Text 8392, 129 rader
Skriven 2008-06-05 14:26:24 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DALE SHIPP
Ärende: Re: Any gardens?
========================
DSac> So, anyone growing a garden this year?

DSh> Pots on the deck -- can you call that a garden?  

Yes.  That's what I'd be doing if I had no other way of growing
my own tomatoes.  (That's my minimum garden - tomatoes - even
last year, when I didn't put a vegetable plot in, we set four
tomato plants along the back of the house.)

DSh> But I've long ago given up growing anything that requires 
DSh> more than filtered sunlight back there.  

I would probably grow moss there.  Seriously.  Good ground cover,
loves clay and moisture, stops erosion, and needs no mowing or
other care.  By the time we moved from our old place - with huge
Norway maples that kept half of the back yard in perpetual shade -
I had been able to cover most of the ground back there with moss.
It looked great and was nice to walk on barefoot.

DSh>  One of them I put in some basil plants.  They started out ok,
DSh>  but the last two weeks of May we had a lot of rain (more than 
DSh>  10 1/2 inch for the full month, almost a record).  
DSh>  One of them drowned totally, and the other three are just now 
DSh>  coming out of their waterlogged droop.

They should recover OK if they made it this far; herbs like basil are
just nice-smelling weeds after all. [g]  Here's a thought:  Next year,
look for "globe basil."  They grow in a tightly-foliated, compact
plant that won't tend to get as leggy as standard basil.  Smaller
leaves, but tastes just as nice.

For your regular basil, nip off the tops as you need some, right
above pairs of leaves.  The plant will usually develop a fork
right there and you'll have even more basil to enjoy.

So, before all that rain, were you guys still in drought conditions?
Did the 10 1/2 inches help?  The last time we got that much rain at
once (and this was the year before we moved) the house we're in now 
was filled up to the cellar window with water and our street was
evacuated.

DSac> 6 eggplant

DSh> I could do without that:-}}  We are not fond of eggplant.

Each plant puts out about two eggplant at a time.  We love the
stuff, and my mother enjoys it, too, so we'll make good use of it.
I also plan to make eggplant parmesan and freeze it, ready to pop
into the oven and eat.

DSac> 4 20-foot rows of Silver Queen corn

DSh> Trouble with that is that they take up so much room, and 
DSh> come in over a short time span.  We tend to eat only two 
DSh> moderate sized ears at a meal, and can usually find good 
DSh> ones locally when they are in season.

Me too, but I'm also growing it so we can use the stalks as
a November decoration in front of the porch.

DSac> 1 hill of zucchini (more than enough!)
 
DSh> Unlike the eggplant, Michael Loo is of the same mind as we 
DSh> are on those:-}}

Lynn likes them sliced and stir-fried.  I like zucchini sliced
and sauteed in butter.  But they are a prolific vine, and there are
three plants in the hill.  So we limited it to one hill, knowing
that's all we could use.

DSac> pickling cucumbers

DSh> That would be nice.  Are they better than what you might 
DSh> buy in a store?

We find them far superior simply because we eat them almost
immediately after they have been picked - they don't sit around
at a wholesaler, then in a truck, then at a grocery for three
or four days waiting to be eaten.  That really makes a difference.

DSac> 4 sweet bell peppers
DSac> 2 sweet multicolored cuban peppers
DSac> 1 habanero pepper
 
DSh> Ditto on those -- how do they compare to store bought?  
DSh> To farmer stand bought?

Again, we eat them as we pick them, so they taste much better to
us.  Also, I raise my veggies completely organically - no pesticides
and no fertilizer other than composted manures - so I know I'm not
eating any pesticides.

At the end of the season, I will probably fire roast any surplus
peppers, then put them in baggies in the freezer.  Through the winter,
when I need peppers as an ingredient in something, I'll have delicious
roasted peppers to call upon.

DSac> 1 15-foot row of strawberries (might be nothing from them until next

DSh> What about a stawberry barrel?

I had originally planned a tiered strawberry garden, but decided
against it for this year.  If they seem to do well in the yard, 
next year I plan to put in a terraced strawberry patch.  Something
easy to work in; strawberries need to be refreshed and replanted
periodically.

DSh> > What do you need to do for your soil there?  

We have some amount of clay in the soil, but the area where the garden
is used to be Maryanne's grandparent's garden and I was surprised to 
find that it was relatively loamy.  I worked in some compost this
year, and then spread the surface with straw and shredded leaves before
covering it over with landscaper's cloth.  In the fall, I'll till it
again, and then in the spring start again with manure and compost.

It took Maryanne and I twenty years to get Asnuntuck Street to the
way it was - drop a seed anywhere and it would grow as though it had
been planted in the soil of Lothlorien - and eventually, we'll have
the new garden in that condition, too.

---
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Restaurant Reviews; If I post it here in NCE, you'll find it 
blogged with photos at Dave's Cupboard.

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(The extra shelf in Dave's Cupboard.
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