Vegetable Garden Update-Think Gourds!

From In the Garden

This month the vegetable garden is devoid of any summer vegetables and I tell you, I really like the nice and clean look! Prior to moving my ten bushel gourds into the garage I set them out on the hay bales in the garden. I was so happy to find so many gourds under all those vines and think they look sweet in the garden. I am ashamed to say I was not brave enough to leave them there to cure. I've only known the way of letting my gourds cure in my garage so chickened out and put them there. Leaving them outside would be a much easier thing for me but the freezing and thawing had me concerned the gourds would not cure well. I will keep you posted on how they do in the garage. Some of these gourds are quite large while others are small. I really like the bushel style though!

From In the Garden

The Chinese cabbage is doing well. I think the transitional nature of the vegetable garden makes me a bit lazy with record keeping so I never can remember the cultivar type. I only ever really need to know the cultivar when I blog about the vegetables because honestly, when I eat the vegetables I don't care what type or cultivar they are named. Since I usually only blog about vegetables once a month I may never keep good records but I promise to try. I do know this cabbage is supposed to be a great leafy green vegetable. I plan to try it in the kitchen soon. I'll probably prepare it like turnip greens but we'll see.

The cabbages grow along side the broccoli. I don't have any broccoli florets yet but am hopeful I'll get a good crop within the month. If you wish to see a long shot of the cabbages and broccoli they are the green vegetables behind the gourds in the first picture.

From In the Garden

Here is another green leafy vegetable-growing in the greenhouse. I am determined to have greens this winter so I sowed some lettuce seeds in flats in the greenhouse. I really enjoy fresh lettuce with tomatoes during dinner each night.

From In the Garden

A long shot of the vegetable garden(left side looking east). BJ is busy investigating the vegetables. Normally the dogs are not allowed in this garden but he was taking advantage of the gate being open to come and say hi to me. The bed to the left of the picture with the white PVC frame has been planted with: turnips, kale, and spinach. So far the turnips and kale are up and growing. Spinach takes a bit longer to germinate in my garden but I am anxiously awaiting its appearance too. The PVC frame will be used as a coldframe. I'll drape some frost cloth over it when it gets really cold in order to help give the vegetables in the bed a little extra protection.

From In the Garden

Another long shot of the vegetable garden (right side looking east). Notice the trailer with fence panels in the background? I purchased 21 wooden fence panels from a fellow Craigs Lister. I've been most busy pressure washing the panels and staining them with Behr's solid color wood fence stain (the best stuff for outdoor wood in my opinion!) We like privacy fencing but in the case of this one side not already privacy fenced, we decided for the good of our 'puppy' Lady that we needed to fix the chainlink fence in a manner where she could not climb and/or jump over the fence and run away. She'll be hard pressed to get over this privacy fence. Preparing the fence for installation is keeping me most busy lately.

That is about it for the vegetable garden this month. If you haven't already planted your cool season crops you may be a bit too late, though garlic and onions might be okay. From this point on I think perhaps there is not much gardening to do in the vegetable garden until February 2010; which is right around the corner....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Vegetable Garden Update-October 2010

From In the Garden

October is a funny month in the garden. I still have tons of warm weather crops growing (tomatoes, gourds, and peppers) yet I also have lots of cool weather crops growing as well. Quite a contradictory month indeed. Let us start with the bushel gourds. These gourds just keep on going like the Energizer bunny. Nothing fazes them. In fact, there are several new small gourds growing. I am most sure these will not have a chance to get large enough to be successfully dried. I have begun pinching out the tips of the vines and some of the new gourds in order to put more energy into growing and ripening the existing gourds so I guess I hope the vines stop producing at this point in the season.

From In the Garden

Speaking of existing gourds here are five gourds just hanging around. Can you see all five? The three darker green colored gourds must each weigh at least 10 pounds. How the vine is strong enough to support each of these gourds I'll never know, but believe it or not all of the gourds just hang there with no help from me. The other two gourds pictured are smaller and a much lighter green in color. You might find them now?

