Squishysquashy's Experiments

[squishysquashy]

lol I thought my fence holes were small enough, but she ran straight through it like the fence wasn't even there! Oh well. If they were eating my stuff you can bet I would have stapled some chicken wire down.

Steev, they were as good as dead in that water anyway, I figured it wouldn't hurt. I'm starting to think the whole "don't touch them or the mother will abandon them" thing is a myth...seems awfully counterproductive from an evolutionary standpoint. Well...maybe not for an animal that breeds like a rabbit...but the wildlife rescue people never gave me that line.  ?

I still can't believe the rabbits don't want to eat my carrots and beets!

[squishysquashy]

s'up y'all?

We went on vacation with my family to Corpus Christi in the last week of May.  Since it would rain all week back home, I didn't hesitate to leave the garden unattended.  Of course, when we got back the garden was weed-fest central.  A whole bunch of stuff suddenly needed digging and picking, so there was a big blitz harvest and an inconceivable amount of sweat leaving my body.  

the Weed Fest in the long bed


weed-fest in the square bed.  


The square bed was a near-total failure.  I really don't know why.  The weeds are more aggressive in there, and something must be wrong with the soil this year.  I planted my brassicas nice and early just like last year.  They got big last year, but this year none of them got big enough to harvest.  My mustards got powdery mildew!  I thought brassicas liked cool, wet weather? Anyway, the only thing that sort of worked out was the chard.  My theory is that the plants didn't like being in rows.  It is hard for me to thin a row properly.  Last year the brassicas and chard were planted in clusters about 9 inches to a foot apart and I just thinned the clusters to 1 plant each.  Maybe I should go back to that way.

Tuesday's big harvest

I've got garlic! lots and lots of it.  I have no idea if the cabbages will be edible or not.  The cabbages are another mystery.  They are both supposed to be ~60 day cabbages.  The Red Express were planted in the FALL and just now headed up, only the size of my fist.  Early Jersey Wakefield was planted in late Feb, so....120 days!  I guess I need to feed them more compost next time?  THey got plenty of water for sure!  Anyway, the rest of this stuff is still waiting to be eaten, except for the tomatoes.  Chantenay Red Core and Danvers carrots, which look exactly alike and I forgot to separate them, Shunkyo eat-all radish, Bull's Blood and Chioggia beets, All Purple potatoes (barely got back what I put in for those), and Black Krim, a funny looking Stupice, and  mystery green tomato that was lying on the ground in perfect condition for some reason.  Black Krim is very watery and bland (I bought as a seedling at a store, if that makes a difference?) but Stupice is tart and yummy.

Thursday's harvest

More Stupice.  I have to pick them orange or the birds will get them.  Luckily there is only one mockingbird in the neighborhood, but the blue jays are suspect, too.  Costata Romanesca squash.  I burnt the heck out of these in the cast iron skillet and they were still good.  Oh, and a bag I made!  I'm learning to sew 

Sunday's harvest

MORE GARLIC (it's Inchelium Red), sad Alabama Blue collards, the lone Sunshine squash, sad Black Krim because my plant hates growing leaves, ONLY FRUIT!!! THey look sun scalded... and the first Roma (VF, SESE)

The other side of that pumpkin.  

Forget all the carrots, cabbages, beets, chard, and lettuce...the rabbits wanted THIS SQUASH....ONLY HARD OL' SQUASH PLEASE! And so they tried to eat one squash, only scratched the skin just enough to rot it, failed, and then tried to eat this one, and mostly failed. But it healed over and is now sitting on my fireplace to cure as much as it can before we have to eat it.

Morning glories are looking spectacular




Today's harvest

Had to prune the basil or it was going to eat my peppers.  Costoluto Fiorentino is coming in, plus Stupice, more zucchini (is Costata Romanesca technically a zucchini?) and taters and a ton of garlic


This might be of interest to garlic nerds and people who try to make softnecks go to seed:  mutant Cling-on garlic!

The cling-on tried to flower through the main stalk.  Gotta do it the hard way, I guess...

I'm tired of smelling myself, so I'm going to shower now.

[squishysquashy]

HI!


It's been a while...I always get lazy about updating stuff on the computer after a while.  It just takes forever!
Most of these pictures are from June.  The spring garden is done, just waiting on some melons, which according to last year's timing should be ready by the end of this month.  I am getting ready for my midsummer planting of cowpeas and winter butternuts.  I have killed my summer squashes because the squash bugs were getting out of hand and the plants stopped producing.  Next year I will pull them earlier before the squash bugs get a good foothold.  I haven't seen any borers this year.  Maybe it was hard for them to fly in the rain.  I also pulled my Striped Roman and Costoluto Fiorentino tomatoes because they pooped out in the heat and stopped fruiting.  Stupice and determinate Romas are still ripening fruit, though, so they can stay until the romas poop out.

