Yummy celery grown from grocery store left overs

So I've seen on Pinterest suggestions of veggies you can grow in your garden using leftovers from your grocery store veggies.  I tried celery and after about two months here is what I have.

Tried it today and it is so much better than store bought.  I have never liked raw celery but this away delicious.  Not fiberous at all.  Spread some peanut butter on it and it was the perfect healthy snack.  

Future experiments may be garlic and ginger. 

Get dirty and keep on gardening.  

A bunch of sweet and jalapeño peppers

Sweet peppers are looking good.  Thinking about making some chili rellenos with them.  Most of the seeds I planted a few weeks ago have sprouted.  The tomato transplants however did not take as I had hoped. Got some good rain this weekend that helped out a lot.  City water is ok but old fashion rain is the best.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Jalapeño, sweet pepper, and basil jam

Today I attempted my very first preserving and canning.  Made five 8oz jars of yummy jam.   Wasn't that hard and so far all the lids are correct. Can't wait to spread a little on some crumpets that I recently discovered at the local HEB.  A coworker of mine from England used to have her relatives bring me a pack every Christmas because you just couldn't find them anywhere around here.  Was excited to gin them and they taste just as good.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Getting the fall garden ready

So after a couple of days a good rain, today was a good day to get the beds ready and plant some seeds.  I removed what was left of the cantaloupe vines and tomatoes and planted some seeds. I also took some cuttings from the cherry tomato plants and transplanted those into different beds.  While transplanting some the cherry tomatoes I found this little green fella, first one I have ever seen.   

Hopefully he is taking care of these little things. 

For this year's fall garden I planted cantaloupe, carrots, watermelon, beets, broccoli, cilantro, brussels sprouts, and kale.  Plants that are continuing to grow from the summer are tomatoes, jalapenos, eggplant, sweet peppers, and celery that I took from the kitchen and planted.  The Swiss chard which was completely eaten by bugs, a couple of weeks ago, I just cut everything off and after the days of rain, new leaves have started to grow.

The herbs are doing pretty good still, after the rain the basil has sprouted back, the mint has come back and it looks like new basil has started popping up in A few new places.

Can't remember if I posted this in my last post but some onions that I planted four years ago in one of my old beds are still growing. I transplanted them to some new beds and they are still looking good. We cut off the tops and eat fresh scallions.

About a month ago I planted some tomatillos and forgot about it. Plants that were popping up where I planted them. I. thought they were weeds and so I ripped them out but it looks like that's what a tomatillo plant looks like.  So I'm gonna leave them in this time.

I decided to make some markers for my plants because I always forgot what I planted and the old markers I used had either faded or they broke so this time I took a paint pen and wrote on some rocks I had in the backyard. 

I am still thinking about transplanting my grapevines but my neighbor keeps telling me not to. He tells me I should make some cuttings and then plant those into my new spots. I just don't like how my trellis project looks and I want to build a new one. I want to take the the cross support beams that I used for my grapes and move them to the side of my bed and use it as a wall for my cucumbers and watermelons to climb up. The only problem would be that after a while the plants would block out the morning sun from the rest of the garden. 

Some other good news that happened to me this week, a friend of mine called me up because he got a garden plot at community garden in downtown Austin and wants me to help him out getting it started. It made me feel good to know that my gardening experience is getting recognized.  

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Prepping for the fall

So with fall weather approaching, it's about time to get things ready for my fall garden.  I trimmed my tomato plants and with their trunks a good inch and a half thick, I pulled them out I the ground and transplanted them in a different location.  Three I them went in the ground where an old raised bed was.  I dug trenches and buried them sideways.  The Roma plants, I transplanted in my front yard to test the soil and amount of sun.  Ideally I would love to make some beds for the front yard or even plant fruit trees or more grape vines.

I also removed all but about two cantaloupe vines.  The ones left still have some melons on them. 

The compost in the barrel was golden ripe which prompted me to turn the stationary compost heaps. The center was like chocolate cake but the sides still needed some more time. Hopefully it will be ready by spring. 

Since the weather usually doesn't start dropping until late October to even mid November,  I think I still have about two more weeks to get my seeds into the ground.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

End of summer harvesting

I have pulled the third cantaloupe and so far the first two were good.  I have got three more still growing on the vines that I hope to enjoy in a week or two.

The aphids are terrible and my DIY garlic pepper spray just isn't working and they are devouring all of my large red tomatoes.  I went ahead and pulled most of all the remaining green tomatoes, which I plan on roasting on the grill and making salsa and/or some fried green tomatoes.

The eggplant plant only produced one decent size vegetable.  Will have to check out some paleo recipes to use this one. 

I need to start planting seeds for the fall right about now but never do because the summer crops usually keep producing till mid to late September.  However, looking today, many of the plants are already showing signs of dying.  I hope to get out later this week to clean out the beds, add some good compost, and plant some seeds.  School starts back up next week so this week is my last chance. 