From In the Garden

Now I show you the cool season crops I have planted in the garden. Cool season crops will not do well in our hot summers so spring and fall are the perfect times to plant them. The trick is to get the right planting dates for both seasons. I am never very good at this part. I planted a whole package of 'Alaska' peas. While these peas should be ready to pick in just two months I am afraid I waited much too late to plant them. These were planted on 5 October and they really should've been planted on or about 15 August. I first soaked the peas in plain water for a day and a half and then planted them. They were quite quick to pop out of the ground. I hope they have a chance to ripen before a killing freeze comes in and takes them away.

From In the Garden

Garlic is all planted and up and growing in the garden. This is a most rewarding crop and killing freezes will not permanently kill the garlic. This garlic will be ready for harvesting next May or June. I love fresh picked garlic! Onions also grow in my vegetable garden. The garlic leaves and onion leaves are very different. Here the garlic leaves stand up straight and are much slimmer. The onion leaves flop everywhere and are much rounder and fatter in size.

In thFrom In the Garden

In this circular bed I have planted Savoy cabbage and broccoli. Both are doing wonderfully and I would expect that by the November Vegetable Garden update I'll be picking both crops to eat. Lettuce and onions round out my winter crops growing in the garden.

It will be soon be time to pull all of the tomato plants and other summer crops if you haven't already. If you still have green tomatoes growing on your tomato plants be sure to pick them all and place them in a double paper bag in an area that is cool but that does not freeze. You'll be eating tomatoes from your garden all the way up to January if you have the right conditions. Once your summer vegetables are pulled and composted or disposed of properly you might want to spread a layer of compost or perhaps plant a cover crop. I have never planted a cover crop in my vegetable garden but am considering planting one this year due to the nitrogen fixing benefits of some cover crops. Also, green looks good in the garden in the winter. Normally all of my beds are filled year round but this year it looks as though two beds will free for a cover crop if I get around to putting one in. Compost is a must though and as long as I have time I make sure to add it to the beds. If you don't get your compost in this fall you can always add it once spring arrives.

A tip for you, mark your beds now for next year so that when spring comes you are ready to plant right away. Sometimes we forget what we grew where the year before or even the month before. I know I do that is why I prefer to mark the beds as soon as I remove the current year's crop.

Any other tips you all can think of to make putting your vegetable garden to bed for the winter....

in the garden....

I saw Skeeter and her mother for lunch last week. Both are doing well and Skeeter asked me to let you all know she misses you and is fine. Her parents are back in their home but they are still busy going through things and getting settled in.


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Gourd Tree and Hypertufa Display and Storage Shelf

From In the Garden

I was finally able to get into the garden-at long last. I've missed gardening this winter because I've been very busy inside the house and with college. But now that garden season is near things are stepping up outside. Here are two projects I recently completed in the garden.

The first one is a gourd 'tree'. The 'tree' is simply a 4 x 4 with some dowels threaded through (drill holes) the 4 x 4 to hold ornaments or gourds. Each year I pick a different theme for my gourds but last year I failed to get around to preparing the gourds from the year 2008. I FINALLY finished them. No theme this year except maybe a natural one. I stained the gourds with a golden oak Minwax stain. I love the natural look and the gourds are well protected from the outside elements. I thought the gourds looked so pretty I could not put them all on the gourd tree. Two are safely hanging in my house for me to enjoy there.

From In the Garden

The next project is a favorite and my mother will recognize how I built this storage shelf for my hypertufa and sedum collection. After making SO many pots for a craft fair back in December I had no place to store them since they didn't all sell. In addition to empty hypertufa pots I have a small collection of filled hypertufa for my own use. This is the southern side of my home and the sunniest area so it is also the best area for sedums. Just displaying them laying out on the driveway was not going to work so I had to come up with a large shelf that could hold heavy pots and withstand the weather elements. Enter cinder blocks and pressure treated 2x4s stained with an exterior stain. I stood the cinder blocks on end and threaded a 2x4 into the holes. I then added the pots and continued up as far as the top of the chain link fence. My sedums are on the top shelf and get full sun, the extra hypertufa pots and some leaf castings are on the other shelves and are in an easy to find and locate area that is convenient to me for storage. As a bonus the shelf provides a bit of interest and screen for the backyard. I love it! I got the idea from some bookshelves my mother had built when I was a preteen. She still uses the bookshelves to this day, though they are more refined than mine. What an easy way to build an outdoor shelf. Now if I could just find some more fence space....

in the garden....

