Baby pepper!

To go along with yesterday's baby eggplant, here's a baby pepper.

This is an Alma paprika pepper. I bought lots at the Clintonville farmer's market last year, so I thought I should probably grow them myself this year.

They're very thick-walled, so great for stuffing. I may even dry one or two and make my own paprika, though that's not why I got them.

They're also wonderfully sweet and great raw. With any luck, there'll be enough to eat them any way I want!

Baby eggplant

Look! A baby eggplant!

Isn't it cute? I planted a different variety from last year, so these will actually be purple (last year's were mostly white). These are Fairytale eggplants, and they only get to be about four inches long, so it's a quarter of the way there.

Soon, my pretty, I will eat you up!

Garden update

One good thing about the record rain we've had is what it's done for the vegetable garden.

As you can see, it's just gone wild. Climbing up the back fence are invading morning glories that I'll have to yank down soon before they grab the tomatoes. The bed smack in the middle of the photo is full of golden beets. I've already gotten one big harvest from them:

I've still probably got at least that many in this next batch to dig up. Yum! Roasted beets, here I come!

Another garden corner

A couple weeks ago, I showed you a corner of the vegetable garden. Here's a little corner of the flower garden in the back yard.

Sweet pea flowers

Yay! My sweet peas are beginning to flower!

So pretty. They're all this delicate purple and cream. Mom asked me to save some seeds for her, so try to remind me, OK?

Egyptian walking onions

One of the plants in the vegetable garden that we've not yet gotten to enjoy are the Egyptian walking onions. They're a perennial, and we've finally gotten them going well enough that we can harvest them rather then just let them "walk" over the garden bed. I'll let you know how they taste!

Solar-powered drip irrigation system

I've installed a solar-powered drip irrigation system in a part of the vegetable garden.

I got it from Gardener's Supply. It's really very kit-like - just a solar pump and a small drip irrigation kit that's meant to be used with an outdoor faucet. It's not hard to set up, but it's not completely obvious either.

The pump seems to be prone to getting clogged, but over all, it seems to be a good little kit. I'm sure I'll let you know later in the summer if it fails!

Peonies

I always know when our peonies bloom: the last week of May and the first week of June.

How do I know? On our first spring in the house, six years ago, they bloomed exactly then, when Jeff and I were on our honeymoon. We got to see nothing but the dregs when we got back. Every year since then, I've always looked forward to seeing them, since I didn't get to see them the first time.

Just to taunt Fiona

I'm not having much luck with getting actual beets from these greens, so I may just be sending them to you yet, Fi!

Seedlings

I'm hoping to finally get these seedlings in the ground this week sometime. If not, then over the weekend.

There are three tomato plants, three pepper plants, and three eggplants. Three other tomato plants didn't make it, but Territorial Seed is sending replacements. Hopefully, they just didn't like sitting inside and will do fine once in the ground.

Tomorrow, I'll be moving them out to the garden proper, where they'll get more sun and get used to the location.

Mint and cilantro

As you can see, the mint and cilantro are very happy. That's putting it mildly, actually. Before I planted the cilantro, I had to rip out half of the mint, and it's still invading the cilantro. You can see why it's so important not to plant it in the ground if you ever want anything other than mint!

This cilantro will probably go to seed pretty soon, and I'll get a few more plants and plant them in the shade where some radishes were. That should give me another month or so before it just gets too hot to grow any cilantro at all.

Jeff uses the mint for Mai Tais and other tropical drinks, and I've been using them both to make spring rolls and in other dishes.

A garden corner

The garden is coming along nicely, even with the weird weather we've been having. In April it was May-like, and in May, it's been April-like.

I've had to hold off on some spring tasks, but that's OK. We've been so busy the past few weekends that we haven't had the time to work in the yard anyway.

It's hard to believe that next weekend's Memorial Day already. At least the long weekend will help us catch up on all the yardwork that still needs to be done.

