satsuma blossoms

Lemon

Oregano barrel

April 21, 2103

It's been a while since the last post but will be adding one each Sunday for the current season.

I'd planted fava beans in the driveway bed back in October in order to rejuvenate the soil but since I injured my leg in November I had to let them grow to maturity. Very glad I did since the harvest turned out so well, both in yield and in quality. I hadn't really appreciated fava beans until I could prepare and eat them straight off of the stalks, now I'm sold on them as a winter-spring staple from now on.

I repotted all of the herbs that held over from last year as well as the new replacements I got this year.

tarragon, mint

Back row: parsleys, dill, Italian oregano 

Middle row: mint, dwarf tomato, catmint

Front row, lower right: mint

Back row: parsley, dill, oregano, chives

Middle row: dwarf tomato, lemon verbena, 

Front row: mint, thyme, greek oregano

I also could not plant the garlic seed cloves until I was off the crutches the first week of January. However it doesn't seem to have affected the yield or growth at all as it looks like it's growing right on schedule this year.

Tomatoes were planted a couple of weeks ago and are well on the way:

Back: Costuluto Genovese, Sungold

Middle: Carmello, Better Boy

Front: Early Girl, Roma

Started the greens bed but for some reason can't get the lettuce and mesclun started so will be trying again. Chard, kale, beets, arugula, and radishes coming out now.

The Greek oregano wintered over ok. Leaves just started showing up again about 3 weeks ago after I did some fairly heavy pruning on the vertical dead growth from last year.

Bay tree resumed its growth after the scale issue last fall was resolved with the spray.

Cleaning out the fava bean bed

Lemons still busting out. Going to clean them out to bring to Jerry tonight.

And the satsuma is picking up flowering as strongly as it did last Spring, its first strong harvest since being planted in 2009.