February 24, 2011
Bishop
Composting, Gardening, Uncategorized, Vegetables
asparagus, beets, carrots, chard, compost, peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, wine, worm poop, worms
Had a week free from travel and got the spring work under way. Not much growing through our winter but I did manage to get a huge pile of leaves for mulch. I am trying something new to stay ahead of the Bermuda grass invasion of my beds. In one of the photos shown I have put down a heavy paper barrier. I covered it with my leaf mulch to hold it in place and to help conserve moisture. As I was prepping the soil I was amazed at how many earth worms I disturbed. I added a bunch a few years ago and added some vermipods (encapsulated worm eggs) a year ago. Looks like it is paying off. My composting worms, earthworms and vermipods are all from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm. http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com/
I have planted my tomatoes in this bed….. just cut a small hole and dug down a little ways. I am trying Brandywine tomatoes again but I am placing them where they will get more sun this year. If this year is a bust with then I will look to find another heritage style that tastes as good and holds up in our Houston weather. I also planted a Mortgage lifter, a Celebrity and my prolific Juliet tomato. The pole beans are in the ground but have not broke through. Some chard is up and I just thinned a couple rows of carrots. The beets look healthy and adjacent to them is my Asparagus bed……. I am getting anxious to harvest this year. Also put out swweet banana peppers and a couple of eggplant plants – is that redundant????? or is it alliteration????
I harvested worm poop today. They are just as busy as ever and multiplying like crazy. I may need to make a convert and share my worms with some like-minded person. It looks so rich, no odor and is so good for the plants. While I was in the mood I rounded up a bunch of wayward strawberry plants that had escaped the bed. I may look to fill in some bare spots in my other beds or …… get some started in a friend’s yard.
I finally got a “round-to-it” and cut the wine barrel that my daughter Ashleigh brought home. I have it out on the patio and I planted a – go figure – a patio tomato surrounded by a couple of marigolds. Looks pretty good!
TTFN
Bishop
January 31, 2011
Bishop
Composting, Gardening, Vegetables
beets, berries, compost, cucumbers, gardening, lettuce, peas, strawberries, swiss chard, tomatoes, worm poop
- Not today’s image!!!!
This is in my dreams for later on this spring and summer. Reality is much more grim!!
The garden is pretty bare right now – a few Brussel sprout plants made it through the freeze along with some of the sugar snap peas and an abundance of the beet varieties planted this past fall.
I have pretty well filled the compost bins with leaves and shredded leaves to be used for mulch in the near future.
I did transplant some lettuce plants yesterday but the labels have faded and I have no clue which variety will grace my table. The small half long carrot seeds planted last week have yet to show their tops. I will plant another round of carrots this week and continue some staggered plantings into early spring.
My friend John is allowing me to continue working the 4X4 plot I placed in his yard last year. He loved the abundant returns from the Juliet tomato plant. He had a good number of cucumbers as well as a handful of Texas A&M sungold tomatoes. We may even add another 4X4 adjacent to the first one. Making backyard gardening converts one by one. He has some beets poking up and I planted some chard for him last week.
Checking on my worms – the bottom bin looks done. Almost all of the little guys have moved up to the penthouse for the fresh food. Will probably sort the bottom bin this coming weekend and feed the plants. Speaking of plants – the strwberry plants are full of blossoms and I noticed a few berries that are a week or so away from taste testing. Can’t wait- but I must!!!!!!
TTFN
Bishop
October 11, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
asparagus, beans, compost, cucumbers, leaf mulch, tomatoes
- Cleaning up the Garden
- Fresh Beans for Tonight
After neglecting my garden for quite awhile and suffering through the closing of my previous site. Found this one that allowed me to archive my old site.
So, today, October 11, I was out chopping weeds, clearing the old vines from the Armenian cucumbers and pulling out the torch to incinerate the stubborn weeds. The torch worked awfully well! Salvaged 4 of the brussel srout plants and relocated them to a clean plot.
The recently planted tomatoes have blossoms but I am not sure they will produce by the end of the month. The shining stars are the Pole Bean tepee, the asparagus ferns, the Serrano peppers (too hot to eat but a beautiful plant) and if lucky a few Straight 8 cucumbers.
