Easy Poppy

When I grew poppies this year, I was unsure exactly what would happen, or where the delicious seeds would emerge from.

This was the first one to bloom, 'Hungarian Blue', after months of waiting.

I had planted the seedlings in October or so. And they took a while to get going.

The gorgeous flower lost its petals in a couple days, after which it looked like this for a month or so. The plant withered and the seed pod began to turn brown.



I had a lot of brown pods at that point, so I cut them all off and got out one of the clean, empty baby food jars that had been waiting to make itself useful (in my cupboard for a few years).

I used a sharp knife to carefully saw off the top of the seed pod. Then I poured the contents into the jar.

About 2 tablespoons worth of seeds came out of the 5 pods I had. One of the pods was still a bit greenish, so the seeds hadn't turned to the magnificent dark grey blue yet. They were still a bit reddish.





It was just enough to make a batch of lemon-poppyseed muffins.

Time for a visit

I did not want to plant any tomatoes in the Original Raised Bed (ORB) this year because I wanted to be able to give them close attention for frost, bugs and disease.

But then I was given some extra tomatoes as a housewarming gift the day after I'd just bought a bunch of seedlings. Therefore, I did end up planting two tomatoes far, far away (a 5-minute drive) where I will not be able to care for them as well as I may like.

Not that they've needed any help so far. They are doing just fine on their own.

This was the ORB when planted mid-September. I guess I did have a little bit of trouble with bugs eating the pepper and the 'Dark Opal' basil. I sprayed both plants with a 1-to-10 solution of dish soap and water. No more bug bites.

This is the ORB a month later. I'd actually trimmed the 'Mortgage Lifter' tomato (on right) a few times. I've surrounded the tomatoes with protective shields of sweet alyssum, chamomile, thyme, basil and oregano.

Unfortunately, the seeds I planted did not do as well as I would have liked. It may have been a little too hot still mid-September. I planted from seed some turnips, 4 to 5 lettuces, carrots, arugula, leeks and all kinds of onions.

One last look ...

I propose a toast: To experiments

The Grow Lab started by the county's Master Gardeners has a circular herb garden (PDF page 2) built out of wine bottles. When I first saw it, I thought, "Wow, I want to do that someday. Good thing I drink a lot of wine."

You'd use wine bottles as a border for a number of reasons. Long wine bottles are a good height for raised beds, and raised beds are helpful with drainage and keeping the soil warm. Bottles don't decay or wear down. Bottles are sturdy and pretty. And, also, why the heck not?

Fast forward a couple years, and I still had the inclination, finally had secured the location, but didn't have enough of the bottles for the experimentation.

I put the word out to local friends (like Leslie at Tea with Iris) that I needed their help collecting wine bottles, plus I went by a wine bistro and asked them to save a few cases for me. Soon after I had enough bottles to start my project. 

 

With the first batch of bottles, I scrubbed off the labels with soap, water and steel wool.







It took a long time.

  

I inserted the bottles neck-down into soil that I had softened up with a shovel. 

To keep the bottles in a straight line while I planted them, I used long 2-by-4s left over from a previous project.

Then I piled up soil and mulch on the outside and put my best compost and soil on the inside. The interior level is about 4 inches higher than the exterior level. 

With the second batch of bottles, I didn't take off the labels. I know, lazy.

This is also a beneficial bug experiment. To draw out the good guys, I planted sweet alyssum, lobelia, pansy, borage, viola, calendula and chamomile, plus 3 sages, 2 basils, parsley and a thyme. Here you can see a purple sage (outside) and the top of a purple sweet alyssum (inside).

Oh yeah, almost forgot! I've also got three tomatoes, brussels sprouts, pak choi and red & white onions growing. Really cannot wait to see how the colors explode here. So far everything looks super healthy.

If there is any hint of frost, I'll cover the whole thing with a large sheet/blanket using the tomato cages. (I was going to make those circular tomato houses out of chicken wire this year, but instead decided to save money and use what I have.)

So do you think it looks better with or without labels?

Why not do your best with what you've got?

In the past I've had others make garden beds for me. Or I've used an existing community garden bed. But now that I have

1. More room
2. More time
3. My own space, with no one (such as an HOA) telling me how it should look
4. Secret weapons (scrap materials, kind neighbors, helpful family members, leftovers from other projects)

... well, all those things made it easier for my family to do it on our own.

I'm proud of anyone who takes on the task of growing their own food, no matter how it is accomplished. Of course, I think it's important to challenge yourself, but you've also got to be realistic about your capabilities and use what you have! That could mean searching your attic or shed for materials, hitting up neighbors for help or scrap materials, or even asking a handy friend to build your garden for you, if that's what it takes.

The process (which took more than a week):

What's that? A shed? Let's check out what's inside.

Look at all these construction materials the former owners left in here! What can we use to make a raised bed? There are unused fence posts, drywall, untreated 2-by-4s, bricks, cement, tiles, paint buckets, a mirror ...

I think I know what we'll use.