Here we have the mother of all Bull's Blood beets!  I have more beets than I think I can use, so I hope I can find a recipe I like.  So far I have only had them roasted and steamed.  Not a big fan.  I like them ok roasted with potatoes, but not by themselves.


This pic is from 2 weeks ago.  My Orangeglos are starting to look like real watermelons now.


also 2 weeks ago, tomatoes were taking over the dining table


a double Costoluto


prepping for roasted tomato sauce


The first fruits of both my Orangeglo and Ali Baba melons did this.  Is it poor pollination or squash bug sucking contamination? (edit: I figured out later that it was blossom end rot)


I put them in the compost.  When I chopped them up, the Orangeglo had sweet smelling, good-looking flesh inside.  I have some normal fruits on the vine now, so hopefully we'll get to taste at least one good melon from each plant.  I have lots of bees, but they don't seem to be that good at pollinating cucurbits.  I have not seen any squash bees this year like I had last year.

And just for fun, a pic from back in April, before the weeds woke up and when the garden still looked clean

[squishysquashy]

It's been long, it's been hot, it's been dry!  The garden hasn't done much but frustrate me since my last update, but it has finally picked up again.
A few months ago I finally got my garlic braided up.   There is another braid about the same size on the other side of the room.  I calculated that I would need about one head of garlic per month with some extras for seed and gifts, but I don't even go through it that fast, especially since home grown garlic is so much more potent than store-bought.  I'll have plenty of extra, though some of it did mold a little inside because of all the May rains.


Last month I finally threshed the beans.  Calypso a.k.a. Orca and Snow Cap.  Snow Cap produced well for such a short season as we have, but I only had room for 5-6 plants.  Calypso looked awful and sickly, but I was surprised to find so many healthy-looking beans in the pods that were hidden down in the weeds.


The tradition continues with the "Special Bean".  Last year's was a panda, this year it's a Siamese cat wearing a headscarf.  See her little black muzzle?  



This picture is from a few weeks ago, probably beginning of September.  After I chopped down my first round of summer squash, I waited for the squash bugs to die off.  Then I planted these in the last week of July.  When they flowered, I found some squash bug eggs and though DARN they found me!  But it turned out it was just one female.  I found her and squashed her and all the eggs and had no more bugs.  I still had to pick borer eggs every few days, but it has been effective.  It's been 2 months and no bore holes.  Late summer planting has been far more successful than spring planting for summer squash.  The plants are so much happier and the Tender Gray zucchini has single-handedly filled all my counter space with squash.  Costata Romanesca (left) produces a whopper about once a week.  In the back right are my cowpeas, Ozark Razorback.


an over mature Tender Gray


I will never plant morning glories in the main garden ever again.  But if I ever need a shaded arch or something...


Sunday's haul.  I am comparing Ozark Razorback to the Red Ripper peas I grew last year.  Razorback is just as prolific, if not more, setting up to 5 pods per node, but the seeds are slightly smaller.  Just as easy to grow, too.  I also grew Mayo Colima up a trellis in the corner.  It's not as wildly prolific, but does make long pods full of peas.  Each plant makes a different color.  
OK, EVERYBODY says watch your zucchinis carefully, don't let them get too big or they'll be over-mature and not tasty... but in the picture below, the little one on top, a Costata Romanesca, is over-mature. (I cut them yesterday to check.)  The fat Gray in the middle is perfectly fine and it was delicious in a pie last night.  The fat Gray to its left is over-mature.  The enormous Costata I am going to slice and dehydrate to see if it will be good that way.  SO.....apparently size is not nearly as important as whether or not the fruit has started to develop a white or yellow groundside spot!  The first fruit of my Gray plant was the size of the huge Costata and was still young and sweet because it rained that week!


I pretty much missed my planting window for fall crops.  The weather wasn't cooperating and neither were the ragweed allergies.  I still can't figure out how to grow fall greens and root crops because if you start early enough that they have enough daylight to grow, your plants die in the heat or refuse to sprout altogether.  If I wait til it cools off, the plants don't have enough daylight to grow.  They just stay in seedling stage until spring.  I tried to get around this by planting under grow lights indoors, but my lights couldn't fool the brassicas.  They just snaked all over themselves, "Where's the SUN?"  What a quandary.  

Next time you hear from me, I'll be shelling cowpeas.  Cowpeas are the bees knees.

[Walk]

Sept 30, 2015 14:22:17 GMT -5 squishysquashy said:

OK, EVERYBODY says watch your zucchinis carefully, don't let them get too big or they'll be over-mature and not tasty... but in the picture below, the little one on top, a Costata Romanesca, is over-mature. (I cut them yesterday to check.)  The fat Gray in the middle is perfectly fine and it was delicious in a pie last night.  The fat Gray to its left is over-mature.  The enormous Costata I am going to slice and dehydrate to see if it will be good that way.