The tall things to the right of the photo are our Egyptian Walking Onions. They're a perennial, and I think we'll finally have enough to pick and use this year. They're easy to tend and fun to watch, so I can't wait to see how they taste!

Mmmmm. Radishes.

There are few things as good as radishes straight from the garden. The ones you get in the store are so dried out and bland in comparison. These have a wonderful bite and crunch.

The ones on the left are a basic Easter Egg blend. The ones on the right are Zlata radishes, and this is the first time I've grown them. I'm going out to sow a second seeding today, though - they're so wonderful! I've still got that many of both kinds still in the ground, just waiting to plump up a bit more.

For Orlando & Fiona

Spinach still in the garden, but it's time for picking! Sorry, Lando & Fi, but I don't think it would survive the trip to you. But I'll think of you while I eat it! :)

I can almost believe it's spring

Look! Buds on my dwarf nectarine!

It's a container variety, so very small. But with all those buds, it seems very happy! I really don't think I'll get that many nectarines, but it sure is pretty.

Of course, those buds are getting covered up tonight because it's going to be below freezing. That's why these radish sprouts are covered up, too.

They were covered up last night, too, and I just left it on today since it wasn't too warm. They seem happy.

Garden assessment time

It's that time of the year when I start getting desperate for spring, but I know it won't be here too soon. We usually have at least one good snowstorm in March, and sometimes even in April.

However, it is time to start planning the garden!

It's a nice, sunny day, so I went out back to see what has made it though the winter.

The parsley made it, and I didn't even know it was hardy here. Apparenltly so. The rosemary looks like it survived too, and I know it's not hardy here.

All the other perennials in the garden look like they're doing well. I've even got a few volunteer Vidalia onions coming up that I must have missed last year.

I've already got my seeds and plants ordered for this year. I can't wait!

Compare & contrast

What I was looking at a little over a week ago:

What I'm looking at now:

Feel free to discuss.

First snow of the year

And he doesn't look to happy about it.

It was probably only about 3-4 inches, but you would think it was a blizzard the way people were acting. Yeesh. It's just a little snow!

Well, that was exciting

We had a tornado warning this afternoon.

Jeff's out of town, so when the sirens went off, and I confirmed it on the radar, I highed myself and the pets down into the basement. Spike had to be carried in his little travel cage, and Kaylee had to be carried because the stairs were scary. We sat away from the windows and watched the clock waiting for the storm to pass.

It did.

There was a possible touchdown less than a half a mile from us, but we got nothing more than rain. Still a little scary, though.

But we're fine. And I learned that we need to clean the basement. That will be Jeff's job when he gets back from his trip. :)

Garden update

It's been a while since I posted photos of the garden, and I just got a new camera (thanks, honey!), so I thought I'd use the opportunity to play with my new camera and get some shots of the plants.

As usual, the Swiss chard is going bonkers.

The fall crops have started to go in. Beets, turnips, and here are the radishes:

More radishes will go in when I pull up the non-producing cucumbers this weekend.

And here's a little corner of the garden.

Peppers, some nasturtiums, and you can see the ruby Swiss chard in the background.

And I'm really enjoying the camera, a Fuji FinePix F40fd. It's a little pocket digital camera, but it takes nice photos.

Garden update

It's been a while since I posted pictures of the garden, so I thought I would.

This little bed along the fence used to have our lettuce and spinach and kale in it. Once the weather got warm, however, it was given over to Swiss chard and some "leftover" pepper plants from a coworker. You can also see the nasturtiums that are keeping the fig tree company.

I need to harvest some of the Swiss chard before it starts to shade the peppers again. Good thing we like it, since it grows like crazy!

This is the first year that I'm growing eggplant, but I seem to be doing well. One of the plants has five eggplants on it. This one has two, but they're starting to turn purple.

In addition to the peppers my coworker gave me, I've got another container with ones that I raised from seed. These were a mix, so I've got some green bell peppers, as well as some purple and red ones, too.