As always a bit warm and humid – it was a two shirt effort along with two quarts of water. I began pulling some of the rotted compost out and will unload the bin over the next few days. Then comes the hard work – turning it into the soil. I had such good luch last year with leaf mulch that I will triple that effort this fall/winter. By spring I hope to have the compost neatly tucked under with a smothering layer of leaf mulch to strangle the weeds!!!!!
I will not flood you with my ramblings but should be a little more regular (not due to my fiber intake!!!!!) with the new site and the
cooler weather should be more conducive totending the patch and seeing my plants grow. Next blog may feature my worm farm – the little guys are working in the dark and being fed waste……hmmmmmm sounds a bit like a mushroom…….mushrooms could be my next venture.
TTFN
Bishop
July 6, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
cucumbers, garden, peppers, storm, sunflowers, tomatoes
My sunflowers came down during last week’s storms. The heads were so large and 10-12 feet up in the air that the roots could not hold in the saturated soil. This photo was on a better day – June 19th. It is hard to picture how big the heads are but I would guess most are 12-14 inches across. I harvested today and have spread the heads out to dry. Ate a few damp and raw seeds and they were pretty tasty.
The little tiny cherry tomatoes are a nice surprise. We had a volunteer plant show up in the flower beds and I suggested we pull it but Kathy said let it grow and see what comes of it. Well,……… It is doing well and is putting out the sweetest and prettiest cherry tomatoes. I will have to save the seed because it tolerates the heat and humidity very well. It is not staked and just trails out in the flower bed. I am still getting cucumbers, (some hide well and become very large and/or too large) peppers of all sorts and an occasional slicing tomato. I do love to see them grow. Enough for now! Bishop
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June 10, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
fresh, garden, pizza, tomatoes
Brought in some fresh tomatoes this morning. The Juliet tomatoes are making a statement – using a President Obama term – this one plant wants to "Kick some Ass" and is loaded with tomatoes….. was that a bad political joke? Yes it was- just couldn't resist.
So, back to the freshened up pizza. I am a bachelor for another week – I do have my 15 year old suffering through my attempts to keep him fed, the dishes washed, floors swept, laundry done – Kathy I sure do appreciate ALL that you do for me…. wink, wink! It does not seem to ever slow down! So, Joe went off to soccer tryouts at 5:00 PM and I had to fend for myself.
I had a California Kitchen frozen pizza – they are thin crust, pretty tasty and relatively low cal! This one was spinach and cheese – BORING! – I had some turkey pepperonis in the fridge but I looked over at all "them maters" – those Juliet tomatoes when sliced are pepperoni size and probably better for me. Looks pretty good doesn't it. Well it surely was!
So, what can I freshen up tomorrow? – I have a ton of cucumbers – hmmmmm – Google recipe search coming up!
Bishop – TTFN
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June 5, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
berries, cucumbers, herbs, tomatoes, vacation, vegetables
I am back limping into the garden and enjoying the veggies. The weeds got a little ahead of me but the Gecko is keeping most of the bad bugs scared off.- I wish LOL. He still looks good even if he does not eat much.
Everything is growing so well! My Roma and Juliet tomatoes are kicking butt. Unfortunately my Brandywine plants are green, healthy and tall – but won't set tomatoes. They taste so good but I may not get any this year.
At least the blackberries are doing very well. Lucky for me that my wife Kathy is out in California because she loves fresh berries. I do too but I really like to gather enough to make jam. I have a gallon in the freezer, have snacked on the fresh ones and will probably get another gallon or two before we head off to Australia. The strawberries have slowed down but there is an increase in blossoms so I should have another round of the luscious red delights very soon.
A cluster of green Juliet tomatoes. They do incredibly well in the Houston heat. One plant will overwhelm a family so that's all I plant. They are so tasty and look a lot like a miniature Roma tomato. I hope the Brandywine's will at least set a few for me!
Now another bounty! The cucumbers are kicking in and as always I have planted more than we can eat. So friends and neighbors bet to share in the bounty.