We grow Costata Romanesca for fresh eating, but primarily for dehydrating. They remain tender even when 12-18" long. You get a lot of edible fruit by waiting for them to size up. To dehydrate we cut the fruits lengthwise into 8ths, then run that through our Kitchen Aid slicer cone attachment. A mandoline would also work well. The Costata have good flavor but mostly they are good for added texture in winter soups and pasta sauce. If some of the fruits get too big, we shred those into coarse pieces and dehydrate them for winter chicken feed (soak for a few hours before feeding). It's a great variety, both in terms of flavor and productivity.

[jondear]

I'm planning on trying calypso beans here in Maine next year. Glad to hear they did good in a short season.

[steev]

Just to be clear; what variety of squash was that in "over-mature Tender Gray"; joking, of course; your husband's a lucky man.

[squishysquashy]

We're finally reaching the end of the harvest season.  Well, I think we are.  This is Texas, after all.

The cowpeas are still producing (slowly) but I think my bean collection is complete for display and future feasting.  I have a whole other quart jar filled with Ozark Razorback.  I grew Red Ripper last year and the little jar is a combination of seed saved last year and volunteers in the pumpkin patch this year.  Red Ripper was delicious and hardy, but Razorback was just as prolific if not more so, and easier to shell.  I have not eaten them yet.  I don't know if I'll get enough of the multicolored Mayo Colima for a whole pot to eat and seed to save.


Rai Kaw Tok pumpkin gets points for surviving being riddled with squash vine borers and still producing three 4-5lb fruits.  It is picky about perfect conditions for successful fruit set, but I don't know if it is more picky than other winter squashes.




Today's harvest.  Yes, that is a watermelon.  In November.  Orangeglo.  This one is not as orange as its summer fruits, but it still tastes good.

The tomatoes and peppers are all from the same plants I was harvesting from in spring.  I have found it easier to nurse the plants through our summers for a round 2 in fall than to try to start summer seedlings and keep them alive for fall harvest. Next time I will prune more ruthlessly while the plants are unproductive.

I have way too many fish peppers.  They didn't care for our wet spring but the love the wet fall.  Whatever, peppers.  I think I need to make a Cajun hot pepper sauce or something.  Husband likes to drench everything in Tabasco.  Maybe I can make a sauce that's not as nasty as Tabasco.   

[squishysquashy]

I'M NOT DEAD, GUYS


Nope, my life has just been whack since I last posted.  

First, Larry (husband) got sick for like 3 months straight.  He was having some bad gut trouble, which after several hospital visits, a horrible round of antibiotics, an endoscopy, and pretty much not being able to eat for 3 months, the doctor said it was "just gastritis."  My theory is that it is a complication of of his lack of gall bladder which probably contributes to his gut's inability to heal for some reason.  No one knows.  He's better now, but still has trouble.

THEN...we both got laid off in April, which led to the loss of my garden  .  The garden had been at my mother in law's.  All three of us worked together at the same company in the same department.  The company was based out of California, and they decided to close the Texas HR office. But they needed my MIL so bad (to fix all the issues they created for themselves and we helped her do that) that they kept us all on, until she got so fed up with them that she decided to retire early.  That meant the end of all of our jobs. MIL moved to San Antonio to live with her sister and now they are happily retired together. 

Meanwhile, we wanted to stay in Arlington, so we searched for new jobs close by.  And we searched.  And we searched.  No one would hire us.  No one would even call me. Larry got a few calls and a lot of rejections.  No one wants "post college" age people with "irrelevant" Bachelor's degrees and little experience.  They either want 10 years experience or no experience at all and no degree.  FINALLY just this week Larry was able to land an administrative job at our local university that pays just enough to keep us in our apartment and save a little (maybe.)  I'm still looking, but I have so very few corporate skills and social graces, and I'm over-qualified for all the lower level jobs, so I'm wondering if I should try to go a new direction.  All I've ever done is data entry and mild administrative stuff, but my arms are so inflamed from data entry that I can't do it anymore.  My arms just won't heal all the way, even after months of resting them and not getting on the computer.  I'm going to pay for typing this up later, but I really want to start talking about garden stuff again.  A friend is so impressed with the knowledge I have and what I have been able to grow that she has been encouraging me to start a business.  Like maybe I could start installing and keeping gardens for people who want garden/farm fresh, clean food but don't know how or don't have time to keep up with all of it themselves.  Maybe some type of edible landscaping thing.  I'm pretty sure no one does that yet in my area.  Right now it just seems like wild dreaming but I keep thinking about it. 

Business is something I don't know squat about, so it's kind of scary thinking.  Do you guys know anyone who does this kind of thing in a suburban city?

