Raised Bed Gardening
4/28/2008
If you're thinking about building raised beds for your vegetable garden, definitely go for it. Plants do better in deep soil and as long as you don't walk in the beds, you'll also avoid soil compaction. Now what root wouldn't want to grow in nice loose, deep soil? If I was a root, I'd tell all my root friends, "Hey come on guys, nice deep, loose soil over here, let's go!"
But this weekend, I had my first bad experience with raised beds. You see there was a root invasion from trees that were pretty far away. The closest trees to my vegetable garden are at least 30 feet away but I guess that's just a short hop for tree roots. It's almost as if one of these roots said to all his buddies, "Hey come on guys, nice deep, loose soil over here, let's go!"
So on Sunday, I was planning on planting some more salad greens but wound up spending the afternoon digging and pulling roots out of my beds. I always wondered why Mel Bartholomew in the book Square Foot Gardening
Well, I was wrong about that. After pulling a few giant piles worth of roots out yesterday, I made an executive decision. Whenever I build a new bed, a bottom will be a mandatory feature. I don't think I'll use a sheet of plywood for the floor as suggested in the book, but at a minimum, I'll load the bottom up with landscape fabric. Usually, I'd layer newspapers to stop weeds and because I know they'll break down and feed those earthworms that I was talking about. But since I want to avoid future root invasions, I think I'll pass on the newspapers. Do they make landscape fabric out of steel?
Mr. Bartholomew, sir, I'm sorry about the Square Foot Craziness remark. You were right and I should have listened. It won't happen again.
Posted by Anthony 7:14 AM 9 comments
Labels: raised beds, vegetable garden
Growing Tomatoes
4/24/2008
Go, Tomatoes go! If you're going to start tomato seeds indoors, I really can't recommend the APS-24 Self Watering seed trays enough.
This year I didn't buy any new tomato seeds and just used leftovers from previous years which I keep in a box in the garage. And look at the germination that I get with these trays. 23 out of 24 have sprouted and I still have hope for that last guy.
You may think these sprouts are pretty small for April and you're right. I like to plant outside when all possible chances of frost are gone and that usually means June 1st. Our last frost date is mid May but I give it an extra two weeks just to be safe. I don't trust myself to get my plants covered in case of a late frost so that's why I like to wait until my rhododendrons flower before I move my tomatoes outside. So according to that schedule, these tiny seedlings are right on track.
This year's tomato selection:
- San Marzano
- Black Krim
- Brandywine
- Brandy Boy
- Little Mama
- Big Mama
- Supersteak
- Mortgage Lifter
I usually get my first tomatoes (and first tomato sandwich) sometime around the end of July and that's fine with me. Good luck with your tomatoes this year.
Posted by Anthony 7:00 AM 6 comments
Labels: seeds, tomatoes, vegetable garden
Pea Sprouts
4/21/2008
Just in case you thought my Planting Peas video was nothing but a bunch of Hollywood special effects, I have a follow up to prove that my advanced pea planting technique is for real.
Nope, nothing but a real live pea sprout in this picture, no CGI, no wax models, no fancy artist rendition.
Just the peas, ma'am.
Posted by Anthony 6:57 AM 2 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
Chives
4/16/2008
And the winner of the first garden fresh food ready to get eaten in 2008 goes to chives. Tell him what he's won, Johnny.
As the grand prize winner, Chives, you'll receive a wonderful spa day which includes resting on a luxurious bed made of baked potato.
Oooooooohhhhh.
But that's not all. We're also going to slather you with the finest sour cream.
Aaaaahhhhhh.
Posted by Anthony 7:38 AM 4 comments
Labels: garden pictures, vegetable garden
Blue Potatoes
4/14/2008
The big mess that's in this picture is going to turn into a big bucket of blue potatoes. Last year, I picked up a pound of blue seed potatoes and planted them not expecting much. But at the end of the season, I had about 30 pounds of them. I like when a vegetable under promises and over delivers.
So I saved a few pounds worth and stored them in a cool, dark place all winter. When I planted them a few weeks ago, as you can see in the picture, they were already growing eyes all over the place.
Do you know what potatoes like? Compost. As the potato plants grew, I kept adding compost to the beds and was eventually rewarded with a big bed full of potatoes. Think I'll do the same this year.
Posted by Anthony 7:11 AM 10 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
Planting Peas
3/25/2008
Do you love to eat peas but don't live near a supermarket? Have you wished you could grow peas in your own garden but never tried because it was just too complicated?
Well wish no more because with the Planting Peas instructional video, you'll be planting peas in no time.
Posted by Anthony 7:35 PM 3 comments
Labels: seeds, vegetable garden, video
Growing Tomatoes
2/13/2008
Oh my gosh. How much longer do I have to eat supermarket tomatoes? Is it spring yet?
