Limited plant life

I was under the impression, for some reason, that when you plant something called an 'annual' that it should last one season. I'm finding that this is not necessarily the case.

The beefsteak tomatos have been harvesting for the last three weeks or so but the plant has not gone kaput. It's brown, sad and basically dead. I have to get the last of the tomatos off of it tomorrow. The roma's are just beginning to fruit. We'll see how long it lasts.

I thought it was the gopher, but it seems that an opossum has been visiting our yard. Even so, I looked up some information on the web and it seems tomato plants can have problems during hot and humid summers. Best recommendation, have several plantings so there will always be something fruiting.

The garden is...(trying to be zen about the whole thing)

The squash petered out around two weeks ago. I've been too busy to do anything about it so it just looks like the corn which is basically dead. When I get a chance I'm going to mulch it back into the ground.

The weeds (especially in dry, hard soil which summer sun makes pretty fast) are a pain. The grass is the worst because it doesn't hoe well. Because of the vegetables I don't want to spray so I purchased a propane torch (which is equally subtle) and burned some grass down. There are a lot of 'red flag' days (fire danger) so I'm reluctant to use it too much. Pressurized garden hose close by...weeds burned down pretty well but within a week new green shoots coming up. I haven't decided whether to go back in and blast again or not.

Pole beans were a disaster. Only a few plants grew, the ones that did I wish didn't. Never tried to eat such a tough bean before. Boiled it...chewey...blechhhh...

Can't remember if I posted about the corn. We only got two ears off of it. They were good but the market has good fresh corn during the summer so I probably won't plant next year which means of course I'll plant next year.

Herbs are wack. Don't know if I'm underwatering but they're pretty much all flowering except the sage. Cilantro is just a chore...doesn't produce edible leaves, just flowers and stalks. Weather has been around 90 degrees during the day and full sunlight. My recollection is that they do better in cooler, partial shade.

Lemon bush doesn't look good. Ants all over it. I said I would water more. I may need to water more still. The lemon and lime bushes are just hanging in there. The orange, mandarin and tangelo are doing better oddly enough. Those were the trees I had the most concerns about but they are doing the best. They get more shade (maybe less stressed?).

The beefstake tomatos started harvesting about a week and a half ago. The plant has grown so heavy it tipped the tomato cage from home depot over. I had to tie it back with two pieces of rope to two stakes pounded into the ground. Tomatos are good. Some look a little weird. Not all are large but are edible. Next year need to make a wooden trellis (strong) that will allow for easy picking. Heavy harvest has just started.

The cherry tomato plant is a pain. Lots of tomatos on the lower branches. The higher ones are tipping over the perimeter cage I set up. The cherry tomato plant on the fence is also growing well. Sometimes the tomatos are sweet, other times not so much. Lots of them, though.

The Roma tomatos are still green, no color yet. That plant is starting to tip over it's cage as well. Not sure if I'm going to need to stake it or not.

I'm tired...what else is new...

Forget bell pepper, chili and the spikey cucumber. Not much happened with them at all.

Wisteria in the planters are looking worse than when they were new. Need to water more.

G'night...

Addendum to front yard gopher...

I may have at least scared the gopher in the front yard. I pulled a Bill Murray and went on the offensive with three fumigation bombs. So far, no new mounds.

Not quite like last year...

So far my strategy for trying to feed the gopher to death has not yet worked. Apparently gophers just don't become obeise enough to get stuck in their own tunnels.

At this time last year I was still trying to get the ice plant to grow on the hill but the weeds were giving it a run for its money. The only thing growing was a lone cherry tomato plant that for some reason had survived neglect for a year. This year all sorts of stuff was planted with mixed results.

The squash plants are dying now. It seems some garden vegetables just poop out after awhile. When they get weak powdery mildew sets in and pretty much finishes up the plant. I thought the sugar peas' demise was due to the gopher but it may have just run its course.

Besides the squash (next year thin to two production plants) the beets are winding down. The edemame soy bean plants bit the dust a few weeks ago when the gopher got them. I planted a hundred onion bulbs and my harvest one or two. Between the gopher and not watering enough that section looks pretty sketchy.

We ate two small ears of sweet corn with dinner tonight. Out of a package of seeds, maybe sixteen or eighteen plants came up but after thinning (and the gopher) only three will have edible ears. Something weird is happening with the ants on the hill. First they were all over the artichoke, now they're on the corn. Not sure why. Sometimes bugs like aphid residue. Not sure if this is the case but they don't appear interested in the vegetables themselves.

