Oh, deary me. Goodness goodness goodness. With a late spring, a miniature monster to care for fulltime, a foggy summer punctuated by unexpected heat waves, and most recently, two consecutive weekends away . . . it feels as though the world is conspiring against my garden. Ha! It’s just a hot mess up in there these days.

Oh well, I can’t complain! In this odd year of mostly hands-off-farming, I’ve actually learned a whole lot. And I’m so excited for next year! I can’t wait to implement all my new insights, and I just can’t wait to see this baby beast all covered in dirt and sprinkling seeds as he toddles along. We’re gonna have so much fun!





So speaking of seeds, I sort of have this grand idea. I want to organize an international seed exchange for Bonzai readers! I’ve always been enamored with the idea of saving seed – there’s something so inherently whimsical about this incredibly practical act. There are tons of really great reasons to do it, not to mention the fact that it’s just plain fun. I mean, talk about recycling!

I’ve written a bit about various seed-saving techniques, but the truth is, it’s fairly universal no matter the species. First, remove the plant part that holds the seeds. If it’s a pod or a flower, allow it to dry completely and then liberate the seeds. If it’s a fruit like a tomato or gourd, simply excavate the seeds and then allow them to dry out. Either way, collect your fully-dried seeds and label them clearly, storing in an airtight container (old spice jars work great). Easy as pie!