Now, I need to choose where we want to place the bed. A nice sunny spot near the house. Sounds great! Only problem is that I have to dig up about 4 inches of pebbly cover material before reaching the soil.

So I scrape it off, then double-dig about 4 inches lower to till up the sandy soil underneath.

I carry a bunch of the 2-by-4s over to my neighbors', and he uses his table saw to cut them into the pieces for my keyhole design. Then I take them back and drill them together with galvanized screws ($8.50 a box).

I am not handy. This drilling takes a long time. And it probably is not done "correctly."
Good thing my main man is working on the sprinklers out front and we have a bunch of extra soil. I need that soil for the garden!

We truck all the soil back in a wheelbarrow. Now I'm mixing all the sandy desert soil from the front yard with mulch and other good stuff.

My 2-year-old and 4-year-old help me carry the 12-by-6 frame over. We set it on the hard gravel material, then start filling it up with soil. Note the bricks from the shed, used in the keyhole! A soaker hose left over from last year's community garden bed is installed an inch underneath the topsoil.

The finished bed is ready for planting. I'll let it settle for a few days.




Total cost: about $25 for the box of nails and the soil amendments. The rest of the materials were on site.



Let's see if we can get anything to grow in here!

A Case of Gardener's Block

Temperatures have been lower, so the past few days I've been walking my backyard, sketching it, considering it, photographing it, considering it ... everything but DOING something in it.

I started a few seeds indoors for broccoli and lettuce, but my mental now-now-now push to plant a vegetable garden outside, well, it's been waking me up in the middle of the night.

Warning: "Before" photos ahead!

Former planned site for vegetable garden.
South-facing back fence, shed and
black cat Deuce (she says hi).

I thought I knew where I was going to put a huge lasagna mulch for the foundation of my vegetable garden. Now after studying it for a few days, it seems like that area is too shady. So am I going to cut down two trees or choose a new spot?

Something must be planted soon or I think I am going to miss this growing season.

Plus: Close to house. Irrigation ready.
Minus: Close to house. Not a large space. 

My other two potential vegetable garden sites are not as ideal; they would require more work (removal of gravel or pebbles) before mulching. But they do get a good deal more sun.



Plus: Well situated by shed.
Minus: A ton of gravel covers area.
Not a large space.



A pile of ... compost

One of the first things I did once we moved into our new digs was to set up some compost bins off to the side of the yard.

Riverside County Master Composters really
know their stuff. At Palm Desert workshop
in June 2011, about 20 residents attended.

At a composting workshop I attended in June, I got two different types: a stackable tower (apparently no longer in production?) and a geobin (the circular, open-top type -- flimsy).

All excited a week or so ago, I collected the kitchen scraps I'd been saving in my freezer, the yard clippings I'd been hoarding in our green-waste trash bin and the grass trimmings I'd been drying in the sun.

Ready to compost!

And ... all these things filled just the stackable tower less than halfway.

I'll keep alternating my yard waste and kitchen scraps in there, but it is going to take a while to get this bin full enough to really go, right?

We're moving

I feel like I can finally say it: We are moving to a house in a neighboring city, Palm Desert.

I suppose there is still a chance that it won't happen, but we are far enough along in the process that I am confident.

This means that my gardening dreams are going to come true. I've been advised by veteran gardeners to sit tight for the next few months, get a feel for the landscape and not plant anything new yet (exactly, it's going to be 110 degrees). But the planting will come soon enough.

I'll have room to compost the way I'd like to. A solar oven will be built. There will be spots for giant herb gardens. A shed for cuttings, seedlings and equipment. Fences on which to grow espaliered trees. My mind whirls with the possibilities. 

In support of community gardens

Didn't seem like much. Just two acquaintances who decided to form an alliance and grow vegetables in the same raised bed.

But since January of this year, when a fellow plant-lover and I started a community garden in our homeowner's association, I have had a great time and I've learned so much from him.

His one tomato plant has been a star, pumping out huge fruit for months, while 3 feet away my three plants have *ahem* produced some fruit. What's his secret? He pruned back a good portion of the foliage and didn't let the plants go all leafy. My plants are too vegetative; his plant's energy went to the fruit.

He turned me on to delicious banana peppers, which I plan to grow every year.

I was simply blown over (with admiration) by his guff ... he planted 5 or 6 raised beds at the other end of our community ... without permission from the HOA. His response: "It looked so ugly over there. This looks better." No argument from me. And the HOA retroactively approved it!

Always happy, always had a great outlook on life. Definitely an attitude to emulate.

Community gardens are the best way to meet people who share a love for horticulture -- even if it's just one cool dude. I'll be sorry to leave the raised bed we started here when my family moves, but I hope it will be a way for others in the HOA to have the same social-gardening experience that I did.

Tomato crazed (or My Ode to Tomatoes)

Maybe I've gone a little overboard with tomatoes in 2011. But with good reason. I adore the fruit and would give anything to grow it well.

Last year I messed up my timing twice.