How do you deal with outside storage of pots and garden displays?

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Gourds Again

By Skeeter
One of the most rewarding experiences of gardening here in my Georgia Garden was the growing of gourds. Why would gourds be so rewarding you may ask? Well, I can dry them and enjoy them in many ways. In the above picture, you see my gourd crop of 2008 drying. Click Here if you would like to see the Posting on my process of Gourd Drying. I turned the larger of the gourds into birdhouses for my feathered friends of nature. The smaller 3 that I have outlined for you, somehow got lost in the fold. I found them recently and decided it was time to play with them. The odd ball one to the right of those, was recently found in my storage closet after I played with the other gourds. It took many months to dry and I forgot about it until spotting it a few days ago, long after I played with the other forgotten gourds. Make note to self: You are not as organised as you think you are.... First step was to spray paint them white.
Here are those 3 gourds now! The two smaller ones are now ornaments which will be placed on my Snowman Themed Christmas Tree! The larger snowman in the middle will be placed amongst my other snowman items for Christmas as well as during the winter months. I had fun crafting with my gourds and even tried my hand at painting a bit with the clown looking ornament. I know one thing for sure, my eyes "aint" what they use to be! I had to wear reading glasses to make these things! Hum, A sign of aging. Sigh...

Now to my crop of gourds for 2009. I had 14 (difficult to see are two different colored gourds already drying to the front on the left side) of them grow for me this go round. With tons of rain fall during the season, some of the gourds rotted. I ended up with successfully drying about 10 gourds.
This past weekend our temperatures climbed to 70 degrees! Yep, we had just under 7 inches of snow on the ground the previous weekend! Gotta love this Deep South living. Ha... With birds singing in the air, the Saint and I had to get the larger of the gourds made into bird houses for our wild feathered friends. If you would like to see that process, Click HERE to see the posting on it from last year.


I am happy to say, we were able to make 3 wonderful bird houses from the larger of the gourds! They are now hanging in 2 Crepe Myrtle and 1 Crab apple trees. The smaller of the gourds remain hanging in the shed to dry or for me to forget about them. Ha, I will find a craft for them in time.
Last year we had 4 gourd houses in place for the birds. The Eastern Bluebirds had two broods in this one gourd-house pictured above. The other 3 were never utilized as we think they were too small. Well, one became home to a very large spider for a while, Yikes!
It was most rewarding to peek inside the gourd house and see the baby blue birds calling it their temporary home! I am so rewarded knowing that I grew the gourd, dried it and turned it into a home for the wildlife! Nature is so rewarding indeed...

We are hoping that all 3 of the new gourd houses will be home to some type of bird this spring. I will keep you posted.

I took the seeds from the gourds and sprinkled them into the once veggie garden for them to take hold for more bird houses next year!

The Saint and I had so much fun growing and playing with the GOURDS AGAIN, In the Garden...


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Veggie Garden Update-November 2009

From In the Garden

Tina's Vegetable Garden Update:

It is the 20th of the month so for Skeeter and I here at "In the Garden" we'll be talking about our vegetables. The picture above was taken from my deck and shows a long view of my vegetable garden. Everything is still hanging on and still growing though you can see some changes from previous month's postings. Most notably is the fact that you can't see any vegetables growing in the garden and also the A-frames have been moved in preparation for next year's climbing vegetables. I have cleaned out my pitiful tomatoes, the gourd and pumpkin vines, the beans and all of the summer crops. In their place I have planted some cool weather crops; which we'll see below. The hay bales were purchased in readiness for when the first big hard freeze takes my angel trumpets. Once that happens I'll cut them back then put a hay bale over the root ball. So far they and the bananas (a focal point of the vegetable garden) have been hanging tough. This is most unusual for this late in the year.

