2 July 2012 Garden Update

The community gardenplot is going strong.  Several of the vegetable plants are continuing to grow and begining to produce.  I have picked several tomatos and there are still numerous green tomatoes on the six plants.  One of the plants has yellowish leaves.  I think this is from a lack of nutrients, I need to purchase some fertilizer for them.

There is a volunteer cucumber plant that I have obtained 4 cucumbers from.  Because it spreads so rapidly I am using junk wire fences from the community associations scrap heap to keep the plant under control.

I planted 6 potatoes purchased from the hardware store.  They are all established above ground, I am waiting until the above ground part of the plant dies before I harvest the bounty.

The eggplants are in various stages of production.  The largest of the plants has three small eggplants while the smallest still looks like it is struggling to grow.

I have picked all the turnips from this year, several of them were edible and on the best harvest Cary and I were able to make mashed turnips, very similar to mashed potatoes.  They were great.

I just recently cut back the basil plats, they have gotten very woody and flowery.  By cutting them back I hope to induce more normal growth.  I have made three large bags of pesto so far this year.

The bell pepper plants have produced numerous average sized green peppers, though the plants haven't reached max size yet.  I have also planted some hot pepper plants (a couple of varieties and I already forget the type) which have not produced yet.

I have a handful of butternut squash plants growing.  Not big yet but they do have blooms on them.  I expect to have some by the fall.

Enjoy the photos!

05 Jun 2012

The garden is starting to take off.  Hopefully this brief cool period that we've encountered during this first full week of June will not provide a setback.

I picked all the garlic that I planted two Decembers ago.  Many were very large, and all smelled very garlicky.  In this house, we are safe from vampires while the garlics dry.

The tomatos all have small green clusters of tomatos on them.  The potatos plants have sprouted through the earth.  I harvested one bell pepper off of a plant, not because it was full grown but only because that plant is nowhere near full grown and I wanted to ensure it is devoting resources to getting larger and not producing vegetables.  I picked two turnips, the rest still appear to be growing, I"m hoping they are harvested in the near future.  I didn't eat enough of the radishes, and they have all gone to seed.  The radishes will soon be picked and recycled back into the earth.  Basil is doing so well I have picked and produced by first frozen bag of pesto sauce.  The eggplants vary in performance, at least three of the plants appear to be winners, three other may or may not be struggling with their existence.  Lettuce, well, it grew, but I don't eat lettuce.  That row may become another row of vegetables soon.  I have yet to give up on the beets, but they don't seem to be growing at all.  Horseradish is doing well, I've lost count of the amount of horseradish plants popping up.

27 May 2012

Below is a photograph of the garden from 27 May.  The lettuce has done really well, I have yet to thin it out, as a result there is a lot of moist leaves toward the base that render the lettuce uneatable.  The radishes have also grown impressively. 

The beets look like they a struggling, maybe to take off.  I had much more success in Blacksburg growing these.  The beets are thinned out.

The turnips appear to be growing better than the beets.  They were planted later in the season than the beets and have larger roots and leaves than the beets now.

Leeks are not doing well.  Not sure if I planted them at the correct time.

Basil, eggplants, peppers, and tomoatoes are all doing good.  A couple of the basil plants looked a little wilted last time I was at the garden.  The ground was moist from a recent rain leading me to believe it is not the amount of water it's getting.

15 April

12 April Garden Update

Horseraadish

Garden Cat

04 April Garden Update

On 03 April I planted tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, and basil plants purchased from Taylor's hardware store. I'm confident, based on past experience, that those will grow in decent weather with a decent amount of rain/water. From seed packets I planted rows of chard, radishes, turnips, and leeks. I'm less confident those will produce.

Previous attempts at leeks resulted in many thin leeks that weren't edible.

Chard and turnips I have no experience with.

Radishes I'm confident will do fine, I just don't have a recipie that makes radishes anything more than a snack to munch on while gardening.

The garlic "looks good."

The Korean lettuce provided by my mother seems to be growing very well.

The beets I planted approx three weeks earlier are growing "here and there" but no large growth spurts.

First Look at the Garden in 2012

This year's garden is expected to be the best of the attempts we've made at the community plot in Norfolk, VA. Based upon what we now know grows well and doesn't, what we enjoy eating, we expect to have a bountiful harvest, starting at the end of the spring.

The expereince list so far

What grows well
Tomatoes
Peppers (all types)
Basil
Eggplant

What does not grow well
Carrots

Unknowns
Horseradish
Beets
Potatoes
Turnips

This list will be updated as the year progresses.