With only four days left before I leave Arizona, it was time to clean out the last of the little salad garden. I pulled or sheared off everything except the beets, and got my largest mixing bowl full of greens. It added 14 ounces to my total 2009 harvest, which does not include the weight of the beets. None of those roots were large enough to bother with, and the greens were really tough, so I left them for the wild rabbits to consume. All in all, this garden was a bust (compared to my northern garden)...but it gave me something to tend to through the winter, and my pet rabbit enjoyed it. It also paid for itself with baby greens being worth at least $3 for 5 ounces at our nearest grocery. If I garden here again, I will definitely spend more time amending the soil and probably just plant lettuce, mesclun and carrots, all of which did quite well.
The Tumbling Tom tomatoes (2/4) and the California Wonder 300 peppers (2/7) are growing like weeds. The peppers have their second set of true leaves now, and the tomatoes outgrew their pots again. The only thing I could find that would fit in the picnic cooler for the trip home, were 16-ounce styrofoam cups. I repotted all four tomato plants and four of the pepper plants before running out of potting soil. The rest of them will just have to wait until next week.
Only a month and look how big your tomatoes are. I think they are trying to take over.
ReplyDeleteGranny, they are looking pretty darn good. Don't tell EG, But I have two EGs in the GH with little toms on them.
ReplyDeleteJohn
Even if the harvest was a little light at least you gained the knowledge to know what grows best for next season. The desert climate certainly grew some spectacular looking greens. I wonder how the bok choy would do there?
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the plant smuggling, hehe.
I think so too, Daphne. I didn't expect them to get so large so fast!
ReplyDeleteOh, John...now I think I need a greenhouse! But you just wait, my little toms will catch up soon.
Dan, I think it's all in the timing and the soil...and both were kinda bad this year. I expected things to grow better in containers than they did, and once I found they wouldn't it was too late to get them off to a good start in the ground. What surprised me the most were the radishes...21 days to maturity? Not here! I pulled mine after 48 days (the ones the rabbit didn't eat) and most hadn't yet developed true leaves, and only two had any sign of a small bulbous root!
Dan, I missed the "plant smuggling" comment! Yes, I am concerned about getting into California! My plants could very well be confiscated :-(
ReplyDeleteGranny, you sure you haven't been feedin steroids to those mator plants? :) They look really good.
ReplyDeleteGranny, tell John that I heard that! Heh. Anyway, That's a nice little harvest of greens. Your toms are really growing! I'm glad you're finally going home....have a nice trip.
ReplyDeleteEG
Dapper, I call the one on the left "A-Rod", the center one is "Barry Bonds" and the one on the right is "Mark McGuire". But no, I don't give them steroids ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, EG. The "Little Talking Box" is all packed for his trip.
ReplyDeleteGranny,
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes are catching up to mine. They look really good!
Liisa
Woo-hoo, Liisa...we're pretty good, huh?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if radishes are daylight sensitive like onions, that would explain why they didn't bulb well.
ReplyDeleteI was kidding, I didn't think they could actually get confiscated, that would really suck. Maybe pack some chi something or other latte's to bribe them with.
Dan, we go through a tiny corner of California at Needles, and they have a produce inspection station at the entry. I've taken fresh grocery store produce through with no problem, but they might be more restrictive with live plants. I really think they are concerned with those that are fruit fly carriers, but who knows. I actually had a bag of fresh lemons confiscated at LAX once, and I was leaving California and flying to Washington! Not much chance I was going to infect lemon trees in WA...I think the inspector just wanted a fresh lemon pie :-(
ReplyDelete"If I garden here again"? Now that you know you can grow someting in Arizona you've got at least, what? Six months to think about perfecting your technique. We'll be reading in the newspaper "Arizona woman grows recordbreaking two-foot long carrot."
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I should have said "If the house doesn't sell, and I garden here again...."
ReplyDeleteWe have the property up for sale, and a couple of interested parties. However, with the economy the way it is, there is no guarantee it will sell. We're getting a bit weary of traveling back and forth, and when two properties are vacant for 6 months of the year there are always things to worry about. If it doesn't sell, I will be back next winter, and I will have a little garden. I'm not expecting huge carrots from it though ;-)
I wish my starts looked as good as yours! I don't think mine get enough light, even though I used 2 sheets of foil... I think I need a better light set up like you've got with the cooler. Maybe next year I'll get some florescents. :)
ReplyDeleteGRANNY! Check out your new picture! You look like a movie star!!! What a hotie. I bet John will offer you lots of BM's now!!!
ReplyDeleteRibbit
Ribbit, John had better put up his graduation picture now, since he dared me! And make those VBMs for me ;-)
ReplyDelete