Ideas fall garden:  

Brussels sprouts, pumpkins, kale, broccoli, sweet corn, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, watermelon, beats, and tomato transplants

I recently read that tomato transplants might do well in central Texas in the Fall. So I am going to experiment.  It will be more of an experiment with transplanting cuttings since I haven't done it that much.  Will also need to do it later on with my grape vines.  

Speaking of grapes,  I didn't bury the timbers in deep enough and the cantaloupe vines have started making them lean.   I tied some runner strings to the top of the timbers for the grapes to grow up but it's not fairing out like I had imagined. I have been considering spending some money to make a really nice arbor walkway on the back of my house, move the grapevines, so they will grow and provide a covered shade porch.  Having the grapes in the back of the garden, they are getting crowded out and don't get enough sunlight.  I have also been thinking about doing something in the front yard as well.  Not sure yet though. 

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Best cantaloupe ever

First melon that I have successfully grown!  And it taste amazing.  

I have a few more on the vines so if I am lucky it's going to be a good few weeks. 

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

A little produce every few days

So this year the produce is ready every few days which is better than last year which nothing grew and previous years I had to much at one time.  So I pick about a handful of tomatoes and jalapeño peppers about three times a week.  Mosquitos are bad this year as they are thriving in the thick vegetation.  I can officially say now that the local nursery mislabeled their seedlings because instead of six cucumber plants I have cantaloupe vines growing everywhere.  Cantaloupes take longer to grow than cucumbers and less produce. Picked my first one a few days ago and letting it ripen a little more before cutting it open.

I planted some radish, watermelon, and cucumber seeds a two weeks ago and the shoots have already started.  Some wild basil is finally making an appearance too.   I cleaned out what was left of the lettuce stalks as it was all going to seed and I needed to clear the space for fall garden planting soon.  

With the tomatoes we have really enjoyed fresh salsa.  I used half of my jalapeños to make two jars of jalapeño jam.  I didn't go through all the preserving process as I am sure it will be gone within two to three  weeks (life expectancy for non preserving jams). 

 I didn't use any food coloring so it lacks the beautiful green color you might expect to see it in.  This is all naturalelle. 

Until next time.... Get dirty and keep gardening. 

It's finally starting to feel like summer.

So we finally are having consecutive days of temperatures in the 90's.  Cherry tomatoes and Bibb lettuce are still being gracious and supplying me with a harvest.  My Roma tomatoes are beginning to fruit and I expect to have some ready to eat in about two weeks. The other day as I was checking my plants I came upon this melon.  I didn't plant any melons and actually bought and planted cucumbers, but it looks like they were mislabeled. To get them off the ground I tied up a rope and wrapped the vines around them.  I also had to put up an a-frame that I was going to trash as a support wall for my Roma tomato plants to get them off the ground as well but to also open up my walk path between my beds. 

The old ash tree into back yard is still growing and providing shade to about 75% of my backyard.  This after two years ago a licensed arborist informed me that it was dying and wouldn't last much longer.

Today I also cleaned out some beds of dried cilantro, withered lettuce, and some weeds to get the beds ready for some July sowing.  Seeds to plant this month are cucumber, tomatillo, radishes, carrots, and sweet corn.  I was planning on sowing some sugar baby watermelons but I think I have enough melons already growing and don't think I have the space. 

Until next time,

Get dirty and keep on gardening.  

Most useful garden/kitchen tool for this year's growing season

A cheap salad spinner. This handy tool is being used at least once a week to wash and spin my lettuce from the garden.  

A couple of changes for this years Summer garden are: 

Not worrying about companion planting. Using soaker hoses with a timer that waters every morning, early in the morning, 3 AM for 30 minutes for deep soaking and not mulching like last year.

So far this growing season is doing a lot better than last year.

So well in fact that I still have a lot of. Jalapeño peppers still in fridge to use.  

The first of many cucumbers has started to grow.  These are going to be some pretty big cucumbers. 

Here's a view of more cucumber vines, Bibb lettuce, and buckets of herbs (basil, mint, and cilantro). 

The grape vines actually started out great in May but are now beginning to turn their leaves yellow. Not sure what the cause is so will have to do a little research to find out.  On the left side is a tomato cage containing about four cucumber vines.  I have never had vines so long before, so I am looping them up in the cage to try to keep them off the ground away from slugs and other hungry critters.  This past weekend there was a squirrel convention in my backyard. I counted around 10 squirrels in and around my garden.  As son as I would chase some in one direction. Others would flank the garden from the other side.  Cassie was even trying to help me but there were to many for us.  Some of them even started charging us. These squirrels are getting pretty dangerous. I might have to break down and get an airsoft gun to protect my property and my life.  

