2010 Retrospective: Diva Cucumbers

You might remember the crazy rowcover structure I stuck to the fence with velcro, described back in this post. It resulted in decent protection. Above you can how the diva cucumber plants looked as of August 4, 2010. That's pretty good considering my cucumbers were a yellow spotted, shriveling up, powdery mildewed mess by Aug. 9th in 2009. There were just two major problems: 1) the Agribon didn't stick to the velcro very well, so even after I tried stapling it, it was tough to peel the cover off for harvest without ripping the velcro from the fabric and 2) I think some especially intrepid cucumber beetles were able to get to the plants through cracks in the fence. Still, it was good enough protection that the plants stayed healthy for a longer time. I was a bit disappointed with the Diva's production though - I probably picked less than 10 cucumbers, even with 4 plants. This year I'm going to try sewing the velcro to the Agribon with a wide zig zag stich, and plant Cool Breeze cucumbers. We'll see if they're any better.

Here is one of the cucumbers I harvested, along with some other garden veggies & berries picked that day. When they did grow, they were great! Really smooth and not bitter at all.

I made it into one of my favorite summer dishes - cold peanut soba noodles. I also shredded the carrots and turnips from the garden in it too. Turnips are suprisingly sweet when shredded raw!

Insect Control Structures

So I'm trying out new ways to control insect problems this year. Above, you see a low tunnel (at least I think that's what it would be called) that is covering two cavili squash plants, to protect them from Squash Vine Borers. I built it just like I did the others described in this post. In fact, I used the wires from the winter rowcovers and just moved them over. The only difference is this time instead of tying the cover on with rope, I just clipped it on with clothespins and used rocks to hold down the bottoms. I also used the lightest grade of Agribon so they won't get too hot under there.

So far, they seem to be working very well. It was these plants I grew from seed, and now they're very big with 3 squash growing on them. They are supposed to be self-pollinating, so I won't have to take the covers off, or try to hand pollinate them. The fruits have been there for about a week now, and are still only about 3 inches long though, so I'm a bit worried they're not getting pollinated for some reason. I guess we'll see how it goes this week.

The other rowcover experiment I'm trying this year is kind of a crazy contraption.
Underneath this Abgribon are 5 Diva Cucumber plants, that need protection from cucumber beetles. I've already seen lots of them around the yard, so they are definitely a big problem. All my cukes were decimated by them the past two summers, so I knew I had to try something because I love cucumbers! The Diva cukes I grew from seed are also self-pollinating, so hopefully this will do the trick.

The problem is they grow up a trellis, so I had to get creative. What I did was use extra-srength outdoor velcro to attach the rowcover to the fence. Unfortunately, I guess because the fence was old and dirty, it didn't stick very well and is starting to peel off. I'm going outside now for my second attempt - this time I'm going to staple the velcro to the fence.

Otherwise, they seem to be growing pretty well under there. I haven't been able to look at them in over a week since I didn't want to completely pull the velcro off until I had time to staple it, so I'm excited to go out there now and take a peek! Hopefully I'll see some flowers...

Not a Fail Afterall. Hooray!

It turns out the carrots and turnips weren't dead afterall! It warmed up and hit 50 this Saturday, so I went outside to see if the carrots were still edible. To my surprise, the green tops had perked back up and looked alive! They were still damaged, but nowhere nearly as bad as the greens in the other bed (which are definitely still dead, or at least dormant).

The next test was taste, and the carrots passed with flying colors! Sweet and cruchy, they tasted just as good as they did in the summer. So I picked 90% of them. I figured I might as well eat them when I knew the eating was good, before it snows again. I left in just a few as a test, to see how long they'll last.

The turnips were also alive, but the ones I picked seemed a tiny bit soft. I am still going to try cooking them to see how they taste, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I lightly steamed the carrots along with some green beans, then finished them off in a saute pan with a bit of vegan butter, toasted fennel seeds and garlic. They were delicious! It was my first time using fennel seeds like that. I would definitely make this dish again (it was based off this recipe).

I had two friends over for dinner last night so I served them along with chickpea cutlets parmigiana (with Teese mozarella), homemade teese & unpepperoni stromboli, and saffron risotto from Nonna's Italian Kitchen.
We also had an endive and apple salad as a first course. Next year my goal is to grow endives so we can have them fresh in the winter. In any case, my friends were happy they trekked on NJ transit all the way from the LES. :-)

Four Season Gardening = Fail

Well, not a total fail - but definitely not a success! The plants under my rowcovers have been dead since it first dipped into the low 20's back in early December. Here is what the greens bed looks like today:
Even the mache is frozen. So much for that!