My tomatoes are producing, but they look like crap. These are the Mr. Stripey heirlooms, which are doing OK.

I used to have tomatillos in the same bed as these tomatoes, but they were doing horribly, so I yanked them up. I'll probably plant a fall harvest of kale in their place in a month or two.

My tomatoes may not be look nice, but my basil looks fantastic.

I'll be making pesto this weekend.

Front garden

I don't often show you the front garden. It's nice, but for some strange reason, I tend to think it's boring, even though it's not.

There was a big sale at Oakland Nursery this weekend, and we loaded up on stuff for the holes in the front, including some hydrangea.

We also picked up a small spirea.

I don't know if I mentioned last year that we replaced our smaller water feature with a 100 gallon water trough (purchased at a farmer supply store for about $50). It makes a wonderful water feature that's deep enough for our water lily to live through the winter. Jacques and Petrolina just went to work in there last week, and we got a new solar fountain, too.

And one patch of Jeff's bananas lived through the winter.

And, of course, we have snapdragons and portulaca, Jeff's and my favorite garden flowers, respectively.

So that's the front garden. Maybe another picture when the lilies bloom.

PS: Hi, Uncle Chuck! (My Uncle Chuck just let me know that he subscribed to my blog. He's my mother's older brother and he lives out in San Diego with my Aunt Terry.)

Eggplant flowers

The eggplants are doing wonderfully in the garden. Hopefully, all the happy purple flowers presage happy little eggplants down the road!

Garden update

The garden is growing apace. I've gotten several compliments on it from random people walking down the alley, so that's nice.

The weather's been hotter than usual for this time of year, and it hasn't rained for over a week - also not usual for this time of year. I try to water no less than every three days. We might get some rain today, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

As you can see from the photos, the tomatoes and tomatillos are making their appearance a little early this year. I don't usually get these guys until the first week in July. But these are different varieties than I've grown in the past, so that probably has something to do with it, too.

I saw a ruby-throated hummingbird while I was planting the cucumbers seeds early this morning. Since I was covered with dirt, I didn't have my camera, but the little guy was beautiful! And he didn't seem to mind me at all. Just zipped around drinking from the flowers while I watched.

Garden update

I'd intended to post a few times over the long weekend, but I was just too busy. I worked my butt off all weekend, but at least we accomplished a lot.

One of the main accomplishments was getting the garden almost completely filled in.

All we have let to plant is cucumbers, but they can't go in until it gets a little consistently warmer. The spinach is about to bolt, so I'll have to figure out what to put in its place. The cilantro is ready to bolt, too, from all the unseasonably hot days we've been having (though we've only put the air conditioning on today for the first time).

The tomatoes and and peppers, on the other hand, are quite happy.

I shouldn't have seen a pepper for at least another month, but this one seems good!

Jeff's trying potatoes again, though a different method this time. They also are doing very well, it seems.

And some bunny porn for Fiona:

The kale is doing very well. I thinned it out last night to get some of the plants to grow bigger before they bolt.

Our other big task of the weekend was putting up the new gazebo.

It's the Home Summer gazebo from Target. Very easy to put together and the perfect size for us. Since on the of reasons we don't use our backyard in the height of summer is the late afternoon sun and the evening bugs, this should help solve those problems. Kaylee's still having trouble figuring out where the openings are, but hopefully she'll understand that soon.

We also cleaned out the shed, power-washed the front porch and went to our niece Eve's third birthday party. And I started a new crochet project (more on that later).

I'm tired. I need a long weekend to recover from my long weekend.

Herbs

"You say 'erbs', and we say 'herbs', because there's a fucking 'H' in it!"

Most of the herbs are out. The Italian parsley is waiting for me to decide where I want to plant it, and the basil is waiting for it to get a little warmer. But the fennel and chives (above) are quite happy.