The first cool season vegetable up for its moment in the glory is Swiss chard. This is something I have never grown before this year. I believe it was Frances who sent me the seeds and I started these from seeds. I am not sure why all the seeds did not grow and flourish but it is okay because this one plant is probably more than enough for our family to eat fresh. It rocks and I will grow it again next year. The cool thing about this plant (for me at least) is that it does well in this shadiest of all the vegetable beds and still it looks good. That and the fact that chard is chock full of iron and simply good for you makes it a keeper here.

This next picture shows the sunniest bed in the vegetable garden. It is on the diagonal and faces the southwest. This is the bed where I have placed all of my winter 'crops' and my coldframe. I have planted: Broccoli Raab, Chinese cabbage, radishes, turnip greens, kohlrabi, beets, mesclun, spinach, and lettuce. Some seeds have not germinated and I realize it has to do with their shelf life. The lettuce and spinach did not come up. I am guessing they need to be purchased fresh each season and do not keep well for a long period of time because this has happened to me before. Gee, I wish the stores did not sell lettuce in such large bargain packages. I hate having all those leftover lettuce seeds but I have learned my lesson. Use all the seeds each season and toss the rest if you cannot use them. I have purchased new seeds along with some onion sets I hope to get put out this week. Wish me luck this late in the season.

Here is a close up of the turnip greens. I first ate turnip greens in Germany at a friend's house. I must say I like them when cooked well and flavored (okay smothered) in bacon but the greens are also useful in salads. These greens are growing right outside of my coldframe toward the sun. I feel they will do okay without the added protection of the coldframe. Things in the coldframe are: kohlrabi, broccoli raab, and lettuce (once I plant it). I am hopeful that if I can get some lettuce growing then I can enjoy fresh salads all winter. The key will be in getting it going. The other things in the coldframe will take care of themselves over the winter but do have the added benefit of protection if need be. Only time will tell how they all do. This process of growing veggies in the winter here is a learning one for me. I've not been successful in the past because even in Tennessee, we do get a few periods of extended freezes where hardly anything grows (for me this seems to be December/January but the weathermen will tell you the coldest months in Tennessee are January and February).

Not much more going on here in the vegetable garden. The nest egg gourds are still drying and they will be a craft I'll save for later. I am busy planning exactly what I'll grow next year since I've vowed to only grow what I'll eat and enjoy. That is a tough one because I simply want to grow all veggies.

Now let's look and see what Skeeter has going on in her Georgia vegetable garden.

SKEETERS GEORGIA VEGGIE GARDEN UPDATE:

November has us picking the last of the Anaheim Peppers! Yes, Pepper Picking in Nov. in Georgia! That happens when you had a late start putting your veggies into the ground and a mild Fall.This Sweet Pepper is still growing and should be picked soon.I have a couple of surprises this month. First, I found a tomato plant growing in the mailbox planter we have on the street! I can only assume the dirt I added from the compost bin is the answer to this surprise. I also spotted Black-eyed Susan in this planter that I did not plant. Hum, Maybe I should just add compost dirt to planters and see what grows! The two gourd plants were growing like weeds until recently. They had grown over the fence and looked like I had planted more seeds but what you see are two very happy plants.Here are the two I call the Twins! They are a bit different at the tops but have grown side by side at the same rate.This one I named Big Daddy as it is the largest one of the bunch! It measures in at one foot tall and 22 inches around the belly! This one will make a nice birdhouse for next spring.Here is my second surprise! While collecting all the gourds and removing the dying vines, I found this Purple Cherokee Tomato hiding below the tangled mess! The Saint said it was yummy. I am glad to show you this tomato as I had 6 to show you but they were eaten by my dad before I snapped a picture of them. He really did enjoy them while visiting with us last month. I venture to say, this is the first time I have harvested a tomato in November! And here are the gourds drying on the fence. There are 12 hanging on the fence and 2 on the ground which are well on their way to the drying state. I will Scrape the Gourds as I found that much easier then scrubbing them after they dried last year.