The herbs are all flowering. I think it's because they're not getting enough water. Plants that undergo stress can go into reproductive phases (as I recall from school).

Around 5 green and 2 purple shiso plants are growing. They were a pain to start. If the gopher eats the purple ones I may just say screw it and fumigate the entire slope for my personal satisfaction.

I have one chili pepper plant and one bell pepper plant. So far, they have produced one chili pepper and one bell pepper. Given the size of the plants, they should be given a medal.

Tomatos are growing like weeds. The cherry tomato plants have a cage around them they are growing over. The roma tomato is outgrowing its cage but not being unweildly. The beefstake tomato has become so heavy it's turning it's cage on it's side. I tried to tie the cage back into an upright position but it kept pulling the stakes out of the ground. The plant is rediculously heavy and getting worse by the day. It may inevitably crush itself under its own weight.

The pole beans are slowly coming along. Out of a package of them, only two are growing well enough to sprout small beans. Two others are still deciding if it's worth the effort.

The second cucumber was harvested today. Forgot about the first one in the fridge so threw it away today. Hopefully tomorrow we'll eat it. Never felt a cucumber with spines before. Along with the cantelope, it doesn't try to grow upright. The cantelope just slithers along the ground. Weird plant.

I pruned the broccolli. The new shoots were getting more and more spindly so we'll see if this hurts or helps.

The flowering cherry plant in the back which was identified by a local nursery as being an ornamental (non-eating) fruit plant has developed edible fruit. It appears to be some sort of plum. Not real sweet, but not surprising since I never fertilized it. The fruit is so heavy now it's bending the branches over. It's this years 'freebie' food from the yard. Last year it was cherry tomatos.

The weather is around 85-90 degrees during the day. It may be too late to plant anything new but I might try some more sugar peas...another disaster in the making.

Procrastination

I write again on this blog to relax and procrastinate on a school project I should be working on.

The golpher (another one) has drilled a hole in my front lawn and even eaten some of the surrounding grass. I suspect this is the one which is responsible for the demise of my margarite daisy. Since it isn't near any food I'm growing I'll go after it with bait. I don't want my front yard looking like something from 'Caddyshack'.

I removed the chinese cabbage which bolted again. I've also removed the wrinkly spinach which had also bolted. The backyard golpher (I'll call him Fred... the front yard one will be called Barney) is destroying the lettuce plant by plant so I'm just not going to worry about them anymore. This decission really doesn't have anything to do with the golpher but more so with having worms ending up on the dinner plate. Let me rewind here a moment...

Back a few months ago, we had family over and the salad from the garden had a worm in it. I don't spray anything (herbicides, pesticides, fungicides) on it so bugs (and gophers) live. Diatomaceous earth is supposed to slow them down or stop them but only with limited success. Tonight we had corned beef (no, it's not from the garden) and cabbage (yes, it is) and a worm ended up with dinner. In a nutshell, that sort of killed dinner (as well as the worm) so we ended up snacking all night for food. As a result, no more food will be grown where worms can hide. I'm just realizing I need to dig out the artichoke plant for this reason. Smaller vegetables, fruit trees and herbs can stay.

The first bell-pepper is starting to show. It's coming off of a Home Depot plant. The chilis are taking their time. The corn should be ready in about another week (for the first one, anyway). I haven't decided what I'm going to plant in the bare areas yet. The pole beans are between 6 and 12 inches tall. It'll be awhile before there's anything to harvest.

I cleaned up the garden shed (sometimes referred to as the 'barn' because of the gambriel roof). I need to build shelves to increase storage.

Not much else.

Lots of activity in the garden

The cucumbers which never germinated have started. Two plants have snuck out from under the zuchinni canopy. They look like those evil vines in sci-fi movies which wrap themselves around your leg. The squash continues to produce tons of produce. Next year should only plant two and hope the golpher doesn't get both of them.

The beefsteak and roma tomato plants are taller than the zuchinni plants now. They've completely overgrown the wire cages I put around them (the largest one Home Depot had). I'm not sure what to do about it now. I've seen pictures of much larger plants. I don't want to add another cage because I still want to be able to reach inside for the tomatos.

