A ‘Big’ Vegetable Harvest

Last week, I spent some time checking the vegetables my cool-season vegetable garden.  

I was looking to see how they were growing and if any were ready to harvest.  I’ve also learned (the hard way) that it’s important to check for any insect damage so you can treat it early – I got hit bad by spider mites last summer because I wasn’t paying attention.

I have been checking up on my cauliflower plants lately.  Seven days ago, the largest one looked like this…

cool-season vegetable garden

cool-season vegetable garden

Today, it looked like this…

cool-season vegetable garden

Okay, this photo doesn’t really show how big it is, so I put my hand next to it to show the scale…

cool-season vegetable garden

Now, compare this photo with the first one and you can see how big it grew in just one week!

My son, Kai and I harvested this large cauliflower by simply pulling the entire plant out of the ground. 

cool-season vegetable garden

It was quite heavy.   Of course, you can simply cut the cauliflower, but you have to pull the plant out sooner or later.  We chose sooner.

cauliflower

It was at least twice as large as the cauliflower in my local supermarket.  The photo really doesn’t show that though, but this bowl is very wide salad bowl.

cauliflower

I’ve really never noticed how pretty the cauliflower florets are before, have you?

We used some of the cauliflower in our dinner salad, which also included Romaine lettuce and carrots from our garden as well.

cauliflower

Our cauliflower is so huge, I will have to figure out other ways to serve it.

My son’s favorite is smothering it with ranch salad dressing.

I have three other cauliflower plants in the garden.  I may have to give some to my mother, since I don’t know how we will be able to eat it all.

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Cauliflower is a cool-season vegetable, which does best when planted from transplants and not seed.  I have had no problems with growing mine at all – no insect problems, etc.

What is important for growing cauliflower is fertile soil and regular irrigation.

How about you?  Do you grow cauliflower?

Do you have any cauliflower recipes to share? 

Vegetable Garden Update

The other day, I stepped out into my vegetable garden to get a close up look at how my veggies are ripening.

Vegetable Garden

Vegetable Garden

It may be hard to tell what is what because at first sight, it looks like a sea of green.

In the back I have cauliflower and carrots growing among the nasturtiums.  Toward the front, I have green onions, green leaf lettuce, spinach, parsley and oregano.  

Vegetable Garden

The front part of the garden is full of San Marzano tomatoes, pink-flowering Oxalis (not a veggie), garlic and nasturtiums, which are spilling out of the garden.

Vegetable Garden

Lastly, the side garden has shallots, sugar snap peas and a single cauliflower.

I love this time of year when there is so much going on in the garden, don’t you?

Check out more gardening tips at

Gardening Tips at Readers Digest

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I would like to thank you all for your supportive comments concerning the flooding of our house.

We currently have 30 high power fans and 2 large de-humidifiers working in our house.  Unfortunately, that makes the air very warm – 90 degrees inside.

My kitchen is non-functional while appliances are pulled away from the walls, so we are eating out quite a bit (which really isn’t all that bad 😉

The interior walls, furniture and carpet were destroyed.  Thankfully, the insurance company has been very helpful.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

New Vegetable Garden Finally Finished!

Toilet Paper Rolls and Vegetable Seeds…

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Lately, I have been collecting toilet paper rolls.  Now I know that may sound a bit weird to some of you, but I needed them for my garden.

So how on earth can toilet paper rolls help you in the garden?

Well, they are an inexpensive, environmentally friendly tool in which to start seeds indoors.

bush beans, marigolds, Kentucky beans, cucumbers, sugar snap peas and spinach

From upper right – bush beans, marigolds, Kentucky beans, cucumbers, sugar snap peas and spinach.

I thought this would be a good project to do with the kids, so we gathered our seeds.

toilet paper rolls

We cut each toilet paper roll in half (you can use paper towel rolls and cut them into thirds for this too.)

toilet paper rolls

We used a planting mix that had slow-release fertilizer already included and also had water-holding granules. I advise wetting the soil before adding it to your toilet paper rolls.

toilet paper rolls

Now that we had everything, we were ready to start. The kids used tablespoons to ‘spoon’ the planting mix into each tube.

toilet paper rolls

Then we lightly pressed down the planting mix and added more.

toilet paper rolls

Now it was time to plant.

toilet paper rolls

Then we used a spray bottle filled with water to thoroughly water each planted seed.