I've got two types of cilantro this year, along with two types of mint. There is also dill and rosemary in the above photo, all doing quite well.

Thanks to everyone for their car suggestions. We probably won't be making a decision 'til next month (for several reasons), but we're leaning toward getting rid of The Folly and getting Jeff a beater car. We still haven't quite decided yet. We'll just have to see how things pan out. But I do appreciate the suggestions - they've helped a lot!

Yes, Fiona, kale!

I know I've made you wait, Fi, but here it is, in seedling form:

There are several different kinds there, and the stuff in front is lettuce.

Gardening

Jeff and I spent several hours gardening this morning. I pulled up a whole bunch of wild onions, and there are still plenty more out there!

Our bleeding heart has really bounced back. This is what it looked like a couple weeks ago. Here's what it looks like today:

And our peonies are about to bloom. Normally, they don't bloom until the end of May/beginning of June, but these are going to be early. I always remember when they bloom, because our first year in the house, we were on our honeymoon and missed them.

The new job is going well. I like everyone I'm working with, and the work seems interesting.

To do update

At the beginning of March, I posted a to do list. I thought it was time to revisit it and see what has been accomplished.

• paint bedroom (gray)
• paint "art" for bedroom (painted canvases)
• paint remaining kitchen doors
• start seeds (yes, Fiona: kale!)
• dig up lilies from back and move to front
• rearrange and amend garden beds
• re-caulk bathtub
• paint stairway and hallway (tan or taupe or something bland)
  
• make new curtains for kitchen
• make curtains for dining room
• re-cover screen in dining room
• repaint DVD cabinet and Jeff's cabinet and footstool in living room
• take dog-joggers off bikes
• clean up area in front of The Folly's parking space
  
• re-caulk windows
• weatherproof doors
• general weatherproofing
  
• replace back porch steps
• make shade for back porch steps area
• just pick a damned color and paint the bathroom

So not as much done as I would have liked in two months, but not too bad, either. Some of the stuff will be easier to do now that it'll be more consistently warm out. And I've picked out colors for the bedroom and stairs, so it's just a matter of actually getting the paint and painting. Still haven't picked out a color for the bathroom. I'm not sure I ever will...

I know I've been quiet

It's that whole new job thing. Ending of the old and starting of the new. I start next Monday with no real break in between. I wish I had one, but there's a really cool training session I want to attend at the new job, so I'm willing to just jump right in.

In other, less dull news, flowers! This is what it looks like when a hard freeze hits a big, old bleeding heart plant. It was about half the size when we moved in five and a half years ago. It's probably been set back a bit, but not totally. It's approximately four feet from droopy edge to droopy edge.

And these are Lily of the Valley, just about to pop. Maybe by the end of the weekend. The side yard will smell absolutely gorgeous. They're much happier since we pulled up a lot of the bishop's weed.

These are some flowers in our bog. I can't remember what they are, but they're pretty damned cool looking. You can also see a lot of other happy bog plants in the background.

And not all of our tulips melted. Some survived.

Garden in progress

We ripped up the old garden in the alley a few weeks ago and rearranged it. This gives us more useable space and also gives us bigger and safer walkways.

Since we dumped all of soil, we're slowly filling in the beds as we need them. Spreads out the cost, as well as giving weed seeds less of a chance to blow in.

So far, we have a brown turkey fig (in the foreground right), a bed full of lettuces, spinach, and kale, and a bed of Chinese leeks and Egyptian walking onions. I also moved one of the little containers of radishes out back, too.

The chainlink fence is mostly to remind people that it's a private garden, and not for everyone to pick from. :)

OK, maybe spring really is here

We have lots of crocuses.

The forsythia is even about to bloom (and it needs to be trimmed so it stays out of the way of the kiwis).

And I've finally got some things planted.