In the meantime, I have been teaching my encouraging friend how to grow a little food.  We tore up a weedy old landscape bed in her front yard and planted herbs, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and native flowers for the pollinators.  I will put up a picture of it as soon as I figure out a reservoir for my online photos that doesn't change the URLs every month (grrr facebook!)

Lemme see if I can use instagram... NOPE I may have to just use photobucket.

Lately I've been sewing instead of gardening.  It's a fun and useful thing to learn but unlike our parents' times it is NOT cheaper than buying ready-made! Good lort!  lets see if these pictures work.

In the spring I made a quilt




Lately I've been doing summer dresses



had to do one with bees on it.  BEES ON ALL THE THINGS!




OK, I have to stop now. I promise next time there will be garden related pics!  This has been an official test of the photobucket system!  And my arm!
Thanks for hangin',

Emily

[philagardener]

Glad things are slowly getting back on track for you. It is never easy. You have a lot of talent in your craft (and clearly find that rewarding), maybe you can turn that into something!

[kazedwards]

Glad to hear things are looking up.

[oldmobie]

Aug 2, 2016 16:08:52 GMT -5 squishysquashy said:

A friend is so impressed with the knowledge I have and what I have been able to grow that she has been encouraging me to start a business.  Like maybe I could start installing and keeping gardens for people who want garden/farm fresh, clean food but don't know how or don't have time to keep up with all of it themselves.  Maybe some type of edible landscaping thing.  I'm pretty sure no one does that yet in my area.  Right now it just seems like wild dreaming but I keep thinking about it. 

Business is something I don't know squat about, so it's kind of scary thinking.  Do you guys know anyone who does this kind of thing in a suburban city?

Your post made me think of a couple of ladies I read about on Mother Earth News. They wanted to farm/garden, but didn't have enough land. So they started a business transforming peoples yards into gardens. They're getting paid to handle everything from ground-breaking to harvest, and educating their customers. I didn't see contact info for them, but the author of the article might help you get in touch. Here's a link. (It's a two part article. Part one contains the link to part two.)

Edit: I just googled their company name, and found their website. Duh!

[squishysquashy]

Thank you oldmobie! I will investigate thoroughly!

[squishysquashy]

'Sup, yall.

I wanted to show before and after pics of the front yard garden I put in at my friend's house.  I wish i had taken a picture before we started, because this was all Queen Anne's Lace.  As we chopped it down we found some red yuccas and some ornamental grasses that someone had put in before she moved there.

Here's half way through pulling up the grass and weeds and laying cardboard and compost mulch.  Bermuda grass is the devil here and I'm trying as many ways as I can to thwart it, but it's always just temporary thwarting. This was the end of April.


This was taken mid August, before we got almost two weeks straight of rains.  They came early this year and brought some nice cool (upper 70's) weather.  I need to update this post with a post-rain pic!  We planted peppers, tomatoes, herbs, native flowers for the bees, and sweet potatoes.  The tomatoes aren't digging the amount of shade, but about half the peppers are doing just fine, and the other half failed to thrive.  I kept them in their little pots too long because I didn't have anywhere to plant them.  My favorite pepper is the Ralph Thomson Squash pepper.  It has had great yield despite the circumstances and is sweet with a little pleasant heat on it raw, but the heat goes away after cooking.


I am busy nursing her fall greens through the heat while they wait to be transplanted now.  I had wanted to fill in the edge facing the sidewalk with native flowers, but my friend found out that a creeper lives in the house behind her (convicted child molester!) and she has 5 kids in the house, so she's looking to get up out of there by the end of this year so I gave up on that part.

On the "growing food for people" business front, I had an interview with a local farm-fresh-foods store today and they are very interested in my idea and we are discussing a demonstration garden on the property.  This could get exciting!  I'm kind of wigging out right now because I don't know where to start with a business plan, but I will calm down soon and get to work on that!

[steev]

First order of business is to decide what your time is worth to you, how much money you're willing to take to put off your own work. If you low-ball the value of your expertise, you'll regret it.

Second is to keep control of scheduling work; gardening isn't cleaning houses; there are different contingencies (weather, etc); any client who requires a strict schedule needs to pay a premium; any client who needs to lock their yard, must give you a key, so you can work at your schedule. This can have occasional surprises: the client who was leaning out of her hot-tub when I came around the corner, for instance; I don't know whether she turned fast enough to see who'd said "Pardon me!" as I retreated, pleasantly surprised.

Third, remember that this sort of business can grow like crab-grass, so be careful about what other work people may decide they want you to do; you could wind up with a full-on landscaping business, if you aren't careful; once people discover that you have more knowledge than the average mow-blow-and-go guy, they may want you to take his place; if you're so inclined, do not do that for what they were paying him; refer to the first order of business.

If/when you start to max out what you can handle, raise your rates to new clients, then later to old clients, as you see fit (I have clients whose rates I've not raised for twenty years; it's a "senior discount" sort of thing). Good luck!