The golpher likes beets. There are enough of them, though, that I still have plenty to harvest. I boiled my first beets last night. I actually don't like beets but will try them later today. The leaves are supposed to be edible. I found them somewhat salty which stands to reason since online literature says 1) beets are high in potassium and 2) they are salty (duhhhhh.....).

Haven't had time to plant china peas yet. If I had done so when I pulled the last ones out I would have seedlings by now. Speaking of, the pole beans are small but started. Out of maybe 25, five germinated. Maybe they need more sun or its just too early in the season.

Cilantro keeps flowering. I keep plucking them off. Weird plant.

Cabbage actually looks like it might be edible. I had worm problems about a month and a half ago and put diatomateous earth around it. There might still be a worm in it. The cabbage at the grocery stores always look nice.

Viney weeds are back. Fortunately I found a good vine killer (same guys as Round-Up?). Have to spray again (but not around food plants). Wisteria and Bougainvilla are overgrown again. Have to purchase trellis for plants by back door.

Impatiens are very sensitive to light or heat. Even established plants, if usually in the shade, will wilt on a warm/hot day. Direct sunshine a no-no for it.

Ceramic plant pots sure absorb water. They look nice but have to keep an eye on them on hot or windy days.

Green shiso doing nicely. Purple ones hanging in there.

The miniature roses I transplanted to the front yard are still alive. The first one I put out there is really taking off. It's been there around three months or more.

The lemon and lime dwarf trees appear to be doing better. There are flower buds coming back. I think those two are underwatered. I'm going to put an extra sprinkler head over those two to provide more moisture.

Timing is everything

Having had the yard now for about a year I now fully appreciate (as noted in an earlier post) why seed packages have a specific month you wait to plant in and not before.

The tomatos are going into high gear. The cherry tomato plant which I began to question would come back this year is kicking butt. I will try to keep it smaller this year because the area above it now has soy beans and beets. The new beefsteak and roma tomato plants seem to be doing very well. For all intents and purposes none of the tomato seeds I planted, in particular varigated cherry tomatos, never germinated. In general, that has been the case for most of the outdoor seed plantings. The exceptions have been the china (sugar) peas, dwarf corn, brown onions (which are really from small onion bits), radishes (okay, maybe a few things from seeds have grown), beets, dicon (oriental radish) and a few odd carrots.

Seeds that were germinated indoors included shiso (green much easier than red) and italian squash. The bell pepper and chili plants from Home Depot have not grown much but haven't died either. Both need to get their act together or they're going to be gopher food.

Returning to the italian squash, it's becoming at least as and perhaps more dominating than the tomato plants. One problem with them is that if you don't pick the squash small, it turns into this humongoid thing that looks like an english cucumber on steroids. It doesn't taste bad but does make meal planning difficult if you don't want leftovers. Right now it's just beginning to produce so its our number 1 vegetable to eat or give away.

The dicon radishes were picked heavy about three weeks ago. There's still a few left. Those will be used as radish seasoning. Note for next year, plant fewer and farther apart.

The herbs are holding their own. So far, the gopher has left the oregano, thyme and rosemary alone. All of the herbs have come from plants as germinating from seeds has proven difficult. A recent addition is a sage plant which seems to be doing well but has been taking it's time growing. The cilantro (which is planted in plastic pots) is doing well. Planting differences a little as 10 inches closer or farther away from the brick wall make a big difference how well they do. I'm just figuring it's either a watering or drainage issue. The dill looks messy. It's always a pain to grow. It turns yellow easily. I'm wondering now whether it's overwatered. If that's the case, the basil is the opposite and seems to undergo water stress easily so I have to go over with a watering can and give it a bit extra. Basil has done well germinating indoors then transplanting outside. It has yet to really kick in and start a decent growth spurt. The same for the cilantro. The thyme, oregano and rosemary are hearty, grow at their own pace and just seem to be more durable. The parsly looks like a week you'd want to pull. It doesn't really grow much and looks pretty horrible.

Chinese cabbage is a waste of time. It either bolts or it doesn't create any kind of 'bundle' to harvest. I doubt I'll replant unless I can see better results in the summer. The same goes for the spinach. I planted the kind that's kind of wrinkly and it makes for a tough salad. I've got seeds for the smooth-leafed kind and will try to plant that shortly, perhaps where the chinese cabbage is now. Regular cabbage is a waste, the bugs ate all sorts of holes in it. The brocolli gave some good flowers to eat, but they are getting smaller and smaller as the plant matures. The artichoke plant continues to slowly grow. I've seen full-grown plants. I hope I haven't made a mistake by planting one.