It was another trial and error year in the Veggie Garden and we did have a bit of fun even though it started out bad as last year. We enjoyed lots of Tomatoes, Herbs, Peppers and the Gourds will make wonderful Birdhouses for my feathered friends! I guess all in all, it was fun being In The Veggie Garden...

Veggie Garden Update October 2009

Tina's Veggies:
The last of the summer vegetables have been harvested and the garden has been cleaned up. Yup, it's sad but true, summer is over. But don't worry there are cool weather crops to fill in for the long gone summer veggies. It is always nice to get a fresh start in the garden and living in Tennessee allows many fresh starts for the vegetable garden. The above picture shows 'Nest Egg' gourds and the last of the green peppers. Note: Tomatoes are notably absent as they did not do well this year. The beans were left to go by on the vines and the zucchini and cucumbers just never did materialize for me this year. Sigh.

I wanted to comment on the next egg gourds and also on the butternut squash. Mom and Lola we finally ate the little Waltham butternut squash and I found them delicious! Most easy to stick in the microwave too. Speaking of gourds and squash I was a bit overwhelmed with all the gourds I grew last year so I decided to try a different kind this year. These 'Nest Egg' gourds were most easy to grow and quite prolific. The seed package said these gourds are called nest egg gourds because farmers sometimes use them to fool a hen into laying eggs by placing one in the nest. Interesting note. I will dry them and figure out something to do with them that I may post about later this year. In the meantime if you'd like to see last year gourds do check the archive under gourds for several posts on gourds found here.
I have cleared most of the beds. The bananas have not yet come down. Even with a hard freeze this last weekend the garden is still standing tall and looking good, but I know its days are numbered. My only goal for the vegetable garden this winter is to be able to grow lettuce throughout the season. In order to achieve this I have done a few things. First of all I scraped about 8-12" of soil from the above bed and added a 2" layer of horse manure to the bed then backfilled with the removed soil. I also added a coldframe to this bed. The coldframe is equipped with glass windows that can be ventilated. It is oriented to the southwest and I hope it and the rotting manure will provide enough heat to allow lettuce to be successfully grown all winter. Wish me luck. In addition to lettuce I planted: beets, white radishes, two types of spinach, kohlrabi, Broccoli Raab, and Chinese cabbage. Some of the vegetables are planted in the coldframe and some are outside of the coldframe. We'll see what comes of my coldframe/manure experiment during our monthly updates.

If you have not yet planted your fall crops you need to get going. It is not too late to plant garlic and onions but most fall crops need to be in and growing by now for a successful harvest.

Prepare all of your beds you are not using for fall crops by applying a layer of compost to each bed. I always lay out next summer's garden at this time of the year too. I find that come next year I may have forgotten where I grew the tomatoes so I label each bed appropriately this year. Rotating is very important in order to avoid a build of harmful pests in the soil.

Regular readers will know I am usually not too organized with planting my vegetable garden. I can never tell you which is the 'Bradley' tomato or which is the 'Beefsteak' tomato because I am bad with labeling and paying attention to cultivars. That is beginning to change. I have labeled all fall crops with the type and cultivar of vegetable and have resolved to only grow what I enjoy eating most. For example growing pole beans in my garden makes no sense since I can't stand beans. I can surely use the spot for something I will enjoy more-like zucchini. This year has made me see that as much I love growing things I will need to prioritize for next year or suffer with very few veggies again. Therefore the variety of vegetables I grow next year will be pared down quite a bit.

Not much more going on here in my Tennessee vegetable garden. Now let's see what Skeeter has going on in her Georgia garden.

Skeeter's Georgia Veggie Garden:

I am happy to say that I did indeed find one more cucumber hiding amongst the mess of the gourd vine in the veggie garden! We picked Sweet Yellow Peppers, Hot Jalapeno Pepper and Tomatoes from the small planter.
Did I mention we picked tomatoes? Wow have we picked tomatoes this year! The Roma tomatoes really do love our soil conditions as they thrive for us each year. I have many containers of maters frozen for soups and sauces this winter.
I am pulling these 5 from the pile to show them a bit more clearly. These are the Cherokee Purple Tomatoes! I am still watching 6 more on the vine in hopes they grow a bit larger before picking them. The birds are getting to the tomatoes for the first time this year.