My experiment in my friends backyard is doing OK. It was doing very well, his dog was ignoring it until …….. until I added some fish emulsion. Well, his Golden Retriever Pismo dug up the spots where I placed the fish emulsion several times but now the scent is gone and the plants are undisturbed. John has used some of the Rosemary and we have a few tomatoes setting as well as the cucumbers beginning to stretch up toward the supports. Salad components soon!
I'll be back!
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April 21, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
beets, cucumbers, peas, peppers, strawberries, tomatoes
Blossoms in the garden. I am looking forward to the fruit ……. already getting a few strawberries and we have been loaded up with the snap peas. I have seen some of the tomatoes beginning to set fruit. The Roma tomatoes and the Julliet cherries are going to be abundant pretty soon. Cucumbers are well spouted – I am trying squash again – it usually succumbs to the beetles. Peppers and cantaloupe are looking good! My experiments with potatoes under mulch and the hanging tomatoes are looking good….. I have so many blackberry blossoms that we may be overwhelmed! More photos to come.
Had some roasted beets at lunch today and then had snap peas and beet tops with my chicken tonight. It is really a treat to have the freshest veggies! I will need to eat well as I rehab from this pending knee surgery. Tuesday April 27th I get the left knee replaced. Could be 6-8 weeks of recovery to get back to 80% normal gait and strength. May have to use hired help in the garden.
TTFN
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April 3, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
asparagus, beer, beets, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, smörgåsbord, swiss chard, tomatoes
I have been out pulling weeds, removing early berries on the strawberry plants, checking on the blackberries and I just loving seeing it all grow!!!!!
Here is a picture of a mixed bed. I have heard that there are some real benefits to utilizing the companion planting techniques. Problem with that is- there has to be a plan….. I sometimes just group stuff by height and width…. makes sense to me. So… if you look closely I have;
Swiss Chard, Romaine lettuce, garlic, carrots, asparagus ferns, beets,a few small weeds, potatoes way out in back and empty plastic jugs waiting to be put in service…. they will be mini greenhouses. I call it Smörgåsbord grouping. I can pick a salad without taking a step.
I was down at the farmers market this morning and saw Romaine lettuce going for $2-$3 per head and they didn't look nearly as good as mine. Swiss Chard- bunches of 5 leaves for $3 to $4 an bunch. People were carting out bags of the stuff. Makes me wonder if maybe I can have a fourth or fifth career selling organically grown veggies….. Hmmm. Maybe I should pull out the business plan forms I picked up a couple of years ago and give it a try. The booths selling eggs ran out by 9:30 AM except for one and the line was 10 back…. $3/dz. for white eggs and $4/dz for brown. Same feed, same pasture, same bugs to eat….. there is not an advantage to buy brown eggs, they taste the same …….. the farmer likes the perceived differences!!!
Check out my new photos from today's garden visit, Oh, by the way, my latest batch of beer is ready to drink – Farmhouse Ale…. go figure. Even my wife liked the finish, not too hoppy- just right.
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March 8, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
asparagus, blackberries, blueberries, carrots, chard, garlic, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes
Back into the garden today… wet and sloppy but I put my poorboy topsy turvy style tomato planters together. I bought two determinate patio style plants, cheap two dollar buckets and a left over bag of potting soil. The plant hanger is a bit wobbly so I will need to stiffen it up or secure it better.
I will provide some updates as the season progresses. I shot a picture of one of my mixed beds. The Swiss Chard is doing well and the Romaine is really starting to get big. The garlic is looking good but I have never been able to get good bulbs here in the Houston area.
What isn't seen is a few spindly spears from the asparagus crowns I put in last fall. I have heard they can grow here and do fairly well. I see three of the 4 crowns have put a spear up. The new blueberry plants are leafing out now. The new June bearing strawberries are taking hold so it should be a good berry season. Some of the ever bearing plants already have berries. The buds are swelling on the blackberries so I will soon see if I managed the canes properly last summer and fall.
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February 14, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
cucumber, harvest, melon, summer, tomatoes
Can't wait for summer's harvest. I was scrolling through some pictures and found this one from last summer. The small Juliett tomatoes were wonderful and abundant. They also did well during the heat. I keep planning and planting in my small patch. I really need more room because the melons really spread!
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