Now we had to create a ‘mini-greenhouse’ effect by covering our toilet paper roll with clear plastic wrap with some holes in the top.  Then we placed them on top of the refrigerator, where it was warm enough to help them germinate.

 
 
 

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Every day, we checked the moisture of each toilet paper roll and added more water if necessary.

Once the seedlings germinated, we removed the plastic wrap permanently and placed our seedlings by our bright, sunny kitchen window.

We are keeping the soil moist, but not soggy.

Soon, we will be able to plant our seedlings (with their toilet paper rolls) in the vegetable garden.  The cardboard from the toilet paper rolls will disintegrate into the soil.

Of course, you can always use the ready-made plastic seeding trays, but I must admit that I like this method better 🙂

**Are you new to vegetable gardening in the desert?  We are fortunate that we can grow a large variety of vegetables, as well as fruit.  I invite you to click the ‘Shop’ tab where you’ll find some great information on growing vegetables.

New Vegetable Garden Finally Finished!

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Isn’t it true that most projects take longer then you plan on?

Still, I always approach projects with optimism that I will be able to finish in just a couple of days.

Of course, things just seem to come up with the kids and work.  I get really busy this time of year when people’s gardens are starting to grow again.

But finally, our new vegetable garden is finished!

Here are the last few steps…

New Vegetable Garden

New Vegetable Garden

We added compost and manure to the existing soil (1/4 compost, 1/4 manure and 1/2 native soil) and mixed them together.  I finished it off by adding bone and blood meal, which are natural sources of phosphorus and nitrogen that will release slowly over time.

You can simply add a mixture of compost and manure to your raised bed and no native soil if you desire.  This is easier, but I feel that working the soil down to a depth of 8 inches, helps with the growth of root vegetables.

New Vegetable Garden

My husband built fences for the raised bed because we have dogs and they don’t always stay out of the garden.  That and they love carrots.

We bought 6′ fence planks and then cut them in half.  A 3 ft. high fence is enough to keep them out.  The fence planks were attached at the top using a narrow strip of wood.  

New Vegetable Garden

The base for the garden is made from a 2″ wide, 10″ high and this piece was 12 ft long.  We used pine wood for our garden.  Pine won’t last forever, but it will last for a few years and is relatively inexpensive.  Of course, you can use cedar, which will last a very long time, but it can be rather expensive.

**There is some controversy regarding using pressure treated wood for vegetable gardens because of the chemicals used in the process and whether or not they ‘leach’ into the soil.

New Vegetable Garden

My husband built a removable gate into the garden without using any hinges or latches.

narrow strip of wood

As you can see, this removable gate has a narrow strip of wood on the inside and the other strip is on the top of the other side.

The gate slides down into the opening with the bottom strip of wood, resting on the raised bed on the inside and the outer wooden strip on the top fits on the outside.

narrow strip of wood

 You can see how the gate fits, above.

We all had fun putting the sides up…it took three of us – two to hold the sides up while my husband attached the brackets.

The entire time we were putting up the sides, we were visited by a curious and hungry Anna’s hummingbird.  He would stop by every 5 minutes or so.

hummingbird

I planted sweet corn, bush beans and cucumbers in my new garden in addition to marigolds, nasturtium and bachelor’s button, which will attract pollinators and help keep harmful insects away.

I promise to show photos as soon as my seedlings come up 🙂

Hummingbirds Perched Up High….

My Winter (& Spring) Tomatoes

As I write this, it is raining outside.  I love the rain.  I always have, even as a young girl growing up in Southern California.  

I especially like the thought of all the rain falling on my vegetable garden.

If you look closely, you might notice something growing that usually doesn’t belong in a winter vegetable garden (in zone 9a and cooler areas)….

Fallen tomatoes

Can you see what I have growing in the photo above that normally belongs in a spring / summer vegetable garden?

Fallen tomatoes

Fallen tomatoes

Well, if you said tomato plants, you would be correct.