And here is the bed of carrots. The turnips look the same.
I wish I had known this was going to happen, so I could have at least picked everything when I saw the temps were heading down that low. A lot of good food was wasted. My brother says I can still dig the carrots up and eat them, but I've read in other places frozen ground will turn them into mush. In any case the ground is frozen hard right now, and it is so cold out I have no intention of going out there to dig. Nope, I'm staying right here on the couch with my fuzzy blanket, snoozing doggy and tea.

Overall, I don't feel too bad. At least it was a learning experience. Now I know what the Agribon can do, so next year I can plan better. And it did at least make everything last until early December. If it hadn't been the coldest winter on record in over a decade, it might have worked better. I'm also still glad I built the rowcovers, because I'm sure it will help me get an early start in the spring. Now I've just got to be patient and wait for horrible January and February to pass!

C'est la vie!

Update: Looks like the problem is I needed an additional layer of poly. Thanks Robin! I am definitely going to try it. http://www.mofga.org/Default.aspx?tabid=833

Happy Thankgiving!

I'm so happy that my rowcovers seem to be working so far. Just look how lush and green the plants are underneath! Granted, it hasn't been that cold yet - after that one period of frost that killed the peppers, squash and tomatoes, it has been pretty warm since. Still, I think it is helping, and I can't wait to see how long they will stay green. Above you can see the bed with carrots, turnips & a little bit of chard along the sides.
Here is the leafy green bed, with mustard greens, arugula, red romaine & buttercrunch lettuce, and mache. I'm really excited about the mache, since it is supposed to be the one green that will last through winter. It looks really healthy under the rowcover. I can't wait to eat it, but I'm trying to hold out until it gets really cold. Here's a closeup of the mache, which is growing all along the front of the bed:

I harvested a variety of goodies from these beds for today's Thanksgiving feast. The pictures aren't great because by the time I got home from work, it quickly got dark, and on top of that it was raining. But I still had fun out there picking the veggies. The Frech innovation described in Coleman's book - using the ropes - really does make it super easy to get in and out. All I had to do was push the cover back - I didn't even need to untie it. Then just slid it back down when I was done. Here's what I got:
This was maybe about 1/3 of the carrots growing under the rowcover. They're still a bit small, but not too dissapointing. I figure this harvest was about equivalent to a bag of baby carrots, just a lot better tasting and no chlorine involved. :-)
Unfortunately, most of the turnips were still too small to harvest, so this was all I got. The rest of them looked like these four on the left in the picture below.I think it may be because I did a crappy job of planting them back in August, since it was a miserably hot day. I hope what's left under the rowcover grows more (there is still a lot). Worst comes to worst, at least I can eat the greens.
I also picked a ton of arugula. I only have a picture of it packed up and ready to transport to my mom's house. Here is everything ready to go. Starting from the top left, moving clockwise I've got :





-Arugula
-Turnip Greens
-Green Pepper
-Kung Pao & Jalapeno Chili Powder
-Turnips & Baby Carrots
-Nasturtium Lemon Butter
-Thyme, Rosemary & Edible Marigolds







I'll update the blog with everything I made from it later.

Hope everyone enjoys their thanksgiving and has a wonderful day!

Frost Warning!!

Oh no. I knew this day would come. There is still soooo much stuff left in the garden, it will take me a day to harvest it all!! Green tomatoes, hot peppers, lots more bell peppers, flowers...dang. And there is no way I can take another day off.

This is why I really hate winter - getting home after dark. I can't pick anything if I can't see it. We really need to get some proper lighting for the backyard. It is at the top of a very long list of things this house needs. (homeownership is no joke, that's for sure!)

I guess I can try to get up early and at least get some in the morning, but this is even more complicated tomorrow since I have to go vote. (still don't know who I'm voting for - I don't like Corzine or Christie)

Oh well, at least I already have the row covers up. I guess I'll just have to pick as much as I can. We'll see what I get tomorrow.

Do I love my garden or what?! Took the day off edition

You might remember this "Do I love my garden or what?!" post from last year's veganmofo. Well, it is kind of interesting to reflect on - things are looking better this year, what with my Agribon rowcovers instead of sheets.