The pole beans are slow to grow. They didn't germinate at all indoors but part of the problem is that I didn't soak the seeds before planting them. On the other hand, the seeds outdoor weren't soaked either. There's about a 25% germination rate among them.

The dwarf citrus trees have reversed their position regarding which one are doing best. In the beginning as winter was finishing, the lemon and lime trees were doing the best with the orange, mandarin and tangelo looking a bit ragged and worse for wear. In that order are the plants which get the most to least amount of sun. Now the lemon and lime have yellowish leaves and the others are looking good. I thought at first there was a drainage issue and that the roots weren't getting enough oxygen. I'm reversing my thinking now and think the soil is too dry so now I'm focusing on waterint the lemon and lime trees more. We'll see in a few weeks if I'm right or not. The lemon bush has two main spurs. The one will the yellow leaves still looks ragged but the second one appears to be pushing out new flower buds.

The grapes are starting to grow now. The old grape plant what was there before has been pruned because I don't recall seeing fruit on it. Now I'm reading a book on viticulture and realize there's a whole technique to pruning and this could affect grape production. I need to add on to the trellis that I built last month to accomodate this. Apparently, you're not supposed to get fruit the first year after planting bare root grapes. The first year is to get them trellised up and the second year is when you start getting fruit. I'm wondering if I had left the old grape vine there whether it could have produced fruit. At any rate, it (old one) is producing another 'climber'. I haven't decided yet whether to let it grow or not.

Without a doubt an established and pruned rose bush will do better than a new bare root rose bush. The new bare roots have tiny (4 - 6 inch) stems. The established one can be measured in feet.

Tired of writing. Will post another time. Last thought...weeds really growing now. The worst is a kind of crabgrass. Since I can't put herbicides on it (it's near vegetables), it's either use a hoe or burn it with a propane torch. I've broken my third hoe. The torch may be around the corner.

The gopher...again...

The little bugger's getting bold. Now he/she/it is eating the daikon but from both underneath and on top. I pulled what I thought was going to be a prize-winner (for my garden, anyway) and there was only an inch and a half of daikon (in there stores they're about 12-14 inches long). Another one was eaten from above ground. Apparently it feels it can now roam the garden with such impunity it doesn't need to burrow to eat. My main concern now is that it will develop an appetite for pine 2x4's and start drilling holes into the house.

The end result of this latest encounter with 'blade runner' is that I had to harvest as much daikon as I could before it was eaten. I can only wish it would find something in the yard that would give it a really bad stomach ache and leave. My worst fears is that I might have to wait until it dies of old age.

Trellis plants

The oxymoron (if that's the right word) is that a plant if pretty if that's where you want it to grow, otherwise it's a pain in the ass.

Plant in point - bougainvilla (I don't care if it's spelled right or not). It's in the wrong place, it's overgrown, it's thorny, it's a pain. In addition, it doesn't chip really well so I have to cut it down using pruning shears and a chainsaw.

Oxymoron - I went to HD and bought two (guess what) bougainvillas. Why? Because I found a right place for them and the old one (the one I'm trying to kill) is too well established to transplant.

There is a wisteria that is competing with the old bougainvilla for space. I'm running interference for the wisteria and trying to keep the bougainvilla down while the wisteria overgrows it. We'll see how that works. Wisteria is not easy to take care of either. After trimming, it won't go through chippers without jamming it. My project (one of many) is to build a trellis for the wisteria.

April 26 summary of garden to date

Gophers will eat most anything. I didn't worry too much last summer because the cherry tomato plant is more like a weed on steroids so it was impossible for him/her/it to eat everything. During winter there was a freeze and the plant had to be cut back. During this time it (gopher) ate 1 cilantro plant, a 1 foot tall margarite daisy, three brown onions and the roots of the china (sugar) peas. The only solution, so far, has been to replant using 6" pots. So far this has worked for the cilantro. I have yet to replant the china peas. All other crops in the veggie garden are at risk.

Based on the cherry tomato plant last year, I determined (falsely) that anything would grow on the slope where it's at year-round. This included (even more falsely) the believe that seeds would germinate in winter. With the cherry tomato plant continuing to produce in October, I proceeded to plant the slope with a number of different vegetables. In December, there was a freeze and the tomato plant had to be cut back. Following is an evaluation of the success of the various seeds planted. As a general rule, I'm learning there is a reason the back of the seed packets say to plant during specific months in different regions around the country. There is an indoor bay window available for seed germination. Notes on the success of that as applicable below.