First mistake: I planted too late -- the end of March. My 2 poor vines (that I unwisely placed in the same large pot) only provided me with a handful of semi-decent tomatoes before the scorching 100-plus-degree desert summer stopped the fruit from setting and weakened them to a point where the bugs just took over. If you're keeping track, that's 0 for 2.

Second mistake: I planted 3 new tomatoes -- but too late again, in mid-October. These poor vines caught some weird disease, and then sadly provided only 2 tomatoes (that took weeks to ripen in a paper bag) before getting leveled by frost over Thanksgiving. Total 2010 Score: a pitiful 0 for 5.

So this year, with my 2010 shutout in mind and some newly acquired knowledge under my belt, I am determinate (a little tomato humor there) to raise a bumper crop of beautiful tomatoes.

I have 3 varieties in my condo raised bed (CRiB), 5 varieties in containers on my upstairs balcony and 1 variety in a container by my front door. NINE kinds: Heatwave II, Black Cherry, Jubilee; Early Girl, Better Boy, Black Zebra, Green Zebra, Yellow Pear; and Siberia.
Yes, I know, I haven't planted any in my original raised bed (ORB). Probably won't. Logic dictates that the ORB's distance from my home means it should be left to species that don't need so much attention (lettuce, peas, onions, carrots, broccoli).

Planting was in late January and mid-February. I've got until early June, really, to fulfill my "Mission: Tomato." I'm going to set the bar low and call it a win if I can get 15 tomatoes from each plant.

Getting Kids to Garden

My second "Sustainable Tip" that I wrote for Growcology's January email newsletter:

The growing problem of childhood obesity has become a big story over the last few years, especially when first lady Michelle Obama claimed it as one of her top priorities. While snacking less and exercising more are obviously the first things kids should do to maintain healthy weights, I believe that sparking a connection to the origins of kids’ food helps them to develop healthy eating habits as well. This starts in our home gardens.

Even very young children can comprehend the planting of a seed and its later growth into a plant that provides nourishment. Give your child a small garden area or container in which she can plant the seeds or seedlings of any vegetables she may like, such as snap peas, tomatoes or lettuce. This will be your child’s own garden, with your child’s own plants. Adding a little handmade sign can help reinforce your child’s “ownership” of the garden. Remind your child daily to check the garden, to watch the plants grow and to care for them by watering and weeding them. Allow your child to get dirty! Very young children will probably need some help to ensure the plants’ survival.

Nearby, plant your vegetable garden. When you are working in your own plot, point out to your child what vegetables you are growing, from seedling to flowering to vegetable development. Use signage, and identify the plants for your child again and again. You should at any time allow your child to pick vegetables and eat them straight from the garden. Peas and lettuce are especially good for fresh eating!

Awards for 2010

Baby steps in green became great strides for me this year. Here is a Top 3 List of green actions I tried, followed by an Honorable Mention for something that was not quite so successful:

1. Planting a community garden bed. Not only did this succeed wildly in saving me money and giving me peace of mind about where my food comes from, but I ENJOYED the activity immensely. With very little start-up cost and minimum upkeep (I visit about every other day for 5-10 minutes), my 4-by-8 raised bed has already given me loads of lettuce/arugula/greens and promises tons of peas, carrots, onions, radishes, broccoli and strawberries within weeks. The garden also inspired me to start coursework in October 2010 to become a Master Gardener with UCCE.
Awarded the NEVER TOO LATE Green Trophy.

2. Using nontoxic cleaners. Some of the first baby steps I took in this blog were to begin employing vinegar, baking soda and my own safe mixtures to clean around the house. The house remains just as clean as before (wink, wink), yet now I don't put any bleach, Tilex, Drano or other toxic chemicals down the drain or into my family's bodies.
Awarded the NEVER TOO LATE Wreath of Health.

3. Drying clothes on the line. Personally, this project seemed the most unlikely to succeed due to the time expense and the weather conditions. Yet, I was both able to find the time and endure the desert heat for months, which saved me money and gave me some much-needed meditation minutes while hanging clothes.
Awarded the NEVER TOO LATE Cup of Sustainability.

And an Honorable Mention goes to the attempt at diapering my youngest in cloth. She didn't go for it, and I couldn't seem to find the right wrapper. She will soon be toilet trained.

All in all, a successful year. Tentative green plans for 2011 include making a worm composting bin (!), canning some of the abundance from my garden, volunteering locally with the Master Gardener program and using Craisglist and Freecycle instead of buying new.

You old meanie

The beastie making holes in my tomatoes is the cabbage looper worm. Here is a photo of one of the suckers. I have found and squished about 10 so far this season. And destroyed 3 cocoon thingies I found under curled leaves.

Friends at mygreenriverside.com helped me identify the culprit and have said I can treat them with a bacterium (Bacillus thuringiensis), a natural remedy.

Funny thing is, they are really only attacking one of my tomato plants. I have two varieties. Additionally, the susceptible variety is the one that's not producing any tomatoes. Think I may just uproot the affected one and give all my love to the resistant one. It's a no-brainer.