I've got strawberries planted in that ingenious little tower, plus there are sugar snap peas in the tub with some bamboo to climb. The other pot has radishes in it. I also planted some other hardy items, like diakon radishes and Swiss chard. Some fruit trees I ordered (thanks, Mom!) showed up, and they're in temporary pots on the front porch: a mini nectarine, a brown turkey fig, and two varieties of colonnade apples. I also started the hot weather seeds indoors today: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, and some flowers.

So yeah. Maybe spring is here. Not that I don't expect it to snow at least once more, but at least there's hope now!

To do list

Ah, it's actually warming up a bit, and tomorrow it's supposed to be 57 degrees and stormy. I think that counts as "in like a lion" don't you? I hope so, anyway!

But, as it gets to maybe be looking like spring (and I spotted daffodils poking up in the front garden), I start to think about all of the projects that I'd like to do. I thought maybe I'd make a list so I don't forget anything. This list is not in order of importance or timeliness, just as I happen to think of it.

• paint bedroom (gray)*
• paint "art" for bedroom (painted canvases)
• paint remaning kitchen doors
• start seeds (yes, Fiona: kale!)
• dig up lilies from back and move to front
• rearrange and amend garden beds
• re-caulk bathtub
• paint stairway and hallway (tan or taupe or something bland)
  
• make new curtains for kitchen
• make curtains for dining room
• re-cover screen in dining room
• repaint DVD cabinet and Jeff's cabinet and footstool in living room
• take dog-joggers off bikes
• clean up area in front of The Folly's parking space
  
• re-caulk windows
• weatherproof doors
• general weatherproofing
  
• replace back porch steps
• make shade for back porch steps area
• just pick a damned color and paint the bathroom

Hm. That's all I can think of at the moment. I think that's plenty. :)

*You'll note that a lot of it's painting. We've been in the house for over five years now, and things are starting to need to be painted, and well, after five years, I'm getting a little tired of the rest of it.

Garden planning time!

It's gray and dark and cold ... it's time to plan the garden for spring!

Jeff got me seeds as a present - I had marked some I wanted in a catalog and he bought them for me. This year, we're expanding the garden, plus adding a cutting garden so I can have flowers to bring inside, too. We have here:

Veggies:

• Goldberger purslane
• Space spinach
• Cimmaron lettuce
• Green deer's tongue lettuce
• Rose orach
• Pink lipstick Swiss chard
• Orange fantasia Swiss chard
• Radish mix
• Rose heart daikon radish
• Sugar lace peas
• Yellow currant tomato
• Red currant tomato
• Tumbling Tom red tomato
• Lemon cucumber
• Pot luck cucumber
• Kaleidoscope pepper mix
• Mohican eggplant
• Pineapple tomatillo

Flowers:

• Mexican hats
• Pumpkin pepper
• Large snapdragon
• Persian carpet zinnia
• Floristan sunflower
• Rainbow aster mix
  
• Tall climbing nasturtium
• Tall strawflower mix
  

Yeah, that's a lot.

But some of the stuff is very early, like the lettuces, radishes and other greens. They can be replaced after it warms up with tomatoes or cucumbers or something else. And some of the veggies can be container-grown on the patio or even in the front of the house.

Some of the flowers are going to be in a specific bed in the back garden, but I think I'll spread them around a bit, too, just to brighten the place up. Since we finally killed the ground cover on the hill on my side of the front yard, there'll be plenty of space for these annuals while I figure out what I want there permanently.

I can't wait for spring!

Weather

It's been warm here lately. Like in or near the sixties.

I'm not complaining about this. In fact, we just got our gas bill, and it's pretty great, actually.

But it's confusing the garden something fierce. We have both crocuses (left) and forsythia (right) thinking it's spring.

But never fear, the temperature is dropping, and tonight we're supposed to have snow, even. Maybe a half and inch of accumulation. I have to say, I haven't missed it one bit.

Of course, February is usually the worst weather month in central Ohio, so there's still plenty of time for nastiness.