Now before you scold me for planting tomatoes in a garden that sees frost every winter – I assure you that I did NOT plant any of these tomatoes.

No one else did either….

So, how did I end up with tomatoes growing in my garden this time of year?

Well, they came up from seeds from fallen tomatoes from last summer’s vegetable garden.

I have actually had to pull up small tomato seedlings, but I decided to let 5 stay.  You may be asking, why am I letting them grow if they will be killed by frost?

I am hoping that this winter may be mild enough that they will survive if I protect them from frost.

Last week, we had several days in the low 30’s / upper 20’s.  I covered my tomatoes with old sheets and towels.

Additionally, I also put out two desk lights underneath the coverings (not letting the bulbs touch the sheets), which provides additional warmth.

The result?

Overall, the tomatoes did well.  Some of their upper leaves did receive frost damage, but the lower 3/4’s the plants did very well.   I am hoping that my experiment continues to do well.

Why?  Because I will have a huge headstart on growing lots of tomatoes.

I will continue to let you know how they do this winter.

**In frost-free gardens, you can grow tomatoes during winter.  But, my zone 9a garden sees temperatures dip into the upper 20’s, so without protection, tomatoes won’t survive the winter. 

One-Year Old Tomato Plants

Danger In My Vegetable Garden….

Okay.  It’s really happened to me.  

I had heard about what can happen when you grow your own vegetables from other gardeners, but I didn’t think too much about it until….

It happened to me!


So, what happened you may ask?

I discovered the danger of growing a vegetable garden.

own vegetables

Oh, I know it looks quite innocent in the picture above.

But, there is a real danger lurking there.

What is the danger?

Well you see, I have discovered the wonderful benefits of growing my own vegetables.  I love their delicious, fresh taste.  I enjoy saving money and passing by the produce section at the grocery store.

So what is my problem?

Although I can grow vegetables all year long, unfortunately I cannot grow the same vegetables 12 months out of the year.

I still look back to that late spring day when I harvested my first planting of garlic from my garden.

garlic

We harvested quite a bit.

garlic

We let it cure for a couple of weeks, then cut off the leafy tops and stored all that garlic in a cool, dry place out of the sun.

Now, I love garlic and use it a lot for cooking.  All I had to do when I needed some garlic was grab one from the bowl I was storing them in on a dark shelf.

But, the other day when I went in there, there was no more garlic.

Now, I have to buy it at the grocery store again.

I never used to mind buying garlic from the store.

But now, I sure do!

own vegetables

The same thing happens when I have to start buying lettuce from the store in summer after enjoying my own homegrown lettuce the rest of the year.

own vegetables

And it goes on and on with corn, broccoli, cucumbers, green onions, carrots and tomatoes.

So, now do you see the danger of growing your own vegetables?

You get spoiled!

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I would like to thank you all for your kind comments regarding my recent “grandmotherhood”.

I am relishing the time I get to spend with Lily Mae.  I could just sit and hold her for hours 🙂  

Nursery Visit and Temptations…

Fall Break and Vegetable Seedlings…

I think my kids are ready to go back to school tomorrow after 2 1/2 weeks of being on fall break.

How do I know this?  Well, my two youngest daughters, Ruthie and Gracie, just asked me if there were any jobs that I needed them to do.


So after, I picked up my jaw from the floor, I told them that the patio needed to be swept and then thanked them for being so thoughtful.

A few minutes later, I saw them sweeping the patio.  Then I saw the hose come out as they sprayed the patio.  BUT, they didn’t stop there.  As I watched them, Ruthie started to squirt dish soap on the patio and then proceeded to scrub the patio using the broom.

I just didn’t have the heart to tell her that she didn’t need to use soap.  She was working so hard and looked like she was actually enjoying herself as she walked through all the soap suds.  

And now, I probably have the cleanest patio in the entire neighborhood 😉


Earlier this morning, I went outside to see how my vegetable garden was faring.  As I examined my plants, I paid special attention to many of my vegetable seedlings.

vegetable seedlings

My vegetable seedlings

I planted Cauliflower for the first time this fall.  We will see how it does.  I must admit that I am being a bit selfish about including it in my garden since I am the only one in our family who likes cauliflower.  But, since I’m the one who takes care of the garden, I think I’m entitled, don’t you?

vegetable seedlings

My vegetable seedlings

My lettuce seedlings are a bit late in getting started this fall.  The reason being that I didn’t learn my lesson last fall, when birds ate my new seedlings, which is what happened again this year.  So this is my second attempt this fall.