Still, I took today off from work (it was a slow week, so my boss was fine with it) just to work in my garden haha! It is bright and sunny, about as good as a fall day could be. Although we haven't had a frost yet (very unusual) we've had extended cool temperatures so things are starting to show signs of dying. The leaves on the herbs are turning brown, which I definitely don't want since I am trying to dry and preserve them for winter. I have a number of things I want to get done:

1. harvest and dry the hot peppers (habanero & kung pao, mainly. The jalapenos still haven't turned red)
   
2. harvest and dry herbs (shiso, oregano, marjoram, eucalyptus, sage, mint, chives & lavender)
3. harvest and dry the edible marigolds
4. harvest the nasturtiums and make something with them for dinner
5. pull down the malabar spinach. It has spots all over it now, since it is a tropical plant I think it is hating the cool weather
6. sew the extension onto the agribon covering the lettuce bed

Jeesh! It is a lot for one day. I've also got to clean my house since I'll probably have people over for a Halloween party this weekend, and I need to put another coat of plaster/joint compound on a drywall project in the upstairs bathroom. I'm sure I won't get everything done, but, I'll try my best.

Four Season Harvest "Chenilles" Low Tunnels Completed

Just finished building two low row covers for my winter crops. I did it as described on page 89 of Eliot Coleman's book, "Four Season Harvest". Apparently this is a French innovation - to have little loops on each hoop so you can tie a rope to hold it down, rather than burying it with dirt. This makes it easier to harvest and vent.

I used #9 wire, and bent it into a semi-circle shape a little longer than he said, actually 8' long instead of 6.5' since my beds are wider. (approx. 40 - 42" rather than 30 - 36" he calls for) I used needle-nose pliers to put a loop about 1.5' from each end, again a bit longer than he called for (1'). It needed to be longer to accomodate the cinder blocks. I pushed them about a foot into the ground on either end.
Then I laid the #30 Agribon over it. (actually this was better as a two person job, and Mr. Aubade helped a lot - both with cutting and shaping the hoops, then with laying down the fabric) I finished it by tying poly outdoor rope like a shoelace through each loop.

The first one came out too short, so I've got to staple on about 2 feet more. It had lettuce, arugula, mache and mustard greens in that bed (not pictured).

But the second try, as seen here in the pictures, seemed to work pretty well. This bed has carrots, chard and turnips in it. It didn't come out quite like I had hoped, as it seems a little wobbly - but I think it will be ok since my backyard isn't too windy. Guess we'll see how it goes. This is definitely an experiment. I just want to see how long the plants will live.

Bird Netting/Greenhouse Rowcover, Tomato Cages & Trellises Done!

It looks like a spaceship back here, there are so many shiny metallic shapes all around!

We put more of the Ikea trellis from last year on the other side of the yard and built 4 huge tomato cages using these instructions: http://yourhomegardenblog.com/vegetable-gardening/constructing-tomato-cages-using-wire-mesh

Except for one difference: the wire mesh in both home depot and lowe's was super rusty and expensive. so instead we got some type of galvanized wire. I have to look up exactly what it was b/c my partner bought it but I can only make a short post of notes right now as I have other work to do. This wire is very shiny and not rusted at all.

The only problem is the holes were smaller so it would be hard to reach your hands in to harvest the fruit. So I took a pair of industrial wire cutters we just bought and made 15 extra big holes per cage. I may have to cut more, but I figured that was enough to start.

We staked them into the bed with 1 rebar each, and 2 wood stakes each. They do seem extra strong so I am very pleased.
Then, I finally made one of the rowcover mini greenhouses w/ the wire that I read about in Eliot's book last fall!!

It really worked!!! I am so happy.

I made 3 hoops with the wire then pushed them into the dirt about a foot, in the holes of the concrete blocks around my strawberry & pea bed.

The wire did not make perfect hoops like I wanted it to, b/c it was kind of flimsy. So the shape is really uneven. At 1st it didn't seem sturdy enough to hold up to wind so I also had to make a 4th hoop to go across all three, as a crosspiece for stabilty. Then it seemed really strong, so that was easy enough to fix.

I think it may of been especially flimsy b/c I had to make the hoops pretty high, like 3 ft tall. There is a short trellis with burpee early perfection peas growing in the middle of this bed, with 4 different types of strawberries.

