May 17, 2010: Harvest Monday

The Week of May 10-May 16

Harvested:

Nine oz. lettuce (Buttercrunch & Little Gem)



Four oz. green onions, 9 oz. lettuce (thinnings), 18 oz. spinach


Four oz. radishes

Visit Daphne's Dandelions to see what others have harvested this week.



Planted:

12 Quadrato peppers
4 Calwonder peppers
12 Australian Yellow lettuce
10 Drunken Woman lettuce
1 Cherry Roma tomato
2 Market Miracle tomatoes
2 Persey tomatoes
2 Marglobe tomatoes
2 Homestead tomatoes
1 Husky Red Cherry tomato (container)
2 Sibirskij Stambovyj tomatoes (containers)
1 Gartenperle tomato (container)
1 Minigold tomato (container)
1 Dwarf Champion tomato (container)
1 Green Grape tomato
2 Grey Zucchini (one died, one left)
2 Black Beauty Zucchini
6 white alyssum
18 Sweet Williams
1 pkt. blue bachelor buttons (seeds)
1 Dwarf Meyer lemon tree (container)


Observations:

Gartenperle tomatoes are in full bloom, Minigold and Sibirskij Stambovyj tomatoes have buds.

Taste tested Tyee Hybrid and Melody spinach, Tyee won hands down. Melody left a lingering bitter taste. My neighbor, Pat, has been in the hospital for knee surgery. She'd only been home one day when she got pneumonia and ended up back in the hospital. She's home now, so I took her half the fresh spinach and some onions for her and her daughter to enjoy for their dinner last night. The daughter made wilted spinach salad, with bacon and balsamic vinegar, and Pat said it was by far the best spinach she had ever eaten!


General Gardening:

Hoed the east garden, which was sprouting lots of tomato and marigold volunteers. These seedlings were from the huge marigolds from last year, that overtook the garden, I definitely don't want them again this year!

Applied fertilizer & alfalfa pellets to the two lettuce beds.



Cleaned out the zucchini bed and dog proofed the hills with these cool "Grow Through Plant Supports" that I got at the dollar store for 90-cents each (they're having a going out of business sale). I ran a bit of wire fencing around the outsides for good measure. That bed has been Annie's favorite digging spot.


Stocked up on composted manure, perlite and vermiculite to mix with the peat I had on hand. Finished filling all planters and got them planted....six more tomatoes (the white pot on the right didn't quite make it into the picture) . Mr. Granny mowed, and I used the clippings to mulch all of the tomatoes. All of the tomatoes are now planted, forty-two plants in all:

Amish Paste 1
Angora Super Sweet 1
Black Cherry 2
Brandywine, Sudduth's Strain 2
Cherokee Purple 3
Cherry Roma 2
Clear Pink Early 1
Dwarf Champion 3
Eva Purple Ball 1
Gartenperle 2
Golden Dwarf Champion 2
Green Grape 1
Homestead 2
Husky Red Cherry 3
Kellogg's Breakfast 1
Kimberly 1
Marglobe 2
Miracle of the Market - AKA Chudo Rynka 2
Mini Gold 2
Nyagous 1
Persey 2
Sibirskij Stambovyj 3
Sungold 1
Unknown (Angora seed, did not have the fuzzy gray-green foliage) 1


Strung twine up the dog kennel side for the pole beans to climb.


Heavily pruned the euonymus and flowering quince. I should have taken "before" photos of these grossly overgrown shrubs. The euonymus was over 8 feet high and had grown half way across the path from the front to the back yard. I took it down to just under six feet. The quince wasn't quite that high, but had grown wide enough to poke its thorns into anyone who dared walk the path.


Cleaned out the fern garden. I love this spot in the yard when it's really hot outside. Many of the ferns are nearly four feet high, and it's always cool and shady to sit by them. They were moved here from my Mother's garden more than twenty years ago.

Gave (next door neighbor to the east) Pat's daughter 9 tomato and three pepper plants, put all the rest of them out front with a "free" sign. The entire box of 21 plants disappeared in less than 30 minutes. Six of the tomatoes went to the neighbor to the west of us, so those won't be far from their birthplace ;-)

23 comments:

  1. Blimey, your workrate always puts me to shame. This weekend I cleared a bit of ground for another bed, moved some rocks and tore the muscle in my shoulder. Then I got drunk and annoyed Mrs IG by singing to her while she was watching some girly film.

    Harvested: Zip!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It doesn't look like you slowed down any this year Granny every thing looks great. The Little gem lettuce is one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your lettuce looks great -- I just love homegrown, what a taste difference when compared to the supermarket lettuce! Thanks for the report on the spinach. I've got loads of Olympia which I overwintered, and Scarlet which I planted this spring, and is limping along. Not enough yet for a taste comparison.

    My, a lot of tomatoes! It gets me thinking I should put some in pots.... You are one busy granny!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gran, what a great harvest you have there! Those scallions are huge! Are they from your winter graden?

    It looks like you've been busy. 39 tomatoes are a pretty good number.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your infamous harvests are starting already A.G.! I like the dog proofing contraptions from the dollar store.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well Granny, looks like you had a busy week in the garden. I think it's a good feeling when you get the plants in the ground!