Oh well, at least in another month I'll have some tomato seedlings growing in my basement.
Posted by Anthony 6:51 PM 3 comments
Labels: vegetable garden, weather
Shredded Leaves
1/15/2008
With the recent blast of warm weather here in New Jersey, I've managed to finally finish closing my vegetable garden for the winter. Better late than never, I always say.
Not only do I like to add a heaping of compost to my raised beds every spring, I also like to add shredded leaves in fall. The shredded leaves serve as a mulch so that I don't loose too much of that easily workable, organic matter packed, garden soil.
And since my lazy neighbor's leaves have found a winter home by getting blown across the street into my yard, why not shred them. With my leaf blower configured to leaf vacuum mode, I sucked up a few bags full of leaves for the garden.
When spring comes, I'll just turn the shredded leaves over in the soil and that'll add even more organic matter to the mix. That means more worms, less watering and a host of other benefits. Shredded leaves are almost as good as finished compost.
Who says I never finish anything, my garden is now tucked in nicely for winter and the yard is cleaned up too. If you ignore the January part, I'm looking like an overachiever.
Posted by Anthony 7:02 AM 3 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
Gardening In October
10/16/2007
According to my min/max thermometer, it hasn't gone below 42 degress yet here in my northern New Jersey yard. And if the 10-Day forecast is close to being right, it doesn't look like we'll get a real frost until late October. So I'm pleasantly surprised by the really late season harvest that I have been enjoying lately.
This weekend, I plan on frying up a mother load of eggplant. I just checked the garden and there's tons of them just sitting there, waiting to be turned into eggplant parmesan. Not bad for October.
It's odd because the leaves on the trees started changing colors and falling in late August this year, I was sure we were going to get an early frost. Last year, we had 70 degree weather in January and all my bulbs came up early. What do you think, mild winter again or is mother nature just toying with us?
Posted by Anthony 5:29 PM 8 comments
Labels: vegetable garden, weather
Food Dehydrator
10/12/2007
Looks like tonight we'll finally drop down into the 40ies and that means the first frost can't be too far away. So I made a mad dash out to my garden tonight and picked the last of my peppers. And you know what? There was a ton of them. I guess having 80 degree weather in September will do that.
This late season bounty was enough to get me to break out the Food Dehydrator. I'm the king of seldom used kitchen appliances and I have a whole closet full of them. Ice Cream Maker, Fondue Pot, Kitchen Aid Mixer, Panini Press, Hand Mixers, Vacuum Sealer, Vegetable Juicer and some more that don't even remember buying. You name it and I probably have it. And I probably don't use it as much as I thought I would when I bought it. Funny how that works.
The Dehydrator was a gift from my parents that I specifically asked for. I had visions of home made beef jerky, fruit leather and sun dried tomatoes. I would be ready in case I ever had to stock up a bomb shelter so that my entire neighborhood could live underground during a nuclear war. I watched Jericho last season, I knew the deal.
The reality was that there was no nuclear war in New Jersey and I haven't used my Dehydrator in the two years that I've owned it.
But that's not true anymore! I'm talking about the Dehydrator part, not the war. With all these extra peppers sitting around, I decided that it was time. I sliced up some poblanos and some jalapenos and I was ready to dehydrate. Well actually, I was ready to sit down and read the manual because I'd never used the thing but shortly after that I was ready to dehydrate. 
To finally start drying some peppers was a big accomplishment for me. I was so happy I could cry. Well, I was actually crying because after about an hour my kitchen was filled with pepper fumes, but it was still a happy moment.
I had to move the Dehydrator outside to my BBQ area. But in 30 hours, I'll have dried peppers. And I may even break out the vacuum sealer so that I can store these peppers in my bomb shelter. Hey, you never know.
Posted by Anthony 6:28 PM 7 comments
Labels: peppers, vegetable garden
Growing Tomatoes
10/08/2007
Looking back at the year in tomatoes, I have to say that it was an okay year. Not the greatest harvest of all times or anything but on the other hand, there were no problems with pests, diseases or drought. I grew a nice bunch of tomatoes and was able to make tomato sandwiches every weekend so I'm satisified.
I grew about 10 different kinds of tomatoes this year, some old favorites and some new ones too. But it was a newcomer that got my attention in the garden this season. I'm going to nominate Little Mama Paste Tomatoes from Burpee as the 2007 Tomato MVP.
The heirloom Brandywine tomatoes that I grow every year are the best tasting tomatoes known to all of mankind (in my opinion) but I just don't get enough production from my plants. And what good is excellent flavor if you only get to eat like 10 of them? And to tell you the truth, the hybrid Brandyboys aren't much better either.