Although I wasn't planning on growing peas in there again - I was just going to let the strawberry runners fill it in - I think the trellis may have ended up working in my favor b/c I attached the wire to it for extra stability. And it is a pretty strong trellis. I hammered it in more too, so it is really in there.

I actually had to finish it yesterday for bird netting, not agribon, so the birds and squirrels would not eat my berries. The bird netting I bought at home depot last year was only held over it w/ logs & stones, and the peas were getting tangled in it.

So I attached the bird netting to this hoophouse structure with plain old wooden clothespins. I figured the clothespins would make it very easy to just take one off, pull up that section to pick a berry, then just clip it back on.

That was yesterday, and today it still seems to be working great! I have to go pick some berries right now. yum :-)

I still have to build several more of these, and believe the next ones will be better.Of course there's a learning curve.

I even had an idea, since this one looked so much like a modern tent - why not use a type of good tent poles design to make ultralight moveable mini greenhouses? I may have even read it in Eliot's book...I think I heard that idea somewhere before. I really think something like that just might work.

Pea Update

It's been just about 32 days since I planted all those peas. I thought they were all doing pretty well. They look healthy and some are now about 3-4 inches tall.

But then I just looked at this post about the same dark-seeded early perfection peas I planted last fall. At 33 days old, last year they were WAY bigger than the ones I have now. I have them now on the same trellis, but they haven't even reached the bottom rung yet (see above), whereas the ones in the pic from last year are above the second rung and already have a few flowers!

As you can see on the right I have the sugar snaps on a bigger 6 foot tall trellis, but they haven't reached the bottom rung yet either.

I think they must just grow really slowly in the cold weather we've been having. It even snowed again yesterday morning. Just flurries, but overall this spring has been the coldest I remember in a long time. Bummer.

I planted them early because it gets so hot and humid here pretty quickly in June, and everything I read says that will kill peas. And if it takes 60 days for them to mature, that doesn't seem to leave enough time if I didn't plant them until April.

Darn! I was really looking forward to tasty peas! I really hope they grow faster once the weather warms up.

This is proving to me that I really need that Abgribon. I wanted to try a little wire hoop house type row cover setup. But the stuff is still on backorder. On March 26th they said it won't be mailed until April 10th or later. :-(

Here's a close up of the sugar snaps:

Final Seed Order 2009

Yep, couldn't help myself- oops I did it one more time.

Here is today's order:

• English Daisy Tasso Strawberries and Cream
• Balloon Flower Astra White
• Monarda Panorama Red Shades
• Hollyhock Mallow 'Mystic Merlin'
• Hollyhock Creme de Cassis
• Organic Cilantro Longstanding
• Organic Dill Bouquet

I'm not sure I'll even have enough room for all of these flowers, but we'll see what happens.

As far as the third week of March update- some good and bad news. The good news is I've got two pole peas growing, and the whole row of arugula has sprouted wonderfully. No action on the bush peas in the strawberry bed, so something clearly went wrong there. No big deal though, I have plenty of extra seeds. I plan to soak and replant in the first week of April.

This experimental early March planting has told me that you don't necessarily gain much from starting earlier in this climate. This is probably especially true this year, since it has been so cold. Tonight it is supposed to go down into the 20's! That's the bad news. I hope the arugula lives!

I still may try to start early next year, as the head start on cool weather plants will leave more room for the warm weather plants in my small garden. But I think it will have to be protected by a double row cover greenhouse as described in "Four Season Harvest" by Eliot Coleman. Unfortunately the Agribon I purchased was back-ordered until at least 3/20, and I haven't received it yet.

More mixed news for the indoor seedlings. The lettuce and violet seedlings are doing OK, but some of the lettuce plants seem pretty leggy. So I'm a bit disappointed with these results too. I think it may be because we didn't get enough artificial light on them soon enough. The good news is Mr. Aubade was able to set up the shop lights using the corded switch. However, we forgot to ask the hardware store to cut the chain in half, and our hack saw wouldn't work to cut it. So we've got to go back to the store today and ask them to cut it, then we can finally hang the big grow lights and start the flower seedlings.

Ultimately I think the lettuce seedlings will survive, but I bet whatever I direct seed in the beds in the next week or two will grow just as well as the ones I started inside. Oh well, live and learn. They sure look cute on the windowsill anyway!

Gardening Binge 2009 #2: Check!