I am proud to say that I did find a solution to birds eating my lettuce seedlings that didn’t involve netting.  But I warn you, it isn’t particularly pretty looking…

vegetable seedlings

I decided to use burlap.  I didn’t put the burlap directly on the ground since the plants would grow through it and be caught.  So, I put two of my plastic patio chairs in the garden and draped the burlap over them and the garden fence.  My goal was to shield the seedlings from the bird’s view and so far, I have been successful.

vegetable seedlings

My vegetable seedlings

No, this aren’t grass seedlings.  They are my green onions.

You know what?  There is just something about seedlings that I find so attractive.  I think it is a combination of the bright green of youth and their tiny shapes.  What do you think?

vegetable seedlings

Another first in the garden this fall is shallots.  I haven’t heard much from people in our area growing them, so I am anxious to see how they do.

Now, I didn’t order any fancy shallots from a mail-order nursery.  I simply went to my local grocery store and bought a bunch.  I planted each bulb with the pointed end upward and covered them with 2″ of soil.

I can’t wait to see how they do when I harvest them this spring.

garlic

This little garlic sprout looked much better yesterday then it does today.  The torn leaves are courtesy of the newest member of our family, Max, who hasn’t learned that a fence means “keep out”.  We are working his obedience….

carrots

The carrots are doing beautifully and I will soon thin them.  The easiest way to do this is to simply snip off the unwanted seedlings at soil level.  If you pull them out, you risk disturbing the surrounding seedlings.

Nasturtiums

I planted Nasturtiums throughout my vegetable garden because they make great companion plants because they repel damaging insects and attract insects that will eat Scale (which I have problems every year).

Corn silk

Corn silk is beginning to appear on my fall corn.

This last seedling is not one that I planted or planned on growing this fall.

But, it showed up on its own and I decided that I will give it a chance….

tomato plant

Yes, it is a tomato plant.  To be precise, it is a ‘San Marzano’ tomato plant that came up from seed.  Its parent plant produce a ton of tomatoes for me last spring and some of the tomatoes fell to the ground, and so here is the result.

I’m not sure how it will do.  Tomatoes are susceptible to frost, which we do get here and on every vegetable gardening guide for our area, tomatoes are never listed as being started in the fall.

But, I am cautiously optimistic.  With shade protection in the summer and frost protection in the winter, a tomato plant can live for years UNLESS a severe frost occurs (like last year).

So, I will baby this little tomato plant (and the 3 others that also came up) and provide protection from frost this winter.

I will let you know how they do.  If they survive, I will have a huge head start on growing tomatoes next spring 🙂

How about you?  

Have you planted any vegetables this fall?

Vegetable Seedlings and Another Confession…

Tired of Buying Lettuce? Plant a Salad Bowl

I don’t know about you, but I hate having to buy lettuce to make salad with.

Usually, I purchase the bagged lettuce because it is convenient and already cut up.  What I really don’t like is the price for buying it this way.  So, I have started buying lettuce and tearing it up myself.

Last fall, winter and spring, I got very spoiled by being able to just step outside into the back garden and cutting some lettuce from my own garden.

Fresh Lettuce

I had grown a mixture of all kinds of leaf lettuce and spinach.

Fresh Lettuce

Fresh Lettuce

It was absolutely delicious too.

It was very hard when the warm temperatures came and lettuce would not grow anymore.

I have planted a lot of leaf lettuce and spinach in my vegetable garden and have lots of little seedlings coming up.

So, can you do if you want fresh lettuce and don’t have a vegetable garden?

What can you do?

How about planting a salad bowl?

farmer market

I found these salad bowls for sale at a farmer’s market in North Carolina last year.

It is really easy to make your own.