My germination problems with Porterhouse Beefstake Tomatoes have already been well documented on this blog but at least the ones that I did get were quite tasty.
Cherry Tomatoes are great to throw in a quick salad and that's why I grew them right outside my back door. They taste pretty good, they have good production but they just aren't MVPs.
The Black Krims had their usual heirloomy issues, the supersonic were nothing to write home about and that leaves us with the Little Mamas.
Big Mamas have been my top producers for the past few years so I thought I give the Little Mamas a try this year. And I'm glad I did because they taste great, nice and meaty like a paste tomato should be and they produced tons of fruit. I love how they grow in clusters like grapes. I would cut one branch off of the plant and it would have enough tomatoes on it for several tomato sandwiches. And even now in October, I still have some that are ripening in the garden.
Little Mama, congratulations for winning the Compost Bin's 2007 Tomato MVP Award.
Posted by Anthony 9:52 AM 4 comments
Labels: tomatoes, vegetable garden
Jalepeno Peppers
10/02/2007
True pepper people fight often fight over which peppers are the hottest in the world. They hang out in hot pepper forums and they can give you the Scoville Units for just about any pepper that you can name. And every year there's always a new hot pepper tale about some guy living in an exotic location such as India, Thailand or Hoboken who grew the hottest peppers ever. He was off the charts on the Scoville Scale but is still in the process of getting it certified or some other excuse that makes the tale sound more like an urban legend than a world record.
I am not one of those people.
I tried habaneros and thai dragons and they were good but they were just too hot. I'm not making pepper spray for self defense, I just want a good tasting spicy pepper. So every year I grow jalepenos. Jalepeno Peppers are delicious but they aren't known for being hot. In fact, compared to other peppers they're pretty mild.
So I've figured out how to grow Jalepenos that are hotter than usual. Not killer heat but just enough of a nice kick. First thing you need to do is leave the peppers on the plants as long as possible. Here it is in October and I've still got plenty of peppers in the garden. Some of these peppers have been on the plants for weeks. They get all red and black and full of cracks and these seem to be the qualities that are related to the heat content of a pepper.
Another way to make my peppers hotter is to stress the plants. Usually in the 2nd or 3rd week of August when the plants are well established, I stop watering them. However much it rains is the amount of water they get. This summer was great because there were a few dry spells that really stressed the plants. Now if they started wilting or looking sickly, I would give them a quick blast with the hose but I didn't have to do that this year.
So how hot are my jalepenos? Let's just say that they're won't be any tales of the hottest pepper ever coming out of New Jersey this year, but they're hot enough to make my Mother-In-Law start yelling and running for the kitchen to get some water. And who needs Scoville Units when you get your peppers to do that?
Posted by Anthony 7:28 PM 5 comments
Labels: peppers, vegetable garden
Slaughter of the Pumpkins
9/07/2007
Here's one of the last photos that I have of my pumpkins. It seems that Woodrow the Third decided that my pumpkin patch was his personal buffet.
Woodrow the Third is a big old Woodchuck with a big old appetite. I was able to stop his father, Woodrow Jr, with lots of fencing and constantly filling in his holes. So he was content to stick to eating fallen apples from my overgrown apple tree. It was actually a welcomed sight of him eating my apples because that meant there was a few less for me to pick up. So it was tough but we found a way to co-exist together.
Several years before that his grandfather, Woodrow Sr, caused big problems for my first vegetable garden. But he met an untimely death on the main road near my house. That was the day that I learned that if you ever drive by road kill, and recognize it, cheering should be kept to a minimum and done quietly by yourself at a later time. Not something that the wife and her friends can relate to, I guess.
But now the treaty that Woodrow, JR and I managed to work out has been broken. Woodrow III took a bites out of more than 10 of my pumpkins. The patch has been decimated and only a month before Halloween. War has been declared.
Posted by Anthony 7:13 AM 8 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
Growing Zucchini
8/28/2007
This year I decided that I'm a huge fan of Zucchini. Go Zucchini!!!
Sure I've grown it in the past but just a plant or two in the corner of one of my beds. This year, thanks to a mix up with my seed order, I had a lot more room in my garden. Usually I'll reserve a lot of space for a bunch of crook neck squash but somehow I forgot to order it and so I decided, why not grow a bunch of Zucchini instead? And looking back, I really glad I did.
I've noticed that when I have a surplus of a certain vegetable I tend to try new recipes instead of making the same old dishes. In my house, we usually grill Zucchini with onions and serve it as a side for London Broil. Nice, not thrilling, but nice. But this year the vegetable drawer was loaded with Zucchini so it was time to experiment.
My favorite new dish was Zucchini Frittata. So light and fluffy and tasty. Not really sure what the difference between a quiche and a frittata is, but I am sure that they're both delicious. And I plan on leaving plenty of room for Zucchini in next years garden too. Sorry crook neck squash, Go Zucchini!!!
