Sick Days

I'm home sick (everyone in my department is sick now that the stress of school is over). So what do I do? Sleep, drink water, and buy a book ALL about CHILIES!
I'm super excited (how dorky)!  It gives the history, cultivation, processing, preservation and cooking with chilies-so literally everything. 
Here's a link:  
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=9781604691399

The book is by Dave DeWitt who is an expert on capsicums.  So far, I am really enjoying this book and suggest it if you really like cooking with chilies; I did a fair bit of research into finding a comprehensive guide on peppers.  I bought it because my boyfriend and I like to cook, and make most things from scratch.  We recently started making our own grilling rubs and wanted to know more about it.  You can download a preview of the book from Barnes and Noble to check it out and see if it's right for you too.  I bought the nook version and read it on my computer because I don't have the color nook.  Plus I use my computer to store all my recipes, so it's convenient for me.  But they also sell it in hardcover.  

Going to get better now!

Katie

Catch Up!

So I've been slacking on my blog, but now I have 10 min to play catch up! 

In the past month, I've cleaned up the garden, pruned the trees, and planted my garlic!  It takes me a while to do all this because of my back, but if I do little bits at a time, then it gets done.  :)  This is the first year I've planted garlic.  I decided to get a hard-neck variety since it grows better in colder climates.  It doesn't keep as long, but it will survive, which is the important part!  They were pretty big cloves, so I imagine I'll have some good sized bulbs come next August! 

I also found this website on pumpkin care! 
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/vines.htm
And another!
http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/pumpkins/how-to-grow-huge-pumpkins-article10276.html

I was looking up how to prune the pumpkins so they don't take over my garden next year. 
So that's about it.  You're all caught up.  I'm getting through my semester.  I've survived this long, what's another 3 years for a phD?

Toodles!

Fall Harvesting

Well, I'm still getting a good harvest despite the lack of time to care for the garden.  Yesterday, I picked about a pound of green beans, 1 cucumber, 3 jalapenos, a bunch of tomatoes and a handful of lettuce. 
Some of the tomatoes that I had picked weeks ago are now ripening (or at least it feels like weeks ago).  So It's good timing to make some salsa and can it.  If I was feeling well, I would get right on it, but alas, I caught another cold.  I think I'll try my hand at pickles with the cucumber since it's a miserable looking thing.
Oh! AND I got 1 zucchini!  I would have had 2 but some pest ate half the other one.

After further research, I found that I made a mistake by not planting the marigolds this year! They are a very good pest deterrent, which I didn't realize until all my plants started getting eaten!  Live and Learn.  This winter, I'm going to research other plants that deter bugs (like Japanese beetles and squash bugs).  I found a few good links that I bookmarked in my delicious account.  You can check them out too.  I don't know how reliable the sources are, but I can do further research to check the facts.
Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow to take some pictures of the pumpkins and ripened tomatoes!

Cheers!
   

Fall Begins

Yesterday my helper bee (my boyfriend) noticed one of the morning glory plants had a flower!  It is a huge blue one! I couldn't find my camera though (hopefully just buried in my room), so I didn't get a picture, but it was exciting!  After months of growing, FINALLY have a flower. 
I picked 6 more cucumbers, a few leaves of lettuce & another 1/2 lbs of beans.
I picked most of my tomatoes (all the big ones) off their vines and put them in paper bags to ripen.  I'm afraid frost will get them; but I did leave a bunch of the smaller ones on the vine in hopes that they will turn red if I give them another week. 
I have a few more jalapenos left and some bell peppers are growing!   I think it may frost before they are full grown though; but at least I know for next year that they will do well when planted at the proper time.
I also rotated my pumpkins so they won't rot on the bottoms.
And I have to get out our old sheets from the basement to cover the plants at night, just in case it does frost.  This way I can get a few more weeks out of them. 

Cheers! 