I had a rash on my face and I think it was from eating so many fresh tomatoes. When I stopped eating them, the rash went away. I have not tried eating them in sauces but Restaurant ketchup, pizza and spaghetti sauce don't seem to have an effect on me. I hope my frozen tomatoes made into sauce will not make me break out again as it was itchy and unsightly too!

I should have some more peppers to talk about next month as they are continuing to produce as are the gourds. The gourds will be the main topic next month for sure!

in the garden....

Revisit the Gourds

By Skeeter

Here is an update on the gourds I grew last summer in my Georgia Garden! I showed you a while back how I Dried Them then turned them into natural Birdhouse's. Tina was kind to Give Pointers on this process and it was fun and exciting Making This Craft.

Above is one of the 4 gourds we turned into birdhouse's and place through out the yard. This one is in the Crepe Myrtle in the front yard. Well, just look who has taken interest in the gourd house! I wonder what he is looking at in the hole? Hum, I only see a hole large enough for this Eastern Bluebird to go inside. Lets move in for a closer look shall we?

Oh my goodness, a tiny blue egg! Could it be an Bluebird egg? And now naked baby bluebirds in the gourd! This brood has fledged the gourd house and we cleaned it out soon afterwards. A big ole ugly spider has made a second gourd his home. I guess I should have made a sign which Says "Birds Only" on the front. Oh well, he is catching bugs so as long as he is happy in the gourd, I reckon he can stay there...

It has been so gratifying to take a seed, place it into the ground, harvest a gourd, turn it into a place for my beloved bird to call home and raise a family! Tina, thank you so much for encouraging me to grow these gourds! It has been most rewarding of anything I have ever grown in the garden!

Mommy bluebird is currently sitting on eggs as she has once again decided to REVISIT THE GOURDS, In the Garden...

Note: the 4 links above should give you all the information you need to turn a gourd into a bird house for your enjoyment! Come on, give it a try, I did...

Gourd Follow-up to Birdhouse

Note:
I will be posting topics the next few days as Tina enjoys Spring Break with her family. Although, I too will be enjoying some family time so these topics are scheduled to post automatically. I am not sure if I will have computer access or not but will be reading all comments as soon as I can get to a computer.

Skeeter

The gourds in my Georgia home finally decided to dry. I think they had been dry longer then I knew. I kept shaking them per Tina's recommendation but with no rattling from the seeds within. Well, finally one day I gave one a good little tap into the palm of my other hand and the rattle began. I guess they were stuck and needed an extra nod to free themselves.

I cleaned the gourds with a nylon scouring pad and dish washing liquid. This was a difficult process and from now on, I will Scrape the gourds like I did to one a while back when it turned slimy. It dried and was clean as can be and did not need any additional cleaning at all.

The Saint assisted me in the next process. He took a round hole drill bit and attached it to his power drill. He then drilled the proper sized hole for the bird that is looking to call these gourds home. Tina gave a web site on her last Gourd Update so check it out for the Proper Size Hole For Birds if you are making birdhouses. While the Saint had the drill out, he also drilled small bit size holes in the top and bottom of the gourd for ventilation and way of hanging the gourds. I then per Tina's recommendation, coated them with car wax and buffed them clean. Hopefully, they will be water resistant and last all summer long.

The gourds are now hanging in the crab apple tree as well as 3 crepe myrtles throughout the yard. We are hoping for some residents soon but not sure they will call these gourds home as birds can be really picky about where they nest. These may not be in the perfect spot, swing too much with the wind or any of many reasons why they are not suited for a nesting spot.

I do hope to have pictures of baby birds peeking out of at least one of the gourds later on this spring or during the summer brooding months.

Here is one gourd which remains the same as the day we picked it off the vine last fall. Why on earth will this little gourd not dry for me? My gourds have gone from seed, to plant, to gourd and now to birdhouse, In the Garden...