Here’s how:

1. Choose a planter that is at least 8 inches deep (12 inches is best) with holes for drainage.

2. Fill with potting soil and wet the soil thoroughly.

3. Plant with lettuce seeds.  I like leaf lettuce, but you can arugula, escarole and water cress.  If you prefer, you can simply plant lettuce transplants, available at your local nursery.

4. Put your container by a window that gets at least 6 – 8 hours of sun, but avoid the hot, afternoon sun.

5. Keep the soil moist by using a spray bottle filled with water.  You will usually have to spray once a day.

6. Once the seeds germinate, back off on the watering, but don’t let the soil dry out.

7. Thin the seedlings to the recommended distance that your seed packet recommends and fertilize every 2 weeks using fertilizer at half strength.

8. Begin harvesting your leaf lettuce by simply snipping off the outer leaves.  Your lettuce will continue to produce new leaves to replace those lost.

Once your lettuce starts to ‘bolt’ (grow tall), it is time to pull it out and start over again.

So forget about paying a lot for lettuce at the grocery store and plant your own bowl 🙂

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I hope you are all of to a good start this week.

Today is my daughter’s 25th birthday and she is 3 weeks away from her due date.  I am very excited about being a grandma 🙂    

Start Your Own Lettuce Seedlings in Recycled Plastic Containers

Got Garlic?

Garlic has to be one of my favorite vegetables.  I use it in almost everything and I almost always use more then the recipe asks for.

I love growing my own garlic and it’s very easy to do.

My Favorite Vegetables

My Favorite Vegetables

Fall is the best time to plant garlic and it starts with a visit to your local grocery store.

My Favorite Vegetables

Garlic is easily planted from cloves.  Take the whole heads of garlic that you have purchased at your grocery store and separate out the individual cloves.

Chose a location in your vegetable garden that receives at least 6 hours of sunlight.  If you do not have an existing vegetable garden, then amend your existing soil with compost and aged steer manure, mixed in well.

My Favorite Vegetables

Space them approximately 6 inches apart.

clove

Plant 2 inches deep, with the pointed side of each clove pointed upward and cover with soil.

Garlic like regular water, but do not let them become soggy.

They will soon send up green shoots.  In cold climates, add a straw mulch over your garlic.

Freezing weather will cause the green shoots to turn brown, but they will grow back in spring.

Once the outer leaves begin to turn brown and droop, you can harvest your garlic. 

garlic

Pull it up carefully and keep the green shoots attached.  Remove any clumps of dirt, but do not clean the heads.

Put your newly harvested garlic in a warm, dry area out of sunlight to ‘cure’ for a few weeks.  Then cut the shoots off.

Your garlic is now ready to cook with.  Store your garlic out of sunlight.  I keep mine in a bowl on a shelf in my laundry room.

So start growing your own garlic.  You can spend the time they are growing selecting your favorite recipes that need garlic.

My Secret Vegetable Gardening Tool…

I didn’t set out to find a ‘secret’ gardening tool for my vegetable garden.  But, I often find myself finding other uses for tools that I often use for other things.

This ‘secret’ tool is one that I purchased to help me with my sewing, years ago.  I have had it for over 10 years and keep it in my hall closet.


So what is this ‘secret’ tool?

It is my yardstick….

Gardening Tool

Gardening Tool

My yardstick, which I no longer use for sewing by the way, is the perfect tool for not only measuring, but it also creates small furrows for seedlings.

Gardening Tool

Gardening Tool

I am sure that the creator of the yardstick never imagined people using it for creating furrows, do you?

Gardening Tool

It also makes spacing very easy for planting vegetable seeds and cloves of garlic.

I must admit that I am not the only one that finds my yardstick useful….

Gardening Tool

Years ago, my daughter, Gracie, found out that my yardstick also made a great ‘walking’ stick when she was 2 years old.

Later, she shared the benefits of the yardstick with her new little brother, Kai, shortly after we adopted him….

Kai's second day

This is Kai’s second day at home after we returned from China from adopting him.  You can see that his feet are turned inwards.  He had surgery later, which repaired his feet.

She didn’t feel like sharing her yardstick, but she gave Kai a wooden spoon to play with.

So do you have a yardstick?

What do you use yours for?

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