A Wee Bit Chille'

I've got Jalapeno peppers!!!!!  YAY!!! Success.
After much hard work and trial and error, I have peppers.  I actually picked one jalapeno this weekend! and I can pick the others soon!  I think the pollinating I did actually worked because only those plants that I experimented on have peppers.  The pepper plants in the containers definitely failed.  They haven't grown for months.  I'm going to make salsa with them! 

I also got 3 more cucumbers! Hard to believe, I know.  Growing them vertically really was a success!

They are in the background above-all the water has spread a bacteria on them.  I still have to look it up, so I can prevent it next year, but the cukes are still coming! 

The pumpkins are fantastic!  I'm so excited! I thought there would be more, but 2 will do.  I'm going to have to see if I can use a pinch off method next year, because they've taken over.  I tried a little this year, but it didn't seem to stop the growing!  Hardy buggers! 

Lettuce in a container works awesome!  It didn't work in doors at all, but outdoors, it grows like crazy. 

My beans grew a LOT taller than I thought....  I've never grown pole beans, usually the bush variety.  So I thought they would be a few feet-didn't end up that way.  They are about 6 feet.  Maybe I should have read the bag.  But they have been a success; I got 1.5 lbs this weekend off the plants.  And they were huge! 

My tomatoes are doing excellent considering I started about a month and a half late.  I have tons of green tomatoes.  I don't know if any of them will turn red, but I have a good recipe for grilled green tomatoes if they don't.  So I'm just happy they were so successful. 

I grew a fall bunch of peas! And this is how they are doing:

I also planted 4 new blueberry plants for my parents.  I love blueberries! 

Mom has been working quite a bit lately and hasn't had time to go get her mums.  So I bought mums for my mom!  I tried to match the colors so it would look as cheerful as possible for her when she came home!

I still don't have a spot for my garlic-I just have to talk to dad about a good-out-of-the-way spot. They should be mailed out soon, so I should probably get that ready....

Cheers!  :)

Cuke Mania

Well, the pumpkin is slowly turning orange.  I rotated it yesterday to make sure the bottom doesn't rot. I have to find some cardboard to put under it. 
I got 8 more cucumbers last week off the vine! Craziness!  I also have 3 little peppers growing!  Last week I tried an experiment (since it's rained so much, it's hard for the plants to get pollinated) where I took my finger and tried to rub the pollen from the male flowers to the females.  It's hard to tell which is which, so I just took the powder from one and rubbed it with my finger tip on the ones without.
And now all of a sudden I have peppers!  I think they are both jalapenos! 
I also bought the Ball Blue Book-guide to preserving.  It is excellent!  It has loads of recipes for making jams/jellies/pies/pickle/salsas/jerky/rubs...and the list goes on!  I'm going to can apple sauce within a few weeks; I need to go to Adam's Orchard to pick first though and I don't know when I'll have the time.
Today ended beautifully with the sun shining; perfect for a walk with my friends! 

cheers!

Cucumbers Galore

So I picked FIVE more cucumbers today! I should download what the weather has been for the past 3 months!  It's been a great year for cukes!  I have a bunch of tomatoes on the vines too now.  Some of them are itty bitty, but at the least, I will have green tomatoes this fall!  And they don't have blight; I was just paranoid because of the disaster last year. 
My dad says that I haven't been getting any beans-even though they are awesome vines right now-because the deer will eat the flower buds off of them!  I know it's deer, and not rabbits, because it's too high off the ground where the bite marks are for rabbits.
I have a huge pumpkin growing too! And some smaller ones in there also!  Very exciting!
I think the horse manure has worked out well despite all the aggressive weeds! 

Cheers!

Raining Buckets!