Posted by Anthony 7:09 PM 8 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
Guess The Vegetable
8/22/2007
Do you know what this is? If you have a good memory you may remember some of my old posts where I mentioned the things I was planting this season.
First person to guess correctly wins...
...the respect of the garden blogging community.
Sorry but that's the best prize I can offer from my rinky dink garden blog. :)
Posted by Anthony 6:44 AM 11 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
Vegetable Garden
8/20/2007
Posted by Anthony 7:17 AM 5 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
Poblano Pepper
8/18/2007
These poblano peppers are turning into one of my new favorite peppers. I never grew them before but I'm definitely going to grow them again.
Last year I tried Thai Dragon Peppers and they were awesome too, but my wife couldn't eat anything I made with them because of the heat. I found a great recipe for a Thai basil sauce over chicken and made a effort to cook her a nice meal. We used to go out for Thai all the time before we had the kids so I thought this would be a treat. She tried a few bites and then ordered a pizza.
Poblano peppers are only slightly spicier than a regular bell pepper. But just to be on the safe side, when I cook up my first batch of poblano pesto, I'm going to hide the take out menus.
Posted by Anthony 4:53 PM 7 comments
Labels: peppers, vegetable garden
Cherry Tomatoes
8/02/2007
This year I decided to grow a few herbs and some cherry tomatoes in pots right next to my back door. This way when we're cooking, we can just stick our head outside and grab some basil or whatever we need. And making a quick salad no longer requires a trip up to the garden for tomatoes.
My garden is about 150 feet away from my house but it's not the walk that I'm trying to avoid. It's the fact that once I get to the garden, it's hard to leave. Let me just pinch these suckers on the tomatoes. Why don't I pick up a few of these apples and put them in the compost bin. Hmmm, my poblanos have fallen over, better get a stake. You know how it works. There's always something to do in the garden. Next thing I know, my wife is sitting at the dinner table with a tomato-less salad and I'm in the dog house.
This is my first year trying out this simple kitchen garden idea and so far I'm a big fan. I should have tried this sooner. Tomatoes and herbs are now at my fingertips with no walking in the heat of summer, no way for me to get distracted and start building more raised beds at dinnertime and no more dog house.
Posted by Anthony 10:10 PM 7 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
Porterhouse Tomato Update
8/01/2007
On the cover of the Burpee Catalog this year there's a picture of someone wearing overalls and holding 3 huge tomatoes in their hands. The tomatoes are plump and juicy looking and barely fit in those tiny hands. So when I placed my annual order, I put those Porterhouse Beefsteak Tomatoes on the top of my list.
Inside the catalog, they are described like this:
Porterhouse Beefsteak Tomato
NEW The greatest extra-large beefsteak we've ever bred. Plump fruits from 2 to 4 lbs. each-sure to beat any record in the neighborhood. The luscious flesh is deep red all the way through with just the right balance of meaty solids and succulent juice. Smooth texture and rich, old-fashioned flavor make this the greatest extra-large beefsteak we've ever bred.
As you can probably tell, I'm a sucker when it comes to advertising. The reality of these tomatoes is that they had big germination problems and I don't think any of them are going to make it over 2 pounds. They are nice sized, good looking tomatoes but I'm going to guess the average size will be about a pound a half. Certainly respectable but far from the 2-4 pound promise.
Taste will be the deciding factor. If they taste great then all will be worth it. If not, then I think I may have to skip the Burpee cover next season.
Posted by Anthony 6:47 AM 4 comments
Labels: tomatoes, vegetable garden
Ripe Tomatoes
7/30/2007
After a week plus of getting ready for my son's 5th birthday and a really bad case of poison ivy (all over my arms, my face, my eyelids, not fun) I am finally back in front of the computer. And since I'm taking steroid pills for the poison ivy, I should be pumped up and ready to blog like mad! :)
One good thing about taking some time off from gardening in the middle of July is that when you finally do get back to the garden, it's like seeing it for the first time. I walked out there today and saw red ripe tomatoes, tons of cucumbers, poblanos, jalapenos, some big zucchini and crook neck squash. Where did they all come from? Well, I know that they came from all the hard work I put in this summer but it's nice to see that it's finally paying off in the form of something that I can eat.
No surprise that my Early Girl Tomatoes are ripe but I was shocked that I had some Brandywine and Brandyboys that were ready also. The Porterhouse Tomatoes and the Tomande will probably be ripe enough to pick this week also.
I guess my garden felt sorry for me and decided to make me feel better with an early treat. Thanks guys!
Posted by Anthony 10:37 PM 8 comments
Labels: vegetable garden