I knew after my last seed order a few weeks ago, there were still a few things I forgot. I definitely wanted to order the Agribon row covers. I also want to make the existing wild violet area (as described in this post last year) on the other side of the yard into an edible flower bed, but didn't get anything for that when I ordered my veggies. So, today I had some time to spare and of course my thoughts immediately went to my garden, and the little violets that should be sprouting any week now. One thing led to another, and bye bye hard earned $$$! Haha. At least I don't feel too bad since they are all edible and most perennial. Here's the haul, all organic, from Peaceful Valley:

• Anise Hyssop (Mint Licorice) Agastache foeniculum
• White Yarrow Achillea millefolium*
• Bergamot Lavender Monarda fistulosa*
• Calendula Flashback Calendula officinalis
• Nasturtium Rainbow Whirlybird Mix Tropaeoleum majus
• Nasturtium Climbing Amazon Mix Tropaeolum majus
• Garlic Chives Allium tuberosum
• Catalogna (Italian) Dandelion Greens Cichorium intybus (these were Free!)
• Tendergreen Mustard (also Free!)
  
• Mache Gala (a.k.a. lamb's lettuce or corn salad)
• The lightest Agribon (19) to keep the worms off my Kale
• The next heavier Agribon (30) to protect crops from frost

*Native to New Jersey!

Wuhoo! I'm so excited I don't even know what to do with myself. Well, actually I do- make lots and lots of origami boxes to use as pots for indoor seedlings! I better get to it- hopefully it will work and you'll see the results in my next post.

Now I need to put some more details here on a couple of these new plants that I've never grown before.
-Anise Hyssop= Height: 2-4'; Spacing:18-24 in. (45-60 cm); Sun to Light Shade; Propagation: From seed; sow indoors before last frost (cold, moist stratification dramatically improves germination); blooms mid to late summer

-White Yarrow= Height: 6" - 4'; Spacing: 1 - 2'; Full Sun; Drought resistant; Propagation: Divide in the spring. The seed germinates in 2 weeks at temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees. Light is necessary for seed germination (so plant no deeper than 1/4 inch). Germination time indoors may be as little as 5 to 7 days.; bloom in June, but will bloom again in September if the dead clusters are removed

-Bergamot Lavender = Height: 3' - 5' (mowing may keep it shorter & water/fertilizer will make it grow huge); Spacing: 12 - 24" (good air circulation keeps away powdery mildew); Full sun to light shade; Somewhat drought resistant (moreso than monarda didyma) but may like moist feet - seems to depend; Propagation: Direct seed 2 seeds/in or start indoors 4-6 wks before last frost and transplant when frost danger has passed. Planting Depth: 1/8"-1/4"Soil Temp. for Germ.: 60-70°FDays to Germ.: 10-21; Blooms in June/July, may continue through Sep. if deadheaded

Other Possibilities:

• Tagetes tenuifolia (lemon or tangerine signet marigold)
• Malva sylrestris (common mallow, french hollyhock)
• and/or Alcea rosea (Hollyhock) probably doesn't taste as good as mallow but it sure is cute! Also has upward, tall habit
• Bellis perennis (English Daisy, Lawn Daisy) small, adorable and I NEED it haha
• Centaurea cynaus (Bachelor's Button, Cornflower) pretty, blue, many colors but also large: 2 - 3 feet tall
• Platycodon grandiflorum (Balloon Flower) Another purple 2 - 3 foot tall totally gorgeous edible flower
  

Poooor Kale

I was so excited to have fresh heirloom lacinato kale growing into November. Sigh. Unfortunately this is what they looked like on September 3rd.


I have about 6 plants now, and although they are a little bigger they still are all eaten up just like in the picture. It is the darn imported cabbage worms. I guess they like kale as much as I do. I've been pulling them off the kale at a rate of around 6 or more every other day.

As mentioned in my last post about these evil catepillars, I went out and bought BT- the organic pesticide that is supposed to stop them. But after buying it I read some stuff that really made me worry about using pesticides, even if they are organic. So I'm just chalking it up to experience this year, and trying to pick off as many as I can by hand.

Next year I'm going to using row covers. I found this great site with lots of information on it's products: http://groworganic.com/default.html?welcome=T&theses=3550316 From what I have read, it seems the Agribon is the way to go. It is expensive, but since my garden is small I can get the smallest quantity they have which will be about $50 and last for hopefully at least 3 seasons. In that case, it seems pretty cost effective if it keeps these darn worms off my whole crop.