Earthly Garden

Well after three weeks of sunny, warm, dry weather, we’re finally getting some rain. It’s been pouring all day. Maybe now we’ll finally get some fall weather! As much as I enjoy summer, I am ready for some crisp autumn days. I just harvested the last of my tomatoes-see the pic. Now it’s time to close up shop and plan for next year. I’m looking forward to all the seed and plant catalogs that will soon start arriving in the mail. In future columns I’ll review a few of the best and most interesting. The coming cold weather months also bring the chance to catch up on some reading. Don’t know about you but my “To Be Read” pile contains more than a few gardening books. I’ll be reviewing those as well, so stay tuned!

gardening, tomatoes, seed catalogs. gardening books, weather

I picked my first ripe tomato of the year today. It’s gorgeous and the smell is mouthwatering. I’m trying to decide wether to slice it into a salad or just eat it as is! Yummy either way!!

Gardening Pic of the Day:

gardens, gardening, tomatoes, vegetables

Good morning!
If you haven’t already, now is the time to make sure your veggies such as tomatoes and cukes have the proper support. Don’t wait until they are full of developing fruit, by then it’s too late!
Cukes and zukes appreciate a trellis or tepee made of wooden stakes to climb. Training the vines to grow up saves space and protects the fruits. and tomatoes need a good strong cage around them. You can buy them at the hardware store or garden center, or make your own with twine and wood scraps. Just be sure they are sturdy yet flexible enough to allow the plant to grow. Without the proper support your tomatoes will sprawl out messily and the developing fruits could be damaged.

Gardening Pic of the Day:

gardens,gardening,tomatoes,cucumbers,trellis,cages

gardens, gardening, tomatoes, cucumbers, trellis, cages

Good Morning!

Now that gardening season is in full swing for most of the country, doctors and emergency rooms will start seeing more and more gardening injuries. Most gardening injuries involve the back and knees, and are caused by awkward kneeling and bending. Here are some tips to keep yourself injury free!

1. Always bend at the knees and hips.
2. Never try and lift or move heavy things on your own
3. Be sure and move around every 30 minutes or so. Staying in the same position too long leads to strains and stiffness.
4. Avoid strenuous garden tasks in extreme heat, and when you are working, be sure to keep yourself hydrated.
5.Keep your tools sharpened and in good condition. Dull blades and damaged or worn equipment are dangerous.

Gardening Pic of the Day:

gardens,gardening,garden injuries, tomatoes

gardens, gardening, garden injuries, tomatoes

I was annoyed to find that some of the seedlings I’m growing here in my office succumbed to some kind of withering disease. Maybe damping off, which is a sort of fungus. A good cure for that is to water them with chamomile tea. Also, two of the tomato plants I bought at a nearby garden center withered and fell over practically overnight. I suspect that the plants might have been carriers of some sort of virus that spread to the seedlings.

Lesson learned. I had already thought about all the salsas, homemade sauces and sundried tomatoes I would make from the fruit of those seedlings. In other words, I was “counting my chickens before they hatched”, as we say down here.

But, as we also say, never give up. I seem to have a stubborn Gardener Gene passed along to me from my paternal grandmother, and her parents who were farmers and share croppers, and my maternal AND paternal great-grandparents, who were avid gardeners. So I suppose I couldn’t give up on gardening if I even wanted to!

I’ll replant more tomato seeds, make a trip to the garden center with withered plants in hand and demand that they exchange them for something else.

We had a violent storm last night with almost 4-inches of rainfall. Many areas around here are flooded, but we’re up on a hill so that’s not a problem for us. The house shook with the thunder, and the lightning was fierce and so bright I could have read from the front porch if I’d wanted to. We needed the rain, but we didn’t need it all at once! On the bright side, our rainwater collection tanks are full. Since we are frugal with our water, that will last us for quite some time.

I was reluctant to peek outside this morning, fearing storm damage, but everything seems to be intact…even the nectarine and peach blossoms. Man, I’m already tasting the jelly I’ll make from those! LOL

dig it!

bobbi c.

damping off, plant diseases, tomato seedlings, vegetable virus, rainwater collection

As ya’ll know, I’m very fond of watching the birdies out my office window. That’s one reason I was distressed when I read that the month of March is the hardest of all for birds. According to an article by George H. Harrison on the eNature.com website published by the National Wildlife Federation, birds have a tough time in March because there just isn’t enough native food for them to eat–not many seeds, berries, insects, etc. So it’s doubly important to keep those birdfeeders filled. As I mentioned before, the longer we keep seed in our feeders, the more different varieties of birds we’re attracting to our gardens. And birdies in the garden is a great thing for Earthly Gardens!

I’m celebrating the arrival of thousands of bees to my garden. They are busy with the nectarine tree that is gorgeous and dripping with blooms. The irises are blooming, and the one lonely tomato plant I put out in the garden yesterday is still alive this morning. That’s a reason to celebrate! I can almost taste that salsa now!

dig it!

bobbi c.
All photos and text copyright ©2005-2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. all rights reserved.

birds in garden, birdfeeders, National Wildlife Federation, nectarine blossoms

Mornin’ all! I realize that some of us don’t have large yards or gardens, and that some of us have to grow our veggies in pots. But perhaps we need to rethink “garden space.” I’ve seen gardens grown on concrete pavement, and I’ve seen gardens grown in old plastic bags. Here’s a neat article about a different kind of garden….roof gardens.

