To my delight, tonight I only found ONE
branch on the parsley that was spoiled. The mustard greens, kale,
garlic, beets, radishes, chard, and remaining parsley are doing just
fine. Not sure how leaves can go from a crushed dark green back to normal, but it's probably best not to ask too many questions.
I covered most of the plants with
extra Christmas tree boughs since I don't have any light blankets to
donate... it's supposed to get even colder tonight, down to 23F. The sprinkler system has also been turned
off for the season. I've
never done a fall crop before, so I have no idea if covering is actually
necessary at this temperature.
In any case, I'm just glad I got to harvest some more herbs and eat our first big from-the-garden salad.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Hard Freeze
Uh oh. There was supposed to be a hard frost last night, so I harvested a bunch of stuff, but left the plants that could withstand a hard frost. Didn't think about the sprinklers going on and coating everything with a thick layer of ice.
I'll update soon about what was salvageable.
I'll update soon about what was salvageable.
Monday, December 2, 2013
A Year of Fruit
I would love to have fruit available year-round.
Ideally, we'd have plants that are either bushes or trees so that they only require one planting and then mostly take care of themselves. This is the first time we've had land of our own, so planting now will give us years of tastiness.
Last night I sat down and worked out what we currently have growing and their respective California harvest seasons, so we'd know what else to plant. So far only the plums and apple give a lot of produce, though the landscapers trimmed them intensely so they are currently recovering and don't have a lot of fruit this year. It'll be 3 years before everything is mature and at full production.
Here are the general harvest times of our fruit:
I'd still like to add a fig tree (Sept - Oct), which does really well in our area, and blackberry vines (May - July).
We accidentally ended up with fruit throughout the whole year!
How did that happen? The gardening gods must have been smiling upon us while we were picking trees and bushes over the last year.
I'm having a hard time believing that the goal is already met. Mission complete.
What kind of fruit would you grow?
Ideally, we'd have plants that are either bushes or trees so that they only require one planting and then mostly take care of themselves. This is the first time we've had land of our own, so planting now will give us years of tastiness.
Last night I sat down and worked out what we currently have growing and their respective California harvest seasons, so we'd know what else to plant. So far only the plums and apple give a lot of produce, though the landscapers trimmed them intensely so they are currently recovering and don't have a lot of fruit this year. It'll be 3 years before everything is mature and at full production.
Our first burgundy plum begins to ripen, June 2013.
Here are the general harvest times of our fruit:
- Lemon, improved meyer: January - May (though I was told that in our area it is nearly ever-bearing)
- Blueberries: May - July
- Plum, burgundy: July - August
- Plum, unknown type: August - September
- Huckleberries: August - September
- Apple, pippin: September - December
- Pomegranate: October - January
- Buddha's hand citrus: November - January
- Mystery citrus: who knows?
I'd still like to add a fig tree (Sept - Oct), which does really well in our area, and blackberry vines (May - July).
We accidentally ended up with fruit throughout the whole year!
How did that happen? The gardening gods must have been smiling upon us while we were picking trees and bushes over the last year.
I'm having a hard time believing that the goal is already met. Mission complete.
What kind of fruit would you grow?
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Magical Turkey
A girl's gotta have leftovers.
This time last year, I remember opening the fridge and wondering how we ended up with no leftovers after Thanksgiving. It had never happened before! It is kind of sacrilegious in my family, to not have leftovers.
And so, my husband ran to the store to get the smallest turkey he could find, and I roasted my first bird, after Thanksgiving.
It was totally gross. The innards were chilly and squishy, the skin kind of sticky and slippery at the same time. I had seen it done every year, but had just never handled it myself. It made me nauseated to handle a whole carcass and stuff its butt with herbs from the garden.
But then, something kind of magical happened.
This time last year, I remember opening the fridge and wondering how we ended up with no leftovers after Thanksgiving. It had never happened before! It is kind of sacrilegious in my family, to not have leftovers.
And so, my husband ran to the store to get the smallest turkey he could find, and I roasted my first bird, after Thanksgiving.
It was totally gross. The innards were chilly and squishy, the skin kind of sticky and slippery at the same time. I had seen it done every year, but had just never handled it myself. It made me nauseated to handle a whole carcass and stuff its butt with herbs from the garden.
But then, something kind of magical happened.
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