Additional note: although there has been less rainfall than normal, this has not translated into sunny days. Normally it either rains or shines but for the past month it has been overcast.

Cherry tomato - it is April now and the plant has green fruit. Hopefully in 2 or 3 weeks there will be something edible. It has taken that long to rebound from the frost and cold weather.

Tomato seeds - pretty much nothing has sprouted. I finally went out to Home Depot (HD) and picked up one Beefsteak and one Roma plant. I planted them in early March. At least they didn't die. General note for the tomatos and other 'plants'...they are starting to really grow now. This coincides with a greater weed problem.

Bell pepper seeds - useless. Finally went out to HD and bought a plant. It looks lonely and certainly would be a tastly morsel for a gopher who will eat brown onions. So far it's still there.

China (sugar) peas - by far the most successful in germinating in the winter. Have been picking them since early March. Very tasty and crunchy but need to pick early while they're still flat. Subject to powdery mildew so have to watch watering on overcast days. Good example of advantages of drip irrigation which I don't have. Gopher will eat roots. Have to trellis properly or the plant will 'lay over'.

Sweet corn - planted in late February or early March and has no problem growing. It's about a foot tall now.

Radishes - grows almost as easily as the China peas. Problem is that the need to be thinned (actually everything does) or the radishes will be small and deformed. Also, sometimes they will split. I don't know if this has to do with irrigating once they get to a certain size. Good reviews that they are nice and 'hot' tasting.

Brown and Red onions - Planted in November. Didn't do anything until January. Grew very slowly and have this messy 'floppy' kind of leaves. Don't know how they taste yet. Gopher is causing problems. Just seem to grow slow.

Chives - problems getting to germinate.

Green onions - very strange plants. They will germinate but if you leave them in too long they get big and tough. Best tasting when still a bit 'juvenile'. They're at this stage not as nice as the ones in the store but part of the problem might be because it's still winter'/spring.

Chinese cabbage - an example of why you don't plant too early. A few seeds germinated but 'bolted' (went directly into a flowering stage instead of growing into something edible). Looked it up on the internet and the plant has a reputation for doing that if planted too early.

Beets - Planted in January but didn't germinate until early March. Doing well.

Soybean (edamame type) - Seeds planted in November never germinated. Had to germinate in bay window (late February) then transplant. Growing now.

Shiso - Pain in the ass. Even trying to germinate the seeds in the bay window was tough. Green variety germinated much easier than the purple one. Even so, germination was only 40% and the plants grow slow.

Daikon - Planted in late February/early March and is like a weed. Had to thin two or three times. Radishes are half the size of those in the stores.

Chrysanthemum - Planted same time as Daikon. Had to thin once. Grows like a weed.

Chili peppers - Nothing germinated from fall planting. Bought one plant from HD in March. Still alive.

Broccolli - Bought plants from HD in early March. Doing well but grows slow due to it being in the shady part of the slope. Edible flowers just maturing.

Cabbage - grows but slugs got to it. Looks 'aerated'. Have to replant.

Pole beans - Planted in mid-March. Oddly the seeds in the bay window never germinated but the ones in the garden did. Having a tough time. Slugs taking chunks out of them and they're on a shady part of the slope.

Carrots - a few germinated.

Generally, the herbs haven't done well. Most of the seeds didn't germinate so I had to put plants in.

Cilantro - once established, grows like a weed until the gophers find it.

Rosemary - doesn't grow fast but is woody like a tree. Very durable once established.

Basil - planted greek and varigated. The varigated doesn't seem to have much fragrence. The greek does but seems like a less durable plant.

Thyme - once established seems to do well. Slow and steady.

Dill - a pain. Difficult to germinate. Transplant from HD works okay but not a 'stable' plant. Changes to purple sometimes. Gopher will eat it. I transplanted a healthy one from one part of the garden to another and it died. It's a bit finicky.

Sage - Planted plant from HD in April. Seems to be doing well.

Cantelope - germinated from seeds in bay window. 40% germination. Transplanted in early March. Took awhile but now starting to take hold.

Gardening March 2007

Notes of what worked and what didn't from winter planting.