I put out extra buckets to catch the rain water for reuse in the garden because it was raining so much!  And I've recently dug up and replanted some lilac shoots and they desperately need water!  So I'm glad for the rain this week.  My tomatoes were looking grim too, so now I'll have plenty and can feel good about wishing for sunny days! 
Some things I want to remember for next year are:
1) to plant some different varieties of tomatoes (some of the heirloom variety)
2) to plant earlier (around the end of march start the peas/beans/radishes).
3) to set out the rain buckets earlier
This winter I want to attempt growing English Cucumbers-apparently they don't need to be pollinated, so this would be a good indoor variety.  Me and Annemarie also have a friend who are giving us a banana tree to grow (yes, they grow it outside in VT)...so that should be loads of fun! 
And I got 3 more cucumbers this past Saturday!  So I'll have to go through the blog and count how many that is now!  It's over 10; hopefully I recorded them all!
I've also ordered garlic to grow this October to harvest next fall.  Very exciting!  Thanks to Rene who organized that for me!  :)

Cheers!

5 cucumbers!

I got 5 more cucumbers yesterday and there are a whole bunch more on the vine!  It looks like I may get a  few tomatoes too.  The peppers haven't come in yet, but it's ok.  The plants look really good, they just needed more time.  And I found out why my radishes were doing so badly-they needed more water and colder temperatures.  They are a hot food, so I thought they would do better in warm temps! oh well.  I'll try again at the end of August!
Cheers!

Tomato Woes

I think my tomatoes have blight. bummer.  This happened last year.  My mom-the all around expert on all things growing-told me that it's just normal yellowing of the leaves, and that they just need some food, but I'm having doubts.  I'm paranoid from last year when my whole crop of tomatoes caught blight right as they were turning red!  Even the one in the container.  So I'm a bit worried.  Time will tell. 
Also, I found in my book that tomatoes need up to 5 gallons/week of water!  So that could be part of the problem.  Good thing it's rained so much this year.  But you also don't want to water the leaves of a lot of plants b/c they are susceptible to diseases that are brought on by wet leaves.  Most of the time I water right at the base anyways just so I know it's getting right to the roots and not sitting on the leaves and evaporating.  At my house, water is short since we are on a spring; so I've been using rain buckets to catch gallons of water out of our gutters for the hot, sunny days.  It's been working out really well!  As long as I use it right away, then we won't have mosquitoes breeding in it; that's the only thing I worry about.

Ta Ta for now! I'll take pictures when it's sunny!

August Already?!

So I've realized that I probably won't be getting any tomatoes this year.  The plants are still far to small, although they are growing healthy, they are just at the stage they should have been in June/July time.  Oh well.  I have the seeds already, so next year I can start on time! 
I also have been quite successful with the cucumbers, radish and lettuce!  So far I've gotten: 6 good radish, 6 cucumbers with more growing, 2 bundles worth of scallions, and 2 big heads of lettuce!  And it's all been from seed.  I am quite proud for a beginner!

My peppers are growing really well, however, I would be surprised if I got anything off them either.  They were very late going in.  The beans have taken off and the peas have died.  I think they were bad seeds, because I have planted about 20 more and haven't gotten any to grow.  Bummer. 

So there you have it! Pictures to follow!

Happy Gardening!
Katie

Blueberries!!!

I got a pretty good handful of blueberries today!  They are so sweet!  Check them out!

Hurray!  Cheers!

Hot Hot Hot!

It's been really hot here in VT and at my house, we are on a spring, so we run out of water easily.  So that means when the weather doesn't bless the garden with rain, it doesn't get watered.  I ended up getting some water from the river next to the house to help it get through the heat!

Here are some pictures!

Scallions mixed in with some weeds! I pulled them after the picture!

My pumpkins above are doing well!

Below are some new radishes I started! They are coming up nicely.

A new flower on the nasturtium!

Tomatoes are still very small but they are getting much bushier!

Peppers...

Cucumbers above are starting to flourish!

The lettuce in my container is doing very well.  The lettuce indoors is not doing well.

This tomato plant didn't make it.  Something dug it up!  So I'm going to grow some herbs in this container instead. 

Peas are doing well!  I think they are so pretty!

And the start of my bean stalks! 

The blueberries are starting to ripen and really pull the bush down.  

I picked ~10 blueberries that were ripened already! woot woot!

ta ta for now!