Get dirty and keep on gardening. 

Fried green tomatoes and jalapeño cheese poppers

It's a frying day at the homestead. Had over a dozen jalapeños from the garden. Filled half with string cheese and the other half with cream cheese. Cream cheese was the winner.  Wrapped the peppers in wanton wrappers to keep everything in.  Used leftover oil to fry up the tomatoes. Thanks to a recent episode of America's Test Kitchen, I saved a step and learned to combine the egg and flour together before dipping them in the cornmeal.  Absolutely yummy!

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Green variety tomato

So this year like all other years, I experiment with new tomatoes.  This year I found one that stays green, which helps keep the birds and squirrels from eating them. My mistake was that I planted all of them and then forgot which tomato plant was which. This tomato has been growing for some time now and it never hinted at turning red, so I decided to go ahead a pick it today. If anything, I can make some fried green tomatoes.

 It's a little bigger than a baseball.  The grape tomatoes are doing well.  I harvest about 7-10 every other day.  Roasted them and made some fresh salsa with the jalapeños from the garden.  Just wish I had some cilantro. In between two growing cycles. First batch has gone to seed,

second batch was too small

and used up within a week, and the third batch is just starting to sprout.

We love cilantro in this house!!

Reuseing the bucket system with a modification to help keep the mosquito population down. 

Bottom bucket is the reservoir from which the top bucket feeds from.   Things doing well in buckets are spearmint, marigolds, cilantro, basil. Here is a combo bucket containing a tomato plant, cucumber plant, and some marigolds.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Guess what's for lunch?

Another yummy salad thanks to the garden.  I had a salad for lunch and dinner yesterday, so I have to start getting creative to change it up. Yesterday I found one little apple in the fridge to add to it along with some grape tomatoes from the garden and today it's red grapes and sun- dried tomatoes. Toss in some feta, sunflower seeds, and a hard boiled egg from my neighbor's backyard chickens and I got a new salad.

Got lots of lettuce still in the garden so I am glad I love salads.  I also have harvested quite a few jalapeño peppers so it looks like some bacon wrapped poppers will be on the menu for this week or next. 

As of today, I have already done better than last summer's garden.  As long as we keep having this nice weather, things will continue to do well. 

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Beginning of June

Lots of salad greens ready to be harvested. I have Swiss chard up to my knees, Bibb lettuce, black seeded Simpson, and iceberg.

My tomato crop will be a surprise this year as I planted a variety of types and then forgot which was which. I have never found a labeling system that works.  The one problem is that one variety never turns red so. I might be eating a lot of fried green tomatoes. So far though I have been graced with a bowl of grape tomatoes.

Last week I harvested a zucchini squash that was about 8 inches long and roasted it in the oven. Pretty tasty.  

Jalapeño peppers are doing great as well as my spearmint and cilantro.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Day after Earth Day...my contributions

Last weekend I added the four new beds, soaker hoses, and water system for the hoses.  Seeds planted and are already sprouting.  The hanging bucket system however is not turning out to be as effective as I had hoped.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Late February - Fall Garden update

So my attempt of my first fall garden was successful in my opinion.  Very little watering and just a few days of covering the beds due to below freezing weather while the plants were still young, all in all, I am very pleased at the outcome.

The swiss chard continues to grow and grow throughout.  The cilantro took off quickly and even after freezing, continues to stay strong and grow.  The bib lettuce took awhile but is now ready to harvest.  We enjoyed a salad or two with the black seeded simpson lettuce.  And finally, the broccoli has begun to produce some edible florets.

In the past few weekends, when we had some unusually warm winter weather, I repurposed my self-watering gutter system into a hanging bucket system.  Last summer I grew more mosquitoes than plants, so I thought it was time to go back to the drawing board and see what I could come up with in using the materials that I already had.  The only new stuff I had to purchase was a few lag bolts, couple of bags of concrete, and a small box of screws.

So the plan is to use the buckets to plant tomatoes and peppers from the bottom of the buckets and water from the top.  It will require more frequent watering but at least there won't be standing water for the mosquitoes to produce in.  Underneath the buckets, I have 4 grapevines and some oregano growing.   The grapevines are really going to test my patience since I have been told that it can take up to four years before you will see any growth or produce.

I also started my seeds for the spring/summer garden in my garage.  Planted 3 types of tomatoes, tomatillos, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and two types of cucumbers.  The rest I will so directly in the beds in March.  Other ideas for plants are watermelons, onions, basil, lemon balm, and mint for now.  I always like to experiment with at least one new plant so I am still looking for what that may be.


Once I have some time, I want to put down some decomposed granite between the beds and around the perimeter to keep the weeds down, mud off of Cassie's feet, and my neighbor's cat out of it.  I don't want to, but if it comes down to it, I might even build a small fence around it.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!