Even if you don’t want to turn your roof into a garden (we couldn’t do that here because our roof is metal and any garden would literally COOK), it might give you some ideas about “gardening outside the box”, so to speak.

Many of my readers are still snowed in. I try to remember that, even as the temps here are already way too hot for this time of year. It was 85 yesterday in Austin, yet we will probably have one more freeze before it’s safe to put out the tomato plants. We always do!

dig it!

bobbi c.

roof gardens, roof gardening, planting tomatoes, spring gardening

Yesterday, Stephanie asked me if I had any suggestions for growing veggies in pots. As a matter of fact, I just got a new packet of lettuce seeds that are great for growing in pots and small containers. Specifically, the seeds are for Garden Babies Butterhead Container Lettuce, and are available from Renee’s Garden seeds. The Baby Butterhead lettuces are a new variety, originally developed for the Japanese luxury salad market, where flavor and quality are very important.
Here’s a specific link to more info. about the lettuce.

I potted up some seed into small peat pots, and they sprouted within a week. Once they get larger, I’ll put them outside in a semi-shady spot in a small pot. They don’t get huge, and supposedly are bolt resistant, which means they can take a little heat, unlike a lot of other lettuces.

Other than these specific lettuces, there are lots of veggies you can grow in containers. Cherry tomatoes, bush beans, bush cucumbers, miniature eggplants, etc. Most large seed catalogs have a section specifically for the smaller plants. Just remember, if they’re in pots, they’ll dry out faster. You might want to put one pot inside another, that will help with the watering because the inner pot won’t get so hot. Water them daily, keep an eye on them for insects, feed them with a good organic fertilizer such as liquid seaweed (my fav) or fish emulsion, and harvest when the veggies are young and small.

Enjoy, and dig it!

bobbi c.
All text and images here (other than photos provided by others) is Copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.

growing vegetables in pots, cherry tomatoes, Renee’s Garden, vegetable and flower seeds, liquid seaweed organic fertilizer, fish emulsion

Hi all,

I was horrified yesterday when a reader told me that rainwater collection is illegal in Colorado. I would never tell someone to do something illegal…except in this case! I think it horrifying that a state in general would not put any controls on over-development or population, but would make it illegal for a gardener to collect rainwater for their garden. So, if you live in CO, get a bucket, collect some rain (next time it rains) and collect it for your gardens. THEN try and get the laws changed. Thank goodness there are no such silly laws in Texas!!

On other more pleasant matters, yesterday I received an order of dibbers from my Nova Scotian woodturner friend and artist, Derek Andrews. I had never even heard of dibbers (AKA dibblers or dibbles) until I saw them on his Seafoam Woodturning Studio website, but now I’m finding out what great little tools they can be in the garden. You can use them for planting bulbs, seedlings or young plants, and I love that he’s marked measurements on them. Derek does wonderful work, and we have a few of his other pieces in our collection. His dibbers are smooth as glass, and I *almost* hate to get them dirty. I had to run outside and try them, and I love the way they work! I’ll write more about them when I use them to plant my new tomato babies. It’s so seldom that you find handmade garden tools! (And these are VERY affordable, too, and will last forever!)

dig it!

bobbi c.

rainwater collection, Seafoam Woodturning Studio, handcrafted garden tools, dibblers, dibbers, dibbles, wooden garden tools

Mornin’ all!

I was excited to find a good selection of heirloom tomato plants at our new garden center last night. It’s hard to find heirloom anything around here, much less ready-grown plants. I bought a few Roma tomatoes and a Cherokee Purple. I wasn’t going to buy plants this year, opting instead to start my own from seeds, but I’m a sucker for the heirlooms.

Here’s an article I found that talks about heirloom plants and why you might want to grow them.

I like to grow heirlooms mostly because of their connection with gardeners of the past…gardeners who lovingly saved seed from their favorite vegetable because it had been given to them by their grandmother or had been carried from one home to the other. And if it tastes great, well, that’s just a bonus!

dig it!

bobbi c.

heirloom vegetables, seeds, seedsaving, antique seeds, heirloom plants, grandmother’s garden

This morning it’s 27-degrees and all thoughts about early planting of spring tomatoes have been replaced by worries that I might lose my little lime tree that’s been living in a pot on the porch since last year at this time. Actually, I’m surprised it has lived this long. This winter has been harsh here for us in many ways–more icy storms and colder temperatures. Maybe it will be a blessing in disguise, and will kill off some of the grasshopper eggs I know are lurking underneath the cedar mulch that covers my garden paths…nature’s way of dealing with bugs!

My new grow light stand (a late Christmas gift) I ordered finally got here, and even though it’s a bit late for us, I’ll be starting tomato, pepper and herb seedlings myself this year. It will be nice not to be tied to the small inventory of hybrid varieties that the local garden center sells, and I can space the timing out instead of buying them all at once. I’ll be starting some Brandywine tomatoes, a popular, tasty heirloom. I always grow cherry tomatoes, too, for salads, and those do well in pots as long as they are fed some fish emulsion or liquid seaweed.

I’ve been going through all my garden photos, and will be posting more of those as I find them.

Happy Valentine’s Day, all!

Dig it!

bobbi c.
All photos and text Copyright©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran

insects in garden, grow light stand, antique rose, white heirloom rose, lime tree in container