Scorcher in Vermont

It's been unbearably hot these past 4 days in Vermont; but my garden is blooming because of it.  I picked 7 snap peas yesterday night which is double what I picked a week ago!  And the tomato plants have started to take off with all the sun they are getting!  I'm feeling a lot better about them now.  And I planted some more radishes to take up space, beans and morning glories. 
My wonderful boyfriend climbed up a ladder in our garage and got down the plant cages for me (I couldn't reach them on the shelf) and now the garden looks lovely! I just have to keep up with the weeds.  Using the horse manure sort of backfired on me in that domain.  It's wonderful for the plants, but it's also fantastic for weeds!  I have lots of dandelions (the bane of my existence) and clover growing.  But now it's become manageable. 
I'll post some pictures of the progress tonight! 

Toodle Loo for now!  Stay cool!

2 months later...

Here's what you missed from the last 2 months:

I planted most of the seedlings in the garden or in a container; the ones in the container are doing really well!
The ones in the garden are not doing so hot.  Things are not as bad as my tomato blight like last year, but I'm still upset. There has been a boom in the slug population and they are devouring my plants!  Too much rain all at once. 

 Here's what the garden looks like these days:

These are the radishes...they are being eaten by slugs. 

These are some of the zucchinis, which are being eaten by deer/rabbits.  I'm really disappointed.

So I'm going to put some moth balls around the perimeter of the garden...it seemed to work last year.

But this is what the container plants look like: 

 I've got oodles of lettuce growing, one tomato plant, and a nasturtium.  

My tomato plants in the garden aren't doing too well though.  :(  Hopefully they will catch up!  I just planted them yesterday since they are still so small.

One of the nasturtiums in the garden already have a flower!  So pretty!

And the peas are looking so good, I think I'm going to plant some more!

That's the flower-I just think they are pretty!  

Here's my pumpkin!  It's also getting eaten, but not as badly...

And I took some pictures around the yard:

This is what the garden has produced so far! Very excited! The radishes only took about 3 weeks to grow (it might have been more, I'm not really sure)

I just soaked the radishes to get the soil off.

 We've also got this surprise sunflower...I think that's what it is anyway...it'll probably end up being a weed!

That's all for now!  As usual, I will be posting the rest of my pictures on my flickr site!  So check it out!

Toodles!  :)

Progress!

I took these pictures the other day of my seedlings, but I just didn't have time to post them. :)  Finals take a toll on my free time!

The poor lettuce grew sideways because I didn't rotate them! oops.

The tomatoes finally sprouted!

And the pepper plants are getting big!  

Here are most of the plants! The pumpkins are really taking off now!  I've made sure to water them regularly; my seedlings need water about every few days (depending on the sun).  I bought a "daytime bulb" (it looks like it's just tinted to look like day light instead of a yellowish hue) and put it in the lamp about 5" above the seedlings.  I think the heat is what is making them grow more than anything.  I left it on all night on Tues night (by accident) and there were tomato plants 2 cm high the next day! There was no sign of life the night before!  It might be a coincidence, I don't know.  Pretty soon, it will be warm enough to put them outside anyhow (during the day). 

Here is a picture I took while at a stop sign yesterday! The rain was coming down in sheets! It's a little hard to see in the picture, but trust me it was terrible!  

Time to finish my exam! Then I'm done for the semester! woot woot!  ;)

As usual, I have more pictures on my flickr account (see link in right hand menu) if you want to peruse them! 

Good night!

PS. I'm FUNDED this summer for my project! hurray!!!

After the Storm

The snow is all gone now, and the daffodils survived, but they are flattened to the ground instead of upright now. 

I cut some of them for mom.  Don't they look pretty?

Patch is chillin' by the indoor garden.

Some of my seedlings are finally coming up after a week!
The lettuce is getting big!

Cucumbers are coming up.

Scallion...

And then I put in the trellises and planted the peas...

I used my hammer and measuring tape...

 And the little garden gnome is just hanging out...

That's all for now!  Going to hang out with Jay for dinner and a movie! 
Have a good weekend!