Value of harvest as of 7/20/10: $563

A kitchen gardener's blog

I Picked a Peck of Peppers

October 16, 2009 - I am not Petter Pipper, and I have not idea how much a peck is. But if it is a lot, then that is what I just picked. Near freezing temps are predicted for tomorrow night, and my garden always gets colder, so I harvested all my peppers today. Guess what will be appearing in every meal at my house for a while?... MORE

Lemon Verbena for Tea

October 08, 2009 - I am drying these Lemon Verbena leaves to use in teas this winter. Lemon Verbena is only hardy to zones 8 and higher, so I grow it as an annual. I plant it in full sun right outside my front door where it is easy to snip a few leaves when needed.
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Cold Frame Squatter

October 31, 2008 - As I was closing my cold frames late yesterday, I saw this guy sunning himself. When my son tried to capture him, like 12 year old boys are inclined to do, he ran off under the leaf mulch around the beets in the cold frame. I hope he is eating the insects who have also discovered this protected place to spend the winter.

I think he looks like a MORE

I Found a Microclimate! YIPPEE!

October 30, 2008 - When I first moved to this house, I assumed because it was brick and faced south, that there would be a great microclimate all across the front of the house allowing me to grow a variety of plants not hardy in zone 6. I dreamed of figs, bay, artichokes, rosemary, almonds...

So far I have failed at figs, bay, and artichokes. I have not yet tried almonds but my rosemary is doing great. Turns out that most people are successful with rosemary in Nashville. There goes my microclimate theory.

Two nights ago we got our first killing frost. All the tender stuff, like okra, salvi... MORE

Tonight is the Night

October 27, 2008 - With my winter garden snugly tucked under floating row covers and inside cold frames, and my tender veggies all harvested, I spent a few minutes picking the last of the seasons flowers. We are expecting our first hard freeze tonight. I was surprised to discover just how many flowers I had still blooming.... MORE

Tomato Season is over

October 22, 2008 - My garden often sees temperatures 3-5 degrees colder than predicted. So when they start forecasting lows in the upper 30's, I have to decide if I want to try and save tomato, basil and pepper plants, or just harvest everything. Yesterday I took out all the tomato plants except the cherries. Now I have 22 pounds of tomatoes at different stages of ripeness.

I went ahead and removed the tomatoes, in order to plant a cover crop, while there was still time to get it growing before it got really cold. I lightly scratched the ground, and scattered crimson clover and winter rye. Now that e... MORE

Use What You Have!

October 19, 2008 - I was shocked to wake up to a low of 32 this morning. I watch forecasts closely at this time of the year, and this had not been predicted. Luckily everything in my garden survived. This was just the motivation I needed to set up my cold frames, and get out my row covers. Since they are predicting frost for tonight, I harvested all my tender veggies, like tomatoes and peppers. I had no idea there were so many peppers hiding in those bushes, 16.5 pounds.

I am not a big fan of frozen or canned peppers, and I refuse to buy peppers shipped from such far away places, as Chile. So I no l... MORE

I Love Growing Garlic

October 14, 2008 - Why do I love to grow garlic so much? Maybe it's the mental image I have of my ancestors kitchen in Italy. Although I never met them, I imagine long braids of garlic hanging on the wall, just like the one that hangs in my kitchen. Or maybe it's that it's just so "gosh darn" easy to grow. You put a clove into the ground, add mulch once the really cold weather sets in, and wait. In June when the tops turn brown you dig it up. Nothing-- bugs, small mammals or deer, eats it.

This past June I saved the 10 biggest bulbs that I harvested. Today I took 100 of the biggest cloves from th... MORE

Lazy Equals Loss

October 10, 2008 - A farmer friend once told me that she harvests bush beans by pulling up the whole bush. Always looking for easier ways to garden, I decided to harvest my Mitla Black Beans this way. After all, it would be much easier on my back to pull the pods from the bush in the comfort of my porch rather that bent over the planting bed. So when most of the pods started to dry out and looked like they were about to burst open and spread their bean seeds all over the garden, I pulled up the plants. However as I sat in my comfy chair pulling the pods from the plants, I found a lot of green underdeveloped ... MORE

Exhausted

October 03, 2008 - My daily rhythm has changed with the coming of Fall. Now that the temperatures are cooler, I no longer have to get up with the sun to garden before it's unbearably hot. And it's a good thing, since I don't have the energy or enthusiasm that I had in the spring. Maybe it's because the ground is so hard and dry from the lack of rain, that I can't do many of the things that have been on my to do list since the heat set in in July. Back then, I figured that come October, I could:
finish edging flower beds
move perennials
set out new plants I started from cuttings
finish a steppi... MORE