So this autumn as your garden begins to wind down, why not save as many seeds from as many plants as you can? Then email me, tell me what you’ve got and let me know what you’d want, and I’ll do my best to get everyone matched up for a great trade. I’ll post more info as the time draws near, but for now just remember to let some of your stock go to seed!

~~~

And now, a little look into my pitiful plot, haha. But I swear it’s not all my fault! It’s a similar story in every raised bed across the city. All the plants are petite; each bloom and fruit is delayed. I don’t know anybody who got homegrown blueberries, and even the Farmer’s Market produce is showing up late for the season.

What a strange year it’s been . . .



One thing I haven’t had any issue with is my gourds! Funny, since last year I planted a ton and didn’t get a one. But check ‘em out this time! They’re lovin’ it!



My very first homegrown pumpkin! There are a few of these guys already, with hints of more to come. I’m so excited!



I think this guy would grow up to be an acorn squash. Alas, I’m pretty sure he won’t make it. One of the casualties of heat + weekends away . . .



These are my first ripening tomatoes. Yes, my first tomatoes. It’s basically September. The best thing about waiting so long for your garden to get it together? Man, these are gonna taste soooo good.



What’s left of the chard. It was super lush but never got very big. But it still made many a smoothie! (of course!)



Beet greens . . . I wonder if there’s actually anything going on under there? Ah well, if nothing else the greens will be delicious!



My basils are finally starting to take off. I just hope it’s not too late! Pesto ahoy!



Summer is never complete without sunflowers! My big beauties are finally getting ready to bloom. They’re just about 7 feet tall already!


So tell me my dears, how has the season been where you live? Any luck in the garden this year? If so, I hope you’ll be saving your seeds!

such a geek!

It’s been a big year here on the Micro-Farm, with an addition to the family leaving little time for tending the land. Waits is approaching 5 months now, and my poor yard . . . my poor yard is approaching catastrophe! But that’s okay. I have a plan, a long-term vision to work off of through summer and fall. If all goes well I’ll be set up to take off running next spring!

And for now, the babe is a bit bigger and I’m able to get outside a bit more – accompanied by my munchkin of course!

baby-wearing-yard-working : it’s a *great* workout

My wee little garden gnome!

Despite my [reluctant] neglect, my garden – beautiful beast that it is – is thriving! You may remember what it looked like freshly planted, back in May. It’s come a long way! Here’s the right-side bed :





The lower left quadrant used to house the pac choi, but I tore that out when it bolted, and I’ve replaced it with six nice tomato starts from the Farmer’s Market.

Tomato flowers. BRING ON the home-grown ‘matoes! Pleeeeeease!!!

My snow peas, which I feared I’d gotten into the ground too late, have made it:

Ain’t they sweet? But the real stars are my gourds. They’re totally out of control!

Standing between the two beds.

Bursting from their box, invading everything around them!

Ginormous, gorgeous pumpkin flower (there are about a million of these!)

Awesome (alien-esque?) acorn squash bud. I think it looks extra-terrestrial, but then again we’ve been watching a lot of old X-Files . . .

Behind all that, the sunflowers have just shot up (we *finally* got some heat around here) and are growing like crazy now. Yay! I planted the same monster variety as last year.





And last but not least, though I can’t eat them this year because Waits reacts, I still think the strawberries are soooo adorable.

So tell me tell me, how are your gardens growing? Link to pics if you’ve got ‘em, we all want to see!

BONZAI!

Each year, along with my actual garden, I plant a variety of pots that live right outside my kitchen – here’s 2009. These hold all the fresh herbs that will enhance my kitchen exploration from late spring to early fall. And let me tell you, there’s something *so* satisfying about plucking your seasonings straight from the pot and into the platter!

Oregano – one of my very favorite fresh herbs. I use this a LOT.

The biiiig pot of parsley. I don’t use tons of parsley in my recipes, but it’s *awesome* for homemade stock.

Cilantro, mmmmm. Mexican food is made for summer.

Thyme is my other favorite herb. So perfect in so many dishes of the season!

My dill is just now coming alive, I can’t wait till it it’s matured. I don’t cook much with dill but it makes a mean green smoothie! (pair with strawberry, oh man!)

That header picture up at the top of this post was taken a few weeks ago. ^^^ That is what it looks like these days – filling out quite nicely I’d say!

I didn’t think my jalapenos would make it after such a late-start summer, but here they come. Hot!

Container gardening is an awesome option for apartment-dwellers and others with limited space. You certainly don’t have to let your circumstances stop you. Even if it’s just a little basil on your window sill, anybody and everybody can be a farmer!

Are you growing any herbs this year?

Petunia Blue guards the henhouse from evil invaders.

Hello from HQ! It’s been a while since I’ve posted garden pictures, and this year’s tiny plot is finally taking off. These images are actually from a few weeks back, so there’s even more action now. We’ve had an exceptionally wet June and the extra moisture stunted some growth (tomatoes) while simultaneously stimulating others (gourds and greens). So it’s a mixed bag this year and who knows how it’ll all turn out . . . with my incredibly limited garden time, I’m just thrilled to be growing anything at all!

Let’s start in the front yard. You may remember my cherry tree discovery from last year. Well, this year was even more bountiful!

And recently Damian spent an afternoon high atop a ladder, harvesting . . .

We got maybe 6? Maybe 8? pounds of cherries. I can’t wait to show you what I did with them! Coming soon . . .


Moving around to the back and my 2 raised beds :

For reference, this was the layout as of mid-May, just a few weeks after planting.

And here’s the righthand bed, as of mid June :

The beets (up top) and all the greens are flourishing.

Kale blend: mostly Red Bohr, some Dino.

The chard is so bright and beautiful. Thriving!

Happy little chard. Grow baby Grow!

The collards . . . mmm . . . I can’t wait to make them into RAW summer wraps!

And just like last year the pak choi bolted at the first sign of sunlight. I’ve already torn out this entire patch and replanted with some Farmer’s Market tomato starts! Meanwhile these guys went straight into my blender, NOM

To the far right of the bed (not pictured), strung up on an old box spring frame, are some sugar snap peas that I may have started too late. And on the other side of those (protected in their shade) are 6 little basil plants.

Cross your fingers for these guys – I’m *really* hoping to preserve pesto this year.

The lefthand bed is split between squashes and tomatoes. I started most of my tomatoes from seed sown directly into the ground. Not ideal, but I was busy with baby! The poor little guys damn near drowned in all the rain we’ve been having and they’re seriously stunted in growth. I don’t think any of the Goldens or the Green Zebras made it. But the cherries and the reds are finally starting to take off!

Precious cherry tomatoes that fed me so well last year, you can do it! I believe!

And the gourds are doing GREAT. I planted both pumpkin and acorn squash and got them in early enough for once. I expect I’ll be carving my homegrown goods this Hallowe’en!

Pumpkins in the foreground, acorn squash behind, w00t!

And of course beyond the boxes lies the strawberry/sunflower patch. My sunflowers were started from seed in the ground, but the made it!

The strawberries have been demoted to mere slug deterrent. Waits gets gas when I eat them, and if I leave them on the bush they draw the slugs away from my greens. So, this veganic method is working well for us this year! You can also see in some of the other pictures, I’ve lined the beds with copper tape. This has been *excellent* for keeping slugs out of my goodies. Highly recommend!

The strawberries and the sunflowers (with the compost in the background).

And that’s the micro-farm! So what about you, my dears? How are your gardens growing??

Ahhh, tomatoes, the ruby gems of the garden treasure chest. Fresh-from-the-yard tomatoes are one of summer’s true delights, the crowning jewel in countless warm-weather dishes. If there was only one thing I could grow, it would easily be tomatoes. Hands down. No questions.

And you can too! No matter where you are in the northern hemisphere, it’s not too late to grow your own little slice of the red heaven. You might not be able to start them from seed, but you can certainly get some seedlings planted. Just don’t delay! You’ll want to get these babies into the ground ASAP.

And if you want the strongest, hardiest, most fruit-bearing transplants ever, here’s what you’ve gotta do:





Begin with your tomato start (hey, is that a tp roll?). With very sharp scissors, cut off each leaf ‘branch’ at the base, leaving only the leaf cluster at the very top.





In your garden bed dig a long shallow trough. If you have it, lay some compost along the bottom. Then lay the tomato plant on it’s side in the trough (atop the compost). If you don’t have compost that’s fine.





Carefully cover the tomato plant, roots and stem, so that only the top leaf cluster is exposed. Pat the soil down firmly and water the transplant into its new home. Voila!

The stem will send down shoots at each of the trimmed nodes, ensuring a sturdy root system capable of maximum mineral extraction. Thus, tomatoes transplanted in this manner tend to have a much higher yield.

Good luck in the garden!