    I am so jealous of your spinach. Mine is not doing all that well.

    Great deal at the dollar store!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Everything looks fantastic, looks like we are officially gardening and harvesting now! Jealous of your fern garden, too much hot sun here for them!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is a LOT of tomatoes. I have visions of you sailing on a sea of tomatoes. LOL!

    That spinach salad is probably the best medicine that anyone could have given your neighbor Pat. Real food full of nutrition and taste is some of natures best medicine.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is a nice looking harvest you have there! The Buttercrunch and Little Gem lettuces are just perfect.

    I think I have tomato envy - you have even more planted than I do! I think I wound up with 35 plants this year. We have some of the same but you have quite a few different ones. I need to get my list updated.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nice harvest...Grass clippings directly for tomatoes!! I know they are full of nutrients, can they be used for other pots and beds directly AG?

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm so thrilled to have stumbled across your blog!!! I live in Kennewick and have been looking for a gardening blog for our zone. I'm an amateur (just my 2nd season) and starting out small. I just got most of my stuff in the ground this weekend, all I have left are my onion sets, and I'm going to try some potato buckets this week too. I look forward to reading here!

    ReplyDelete
  12. TIG, why does this not surprise me? Mr. Granny always wanted to dance when he'd had a few, and believe me, he's no dancer. By the way, when are you going to quit building beds and, you know....actually plant something in them?

    ********
    John, I only had two Little Gems germinate, so I bought a packet last week. They're the next ones to start for replacement plants. I'm going to have to get my shade system set up soon, it got into the 80s yesterday.

    ********
    Henboggle, I love the looks of the lettuces almost as much as I love to eat it! I have so many varieties to try this year, I'm looking forward to harvests large enough for us as well as the rabbit. This week should be the time, I noticed three dinner plate sized butterheads yesterday.

    The tomatoes in pots are iffy. The pots may be too small for them, but they are all dwarf varieties, so I guess I'll find out. I'm not worried about the ones in pots out in the garden, as they have no bottoms in them and can send their roots as deep as they need to.

    ********
    Thomas, those are thinnings from my spring planted Walla Walla sweet onions, and they are sweet and mild and delicious!

    Where did you come up with 39 tomato plants? I planted 42 of them! LOL (*Note: I won't be laughing when they all start ripening at once!)

    ********
    Kelly, those are pretty cool, huh? I wish I had bought more...maybe I'll go back and see if they have any left. I think they'll work great for the squash seedlings.

    ********
    Robin, I told Mr. Granny last night that I wasn't all that tired until I wrote my blog and saw what all I'd done this week. That made me feel exhausted, so I went to bed :-)

    ********
    Erin, we get really hot weather here, many days in July/August 100-110 degrees. That spot just happens to be a narrow garden between house and fence, with an overhanging pine tree, and the ferns just love it. It's a no-care garden, except for the spring cleanup of pine cones and dead growth from the previous year.

    ********
    Kitsap, your visions will probably turn into my nightmares ;-)

    ********
    Villager, are we just a little bit crazy? I know you do great things with your excess produce. Other than what I send down to the low income complex, I have no outlet for all my extra harvest. Even my family begins to shun me when I go into tomato overload ;-)

    ********
    Sarada, I let most of these clippings dry out before I used them, and I only put the fresh clippings on about an inch thick, as I don't want them to get matted and slimy. I'll just add a thin layer each week as they are needed. Yes, I put them in the pots and on the beds. For weed control in the garden paths, I put them on thicker, three inches or so. I don't often have enough clippings to use them like that.

    ********
    Liltater, hello! Nice to have another gardening neighbor :-D

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful harvest and I love your fern spot in the yard too.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love those plant supports, I'll have to look for some. And yes your ferns are lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you, Emily and Shawn Ann. I almost put my lawn chair out by the ferns today, it was really warm and steamy when the sun came out after a quick rain shower.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The harvests look good! Hope Pat gets better soon :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I wish I had access to more grass clippings. Good stuff.

    I know the feeling of looking back on the list and feeling tired, but dang, you have some years on me and you make ME tired.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Geeze Granny I think I almost had a harvest as large as yours this week. I guess I'd better revel in it since it doesn't happen often.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dan,Pat was walking in her back yard this afternoon, with the help of a cane and her daughter. She's in good spirits, but I think bored...she's called me four times today!

    ********
    Stefaneener, I'd have many more clippings if I had the stamina to use the push mower with bagger. As it is, I just have the few I can manage to rake up after Mr. Granny uses the riding mower.

    ********
    Daphne, you'd better work hard at it, 'cause I've already harvested more this week than all of last week!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nice harvest and a long work day! I am both impressed and tired from reading your account:-)

    I like the cage you used to protect your squash seedling. I'll keep it in mind...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Angela, I thought the cages would be dog proof, but Annie already uprooted one of them. No damage was done to the zucchini, but she came quite close.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Holy Tomatoe's Batman. You'll sure to be up to your elbows by summers end.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh, Heather, I was just whining to my son about why on earth did I plant so many tomatoes! It's at least double, if not more, than what I planted last year, and I had way too many then! I promise, promise, promise I'll pick my favorite dozen or fewer varieties to plant in next year's garden. Promise!

    ReplyDelete